PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Sam Witcher (ranked 1082 p4p, 147 weight class) and Gennady Mikhasevich (ranked 803 p4p, 108 weight class). Sam Witcher had a look across the cage there at his opponent. He definitely means business

Witcher
vs
Mikhasevich

186 cm
28
192 lbs
7 - 2 - 0

180 cm
20
185 lbs
8 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent MT
Granite chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, Sam Witcher!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Gennady Mikhasevich!
The judges for this bout are Anthony Taglia, Chad Campbell and Russell Pearce.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nice defenses there by Witcher.

Witcher has closed the distance and engaged Mikhasevich in a clinch.
Mikhasevich lands on the inside with an uppercut.

Mikhasevich breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
A swing and a miss from Mikhasevich.
Mikhasevich throws a jab but it's blocked by Witcher.
Witcher digs a good hook to Mikhasevich's body.
Witcher swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Witcher throws a hook but Mikhasevich blocks it.
Witcher has been working on his boxing with his coaches at Touch Of Death Combat Academy in the buildup to the fight.
Mikhasevich moves out of range of the strikes.
Mikhasevich looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Mikhasevich tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Witcher was well out of range. Poor timing from Mikhasevich.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Witcher displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Mikhasevich throws out the jab.
Witcher jabs Mikhasevich right on the nose. Mikhasevich blinks but takes it well.
Witcher uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Mikhasevich.
Witcher wants to clinch up but Mikhasevich keeps it at a distance.
Witcher tries to close the distance and clinch but Mikhasevich swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mikhasevich is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Witcher.
Mikhasevich uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Witcher.
Witcher misses with a straight left.

Witcher closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.

Mikhasevich escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Mikhasevich misses with a body shot.
Witcher misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Mikhasevich.
Witcher misses with a hook. Mikhasevich ducked under it nicely.
Mikhasevich fails to land with a series of punches.
Witcher misses with a wild body shot.
Witcher moves away from the strike by Mikhasevich.
Mikhasevich feints a jab promting Witcher to slip. Mikhasevich then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Witcher slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.
Witcher misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Mikhasevich.
Witcher throws a hook but Mikhasevich blocks it.
Witcher throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Mikhasevich counters with a straight right hand.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Mikhasevich scores with a hook to the body. Witcher takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Witcher lands a jab to the head.
Mikhasevich misses with a looping left.
Witcher falls off balance throwing a combination
and Mikhasevich counters with a one-two to the body.
Mikhasevich connects with a body shot that sends Witcher's belly button to the back.
Witcher throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Mikhasevich cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Witcher throws a body shot but no joy.
Witcher throws a right and a left that both miss.
A big right from Mikhasevich misses.
Mikhasevich uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Witcher.
Witcher ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Witcher cracks Mikhasevich with a right hand to the side of the head.
Witcher displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Mikhasevich throws out the jab.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Witcher just misses with a punch to the body.
Witcher lands a glancing blow to the side of Mikhasevich's head.
Witcher throws a nice looking combination but Mikhasevich bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Mikhasevich will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Mikhasevich jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Mikhasevich connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Mikhasevich throws an overhand right that lands on Witcher's shoulder, as Witcher tries to avoid the shot.
Mikhasevich changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Witcher misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Witcher takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Witcher misses with a straight left.
Mikhasevich moves out of range of the strikes.
Mikhasevich misses with a straight left.
Witcher ducks under a wild hook from Mikhasevich.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Witcher throws a right hand that misses
and Mikhasevich counters with a lovely straight right hand!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Mikhasevich ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
A lazy left from Witcher finds it's target.
Sam Witcher seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Mikhasevich scores with a sloppy right hand. Witcher should have avoided that one.
No joy there for Mikhasevich, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Mikhasevich throws a big shot that misses.
Mikhasevich avoids the body shot from Witcher.
Mikhasevich rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Witcher moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Mikhasevich lands an overhand right.
Mikhasevich slips a straight right by Witcher.
Mikhasevich keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Witcher slips a jab and a cross from Mikhasevich.
Witcher swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Mikhasevich bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Witcher loads up on a big right hand but Mikhasevich slips the punch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Mikhasevich throws out a loose jab but Witcher uses good head movement to avoid it.
Witcher takes a swing at Mikhasevich's ribcage but misses.
Mikhasevich has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Witcher scores with a shot to the body.
Mikhasevich walks into a jab.
Witcher scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Mikhasevich lands a body shot.
Mikhasevich throws a lazy right hand but Witcher sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Witcher is looking for a counter combo.
The fight stays on the outside here - Witcher looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Witcher throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A swing and a miss from Mikhasevich.
Mikhasevich throws a series of punches but Witcher avoids them all with ease.
Witcher is looking to counter the offense by Mikhasevich and move into the clinch.
Mikhasevich connects with a body shot that sends Witcher's belly button to the back.
Witcher misses with a hook.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mikhasevich uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Witcher.
Mikhasevich throws a hook but Witcher avoids it easily.
Witcher with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Mikhasevich to score with a decent uppercut.
Witcher misses with a body shot
and Mikhasevich counters with a left to the body.
Witcher lands a jab to Mikhasevich's midsection.
A shot to the liver by Witcher. Beautiful body shot.
Witcher ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Mikhasevich moves away.
Witcher swings away with a body shot that misses
and Mikhasevich connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Mikhasevich drops his hands momentarily and Witcher takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Witcher looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Witcher swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Mikhasevich rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Witcher counters with a one-two to the body.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Mikhasevich throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Witcher throwing a counter right hand but Mikhasevich manages to avoid it.
Witcher tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Mikhasevich paws at him with a jab and circles away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mikhasevich uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Witcher.
Witcher bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Mikhasevich's head backwards.
Mikhasevich lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Witcher throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Mikhasevich misses with the combination.
It looked like Witcher wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Witcher missing with a left hand there. Mikhasevich was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Witcher looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Witcher looks to land a left hand but Mikhasevich moved out of range nicely.
Mikhasevich walks into a straight right hand from Witcher.
Witcher tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Mikhasevich was well out of range. Poor timing from Witcher.
A swing and a miss from Witcher.
Witcher throws out a loose jab but Mikhasevich uses good head movement to avoid it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mikhasevich throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Witcher stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
A big left from Mikhasevich misses.
A looping hook to the body misses from Witcher. Mikhasevich does a little dance to reset his feet.
Mikhasevich takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Mikhasevich slips a jab from Witcher.
Mikhasevich let fly with a counter punch to the body but it didn't land.
Mikhasevich swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Witcher slips a jab from Mikhasevich.
Mikhasevich takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Witcher darts in trying to clinch
and Mikhasevich counters with a straight right hand.
Witcher lands a nice looking body shot.
Witcher is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Mikhasevich.
Witcher scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Mikhasevich doesn't seem bothered though.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mikhasevich keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Witcher cracks Mikhasevich with an open hand slap.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Mikhasevich rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Witcher moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Mikhasevich missing with a left hand there. Witcher was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Witcher moves into range and connects with a jab.
Mikhasevich swings for the body but Witcher moves out of range.
Witcher looks to score with a jab to the body but Mikhasevich is just out of range.
Witcher lands a slapping body shot.
Witcher tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Mikhasevich was well out of range. Poor timing from Witcher.
Mikhasevich throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Witcher stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Mikhasevich blocks a jab.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Mikhasevich! But no joy.
Witcher misses the jab.
Mikhasevich lands with an overhand left.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sam Witcher dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Witcher slips a jab from Mikhasevich.
Mikhasevich misses with a hook. Witcher ducked under it nicely.
Witcher swung with a counter punch to the body but it didn't connect.
Mikhasevich throws an overhand right that lands on Witcher's shoulder, as Witcher tries to avoid the shot.
Mikhasevich throws a right hand that Witcher ducks under and follows up with a left that Witcher also avoids with ease.
A little feinted left hand from Witcher on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Mikhasevich scores with a jab to the head.
A jab from Witcher misses.
We are yet to see a takedown attempt from Mikhasevich in the fight. On paper you would think he is the more dominant ground fighter so let's see if these unusual tactics pay off.
Witcher lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Good shot there by Witcher.
Mikhasevich misses with an uppercut. Witcher saw that one coming.
Mikhasevich misses with a hook.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Witcher throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Witcher jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Mikhasevich throws out a counter right but Witcher avoids it with no problem.
Witcher misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Witcher misses with a wild body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mikhasevich takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Mikhasevich looks to throw the jab but Witcher is out of range.
Witcher swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Mikhasevich stuns Witcher with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Mikhasevich steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Witcher.
Mikhasevich misses with a right hand
and Witcher counters with a stiff right hand.
A looping hook to the body misses from Witcher. Mikhasevich does a little dance to reset his feet.

Witcher closes the distance and clinches.

Mikhasevich breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Witcher scores with a jab. Mikhasevich acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Mikhasevich misses with an uppercut.
Mikhasevich ducks under a wild hook from Witcher.
Witcher swings for the body but Mikhasevich moves out of range.
Witcher darts in and out, connecting with a jab.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mikhasevich is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Witcher.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Mikhasevich throws out a loose jab but Witcher uses good head movement to avoid it.
Witcher keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Witcher blocks a jab.
Witcher missing with a left hand there. Mikhasevich was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
It seemed like Mikhasevich was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Witcher misses with a left hand
and Mikhasevich counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Witcher thinking.
Witcher swings for the body but Mikhasevich moves out of range.
Witcher ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Mikhasevich moves away.
Witcher looks to land a combination but Mikhasevich avoids it well.
Mikhasevich slips a jab and a cross from Witcher.
Witcher throws a combination that misses
letting Mikhasevich counter with a right hand.
Mikhasevich throws a nice looking combination but Witcher bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Mikhasevich moves away from the strike by Witcher.
Despite the aggression on Mikhasevich's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Witcher misses with a few strikes there.
Mikhasevich looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Witcher misses with a left hand
and Mikhasevich counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Mikhasevich misses with a looping right.
Mikhasevich moves away from the strike by Witcher.
Witcher moves out of range of the strikes.
Witcher ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Mikhasevich fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Mikhasevich has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Mikhasevich there as he acknowledges the shot.
Witcher shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
The fighters circling - Witcher throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Mikhasevich doesn't fully commit to the body shot counter.
Witcher tries to clinch there but Mikhasevich circles away.
Witcher's corner calls for a 1-2. Witcher obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Witcher fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Mikhasevich manages to avoid it.
It seemed like Mikhasevich was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A jab from Witcher does it's job there.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
A big right from Witcher misses.
Mikhasevich punishes Witcher's body with a nice straight punch.
Witcher misses with a combination
and Mikhasevich cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Witcher uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Mikhasevich.

Witcher pushes Mikhasevich up against the cage in a clinch.

Mikhasevich breaks from the clinch.
Mikhasevich misses with a looping left.
Mikhasevich throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Witcher tries to counter by clinching up but Mikhasevich breaks away and moves out of range.
Witcher lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Mikhasevich backs up against the cage.

Witcher drops Mikhasevich with a beautiful combination! Mikhasevich stares up at his opponent, who ushers him back to his feet - Witcher is looking for the KO!

Mikhasevich is rocked!

It looks like Gennady Mikhasevich has been cut.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Mikhasevich throws a hook but Witcher avoids it easily.
Mikhasevich is still on wobbly legs! Can Witcher finish him?
Witcher connects with a jab, followed by a picture perfect straight right that sends Mikhasevich to the canvas, out cold! What a finish by Witcher!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:57 of round 3, we have a winner by way of KO (Punches). Sam Witcher!
In his post fight interview, Sam Witcher started talking himself up. Luckily his charisma kept the crowd on side and gave him a good reception.