PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Mark Kerr (ranked 510 p4p, 60 weight class) and Gattsu Emelianenko (ranked 951 p4p, 111 weight class). Mark Kerr has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Kerr
vs
Emelianenko

185 cm
27
269 lbs
14 - 6 - 0

196 cm
26
247 lbs
12 - 7 - 0

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

BuriedAlive// Fight Gear

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 14 - 6 - 0, fighting out of London, Mark Kerr!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Gattsu Emelianenko!
The judges for this bout are Steven Brown, James Atkins and James Ackerman.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Emelianenko takes one to the chin there.
Emelianenko throws a hook but Kerr blocks it.
Kerr throws a left and a right that both miss
enabling Emelianenko to counter with a crisp jab.
The crowd cheers as Emelianenko lands an impressive looking overhand right. Kerr doesn't seem phased though.
Kerr is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Emelianenko.
Emelianenko looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Emelianenko slips a jab from Kerr.
Jab by Emelianenko.

Emelianenko gets tackled into the cage by Kerr. Kerr maintains the clinch.
Emelianenko is trying to push Kerr away but Kerr has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Kerr throws a punch but it's blocked by Emelianenko.
Emelianenko lands a body shot.
Kerr misses with some punches.
Kerr fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Kerr tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kerr lands with a short head shot on the inside.
A head punch on the inside from Kerr fails to land.
Emelianenko trying to stall but Kerr improves his position.
Good body shot from Kerr.
Kerr has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Emelianenko is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Emelianenko blocks a body shot from Kerr.
Emelianenko is trying to break the clinch but Kerr has him pressed against the cage.
Kerr tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.

Emelianenko breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Emelianenko ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Emelianenko misses with an uppercut.
A little feinted left hand from Kerr on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Emelianenko throws a shot from downtown. Kerr moves away and avoids it.
Kerr misses with an uppercut.
Kerr connects with a right hand. Emelianenko shakes it off.

It looks like Gattsu Emelianenko has been cut.
Emelianenko has tried to improve his agility in the runup to this fight.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kerr slips under a jab.
Kerr attempts a counter takedown but Emelianenko avoids it well and moves away.
Nice jab there from Kerr.
Kerr swings for the body but Emelianenko moves out of range.
Emelianenko throws a counter combo.
Kerr lands a two punch combo.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Kerr misses with an uppercut. Emelianenko saw that one coming.
Nice defenses there by Kerr.
Kerr ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Emelianenko moves away.
Emelianenko works Kerr's body with a nice hook.
Kerr showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Emelianenko.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nice shot by Kerr.
Kerr ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Kerr feinted with a counter takedown.
Emelianenko ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Kerr moves away.
Kerr slips under a jab from Emelianenko.
Emelianenko misses with an uppercut. Kerr saw that one coming.
Emelianenko might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
Emelianenko tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Kerr was well out of range. Poor timing from Emelianenko.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A telegraphed right hand from Emelianenko misses the target.
Emelianenko jabs Kerr right on the nose. Kerr blinks but takes it well.
Kerr misses with a double jab.
Emelianenko swings widly with a right hand
and Kerr counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Kerr wants to clinch
and Emelianenko counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Kerr is looking to clinch.
Kerr throws a right hand that misses
and Emelianenko makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Emelianenko misses the shot to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Mark Kerr will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Gattsu Emelianenko's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Emelianenko misses with a hook. Kerr ducked under it nicely.
Gattsu Emelianenko seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Kerr on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Emelianenko throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Kerr counters with a nice uppercut.
Kerr rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
enabling Emelianenko to counter with a crisp jab.
Kerr moves out of range as Emelianenko strikes.
Emelianenko uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Kerr.
It seemed like Emelianenko was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Emelianenko blocks a jab.
Emelianenko doesn't fully commit to the body shot counter.
Kerr thows a left - swing and a miss!
Gattsu Emelianenko seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Kerr avoids a punch combination nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Emelianenko just misses with a punch to the body.
Emelianenko swats away the attempt to clinch by Kerr.

Kerr drops Emelianenko with a left right combo! Kerr follows him down to the ground into side control.

Emelianenko is rocked!
Kerr trying to control the position but Emelianenko is working away.
Kerr is really struggling to control Emelianenko but he's trying to hold on to the position.
Kerr passes to full mount! That's big trouble for Emelianenko!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Kerr cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Kerr is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Emelianenko can do to turn this around?
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Emelianenko tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Kerr controlling from the full mount.
Kerr looking to control but Emelianenko is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Emelianenko wants to hold on but Kerr pushes him away.
Kerr fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Emelianenko slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Kerr wants to take a breather but Emelianenko is having none of it.
Kerr throws a big elbow that misses, also allowing Emelianenko to regain full guard.
Kerr looking to sit in guard and control but Emelianenko gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Kerr pulls Emelianenko in close to prevent any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kerr is looking to sweep but instead, Emelianenko has passed into half guard.
Kerr trying to hold on to Emelianenko's head to control him but Emelianenko postures up.
Kerr moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Emelianenko is fighting to break Kerr's control of his arms but Kerr is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.

That's four 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.
Kerr looking to control.
Kerr 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.
Kerr tries to strike from the bottom.
Kerr wants to sweep but no luck.
Kerr keeping moving, preventing Emelianenko from controlling successfully.
Kerr bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Emelianenko's guard.

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

Mark Kerr dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Gattsu Emelianenko's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Kerr scores with a jab to the head.
Emelianenko feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Kerrs jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Kerr misses with a left hand
and Emelianenko cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Emelianenko circles away from the clinch attempt.
Emelianenko misses with a body shot.
Kerr jabbing away but nothing is landing.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Emelianenko throws a shot to the body.
Kerr is looking light on his feet compared to last time was saw him fight.
Kerr walks into a stiff left hand from Emelianenko.
Emelianenko uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Kerr.
A countering left hand to the body from Emelianenko misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Emelianenko misses with an uppercut. Kerr saw that one coming.
Kerr scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Kerr throws a series of punches but Emelianenko avoids them all with ease.
Emelianenko lands with a hook. Kerr tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Emelianenko misses with a hook. Kerr ducked under it nicely.
An attempted straight right counter from Kerr misses the target.
Kerr uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Emelianenko.
Emelianenko showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Kerr.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kerr tries to clinch but Emelianenko moves away
and Emelianenko counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Emelianenko misses with a hook.
Kerr was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Emelianenko misses the shot to the body.
Emelianenko is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.
Emelianenko misses with a looping left.
Emelianenko lands with a cross.
Emelianenko thuds his right hand into Kerr's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Nice uppercut there from Emelianenko.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Emelianenko misses the shot to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kerr tries to close the distance and clinch but Emelianenko swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Emelianenko throws a looping overhand right but Kerr ducks down to avoid it.
Kerr takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
Nice shot lands for Kerr.
Emelianenko throws a lazy right hand but Kerr sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Emelianenko misses with an uppercut. Kerr saw that one coming.
Kerr has not gone for a single takedown so far in this fight, which seems like a very strange tactic when you consider that he has the superior wrestling and BJJ.
Emelianenko misses with a hook.
Mark Kerr is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Kerr throws a lazy uppercut
letting Emelianenko counter with a right hand.
Emelianenko swinging wildly here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kerr dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Nice defenses there by Emelianenko.
Gattsu Emelianenko has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Kerr tries to bum rush Emelianenko with a series of wild strikes but Emelianenko uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Emelianenko throws out a counter right but Kerr avoids it with no problem.
Kerr takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Emelianenko misses with a hook to the body
and Kerr counters with a stiff right hand.
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!
Emelianenko tries to bum rush Kerr with a series of wild strikes but Kerr uses good footwork to avoid the assault.

And that's the end of the fight!
Gattsu Emelianenko comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Kerr has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Steven Brown scores the fight 29:28
Judge James Atkins scores the fight 29:28
Judge James Ackerman scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Mark Kerr!
After the fight, Mark Kerr was humble in paying tribute to his opponent but made it clear he wants to go on to bigger and better things. It seemed to go down well with the crowd who cheered him loudly.