PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Tony Ferguson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Cfdue Sduwiop (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.

Ferguson
vs
Sduwiop

183 cm
25
155 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

185 cm
18
160 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Cardio machine

BJJ Blue Belt
Good kicks
Determined

ACME-Blood Red Q158 Always $30
Russian Top Team Nutrition

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Tony Ferguson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Cfdue Sduwiop!
The judges for this bout are Konstantin Menshow, Viktor Lagutenko and Aleksei Zolotukhin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ferguson blocks a head kick by Sduwiop.
Sduwiop misses with a head kick.

Ferguson manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Sduwiop on his heels. He'll look to pass Sduwiop's guard now, I'm sure.
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Ferguson cracks Sduwiop with a solid left hand.
Ferguson sitting in guard here, content to control.
Ferguson with a flurry of punches that miss.
Ferguson stops Sduwiop from standing up.
Ferguson sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Sduwiop is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Ferguson is controlling him.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Tony Ferguson wasn't doing enough on the ground.

Ferguson shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Sduwiop wants to stand up but Ferguson is controlling him.
Ferguson throws and elbow that misses. Sduwiop uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Ferguson's guard. Nice move by Sduwiop!
Ferguson has his hands on Sduwiop's head, controlling the position.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
Ferguson has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ferguson 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.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Tony Ferguson wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Sduwiop wants to slow Ferguson down by chopping away at his legs.
Sduwiop lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Ferguson missing with a left hand there. Sduwiop was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Sduwiop misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Sduwiop fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Ferguson checks it well.
Sduwiop throws the left hand but Ferguson avoids the punch easily.
Sduwiop takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sduwiop throws a sloppy head kick and Ferguson moves out of range easily.
Sduwiop connects with a good right hand that stumbles Ferguson. Ferguson circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
Sduwiop throws out a leg kick but Ferguson moves out of range and Sduwiop only half commits.
Tony Ferguson seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Sduwiop throws a body punch but Ferguson moves out of range.

Ferguson closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Sduwiop did well to prevent Ferguson getting side control.
Ferguson looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Sduwiop wants to get back to his feet.
Ferguson landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Ferguson throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Ferguson is nestled in close to Sduwiop, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Ferguson slows the pace down in half guard.
Ferguson thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Ferguson slips a nice elbow through Sduwiop's hands, connecting with Sduwiop's forehead.
Ferguson wants to pass the guard but Sduwiop is defending well.
Ferguson scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Ferguson throwing shots but Sduwiop is blocking nicely.
Ferguson throwing shots but Sduwiop is blocking nicely.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Ferguson not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Ferguson winds up and cracks Sduwiop with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Ferguson is taking a breather. Sduwiop says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tony Ferguson 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.

Ferguson looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Ferguson sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Sduwiop defending well though.
Ferguson looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Sduwiop with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Ferguson stops Sduwiop from getting back to his feet.
Ferguson is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Sduwiop tries to kick Ferguson off but Ferguson keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.

Ferguson is looking for a kimura but Sduwiop is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Ferguson to get the leverage.
Ferguson is nestled in close to Sduwiop, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Sduwiop keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Tony Ferguson overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Ferguson wants to free his trapped foot but Sduwiop is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Ferguson working over Sduwiop with some ground and pound. Sduwiop looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Ferguson wants to pass the guard but Sduwiop is defending well.
Ferguson takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ferguson takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Ferguson missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Ferguson with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Sduwiop keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Ferguson trying to mount his opponent but Sduwiop defends it.
Ferguson thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Sduwiop's head.
Ferguson works his way into side control.
Ferguson scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Sduwiop to see if he's OK.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ferguson cracks Sduwiop with a big right hand but Sduwiop just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Check out the look on Ferguson's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
Ferguson moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.
Ferguson working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.
Sduwiop prevents Ferguson from moving into mount.
Ferguson working away.
Sduwiop takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Ferguson lands a nice forearm strike.
Sduwiop taking punishment in the form of punches.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Sduwiop dodges the ground and pound from Ferguson.
Ferguson working the head with strikes.
Sduwiop is being controlled here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ferguson lands some shots froms side control.
Ferguson tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
Ferguson looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Sduwiop is avoiding damage well.
Ferguson cracks Sduwiop with an elbow. That is naaassty.
Sduwiop manages to get back to half guard.
Ferguson takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Ferguson with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Ferguson passes to full mount!
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Ferguson lands a big shot there that rocks Sduwiop but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Ferguson fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!

Sduwiop is rocked!
Ferguson scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Sduwiop?
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tony Ferguson dominated that second 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. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Ferguson fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Sduwiop, pushing him back against the ropes.
Sduwiop looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.

Ferguson has picked Sduwiop up - he's going for a ride! Ferguson dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard.
Ferguson missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Ferguson winds up and cracks Sduwiop with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Ferguson is thwarting Sduwiop's attempts to control the position.
Sduwiop tries to kick Ferguson off but Ferguson keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Ferguson is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Ferguson throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ferguson controlling the pace.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Sduwiop wants to get back to his feet.
Sduwiop takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Sduwiop avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Ferguson.
Ferguson stalling.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Ferguson swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.

Ferguson changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Sduwiop looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Ferguson scoring with punches from side control.
Ferguson remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Sduwiop pushes Ferguson away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Ferguson gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.
Ferguson controls the position from side control.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Tony Ferguson.

Ferguson shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Sduwiop manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ferguson postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Ferguson in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Ferguson wants to pass the guard but Sduwiop is keeping the position.
Ferguson slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Sduwiop takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
Tony Ferguson is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Ferguson landing strikes.
Ferguson controls the position from side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ferguson cracks Sduwiop with an elbow. That is naaassty.
Ferguson just content to control the position.
Sduwiop is looking for a sweep.
Ferguson taking a breather here.
Ferguson seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Sduwiop for as long as he can get away with.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

And that's the end of the fight!
Tony Ferguson showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Ferguson, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Konstantin Menshow scores the fight for Tony Ferguson!
Judge Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight for Tony Ferguson!
Judge Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight for Tony Ferguson!

Tony Ferguson wins by unanimous decision!
After the big win, Tony Ferguson made sure to do all the important stuff like thanking his sponsors ACME-Blood Red Q158 Always $30 and telling the interviewer how much he loves him.