PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Alexei Kuznetsov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and John Thomas (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Kuznetsov comes into the arena with National Anthem of Russia blaring out of the sound system. Thomas is bouncing up and down as he enters the arena, backed by Devil went down to Georgia. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Kuznetsov
vs
Thomas

187 cm
23
195 lbs
5 - 1 - 0

188 cm
20
194 lbs
6 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid boxing
Very quick

BJJ Purple Belt
Decent boxing
Powerful

Knock Out Artistry
SPARTAN FIGHTWARE

Rivers Edge Nutrition

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 5 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Alexei Kuznetsov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, John Thomas!
The judges for this bout are Eddie Farnsworth, Joseph Jones and John Roberts.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Thomas misses with the combination.
Kuznetsov will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Kuznetsov lands a jab-cross combination.

It looks like John Thomas has been cut.
Thomas has his takedown stuffed
and Kuznetsov counters with a slapping leg kick.
Kuznetsov avoids a kick to the body.
Kuznetsov misses with the combination.
Thomas throws a lazy head kick
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Thomas swings away with a body shot that misses

and Kuznetsov counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Thomas's guard now.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Kuznetsov keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Thomas's head.
Kuznetsov wants to control from the top but Thomas keeps moving.

Kuznetsov got a little sloppy there for a moment and Thomas has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Kuznetsov has managed to get both his arms back between Thomas's legs - danger averted.
Thomas looking to sweep using the butterfly guard but Kuznetsov puts pay to that idea as he passes nicely into half guard.
Kuznetsov wants to stand but Thomas has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.
Thomas trying to control but Kuznetsov postures up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kuznetsov wants to stand up but Thomas has a hold of him and won't allow it.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Kuznetsov trying desperately to get back to his feet here but he's not having any joy at all. He's going to tire himself out if he's not careful.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Thomas throws a sloppy head kick

and Kuznetsov counters with a single leg into guard. Thomas didn't expect that.
Kuznetsov wants to control from the top but Thomas keeps moving.
Kuznetsov is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

Kuznetsov decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Thomas, up you get!
John Thomas seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Kuznetsov takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Thomas.
Kuznetsov is breathing heavily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thomas throwing shots but missing, from side control.
Thomas working the head and body with strikes.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Thomas throwing strikes but missing, from side control.
Thomas tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
Kuznetsov regains half guard there - taking advantage of Thomas's attempt to lay and pray for a moment.
Thomas throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Thomas is working for a kimura here but Kuznetsov manages to reverse the position and he's now in Thomas's guard.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Thomas trying to keep a closed guard but Kuznetsov is proving a slippery customer.
Kuznetsov stopping the sweep attempt from Thomas.
Thomas controls Kuznetsov momentarily but Kuznetsov frees himself.
Kuznetsov stopping the sweep attempt from Thomas.

Thomas is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Kuznetsov wants to control from the top but Thomas keeps moving.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.

Kuznetsov stands up and waves to Thomas to follow him.
Thomas changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Thomas tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Thomas tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Kuznetsov was well out of range. Poor timing from Thomas.

Thomas gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Kuznetsov to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Kuznetsov controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Thomas keeping moving, preventing Kuznetsov from controlling successfully.
Thomas looking for a sweep. Not yet Thomas, not yet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Alexei Kuznetsov dominated that round.
The cut man is working on John Thomas's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Kuznetsov uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Thomas.
A low kick from Thomas is predictable there
and Kuznetsov counters with an inside leg kick.
Thomas swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Thomas misses with an uppercut. Kuznetsov saw that one coming.
Kuznetsov ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Thomas tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Kuznetsov throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Thomas.
Kuznetsov rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Thomas moves out of range and avoids them all easily.

Thomas gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Kuznetsov throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

Thomas throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!

Thomas had isolated an arm as going for an omaplata. Kuznetsov is defending the submission well but is in a very vulnerable position. Thomas Is leaning forward trying to finish the omaplata but decides to abandon it, and take Kuznetsov's back instead.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thomas landing with strikes.
Thomas is breathing heavily.

Thomas looking for the choke from the back.
Alexei Kuznetsov overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Kuznetsov is trying to get back to his feet but he's not managed it yet.
Thomas throwing wild punches that miss their target.
Kuznetsov wants to get back to his feet.

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.
Thomas missing with strikes from the back.
Kuznetsov avoids the strikes from Thomas.
Thomas trying to control momentarily.
Thomas scores with punches to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thomas throws a series of strikes and Kuznetsov wriggles onto his back, so he's now mounted. He's in real trouble here.
Kuznetsov avoids a series of strikes thrown by Thomas.
Thomas won't let Kuznetsov get back to his feet... He wants to keep the fight where it is for now.
Thomas unloading with bombs!
Kuznetsov holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Thomas tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Thomas looking to ground and pound but Kuznetsov is blocking nicely.

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.
Thomas is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Kuznetsov can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
You get the feeling that Kuznetsov really doesn't like being in this position too much.
Thomas throws a wild left hand from mount and Kuznetsov manages to wriggle his way back to half guard.
Kuznetsov regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Thomas.
Kuznetsov avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Thomas wants to pass the guard but Kuznetsov is keeping the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John Thomas showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on John Thomas's cut.
That's time! Kuznetsov's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Kuznetsov uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Thomas.
Kuznetsov lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
Thomas is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Kuznetsov rather than just go for the knockout.
Thomas tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
No joy there for Kuznetsov, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Kuznetsov misses with a series of wild punches.
Kuznetsov shoots in but Thomas avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Thomas swings away with a body shot that misses

and Kuznetsov counters with a shoot takedown. Thomas fights it but they end up in guard.
Kuznetsov looking to sit in guard and control but Thomas gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Thomas throws a big right hand that misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kuznetsov avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Thomas trying to control the position from guard on top but Kuznetsov is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Thomas sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Kuznetsov's guard.
Kuznetsov wants to get back to his feet.
Thomas throws a strike but Kuznetsov avoids it easily and moves to full guard.
Kuznetsov can't keep his opponent in guard - Thomas advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Kuznetsov is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Thomas scores with a couple of nice shots.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thomas working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Thomas not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Kuznetsov wants to get back to his feet.
Thomas throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Thomas throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Thomas looks to land a strike but Kuznetsov avoids it nicely and regains full guard.
Thomas prevents Kuznetsov from getting back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Thomas postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Kuznetsov is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Thomas, into his guard.

Thomas has his foot on Kuznetsov's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Kuznetsov works his way back into a safe position though.

Thomas is looking for a triangle but Kuznetsov pushes his legs off easily.
Thomas has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Thomas keeping moving, preventing Kuznetsov from controlling successfully.
Kuznetsov controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Thomas looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Kuznetsov trying to control the position from guard on top but Thomas is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Thomas has thrown up a leg looking for a triangle. Kuznetsov doesn't defend quickly enough and Thomas has managed to lock this one up! Can Kuznetsov escape?! NO! He's tapping out! Damn, that was a quick submission - congrats to Thomas on a fantastic submission victory.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:05 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle). John Thomas!