PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Malik Moss (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Andrey Koreskov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Koreskov has chosen Небо Славян as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Well, I have no idea who's going to take this one!

Moss
vs
Koreskov

194 cm
20
193 lbs
1 - 1 - 1

187 cm
24
180 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 1, fighting out of St Petersburg, Malik Moss!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Andrey Koreskov!
The judges for this bout are Viktor Lagutenko, Fedor Mirinova and Valeri Chadov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Koreskov steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Moss.
Andrey Koreskov seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Koreskov with a poor takedown
and Moss counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Koreskov lands a head kick!
Koreskov tries a head kick but it misses.
Koreskov moves in looking to clinch but Moss pushes him off.
Koreskov doesn't manage to clinch there - Moss circles away.
Moss throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Koreskov throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Moss's waist but Moss gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Koreskov off to one side.

Koreskov gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Moss with a flurry of punches that miss.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Moss trying to stand up but can't free himself from Koreskov's guard.
Moss throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Koreskov works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Moss has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Koreskov is proving hard to escape from.
Koreskov wants to get back to his feet but Moss is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Moss throws a strike but Koreskov rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Koreskov won't allow Moss to get back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Moss scrambles and gets back to his feet.
Koreskov misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

Koreskov shoots in and gets a takedown into Moss's guard.
Moss looking to sweep using the butterfly guard but Koreskov puts pay to that idea as he passes nicely into half guard.
Moss wants to get back to his feet.
Moss is trying to get back to full guard.
Moss is breathing heavily.
This has been an exciting period of action!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Koreskov trying to control from half guard but Moss is working away.
Koreskov missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Moss pushes Koreskov off looking to stand but Koreskov dives back in and keeps control.
Moss regains full guard. Nicely done.
Koreskov stops Moss from standing up.
Koreskov trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Moss wants to stand and escape but Koreskov is having none of it.
Koreskov 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.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Andrey Koreskov was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Koreskov looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Malik Moss has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Andrey Koreskov.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Koreskov shoots in and bounces Moss off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Koreskov won't allow Moss to sweep him here.
Koreskov passes into half guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Moss moves into full guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Koreskov preventing the sweep.
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 Malik Moss will probably get the nod.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Koreskov misses with a few strikes there.
Moss avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Koreskov closes this distance looking for a takedown but Moss circles away.
Koreskov walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Moss swats away the attempt to clinch by Koreskov.
Moss sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.
Koreskov wants to clinch but Moss slips to the side
and Moss counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Malik Moss is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Koreskov shoots in and bounces Moss off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Koreskov is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Koreskov wants to control from the top but Moss keeps moving.
Moss manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Koreskov manages to get himself to full guard.
Koreskov wants to stand and escape but Moss is having none of it.
Koreskov bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Moss's guard.
Koreskov stopping the sweep attempt from Moss.
Koreskov is stalling in the full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Koreskov being controlled here momentarily.
Koreskov stopping the sweep attempt from Moss.
Koreskov is pushing down on Moss's leg trying to pass to half guard. Moss is fighting to maintain full guard but Koreskov has managed to sneak the leg through.
Moss tries to roll over but Koreskov keeps him under control.
Koreskov wants to stand up but Moss is controlling the position.
Koreskov wants to pass the guard but Moss is defending well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Moss is trying to stand.
Moss slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Moss looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Koreskov stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Moss swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Koreskov scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Moss looking to hit a scissor sweep but Koreskov is one step ahead there.
Koreskov trying to control the position from guard on top but Moss is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Moss tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Moss keeping moving, preventing Koreskov from controlling successfully.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Moss tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Koreskov won't allow Moss to get back to his feet.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Andrey Koreskov was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Koreskov tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Moss paws at him with a jab and circles away.

Koreskov decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Koreskov wants to pass to mount but Moss is defending the position.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Koreskov stands up from half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Andrey Koreskov showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Koreskov shoots for a double leg takedown but Moss sprawls well. He's pushed Koreskov's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Moss swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Koreskov counters with a series of strikes. Moss will be more careful next time no doubt.
Moss tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Koreskov defends well and Moss ends up having to push Koreskov into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.

Koreskov breaks from the clinch.
Koreskov ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Moss moves away.
Koreskov tries to score a power double leg takedown but Moss sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Koreskov somewhat.
Some wild striking there from Moss.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Moss is defended easily by Koreskov.
Koreskov shoots in looking for a takedown but Moss manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Koreskov's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Malik Moss has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Andrey Koreskov.

Moss tries to sprawl but Koreskov drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Moss tries to roll over but Koreskov keeps him under control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Koreskov lands a nice short elbow.
Moss is looking for a sweep. Koreskov is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Koreskov seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Moss does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Koreskov wants to stand but Moss has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.
Moss is trying to control but can't.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Koreskov misses with a takedown attempt - Moss sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Moss feints and as Koreskov raises his hands in defense, Moss changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Koreskov utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Moss working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Koreskov's head.
Koreskov trying to strike off his back.
Moss lands a couple of digs.
Moss postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Koreskov pulls Moss in close to prevent any damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Moss stands up from Koreskov's guard - Moss perhaps looking for a knockout.
Moss swats away the attempt to clinch by Koreskov.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Koreskov throws out a loose jab but Moss uses good head movement to avoid it.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Malik Moss.
I think Moss has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight 27:30
Judge Fedor Mirinova scores the fight 29:28
Judge Valeri Chadov scores the fight 28:30

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Andrey Koreskov!
A relieved looking Andrey Koreskov thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.