PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Cameron Thomas (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kimbo Assis (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Thomas
vs
Assis

190 cm
24
218 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

186 cm
23
240 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
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 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Cameron Thomas!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Kimbo Assis!
The judges for this bout are Tatsuya Matsuyama, Shigeki Fujiwara and Hirohito Nitta.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Assis tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Assis fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Assis misses with a straight left.
Some wild striking there from Assis.
Thomas misses the shot to the body.
Assis throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Thomas swats away the attempt to clinch by Assis.
Assis shoots for a takedown but Thomas saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Thomas scores with a body shot.
Assis looks gassed!
Thomas throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Assis stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Thomas scores with a crisp jab that stopped Assis in his tracks.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Thomas bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Thomas looks up at the clock and then as Assis takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Thomas smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thomas lands an elbow.
Thomas scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Assis to see if he's OK.
Thomas working the ground and pound.
Thomas is chipping away with strikes.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Thomas just content to control the position.
Thomas looks up at the clock and then as Assis takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Thomas smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!
Thomas scores with a couple of short elbows.
Thomas controls the position from side control.
Thomas lands a few punches from side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Thomas takes a little break here. Assis wants to take advantage but he is being controlled well.
Thomas lands a decent elbow from side control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Thomas landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
Thomas in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Assis seems a little lost for a moment, as Thomas dominates the positioning.
Thomas lands an elbow.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thomas looks up at the clock and then as Assis takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Thomas smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!
Thomas controlling the position.
Assis is looking to reverse the position.
Thomas happy to just control the position for now.
Thomas grinds an elbow into Assis's temple.
Thomas working the ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thomas scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Assis to see if he's OK.
Thomas 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.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.
Thomas's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Thomas working the head with strikes.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Assis on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
Thomas creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Thomas in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Cameron Thomas dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Thomas connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Kimbo Assis seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Thomas drives through with a takedown into guard.
Thomas is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Thomas pushes down on Assis's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Assis taking some punishment here, with Thomas in his half guard.
Assis is breathing heavily.
Thomas controlling the action here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thomas lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Thomas has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Assis is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Thomas scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Thomas working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Thomas pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Assis is trying desperately to improve position.
Thomas putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Thomas tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Thomas in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Thomas is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Assis can do to turn this around?
This has been an exciting period of action!
Thomas takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Thomas lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Assis hang on?

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thomas looking to finish Assis with some ground and pound. This is bad for Assis!
Thomas landing punches.
Thomas lands a big elbow.
Thomas lands a big shot there that rocks Assis but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Thomas postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Assis looks a forlorn figure.
Thomas landing strikes from the mount and Assis is in trouble!
Thomas lands a nice shot to the head.
Cameron Thomas overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Thomas controlling his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thomas is landing with some decent strikes but Assis is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Thomas breaks from Assis's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Thomas controlling the pace for now.
Thomas working Assis over with strikes here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Thomas with the ground and pound from mount.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Thomas cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Cameron Thomas dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. And we move into the final round!

Assis takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Thomas changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Assis looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.

Thomas closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Thomas controlling from side mount.
Thomas working away.
Assis takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Thomas in side control, just content to control the action for now.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thomas lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.

Thomas is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Assis knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Assis tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Thomas wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Thomas working away.

That's two 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.
Check out the look on Thomas's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
Thomas working the ground and pound.
Assis is working to avoid the ground and pound but Thomas connects with a decent elbow.
Thomas taking a breather here.
Thomas lands a decent elbow from side control.
Thomas lands a nice forearm strike.
Thomas working the head and body with strikes.
Assis is letting Thomas control him for a moment.
Thomas working the ground and pound from side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thomas is pausing for a moment. What's he doing? It looks like he's clearing his nose. Oh dude! He's shot a load of snot all down Assis's shoulder. That is not cool.
Cameron Thomas is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Thomas works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here as Thomas stalls from top position.
Assis takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Thomas lands a nice forearm strike.
Thomas taking a breather here.

And that's the end of the fight!
Cameron Thomas showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Thomas has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Tatsuya Matsuyama scores the fight 30:24
Judge Shigeki Fujiwara scores the fight 30:24
Judge Hirohito Nitta scores the fight 30:24

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Cameron Thomas!