PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Super Trooper (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Craig Thomson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Trooper comes to the ring accompanied by №1. Thomson has chosen If I cant as his entrance music. 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.

Trooper
vs
Thomson

218 cm
27
295 lbs
13 - 6 - 0

202 cm
28
260 lbs
16 - 8 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Granite chin

Russian Top Team Nutrition

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 13 - 6 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Super Trooper!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 16 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Craig Thomson!
The judges for this bout are Viktor Lagutenko, Valeri Chadov and Vladimir Khabensky.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Trooper fails with the takedown.
Trooper uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Thomson.
Craig Thomson seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Thomson ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Trooper moves away.
Trooper slips a jab and a cross from Thomson.
Trooper lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Trooper lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Thomson rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Trooper moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Trooper shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Thomson but Thomson pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Thomson throws a looping overhand right but Trooper ducks down to avoid it.
Trooper moves out of range of the strikes.
Thomson dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Thomson jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Thomson tries to bum rush Trooper with a series of wild strikes but Trooper uses good footwork to avoid the assault.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thomson throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Trooper sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Trooper fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.

It looks like Craig Thomson has been cut.
Trooper misses with a takedown attempt - Thomson sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Super Trooper. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Trooper looks to land a combination but Thomson avoids it well.
Trooper doesn't manage to clinch there - Thomson circles away.
Thomson connects with a body shot.
Thomson jabs at Trooper's body.
Trooper looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Thomson is fending him off so far but Trooper persists. Nope, Thomson circles away and we're back to standing.
Thomson jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Thomson swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Trooper.

It looks like Super Trooper has been cut.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Trooper takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Trooper is breathing heavily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thomson throws a right and a left that both miss.
Thomson feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Troopers jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Thomson fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Trooper manages to avoid it.
Thomson fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Craig Thomson is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Thomson misses with a straight left.
Thomson tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Trooper was well out of range. Poor timing from Thomson.
Thomson closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Trooper shoots in looking for a takedown but Thomson manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Trooper's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Thomson lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Trooper circles away quickly and effectively.
Trooper throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Thomson's waist but Thomson gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Trooper off to one side.
Thomson misses with a left hand
and Trooper counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Trooper fails with a takedown attempt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thomson lands a jab to the head.
Thomson is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Thomson misses with an uppercut. Trooper saw that one coming.
Trooper shoots and misses
and Trooper takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.

Super Trooper's cut is getting worse.
Thomson throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Trooper counters with a stiff right hand.
Thomson throws a right hand that misses

and Trooper counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Thomson is trying to break the clinch but Trooper has him pressed against the ropes.
Trooper is trying to pull guard but Thomson turns him against the ropes and we stay in the clinch.
Trooper can't break the clinch.

Thomson's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Thomson misses the jab.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Thomson walks into a jab.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thomson throws a nice looking combination but Trooper bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Thomson fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Trooper misses with a few strikes there.
Trooper is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Thomson slaps away a takedown attempt from Trooper, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Thomson throws a body kick that digs right into the meat.
Trooper avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Trooper takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Trooper drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
A looping hook to the body misses from Trooper. Thomson does a little dance to reset his feet.
Trooper shoots for a takedown but Thomson saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Thomson thows a body shot but no joy.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Craig Thomson dominated that round.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Trooper shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Thomson as he avoids it easily.
Trooper takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Nice sprawl there from Thomson as Trooper shoots in.
Super Trooper is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Thomson misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

Trooper closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Trooper throwing shots but Thomson is blocking nicely.
Thomson is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Trooper will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Trooper with the ground and pound but Thomson uses the opportunity to regain guard.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Trooper pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Thomson is keeping the position for now.
Trooper is looking to work some ground and pound but Thomson has wrist control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Trooper passes Thomson's left leg - he's now in half guard.

Trooper is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Thomson doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Trooper.
Trooper looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.

Trooper is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Trooper passes the guard and advances to mount!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Thomson is looking to get to half guard.

Trooper jumps to side control looking for an arm triangle but Thomson manages to avoid the submission attempt.
Trooper throwing strikes but Thomson manages to buck up and roll into a nice reversal - now he's on top in side control!
Trooper manages to get back to half guard.
Trooper is not content to let Thomson control the position.

Trooper looking for submissions from an awkward position here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Trooper moves into full guard.
Thomson stays in close to Trooper's body and controls the position.
Trooper keeping moving, preventing Thomson from controlling successfully.

Trooper is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Thomson is aware though and is defending well.
Trooper looking to hit a scissor sweep but Thomson is one step ahead there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Trooper is looking for a triangle here but Thomson uses the submission attempt to pass into side control.
Trooper tries to slip a leg under to move to half guard but Thomson presses down on the leg and jumps into full mount!
Trooper is looking to improve his position but Thomson isn't that keen on the idea.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Thomson looking to control and managing it successfully.
Thomson tries to control but Trooper wriggling away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Super Trooper dominated that second round.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Trooper tries for a takedown but Thomson sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Thomson misses with a wild body shot.
Some bone on bone action there as Trooper checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Trooper avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Trooper is pinned up against the ropes taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Trooper drops his hands momentarily and Thomson takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Thomson misses with a looping left.
Thomson scores with a hook to the body. Trooper takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Trooper tries to close the distance and clinch but Thomson swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Thomson stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Thomson misses with an uppercut.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thomson scores with a one two! Trooper had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
Thomson misses with a wild body shot.
Craig Thomson seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Trooper on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Trooper shoots in for a takedown but Thomson shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

Trooper closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Thomson stops Trooper from passing to mount.

Trooper looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.

Trooper tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Trooper has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
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.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Thomson wants to get back to his feet but Trooper drags him back down.
Thomson tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Thomson taking a bit of punishment here - Trooper scoring with strikes.
Thomson tries to buck Trooper off but Trooper is having none of it.

Trooper working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Trooper looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Thomson is avoiding damage well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Trooper is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Thomson knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Trooper creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Thomson sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
Thomson is looking for a sweep.
Thomson is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Trooper wants to lay and pray for a moment but Thomson keeps working.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thomson is looking to regain half guard here but Trooper keeps moving and retains side control.
Thomson defending against the ground and pound.
Trooper is trying to ground and pound but Thomson uses the momentary lack of control by Trooper to regain half guard.
Thomson is refusing to be controlled, as Trooper sits in half guard.
Super Trooper overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
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!
Craig Thomson comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Thomson 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 Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight 28:29
Judge Valeri Chadov scores the fight 28:29
Judge Vladimir Khabensky scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Craig Thomson!