PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Baw Ah (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mikhail Obdergrov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Ah
vs
Obdergrov

165 cm
18
135 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

176 cm
20
130 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Very confident

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Baw Ah!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Mikhail Obdergrov!
The judges for this bout are Steve Erwin, Skip Squint and Damien Edna.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ah is looking to chop away at Obdergrov's legs.
Nice sprawl there from Obdergrov as Ah shoots in.

Obdergrov drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Obdergrov wants to stand but Ah is controlling his posture from full guard.
Obdergrov scoring with punches to the head and body.
Ah not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Obdergrov throws an elbow that misses. Ah uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Obdergrov's guard. Nice move by Ah!
Obdergrov looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.

Obdergrov has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Ah can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ah wants to pass the guard but Obdergrov is keeping the position.
Obdergrov bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Ah's guard.
Obdergrov forces his way into half guard.
Ah looks like he's trying to stand up.
Obdergrov is stalling here. Ah is in no mood to hang around though. He's locked up a kimura from the bottom! Obdergrov seems to be keeping calm but he's forced to roll out of the hold and Ah has ended up in side control on the top. Nice work.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Obdergrov manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Obdergrov in particular looking to stall.
Obdergrov trying to pass the guard but Ah defending well.
Obdergrov is taking a breather. Ah says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Obdergrov decides to return to a standing position.
Ah fails to land the takedown.
Obdergrov misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

Ah rushes Obdergrov and presses him up against the cage.

Ah pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

Obdergrov shoots in and bounces Ah off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Ah wants to get back to his feet but Obdergrov is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Ah is breathing heavily.
Obdergrov slips nicely into half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ah is in trouble now - Obdergrov has advanced to mount!
Obdergrov content just to control the position here.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Obdergrov lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Ah hang on?
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Obdergrov sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Ah is bucking up trying to escape but Obdergrov cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mikhail Obdergrov dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Ah shoots in looking for a takedown but Obdergrov manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Ah's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Obdergrov tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Ah swivels and escapes.
Obdergrov misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Obdergrov closes the distance and clinches up with Ah, looking for a takedown. Obdergrov pushes Ah against the cage but Ah circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Obdergrov moves in looking to clinch but Ah pushes him off.

Obdergrov looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Ah looking to hit a scissor sweep but Obdergrov is one step ahead there.
Ah being controlled here, momentarily.
Ah keeping moving, preventing Obdergrov from controlling successfully.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Obdergrov is working Ah over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Obdergrov wants to control from the top but Ah keeps moving.
Obdergrov is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Obdergrov in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Ah controls Obdergrov momentarily but Obdergrov frees himself.
Ah looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Obdergrov keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Ah's head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Obdergrov controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Ah looking to control.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Obdergrov throws a head kick but Ah moves out of range.
Ah shoots in for a takedown but Obdergrov shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Ah misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Baw Ah. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Ah gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Obdergrov controls from within his opponent's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ah is trying to keep Obdergrov in close.
Obdergrov tries to free his leg and advance position but Ah is retaining full guard.
Obdergrov slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Obdergrov has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Ah is proving hard to escape from.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Mikhail Obdergrov was stalling too much, according to the referee.

Obdergrov drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Check out the look on Obdergrov's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Obdergrov has knee on belly and moves into mount.
Ah has given up his back, trying to stand up. Not clever.
Obdergrov scores with a nice shot to the head of his opponent. Ah is looking for a way out.
Obdergrov slows the pace down here. Having a little breather whilst he's in a dominant position, looking to rest and regain some energy, ready to go for the finish.
Ah might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Ah defends a rear naked choke attempt by controlling one of Obdergrov's arms.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mikhail Obdergrov showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Obdergrov misses with the combination.
Obdergrov shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Ah sprawls well. Ah wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Obdergrov gets slowly back to his feet.
Obdergrov tries to clinch but Ah moves out of range.
Ah scoring well with a low kick there.
Ah tries to clinch there but Obdergrov circles away.
Obdergrov tries to close the distance and clinch up but Ah swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Ah shoots in looking for a takedown. Obdergrov tries to sprawl out of it but Ah keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Obdergrov manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Ah tries for a takedown but Obdergrov circles away easily

so Obdergrov counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Mikhail Obdergrov has got the better of the ground game so far.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Obdergrov throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Obdergrov won't allow Ah to sweep him here.
Obdergrov connects with a couple of short punches.
Ah is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Obdergrov is controlling him.
Ah has momentary wrist control but Obdergrov slips an elbow through the middle.
Obdergrov wanted to stand there but Ah had control of the position.
Obdergrov controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Obdergrov drops back looking for a leg! Ah is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Ah manages to kick Obdergrov off! Obdergrov jumps back into Ah's guard.
Ah can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Obdergrov controls the pace.
Obdergrov tries to stand but Ah is controlling from the bottom.
Ah looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Obdergrov controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

Obdergrov drops back looking for a leg! Ah is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Ah manages to kick Obdergrov off! Obdergrov jumps back into Ah's guard.
Obdergrov scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Ah keeping moving, preventing Obdergrov from controlling successfully.
Obdergrov has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

Obdergrov thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Obdergrov lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Obdergrov sitting in guard here, content to control.
Obdergrov trying to control but Ah is working from the bottom.
Obdergrov controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Let's hope that Obdergrov has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.

And that's the end of the fight!
Mikhail Obdergrov comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Obdergrov winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Steve Erwin scores the fight for Mikhail Obdergrov!
Judge Skip Squint scores the fight for Mikhail Obdergrov!
Judge Damien Edna scores the fight for Mikhail Obdergrov!

Mikhail Obdergrov wins by unanimous decision!