PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Matt Van Buren (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Martti Nakutin (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Van Buren kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is the fall of troy - laces out, dan!. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Van Buren
vs
Nakutin

200 cm
23
260 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

195 cm
19
220 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Granite chin

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Solid 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 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Matt Van Buren!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Martti Nakutin!
The judges for this bout are Nard Betker, Aafke Stam and Patrick Alders.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nakutin tries to clinch up.
Van Buren takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Nakutin tries to close the distance and clinch up against the ropes but Van Buren paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Van Buren checks a leg kick nicely.
Nakutin swinging wilding here.
Van Buren wants to clinch up but Nakutin keeps it at a distance.
Van Buren looks to clinch
and Nakutin counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Nakutin throws a right and a left that both miss.
Nakutin tries to grapple but his opponent circles

and Van Buren counters by clinching up.
Nakutin tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Nakutin has Van Buren pushed against the ropes.
Nakutin softening up his opponent with strikes, against the ropes.
Van Buren controlling the action here for a moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nakutin looking to throw knees to the head but Van Buren is blocking nicely.
Van Buren looking for a takedown.
Van Buren lands an elbow inside.
Nakutin trying to control the position but instead, Van Buren has worked for underhooks and has pushed Nakutin into the ropes.
Van Buren blocking some punches.
Van Buren stalling the fight.
Van Buren takes a shot to the head.
Nakutin tries to circle away but Van Buren has him pinned against the ropes.
Nakutin is trying to break the clinch but Van Buren is controlling him.
Nakutin wants to stall.
Nakutin misses with the head strike.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Van Buren looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Nakutin lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Nakutin is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the ropes.
Nakutin has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Van Buren is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Nakutin is defending well for now.
Nakutin trying to control the position but instead, Van Buren has worked for underhooks and has pushed Nakutin into the ropes.
Van Buren fails to pull guard.
Nakutin makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Van Buren prevents a body shot from Nakutin.
Van Buren tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Matt Van Buren. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Nakutin blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Nakutin lands a body punch.
Nakutin stops a takedown attempt from Van Buren.
Van Buren landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Van Buren wants a takedown.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Nakutin.
Nakutin with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Nakutin scores with a shoulder strike.
Nakutin can't break the clinch.
Nakutin tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Van Buren is trying to force a seperation but Nakutin has the dominant position.
A short right from Nakutin on the inside.
Nakutin using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Van Buren has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Nakutin lands a body punch.
Van Buren tries for a takedown but Nakutin manages to get underhooks.
Nakutin doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Van Buren is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Van Buren avoiding damage as Nakutin throws knees to the body.
Van Buren is trying to drag Nakutin to the mat but Nakutin just about manages to keep his footing. He used the ropes to his advantage there.
Nakutin lands with a short shot to the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Nakutin tries to land knees in the clinch but Van Buren avoids the damage to the body.
Van Buren misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Nakutin.
Nakutin pressing his opponent against the ropes.
Nakutin swings wildly with an uppercut but Van Buren uses good head movement to avoid it.
Nakutin lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Van Buren.
Van Buren is breathing heavily.
Van Buren is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the ropes.
Nakutin using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Van Buren has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
A short right from Nakutin on the inside.
Van Buren keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Nakutin's efforts to push away.
Nakutin holding his opponent close, against the ropes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Martti Nakutin dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Nakutin throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Van Buren.

It looks like Matt Van Buren has been cut.

Nakutin moves into the clinch.
Nakutin taking a breather.
Nakutin managing to block the knees to the body from Van Buren.
Nakutin throws a punch but it's blocked by Van Buren.
Nakutin misses with a punch on the inside.
Van Buren wants a takedown.
Nakutin misses with a knee to the head.
Nakutin with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Nakutin trying to land knees to the body.
Nakutin lands a left hand that snaps the head of Van Buren backwards.
Van Buren has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Nakutin is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Van Buren changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Nakutin fights it off and pushes away nicely.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Matt Van Buren. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Nakutin pushes Van Buren up against the ropes in a clinch.
Nakutin with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.

Van Buren breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Martti Nakutin seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Nakutin looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Van Buren is fending him off so far but Nakutin persists. Nope, Van Buren circles away and we're back to standing.
Matt Van Buren is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Nakutin throws a combination that misses

and Van Buren moves into the clinch.
Nakutin is breathing heavily.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Nakutin.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Van Buren.
Nakutin is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the ropes.
Nakutin swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Nakutin lands a knee to the head.
Nakutin using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Van Buren has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Van Buren drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Nakutin gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Van Buren is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Van Buren gets underhooks to prevent Nakutin's takedown attempt.
Nakutin trying to control the position but instead, Van Buren has worked for underhooks and has pushed Nakutin into the ropes.
Nakutin working hard to break the clinch.
Nakutin using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Van Buren has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Nakutin wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Van Buren has him pressed against the ropes.
Nakutin misses with a hook to the ribs.
Come on Van Buren - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Nakutin fails to pull guard.
Nakutin blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Nakutin breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

Van Buren has Nakutin up against the ropes in a clinch.
Nakutin throws an elbow but it misses.
Nakutin wants to stall.
Nakutin managing to block the knees to the body from Van Buren.
Van Buren works on Nakutin's body with a couple of short punches.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Van Buren as Nakutin tries to tie him up.
Van Buren tries to score a body lock takedown but Nakutin shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Nakutin is trying to maintain a safe position but Van Buren gets an underhook and turns Nakutin into the ropes.
Nakutin is trying to slow the pace down but that's a couple of times in a row that he's tried to get underhooks and Van Buren has denied him.
Van Buren unloads a knee to the mid-section.
A left hand lands to the body for Van Buren.
Van Buren with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Nakutin takes an elbow to the temple.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nakutin takes an elbow to the forehead.
Van Buren with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Nakutin stalling in the clinch but Van Buren improves position.
Van Buren looking to throw knees to the head but Nakutin is blocking nicely.
A looping hook to the body misses from Nakutin. Van Buren does a little dance to reset his feet.
Nakutin tries to clinch but Van Buren moves away

and Van Buren counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Nakutin is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.

Van Buren pulls guard successfully.
Van Buren is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Nakutin is controlling him.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Martti Nakutin will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The cut man is working on Matt Van Buren's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Nakutin keeps the fight on the outside.

Van Buren looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for Nakutin!
Nakutin wants to control but Van Buren is having none of it.
Nakutin is in all sorts of trouble here.
Van Buren trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Van Buren controlling his opponent.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nakutin working to try and regain half guard.
Van Buren can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Nakutin is looking to escape.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Van Buren in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Van Buren can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Nakutin is looking to escape.
Nakutin manages to regain half guard. Good work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Van Buren wants to work for an arm triangle but Nakutin is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Van Buren frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Van Buren cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Matt Van Buren has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nakutin is looking to get to half guard.
Martti Nakutin is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Nakutin is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Van Buren pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.

And that's the end of the fight!
Matt Van Buren showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Nakutin has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Nard Betker scores the fight 28:29
Judge Aafke Stam scores the fight 28:29
Judge Patrick Alders scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Martti Nakutin!