PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Cri Cross (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Magomed Volkov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Cri Cross looks tired to me. Hopefully he has got enough gas left in the tank to put in a good performance.

Cross
vs
Volkov

200 cm
18
150 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

176 cm
25
155 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Intelligent

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of London, Cri Cross !
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Magomed Volkov!
The judges for this bout are Sam Margolis, Andrew Berry and Donald Grub.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sloppy strikes from Volkov. Those never looked like landing.
Cross seemed to be looking to counter by closing the distance.
Cross looks exhausted already! Oh dear, he should have come in in better shape than this!
Volkov closes this distance looking for a takedown but Cross circles away.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Volkov.
As Volkov looks to move away, Cross throws a big counter combo bu Volkov just gets out of the way.
Volkov throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Cross slips a jab and a cross from Volkov.
Cross defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Volkov.
Cri Cross has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Magomed Volkov.
Volkov shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Cross pinned against the cage. Cross gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Cross has closed the distance and engaged Volkov in a clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Cross pulls Volkov into guard.
Volkov wants to stand and escape but instead Cross has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

Cross avoids a guillotine attempt easily.

Volkov throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Volkov tries to land a sweep but no joy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Cross pushing down on Volkov's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Cross keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Volkov really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Cross . If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Cross working over Volkov with some ground and pound. Volkov looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Well, if Cross 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.
Cross really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Volkov tries to roll over but Cross keeps him under control.
Cross stops Volkov from getting back to his feet.
Volkov is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Volkov has hold of Cross 's hands but Cross slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.

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.
Cross working the head and body with strikes.
Cross lands with a punch from half guard.
Cross working over Volkov with some ground and pound. Volkov looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.

Volkov actively working from the bottom here.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

Cross closes the distance and clinches.
Volkov looking to slow down the pace here.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Cross stalls.

Volkov is fighting off a takedown attempt but Cross is just too persistent for him and manages to trip Volkov to the mat. Volkov regains guard as soon as the fighters hit the mat.
Volkov is looking to stand back up... there's a bit of a scramble and Cross dives into side control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Cri Cross 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.

Cross goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
Volkov tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Cross manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Volkov fails with an attempt to clinch.
Volkov fails to land the takedown.
Cross avoids the body shot from Volkov.
Volkov shoots in looking for a takedown but Cross manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Volkov's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cross avoids a punch combination nicely.
As Volkov tries to get set, Cross tries to push him back and clinch up but Volkov manages to avoid the attempt.

Volkov gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Cross to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Volkov keeping moving, preventing Cross from controlling successfully.
Volkov is trying to keep Cross in close.
Cross is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Volkov is looking to stand up but Cross isn't so interested in that idea.
Cross keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Volkov's head.

Cross decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.

Cross bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Volkov prevents Cross from moving into mount.
Cross wants to control but Volkov is keeping him busy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Cross wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Volkov, who protects the arm well.
Volkov is trying to escape the position but Cross is controlling the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Volkov is not content to let Cross control the position.
Volkov is trying to buck Cross off.
We've been hearing that Cross has been drilling a lot of ground and pound in training, so let's see if he get the finish.
Cri Cross overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Volkov is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Cross is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Volkov can do to turn this around?
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Cri Cross dominated that second round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Volkov pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Volkov fails with an attempt to clinch.
Cross tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Volkov defends well and Cross ends up having to push Volkov into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Cri Cross is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Volkov throws a body shot but no joy.
Cross avoids the head kick by Volkov.
Cross seemed to be looking to counter by closing the distance.
Cross throws a hook to the side of Volkov's head but Volkov sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Volkov fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Cross avoids it really well and circles away.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Volkov closes the distance and clinches up with Cross , looking for a takedown. Volkov pushes Cross against the cage but Cross circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Volkov will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Cri Cross has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Magomed Volkov.

Cross shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Volkov napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Volkov bucks up and tries to throw Cross off but instead Cross has got his back!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cross scores with some strikes to the side of the head there. Good, points scoring shots.

Cross working for the rear naked choke here. He's got one arm under but Volkov is defending well. A couple of punches soften him up though and Cross has tightened the hold! This one could be all over! It is! Volkov taps out!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:43 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (RNC). Cri Cross !