PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Anton Nikolaev (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Luke Cage (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Nikolaev
vs
Cage

170 cm
26
135 lbs
6 - 4 - 0

170 cm
26
159 lbs
7 - 8 - 0

Good wrestling
World class MT
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Lethal high kicks
Good gas tank

Fight Club Clothing est. 09™

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 4 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Anton Nikolaev!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Luke Cage!
The judges for this bout are Illya Tyunina, Ivan Kurochkin and Dmitry Maklakov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nikolaev tries to clinch but Cage moves out of range.
Cage misses with the combination.
Cage tries to bum rush Nikolaev with a series of wild strikes but Nikolaev uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Cage throws a shot to the body.
Cage throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Cage throws a head kick but Nikolaev moves out of range.
Nikolaev lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Cage circles away quickly and effectively.
A jab from Cage misses.
Nikolaev keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Cage shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Nikolaev pinned against the cage. Nikolaev gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.

Nikolaev forces Cage back against the cage and clinches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cage tries to throw a body punch but Nikolaev avoids it by throwing Cage back against the cage.
Nikolaev connects with a nasty looking knee right to Cage's face.
Nikolaev blocks an elbow strike from Cage.
Nikolaev with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Nikolaev lands a good knee to the midsection. Cage won't want to take too many of those.
A head punch on the inside from Cage fails to land.
Cage on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Nikolaev letting Cage take a breather here.
Cage avoids a wild elbow strike from Nikolaev.
Cage has Nikolaev pushed against the cage.
Nikolaev throws an elbow that misses.
Nikolaev using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Cage has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cage is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Nikolaev is defending well for now.
Cage lands with a right to the head.
Cage on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Cage misses with a hook from the clinch.
Cage creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Nikolaev's defenses.
Nikolaev throws an elbow but it misses.
Cage controlling the action here for a moment.
Cage unloads a knee to the mid-section.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Nikolaev misses with a knee strike.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cage misses with the head strike.
Nikolaev tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Cage avoids it.
Cage has Nikolaev pushed against the cage.
Cage blocks an elbow strike.
Cage scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Cage blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Cage comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Cage has a couple of punches blocked by Nikolaev.
Nikolaev unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Nikolaev with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Cage trying to land knees to the body.
Cage misses with some punches.

Cage gets a nice trip takedown into half guard.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Well, if Cage is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nikolaev blocking the ground and pound attempt from Cage.
Cage throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Cage lands with a punch from half guard.
Cage missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

Cage is trying for a kimura here. Nikolaev looks like he's in a lot of pain... and he's tapping out! Cage wins by kimura!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:58 of round 1, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). Luke Cage!
After the big win, Luke Cage made sure to do all the important stuff like thanking his sponsors Fight Club Clothing est. 09™ and telling the interviewer how much he loves him.