PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between John Blasko (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nicholas Linnear (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). John Blasko has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Blasko
vs
Linnear

180 cm
27
195 lbs
15 - 15 - 0

188 cm
20
193 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Very strong

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

BHP's Shaolin Nutrition & Laundry (One Stop Shop)

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 15 - 15 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, John Blasko!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nicholas Linnear!
The judges for this bout are Wesley Smith, Chris Downing and Tiny Johnson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Linnear throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Blasko on the side of the head.
Blasko misses with an uppercut
and Linnear counters with a nice uppercut.
Blasko has his takedown stuffed
and Linnear counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Linnear works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Linnear feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Blaskos jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Blasko misses with a low kick.
Blasko throws a poor cross that misses
and Linnear counters with a nice uppercut.
Good shot there by Linnear.
Blasko takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.

Blasko clinches.
With the fighters up against the cage, Blasko throws an elbow but misses.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Blasko has Linnear pressed against the cage, preventing Linnear from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Linnear taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Linnear prevents Blasko from breaking the clinch.
Linnear lands a body punch.
Blasko stalling in the clinch but Linnear improves position.
Come on Linnear - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Linnear prevents a takedown attempt there.
Blasko lands with a short head shot on the inside.

Linnear breaks from the clinch.
Linnear throws a nice outside leg kick.

Blasko moves into range and clinches up with Linnear.

Linnear breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Linnear dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Blasko. That did some damage!
John Blasko seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Linnear connects with a nice looking jab.
Nicholas Linnear is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Linnear scores with a crisp jab that stopped Blasko in his tracks.
Linnear takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.

Blasko has managed to clinch.
Blasko taking a breather.
Linnear stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Blasko leaning against his opponent.
Linnear scores with a hook to the body.
Blasko is breathing heavily.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Linnear lands an uppercut.
Linnear stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.

Linnear breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Linnear moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Linnear tests Blasko's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Linnear turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Linnear with a hook.
Linnear has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
A right-left combo lands from Linnear.
Linnear bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.

Blasko rushes Linnear and presses him up against the cage.
A shot in the inside from Linnear.

Blasko is rocked!
Linnear stalls.
Blasko is looking to control Linnear's arms but Linnear gets an underhook and turns him. Now Blasko has his back to the cage.
Linnear scores a nice knee to the body.
Blasko misses with a hook to the ribs.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Linnear creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Linnear scores with a shot to the side of Blasko's head.
Blasko 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 John Blasko. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Blasko pulls guard successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Linnear sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Blasko's guard.
Linnear wants to pass to mount but Blasko is defending the position.
Linnear controlling the action here.

Linnear decides to stand and escape the position.
Linnear connects with a jab.

Blasko takes the fight into the clinch.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Blasko.
Linnear throws an elbow that misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Blasko gets a nice trip takedown into half guard.

Blasko is working for a kimura but Linnear is defending it quite comfortably.
Linnear keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Blasko is trying to control the action in half guard but Linnear is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Linnear is pressing down on Blasko's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.

Blasko drops back, looking for a kneebar! Linnear looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Linnear looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Linnear!
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

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

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

Linnear throws a quick inside leg kick.
Linnear lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Linnear lands a nice leg kick that just misses Blasko's sensitive parts.

Blasko gets in close and instigates a clinch.
A head punch on the inside from Blasko fails to land.
Blasko wants to get back to striking at distance but Linnear won't allow it.
A bit of stalling here from Linnear.
Blasko wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Linnear lands with a right to the head.
Linnear scores with a hook to the body.
Blasko misses with a knee strike.
A short body shot lands from Linnear as the two fighters clinch.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Linnear as Blasko tries to tie him up.
Blasko is trying to break the clinch but Linnear has him pressed against the cage.
Blasko taking a breather.

Linnear breaks from the clinch.
Nicholas Linnear seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Blasko throws a lazy uppercut

and Linnear counters by clinching up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A body shot lands from Linnear.
Linnear working Blasko over with knees to the body.
Blasko is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.

Linnear breaks the clinch.
Blasko misses with a combination
and Linnear counters with a nice uppercut.
Blasko dives in and grabs Linnear's left leg, looking for a takedown. Linnear pushes down on Blasko's head and hops out.
Linnear lands with a shot to the body.
Linnear lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Linnear fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Blasko chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Linnear can pounce on him.
Linnear lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
Linnear changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Linnear scores with a one two! Blasko had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.

Linnear drives through and clinches with Blasko against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Linnear lands a hook that snaps the head of Blasko backwards.
Blasko throws a punch but it's blocked by Linnear.
Linnear lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Blasko or not.
A right hook to the body lands for Linnear.
Linnear scores a nice knee to the body.
Linnear works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.

Linnear breaks the clinch.

Blasko moves into the clinch successfully.
Linnear holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Linnear is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Linnear tries to land a knee to the head but Blasko blocks with his arms.
Linnear stalls.
Nice body punch from Linnear - that landed with a thud.
Linnear lands a right hand that snaps the head of Blasko backwards.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Linnear.

Linnear's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Linnear scores with a sloppy right hand. Blasko should have avoided that one.
Blasko misses with a left hand
and Linnear connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Linnear goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Linnear pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Blasko back to the cage. Linnear follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.
Oh Blasko is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Blasko throws a combination that misses
and Linnear counters with a straight right hand.

Blasko moves into the clinch.
Blasko fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Blasko seems to have got his legs back now.
Linnear lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Blasko takes a knee right on the jaw!
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Linnear lands a body shot in the clinch.
Blasko lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Blasko blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Linnear will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Blasko up against the cage.
Blasko tries to pull guard but Linnear holds him up against the cage and eventually Blasko drops back down to his feet.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Linnear.
Linnear landing some nice looking knees to the body.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Blasko misses with a hook from the clinch.
Blasko is trying to break the clinch but Linnear is controlling him.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Blasko is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Linnear is keeping busy.
Good body shot from Linnear.
Blasko lands a left hand that snaps the head of Linnear backwards.
Linnear lands a body punch in the clinch.
Linnear scores with a shot to the side of Blasko's head.
Linnear lands with a left to the head.
Blasko being controlled against the cage.
Nicholas Linnear seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Linnear digs a right hand underneath Blasko's ribcage. Blasko let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Nice body punch from Linnear.
Linnear stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Linnear taking a breather.
A right handed body shot lands from Linnear.
Blasko looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Good body shot from Linnear.

Linnear escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
A cross from Linnear lands.
Good leg kick by Linnear there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Blasko throws an ugly left hook that misses

and Linnear counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Linnear.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nicholas Linnear showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Linnear throws a leg kick which misses Blasko's front leg but catches the back leg as Blasko tries to avoid it.
Blasko chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Linnear can pounce on him.

Blasko closes the distance and pushes Linnear back into the cage.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
A short right from Linnear.

Linnear pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Linnear scoring well with a low kick there.

Blasko fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Linnear, pushing him back against the cage.
Blasko lands a nice uppercut.
A hook to the body from Linnear.
Linnear scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Blasko avoids a wild elbow strike from Linnear.
Linnear lands on the inside with an uppercut.

Linnear breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Linnear scores with a sloppy right hand. Blasko should have avoided that one.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Blasko doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.

Blasko drives through and clinches with Linnear against the cage.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Linnear softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Linnear unloads with a big right hand that wobbles Blasko! He's leaning against the cage trying to keep his feet but Linnear is unloading with more strikes now! Blasko drops to his knees and the referee stops the fight for a TKO!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:10 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Nicholas Linnear!