PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Ruslan Karelin (ranked 1136 p4p, 53 weight class) and Luis Maestre (ranked 1084 p4p, 50 weight class). Ruslan Karelin had a look across the cage there at his opponent. He definitely means business

Karelin
vs
Maestre

190 cm
24
280 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

225 cm
23
300 lbs
12 - 4 - 0

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Granite chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Kore Fight Nutrition
Hot Spunk

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Ruslan Karelin!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Luis Maestre!
The judges for this bout are Yasuomi Hirokawa, Taro Takaoka and Ren Mimura.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Maestre tries to sprawl but Karelin drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Karelin lands strikes from half guard.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Karelin in particular looking to stall.
Karelin has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Karelin lands strikes from half guard.
Karelin lands with a punch from half guard.

Maestre looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.

Maestre looking for submissions off his back.
Karelin keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Karelin is nestled in close to Maestre, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.

Maestre looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Karelin is nestled in close to Maestre, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Ground and pound from Karelin.
Karelin is keen to just control but Maestre is a slippery customer.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Karelin performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Karelin drops an elbow to the side of Maestre's head.
Karelin looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Karelin scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Karelin landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Maestre is trying to get back to full guard.
Maestre taking some punishment here, with Karelin in his half guard.
Maestre looks winded!
Maestre on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Karelin drops an elbow to the side of Maestre's head.

Maestre is rocked!
Karelin lands strikes from half guard.
Maestre is still in real trouble! Can Karelin finish him?
Karelin working Maestre over with strikes.
Maestre seems to have recovered his senses.
Still in half guard, Karelin seems content to control.
Maestre looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Karelin slips a nice elbow through Maestre's hands, connecting with Maestre's forehead.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Karelin is nestled in close to Maestre, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Karelin slows the pace down in half guard.

Maestre actively working from the bottom here.
Maestre really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Karelin. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Karelin winds up and cracks Maestre with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Maestre is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Karelin scores with a couple of nice shots.

Maestre looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Karelin scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Maestre wants to improve his position but Karelin is controlling well.
Karelin seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.

Maestre actively working from the bottom here.
Karelin is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Karelin working Maestre over with strikes.
Ground and pound from Karelin.
Karelin keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Karelin looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Karelin lands strikes from half guard.
Karelin performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Karelin drops an elbow to the side of Maestre's head.
Karelin content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Karelin drops an elbow to the side of Maestre's head.
Maestre on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Karelin working Maestre over with strikes.
Maestre is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Karelin scores with a couple of nice shots.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Karelin lands a massive shot from half guard that has rocked Maestre! More strikes land and this one is all over! Karelin jumps to his feet and is applauded loudly by the crowd!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:20 of round 1, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Ruslan Karelin!
After the fight, Ruslan Karelin 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.