PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Mikhail Gromov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Alex Voss (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Gromov comes into the arena with LITTLE BIG-PUBLIC ENEMY blaring out of the sound system. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Gromov
vs
Voss

180 cm
27
206 lbs
7 - 5 - 0

194 cm
20
270 lbs
5 - 5 - 0

Good takedowns
Brawler
Experienced

Decent wrestler
Excellent MT
Granite chin

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 7 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Mikhail Gromov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Alex Voss!
The judges for this bout are Marco Blurström, Johanna Lukiainen and Roosa Järviläinen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gromov shoots in looking for a takedown. Voss tries to sprawl out of it but Gromov keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Voss manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Gromov fails miserably with a takedown attempt.

Gromov gets a clinch.
Voss lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.

It looks like Mikhail Gromov has been cut.
Gromov tries to pull guard but Voss holds him up against the cage and eventually Gromov drops back down to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mikhail Gromov. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Voss looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Voss misses with an elbow over the top.
Gromov tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Voss just stands there and leans against the cage.
Voss gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Gromov pulls guard successfully.
Voss is stalling in the full guard.
Voss wants to stand but Gromov is controlling his posture from full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gromov being controlled here, momentarily.
Gromov looking to control.
Voss passes Gromov's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Gromov is trying to get back to full guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Voss performing his best blanket impression for a moment.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Voss thumps Gromov with a low kick.

That's two 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.
Voss connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Gromov keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Gromov tries to score a power double leg takedown but Voss sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Gromov somewhat.
Mikhail Gromov seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Gromov drives through with a takedown into Voss's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Voss is looking to sweep but instead, Gromov has passed into half guard.
Voss really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Gromov. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Voss moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Voss wants to sweep but no luck.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Gromov 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.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Gromov thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Gromov stopping the sweep attempt from Voss.
Voss wants to improve his position but instead Gromov has moved into half guard.
Voss tries to get to full guard but Gromov has control of the leg.
Voss keeps control of the position for the meantime.
The fighters are battling for position here. Voss manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Voss wants to stand and escape but Gromov is having none of it.

That's four 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.
Voss wants to hit a switch here but Gromov passes into full mount! Oh no, disaster for Voss there!

Gromov working to secure an arm triangle but it's not happening for him just yet.
Gromov tries to control but Voss wriggling away.
Voss is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Gromov wants to control the pace but Voss is squirming around nicely.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Voss tries to hold on but Gromov pushes him away.
Voss felt the need to train up his defensive grappling in the buildup to the fight. Presumably he was expecting to be in a difficult position like this, so let's see if he can get out of it.
Voss looks out of his depth in this position - he's holding on tight.
Voss is in all sorts of trouble here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Alex Voss dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Mikhail Gromov's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Voss lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Voss lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Gromov fails in his attempt to clinch.
Gromov tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Voss counters with a good, hard body kick but Gromov shrugs it off.
Gromov avoids the head kick by Voss.
Gromov shoots for a double leg takedown but Voss sprawls well. He's pushed Gromov's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Voss tries a low kick but Gromov avoids it.
Voss wants to land a leg kick but Gromov is out of range.
Gromov takes a head kick and keeps coming.
Voss throws a mid kick that lands with a slap.
Voss keeps the fight on the outside.
A solid leg kick lands there for Voss.
Alex Voss seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Voss throws a leg kick but Gromov moved away.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Gromov shoots in for a takedown but Voss shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
A chopping leg kick lands by Voss.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A solid body kick from Voss.
Voss lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Voss fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Gromov checks it well.

Voss instigates a clinch.

Voss breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Gromov tries to clinch but Voss moves out of range.
Voss shapes to counter with a head kick.
The fight stays on the outside here - Gromov looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Voss throws a nice inside leg kick.
Gromov tries to clinch there but Voss circles away.
Gromov shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Voss as he avoids it easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mikhail Gromov. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Gromov closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Voss did well to prevent Gromov getting side control.
Voss works his way to full guard. Good work.
Voss is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Voss has his hands on Gromov's head, controlling the position.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Voss can do anything to dispel that myth.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Voss wants to get back to his feet but Gromov is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Voss pulls Gromov in close to his closed guard and prevents Gromov from doing any damage or advancing position.
Gromov trying to control the position from guard on top but Voss is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Voss pulls Gromov in close to prevent any damage.
Gromov might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Gromov won't allow Voss to sweep him here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gromov stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Voss swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Gromov trying to control but Voss is working from the bottom.
Voss is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.

Gromov 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.
Voss keeping moving, preventing Gromov from controlling successfully.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Voss dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Gromov. That did some damage!
Voss lands with a thumping leg kick.

Gromov gets a clinch.
Gromov dodges an elbow strike from Voss.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gromov blocks an elbow strike.
Gromov blocks the elbow strike.
Gromov is trying to pull guard but Voss has him pressed against the cage.
Gromov jumps guard but Voss turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Gromov blocks the elbow strike.
Voss lands an elbow just above Gromov 's eye.
Voss throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Voss pushes off an throws an elbow but Gromov leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Voss lands a nice elbow.
Voss will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Gromov up against the cage.

Voss breaks from the clinch.
Voss is looking to land body kicks.
Gromov tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Voss swivels and escapes.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Gromov misses with a takedown attempt - Voss sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Voss lands with a thumping leg kick.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Alex Voss showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Mikhail Gromov's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Gromov on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
A head kick by Voss misses

and Gromov holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Gromov tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Gromov takes an elbow to the forehead.
Gromov avoids the elbow strike from Voss, against the cage.
Voss creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Voss lands an elbow just above Gromov 's eye.
Gromov tries to pull guard but Voss forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Nice elbow from Voss.
Gromov is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Voss to keep the fight standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mikhail Gromov. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Gromov blocks the elbow strike.
Voss misses with an elbow over the top.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Voss lands an elbow inside that Gromov shrugs off.
Voss throws an elbow that misses.
Gromov dodges an elbow strike from Voss.
Gromov is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Voss lands a damaging elbow.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Voss lands an elbow inside.
Voss misses with an elbow strike.
Gromov is trying to pull guard but Voss turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Voss throws an elbow but it misses.

Gromov gets control of Voss's arms and successfully pulls guard. Gromov will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Voss must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Voss is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Gromov's legs have taken a beating and he's really slowing down as a result.
Gromov looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Voss is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Gromov checks a leg kick nicely.
Gromov wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
Gromov checks a leg kick.
Gromov doesn't manage to clinch there - Voss circles away.
Voss only half commits to the counter leg kick.
Gromov checks a low kick from Voss.
Voss throws a leg kick which misses Gromov's front leg but catches the back leg as Gromov tries to avoid it.
Gromov misses with a takedown attempt
and Voss counters with a nice low kick that buckles Gromov's knee momentarily.
Voss feints and then cracks Gromov's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Gromov down.
Gromov with a poor takedown
and Voss counters with a nice low kick that buckles Gromov's knee momentarily.
Voss wants to land a leg kick but Gromov is out of range.
A solid body kick from Voss.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Voss throws a head kick but Gromov moves out of range.
Voss throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Voss scores with a nice body kick.
Voss throws a leg kick which misses Gromov's front leg but catches the back leg as Gromov tries to avoid it.
Voss throws a mid kick that lands with a slap.
Voss lands a nice looking body kick.
Voss with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Gromov shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Voss sprawls well. Voss wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Gromov gets slowly back to his feet.
Voss connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Voss lands a front kick.
Mikhail Gromov has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gromov has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Voss.

Voss lands a big head kick that sends Gromov tumbling to the mat! Voss takes a step backwards and waves Gromov back to his feet - he wants the finish!

Gromov is rocked!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Gromov stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Voss.
Oh Gromov is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Ohhhhhhhhhh, brutal head kick from Voss! This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:16 of round 3, we have a winner by way of KO (Head Kick). Alex Voss!