PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Rapen Murder (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ovsey Rzhov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rapen Murder has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Murder
vs
Rzhov

165 cm
24
148 lbs
7 - 4 - 0

180 cm
20
158 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

Powerful takedowns
Solid boxing
Very strong

BJJ Purple Belt
Decent boxing
Powerful

Spartan Nutrition
//buriedALIVE// Fight Gear

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Rapen Murder!
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, Ovsey Rzhov!
The judges for this bout are Aleksei Zolotukhin, Fedor Mirinova and Vladimir Khabensky.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Murder is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Rzhov.
Rzhov misses with a body punch
enabling Murder to counter with a crisp jab.
Murder throws a hook but Rzhov blocks it.
Murder bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Murder works Rzhov's body with a nice hook.
Rzhov defending well as Murder loads up on a big left hand.
Murder jabs Rzhov to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Rzhov avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Rzhov lets it all go there with a big combo counter but none of the punches connected.
Rzhov ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Murder cracks Rzhov with a right hand to the side of the head.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A telegraphed right hand from Murder misses the target.
Rzhov takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Murder dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Murder loads up on a big right hand but Rzhov slips the punch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Murder scores with a shot to the body.
Rzhov throws a body punch but Murder moves out of range.
Rzhov shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Murder misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Rzhov.

Rzhov shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Rzhov showed some decent athleticism there.
Rzhov prevents Murder from improving his position.
Murder manages to get to full guard.
Rzhov trying to control the position from guard on top but Murder is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Murder lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Rzhov controls Murder momentarily but Murder frees himself.
Murder wants to pass the guard but Rzhov is keeping the position.
Rzhov keeping moving, preventing Murder from controlling successfully.
Murder pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Rzhov is keeping the position for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rzhov is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Murder forces his way into half guard.
Murder is controlling the pace.

Murder looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Rzhov wants to control but Murder is keeping busy and won't allow it.

That's four 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.
Murder is trying to control. Rzhov wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Rzhov trying to control here.
Murder trying to control from Rzhov's half guard. Rzhov has other ideas though and has regained full guard.
Murder trying to control but Rzhov is working from the bottom.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Murder tries to free his leg and advance position but Rzhov is retaining full guard.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rapen Murder dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Murder looks to land a left hand but Rzhov moved out of range nicely.
Rzhov doesn't fully commit to the body shot counter.
Murder connects with an inside leg kick.

Rzhov fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Murder, pushing him back against the ropes.

Murder pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Ovsey Rzhov seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Murder swats away the attempt to clinch by Rzhov.
Rzhov throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Rzhov avoids the body shot from Murder.

Murder closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Rzhov to the mat! Rzhov manages to get full guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Murder wants to control from the top but Rzhov keeps moving.
Rzhov controlling Murder's posture.
Murder tries to free his leg and advance position but Rzhov is retaining full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Murder is looking to pass into half guard but Rzhov pushes him away with his feet and jumps on top - now Rzhov is in guard.

Rzhov trying to control but Murder is working from the bottom.
Murder looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Murder is on top in guard.

Murder is fighting to break Rzhov's control of his arms but Rzhov is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Murder pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Rzhov is keeping the position for now.
Rzhov wants to sweep but no luck.
Rzhov pulls Murder in to control the position.

Murder is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Rzhov pulls Murder in close to his closed guard and prevents Murder from doing any damage or advancing position.
Murder won't allow Rzhov to sweep him here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rzhov controls Murder momentarily but Murder frees himself.
Murder looking to pass the guard.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Murder throws a jab but it's blocked by Rzhov.
Rzhov is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.
Rzhov ducks under a wild hook from Murder.
Murder loads up on a big right hand but Rzhov slips the punch.
Murder ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Rzhov moves away.
Murder throws a hook but Rzhov blocks it.
Rzhov swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
enabling Murder to counter with a crisp jab.

Rzhov gets caught flat footed, as Murder shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Rzhov trying to keep a closed guard but Murder is proving a slippery customer.
Murder is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Rzhov can do to turn this around?

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rzhov wants to sweep here but Murder controlling him for the moment.
Murder postures up.
Murder stopping the sweep attempt from Rzhov.
Murder postures up.
Rzhov keeping full guard, as Murder tries to pass.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
Murder stopping the sweep attempt from Rzhov.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Murder trying to control but Rzhov is working from the bottom.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Rzhov shoots and misses
and Murder counters with a stiff right hand.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rapen Murder dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Murder just misses with a punch to the body.
Rzhov throws an ugly left hook that misses

so Murder counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Rzhov being controlled here, momentarily.
Murder wants to control from the top but Rzhov keeps moving.
Murder working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Murder stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Rzhov swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Murder trying to control but Rzhov is working from the bottom.
Murder postures up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rzhov wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Rzhov is on top in guard.

Murder keeping moving, preventing Rzhov from controlling successfully.
Murder trying to control the position.
Rzhov must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

Murder working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Rzhov doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Rzhov manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.

Murder has an omoplata and is looking to use it perhaps as a submission or perhaps to transition. Rzhov 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 Murder.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Murder is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Rzhov wants to lay and pray for a moment but Murder keeps working.
Murder taking a bit of punishment here - Rzhov scoring with strikes.
Murder tries to bench press Rzhov off him but Rzhov keeps the position.

Rzhov working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Murder is looking to reverse the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The referee asks Rzhov politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Rzhov prefers to stall for the moment though.

Rzhov tries for a kimura but Murder is defending well.
Rzhov wants to lay and pray for a moment but Murder keeps working.
Murder tries to buck Rzhov off but Rzhov is having none of it.

Rzhov looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Murder is not content to let Rzhov control the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Murder tries to bench press Rzhov off him but Rzhov keeps the position.
Rzhov working away.
Rzhov in side control, just content to control the action for now.
Murder manages to get back to half guard.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Murder works his way to full guard. Good work.
Rzhov tries to free his leg and advance position but Murder is retaining full guard.
Murder bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Rzhov's guard.

Murder has gone for a leg lock! Rzhov slips out almost immediately though and dives into Murder's guard.

And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but Rapen Murder did the better work so I'd imagine he'll take it.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Murder moves out of range of the leg kick from Rzhov.
Murder lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Murder connects with a crisp jab.
Murder loads up on a big right hand but Rzhov slips the punch.
Rzhov tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Murder is able to avoid easily.
Murder tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Rzhov defends well and Murder ends up having to push Rzhov into the ropes where they will battle it out in the clinch.
A little jabbing left from Rzhov on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Rzhov misses with a body shot.
Rzhov misses the shot to the body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rzhov misses with a jab to the body
enabling Murder to counter with a crisp jab.
Rzhov throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Rzhov lands a slapping body shot.
Rapen Murder is winning the standup battle so far.
Rzhov misses with a takedown attempt - Murder sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
A little feinted left hand from Murder on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rzhov rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Rzhov takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Murder fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Rzhov manages to avoid it.
Donk. Rzhov catches Murder right on the button with a cross.
Rzhov is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Murder rather than just go for the knockout.
Rzhov uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Murder.
Rzhov walks into a straight right hand from Murder.
Rzhov falls off balance throwing a combination
letting Murder counter with a right hand.
Murder has been working on his balance at Titans Elite Academy (Specialing in KT Training), so perhaps that has help him stuff some of the takedown attempts by Rzhov.
Murder misses with a body shot.
A looping hook to the body misses from Rzhov. Murder does a little dance to reset his feet.
Murder drops down looking for a counter takedown but Rzhov sprawls and moves away.
Rzhov goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.

Murder gets a takedown into half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rzhov has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Murder is working away from the top position though.
Rzhov holds on for dear life, maintaining half guard for now.

Murder in half guard on the top. He's looking for a kimura... He's got it locked and he's managed to free his trapped foot. Rzhov tries to escape but it's on too tight and he has to tap! Great BJJ skills there from Murder!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:59 of round 4, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). Rapen Murder!