PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Gregg Buckley (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Izya Haimovich (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Izya Haimovich has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Gregg Buckley's chin.

Buckley
vs
Haimovich

178 cm
24
279 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

197 cm
25
258 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

Decent wrestler
Brawler
Cuts easily

Decent wrestler
Basic striking
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Gregg Buckley!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Izya Haimovich!
The judges for this bout are Edson Gomes, Leandro Rodrigues and Mauricio Rocha.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Buckley shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Haimovich looking for a sweep. Not yet Haimovich, not yet.
Haimovich is looking to stand up but Buckley isn't so interested in that idea.
Buckley wants to control from the top but Haimovich keeps moving.
Haimovich wants to stand but Buckley is controlling the position.
Haimovich wants to sweep here but Buckley controlling him for the moment.
Buckley won't allow Haimovich to get back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Haimovich keeping moving, preventing Buckley from controlling successfully.

Gregg Buckley has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.

Buckley shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Buckley showed some decent athleticism there.
Buckley sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Haimovich defending well though.
Buckley is looking to pass Haimovich's guard but actually Haimovich recovers to full guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Buckley is looking to stand up but Haimovich won't let him.
Buckley wants to control from the top but Haimovich keeps moving.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Haimovich controlling Buckley's posture.
Buckley trying to pass the guard. He's being very persistent here but Haimovich manages to land a sweep and now he's on top!
Buckley looking for a sweep. Not yet Buckley, not yet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Haimovich wants to control from the top but Buckley keeps moving.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Haimovich postures up in Buckley's guard and throws a big left but Buckley blocks it.
Haimovich controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Izya Haimovich wasn't active enough on the ground.
Haimovich goes for a double leg but Buckley avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Buckley continues to drive forward.

Buckley manages to break the clinch.
Haimovich has his takedown stuffed

and Buckley decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Haimovich's guard.
Haimovich wants to sweep here but Buckley controlling him for the moment.
Haimovich trying to control the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Buckley tries to free his leg and advance position but Haimovich is retaining full guard.
Haimovich tries to land a sweep but no joy.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Haimovich is still trying to improve position.
Haimovich lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Buckley!
Haimovich landing strikes from the mount.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Buckley sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.
Haimovich wants to free his trapped foot but Buckley is holding on for dear life with his legs.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Gregg Buckley will probably get the nod.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Haimovich defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Buckley.
Haimovich stuffs the takedown.
Haimovich shoots and misses

and Buckley counters with a single leg into guard. Haimovich didn't expect that.
Buckley won't allow Haimovich to sweep him here.
Buckley trying to control the position from guard on top but Haimovich is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Haimovich pulls Buckley in close to his closed guard and prevents Buckley from doing any damage or advancing position.
Haimovich preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Haimovich has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Buckley fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Gregg Buckley. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Haimovich darts in looking for a takedown but Buckley gets double underhooks and turns Haimovich into the cage.

Buckley pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Horrible takedown by Haimovich or perhaps it was just good defense by Buckley which made him look bad.
A head kick misses from Buckley.
No luck for Haimovich with that takedown attempt.
Haimovich shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Buckley counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Haimovich's guard now.
Haimovich is controlling Buckley's posture.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Buckley trying to control but Haimovich is working from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Haimovich wants to stand but Buckley is controlling the position.
Gregg Buckley overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

We're going to have a standup here because Gregg Buckley wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Buckley slaps away a takedown attempt from Haimovich, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Buckley scores with a jab to the body.
Buckley shoots in but no luck this time.

Buckley has taken the fight to the clinch.
Buckley stalling in the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Buckley manages to break the clinch.
Nice takedown defense from Buckley. No joy for Haimovich on that attempt.
Haimovich tries for a takedown but Buckley circles away easily

and Buckley counters into the clinch. Nicely done.

Buckley pulls guard successfully.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Haimovich wants to control from the top but Buckley keeps moving.
Haimovich might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Buckley haven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.
Haimovich is working Buckley over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Buckley might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Buckley is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Haimovich is controlling him.
Haimovich stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Buckley swivels though and keeps the full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Haimovich trying to control the position from guard on top but Buckley is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Haimovich missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Haimovich throws a big elbow that misses.

Buckley looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Haimovich postures up in Buckley's guard and throws a big left but Buckley blocks it.
Haimovich looking to sit in guard and control but Buckley gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Haimovich wants to sweep here but Buckley controlling him for the moment.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gregg Buckley dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Haimovich looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Buckley slaps away a takedown attempt from Haimovich, before circling back to the center of the mat.

Buckley dives in and scores a takedown into Haimovich's guard.
Buckley preventing the sweep.
Haimovich is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Buckley is controlling him.
Buckley throws an elbow that misses. Haimovich uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Buckley's guard. Nice move by Haimovich!
Haimovich trying to control the position from guard on top but Buckley is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Buckley working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Haimovich.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Haimovich trying to control the position from guard on top but Buckley is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Haimovich passes Buckley's right leg, so he's now in half guard.

Haimovich is looking for a kimura. It's pretty deep but Buckley still has the half guard so he's probably OK. Oh, Buckley has exploded into a beautiful escape there and after a quick scramble, he's ended up in side control on top! Nice work!
Buckley cracks Haimovich with a big right hand but Haimovich just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Haimovich takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Buckley tries to advance to mount but can't.
Buckley is chipping away with strikes.
Haimovich is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Buckley is controlling him well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Haimovich takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Buckley connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Haimovich some visible discomfort.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Haimovich can't do much from the bottom here.
The referee asks Buckley politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Buckley prefers to stall for the moment though.

Buckley thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Haimovich tries to get back to half guard but can't.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Buckley tries to get to his feet but he's trapped momentarily.
Buckley misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Buckley working away.
Buckley tries to get to his feet but he's trapped momentarily.
Buckley cracks Haimovich with a big elbow.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Haimovich can do anything to dispel that myth.
Buckley wants to stand but Haimovich has his arm trapped.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Haimovich is trying to control Buckley's posture but Buckley avoids it.
Haimovich holds on to Buckley's head and controls the position momentarily.
Haimovich tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Buckley wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Buckley tries to get to his feet but Haimovich is in the middle of advancing position himself and ends up with Buckley in his guard.
Gregg Buckley is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Haimovich wants to get back to his feet but Buckley is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

And that's the end of the fight!
Gregg Buckley showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Buckley has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Edson Gomes scores the fight 30:27
Judge Leandro Rodrigues scores the fight 30:27
Judge Mauricio Rocha scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Gregg Buckley!