PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Ashot Rakobesyan (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rauno Taurkonen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rakobesyan comes to the cage accompanied by gimn armenii. Rauno Taurkonen will no doubt be looking to use his reach advantage to good effect.

Rakobesyan
vs
Taurkonen

165 cm
24
135 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

218 cm
18
130 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Brawler
Powerful

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Ashot Rakobesyan!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Rauno Taurkonen!
The judges for this bout are Aleksandr Martynov, Igor Prikhodko and Ivan Kurochkin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Taurkonen looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Rakobesyan is fending him off so far but Taurkonen persists. Nope, Rakobesyan circles away and we're back to standing.

Taurkonen shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Rakobesyan keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Taurkonen's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Taurkonen wants to pass to mount but Rakobesyan is defending the position.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Taurkonen darts in looking for a takedown but Rakobesyan gets double underhooks and turns Taurkonen into the cage.
Rakobesyan working hard to break the clinch.
Rakobesyan gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Taurkonen.
Ashot Rakobesyan has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Rauno Taurkonen.
Taurkonen keeps control of Rakobesyan as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Rakobesyan is trying to force a seperation but Taurkonen has the dominant position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Rakobesyan pushes off an throws an elbow but Taurkonen leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Taurkonen has Rakobesyan pressed against the cage, preventing Rakobesyan from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Taurkonen avoids the elbow strike from Rakobesyan, against the cage.
Rakobesyan is trying to push Taurkonen away but Taurkonen has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Taurkonen dodges an elbow strike from Rakobesyan.
Taurkonen wants a takedown.
Taurkonen is stalling here.
Taurkonen wants a takedown but no success here.
Rakobesyan creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Taurkonen's defenses.
Rakobesyan tries to break free but Taurkonen pushes him back against the cage.

Taurkonen breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Taurkonen showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Rakobesyan.
Taurkonen fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Taurkonen looks winded!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rakobesyan throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Taurkonen.
Rakobesyan misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Taurkonen throws a series of punches but Rakobesyan avoids them all with ease.

Oooooh!!! Rakobesyan has knocked Taurkonen down with a huge combo! Rakobesyan steps away and waves a wobbly Taurkonen back to his feet! This one might not go much longer!

Taurkonen is rocked!

It looks like Rauno Taurkonen has been cut.
Rakobesyan misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Taurkonen is still on wobbly legs! Can Rakobesyan finish him?
Rakobesyan looks to land a combination but Taurkonen avoids it well.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Taurkonen throws out a loose jab but Rakobesyan uses good head movement to avoid it.
Taurkonen tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Taurkonen misses with a jab, cross combination.
Taurkonen throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Rakobesyan sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Ashot Rakobesyan is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Rakobesyan throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Taurkonen.
Rakobesyan fails to land with a series of punches.
Ashot Rakobesyan seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Rakobesyan throws a sloppy head kick and Taurkonen moves out of range easily.
Rakobesyan connects with an inside leg kick.
Taurkonen misses with a hook to the body
and Rakobesyan counters with an inside leg kick.
Taurkonen slips a jab and a cross from Rakobesyan.
Rakobesyan scores with a three punch combo!
Good leg kick by Rakobesyan there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rakobesyan misses with a double jab.
Rakobesyan feints and then cracks Taurkonen's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Taurkonen down.
Taurkonen closes this distance looking for a takedown but Rakobesyan circles away.

Taurkonen looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Rakobesyan!
Taurkonen seems to have recovered his senses.
Rakobesyan is trying to escape the position but Taurkonen is controlling the position.
Rakobesyan is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Taurkonen asserts his dominance and retains side control.
Taurkonen remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Taurkonen looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Rakobesyan is avoiding damage well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ashot Rakobesyan dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Rauno Taurkonen's cut.
That's time! Back to the action!

Taurkonen misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Rakobesyan throws a series of punches but Taurkonen moves out of range.
Rakobesyan tries to bum rush Taurkonen with a series of wild strikes but Taurkonen uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Ashot Rakobesyan is winning the standup battle so far.
Taurkonen tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Rakobesyan defends well and Taurkonen ends up having to push Rakobesyan into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Taurkonen looking for a takedown.
Ashot Rakobesyan has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Rauno Taurkonen.
Rakobesyan misses with an elbow strike.
Taurkonen has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Rakobesyan after a bit of a struggle.
Rakobesyan is trying to break free.
Taurkonen is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Rakobesyan is looking to break free of the clinch but Taurkonen has double underhooks.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rakobesyan tries to break the clinch but Taurkonen is controlling the position.
A frustrated look appears on Rakobesyan's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Rakobesyan tries to break free but Taurkonen pushes him back against the cage.
Rakobesyan can't break the clinch.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Rakobesyan tries to break free but Taurkonen pushes him back against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Taurkonen avoids the elbow strike from Rakobesyan, against the cage.
Taurkonen keeps control of Rakobesyan as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Rakobesyan wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Taurkonen wants a takedown.
Rakobesyan is trying to break the clinch but Taurkonen is controlling him.
Taurkonen blocks an elbow strike from Rakobesyan.
Taurkonen has Rakobesyan pressed against the cage, preventing Rakobesyan from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Taurkonen keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Rakobesyan's efforts to push away.
Rakobesyan wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Taurkonen has him pressed against the cage.
Rakobesyan tries to circle away but Taurkonen has him pinned against the cage.
Rakobesyan misses with an elbow over the top.
Taurkonen has Rakobesyan pressed against the cage, preventing Rakobesyan from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Rakobesyan throws an elbow but it misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Taurkonen keeps control of Rakobesyan as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Taurkonen keeps control of Rakobesyan as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.

Taurkonen works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.
Taurkonen throwing strikes but missing.
Taurkonen sitting in guard here, content to control.
Rakobesyan preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Taurkonen stays in close to Rakobesyan's body and controls the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rakobesyan keeping full guard, as Taurkonen tries to pass.
Taurkonen not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Taurkonen swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.

Rakobesyan tries to sprawl but Taurkonen drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Rauno Taurkonen has got the better of the ground game so far.
Taurkonen throwing shots but Rakobesyan is blocking nicely.
Taurkonen wants to free his trapped foot but Rakobesyan is holding on for dear life with his legs.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Taurkonen is controlling the pace.
Taurkonen wants to free his trapped foot but Rakobesyan is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Taurkonen not doing much here.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rauno Taurkonen showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Rauno Taurkonen's cut.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Taurkonen shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Rakobesyan napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Rakobesyan trying to remain calm as Taurkonen controls from the top position.
Taurkonen is trying to ground and pound but Rakobesyan uses the momentary lack of control by Taurkonen to regain half guard.
Well, if Taurkonen is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rakobesyan blocking the ground and pound attempt from Taurkonen.
Taurkonen is figuring out what he wants to do next.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Taurkonen misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Taurkonen has a takedown stuffed.
Some wild striking there from Rakobesyan.

Taurkonen looking to score a takedown here. Rakobesyan is defending well but Taurkonen drives through and ends up in Rakobesyan's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Taurkonen wants to pass the guard but Rakobesyan is keeping the position.
Taurkonen content to stall in guard here.
Rakobesyan keeping full guard, as Taurkonen tries to pass.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Taurkonen pushes down on Rakobesyan's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Taurkonen throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Taurkonen missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Rakobesyan is trying to stand.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Rakobesyan misses with a two punch combination.
A looping hook to the body misses from Taurkonen. Rakobesyan does a little dance to reset his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Rakobesyan throws a right and a left that Taurkonen avoids nicely.
Taurkonen throws a hard body shot but it just misses.

Taurkonen dives in and scores a takedown into Rakobesyan's guard.
Taurkonen is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
More stalling from Taurkonen.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

And that's the end of the fight!
Rauno Taurkonen comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Taurkonen has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight 28:29
Judge Igor Prikhodko scores the fight 28:29
Judge Ivan Kurochkin scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rauno Taurkonen!
The defeated Ashot Rakobesyan had this to say: 'Ну блин просто лагало !!'.