PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Victor Cochran (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Burak Mihalev (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd giving both fighters a great reception on their way into the arena. That's good to see.

Cochran
vs
Mihalev

184 cm
19
278 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

195 cm
23
256 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

Decent wrestler
Brawler
Enjoys gardening

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 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Victor Cochran!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Burak Mihalev!
The judges for this bout are Igor Prikhodko, Illya Tyunina and Konstantin Menshow.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Cochran shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Cochran tries to grapple but his opponent circles

and Mihalev counters by clinching up.

Mihalev tightens his grip and picks Cochran up, before dumping him to the ground. Cochran manages to land in guard.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Mihalev is stalling in the full guard.
Mihalev is looking to stand up but Cochran won't let him.
Mihalev won't allow Cochran to get back to his feet.
Mihalev stopping the sweep attempt from Cochran.
Mihalev content to stall in guard here.

That's one minute gone in the round.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Burak Mihalev hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.

Mihalev scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Mihalev content to control rather than advance.
Mihalev uses his free foot to push down on Cochran's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Cochran.
Mihalev breaks from Cochran's wrist control and lands an elbow.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mihalev sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
It looks like Mihalev might be adopting somewhat of a lay and pray gameplan here, which I'm sure won't go down too well with the paying fans in attendance... Or the ring announcers come to think of it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
The referee warns Cochran that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Mihalev working the ground and pound effectively.

It looks like Victor Cochran has been cut.
Cochran really is a fat lump.
Mihalev takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mihalev landing strikes, looking to finish!
Cochran is bucking up trying to escape but Mihalev cracks him with another couple of good strikes.

Victor Cochran's cut is getting worse.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Cochran keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Mihalev lands a big elbow.

Cochran is rocked!

Jeez, Victor Cochran's cut is really nasty now. The referee must be thinking about getting that checked.

The referee calls the doctor in to look at Victor Cochran's cut. Oh no, the doctor has called an end to the bout!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:59 of round 1, we have a winner by way of TKO (Cut). Burak Mihalev!
After winning the bout, Burak Mihalev thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.