PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Quinton Burgess (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mirko Maksimov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Maksimov has chosen The Reaper as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Burgess
vs
Maksimov

222 cm
19
278 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

198 cm
20
255 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Inexperienced

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Very confident

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 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Quinton Burgess!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Mirko Maksimov!
The judges for this bout are Aleksei Zolotukhin, Viktor Lagutenko and Valeri Chadov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Maksimov lands a head kick!

It looks like Quinton Burgess has been cut.
Maksimov with a poor takedown

and Burgess counters by clinching up.
Maksimov looking to stall.

Maksimov pulls guard effortlessly.

Burgess drops back, looking for a kneebar! Maksimov looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Maksimov looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Maksimov!

Burgess is looking for a sweep.
Maksimov wants to stand but Burgess has him controlled and pulls him back into his guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Burgess utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Maksimov wants to get up but he can't break Burgess's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Burgess controls Maksimov momentarily but Maksimov frees himself.

Burgess has an omoplata and is looking to use it perhaps as a submission or perhaps to transition. Maksimov is in a bit of discomfort here, but he's managed to free himself and has dived into side control! That didn't work out too well for Burgess.
Burgess tries to bench press Maksimov off him but Maksimov keeps the position.
Maksimov throwing ground and pound but whilst doing so, he forgets to control position and Burgess works his way back to half guard. Good composure under pressure.
Maksimov has decided to stand back up but his arm is trapped. Whilst he's worrying about his arm, Burgess works to full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Maksimov trying to control the position from guard on top but Burgess is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Burgess will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Maksimov would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Burgess striking off his back.
Maksimov tries to stand but Burgess is controlling from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Maksimov decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
Maksimov tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Burgess counters with a nice uppercut.
Maksimov moves to clinch but Burgess breaks away
and Burgess counters with a nice leg kick.
Burgess misses with a left hand

and Maksimov counters with a head kick that drops Burgess to the mat! Burgess scrambles across the canvas and gets back to his feet, still wobbly!

Burgess is rocked!
Maksimov throws a head kick but Burgess moves out of range.
Oh Burgess is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
A head kick misses from Maksimov.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Maksimov falls off balance throwing a combination

and Burgess holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Burgess seems to have got his legs back now.
Burgess tries for a takedown but Maksimov manages to get underhooks.

Burgess gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, Maksimov regains guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Burgess stands and steps away. Maksimov gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
The fight stays on the outside here - Maksimov looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Maksimov rushes Burgess with punches - Burgess moves straight backwards instead of circling and gets clipped by the second strike... and the third... and the fourth! Oh, Burgess goes down! Maksimov follows up with more strikes and the ref steps in to end the bout!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:31 of round 1, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Mirko Maksimov!
A victorious Mirko Maksimov thanked his army of followers in his post fight interview, telling people to make sure they follow him on Twitter.