PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between John Skjelbred (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Van Dinh Nguyen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Skjelbred comes to the cage accompanied by Bad To The Bone. Nguyen has chosen Rolling Stones - Paint it Black as his entrance music. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Skjelbred
vs
Dinh Nguyen

175 cm
33
124 lbs
23 - 14 - 0

173 cm
23
146 lbs
10 - 4 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Solid boxing
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Fast

Steel Penn's Laundry 93%

Balco Boys - Hilo
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Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 23 - 14 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, John Skjelbred!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 10 - 4 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Van Dinh Nguyen!
The judges for this bout are Igor Prikhodko, Aleksei Zolotukhin and Illya Tyunina.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Skjelbred fails with a takedown attempt.
Nguyen tries a low kick but Skjelbred avoids it.
Nguyen walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Skjelbred checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Skjelbred throws a body kick that misses.
Van Dinh Nguyen seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Skjelbred fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Nguyen finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
An inside leg kick lands from Skjelbred.
Skjelbred blocks a head kick by Nguyen.
Nguyen fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Skjelbred.
Nguyen tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Skjelbred is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Skjelbred lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.

It looks like Van Dinh Nguyen has been cut.
A bone on bone clash there as Skjelbred blocks the leg kick.
Skjelbred changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Skjelbred rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Nguyen moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Nguyen throws a right and a left that both miss.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Skjelbred throws a body kick that misses.
A shot to the liver by Nguyen. Beautiful body shot.
Nguyen blocks the body kick.
Nguyen throws a leg kick but Skjelbred sees it coming and moves out of range.
Skjelbred really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Skjelbred tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Nguyen lands with a kick to the temple. Skjelbred shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"
Nguyen avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Nguyen avoids a punch combination nicely.

Skjelbred gets tackled into the cage by Nguyen. Nguyen maintains the clinch.
Nguyen misses with an elbow strike.
Skjelbred blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Skjelbred takes an elbow to the forehead.
Skjelbred avoids the elbow strike from Nguyen, against the cage.
Skjelbred fails to pull guard.

Skjelbred breaks from the clinch.
Van Dinh Nguyen is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Skjelbred pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Skjelbred closes the distance but Nguyen moves to the side
and Nguyen counters with a slapping leg kick.
Skjelbred tries a head kick but it misses.
Skjelbred lands with a thumping leg kick.
Nguyen scores with a leg kick.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Nice sprawl there from Nguyen as Skjelbred shoots in.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for John Skjelbred. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Skjelbred walks into a straight right hand from Nguyen.
Skjelbred throws a body kick that misses
and Nguyen makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Skjelbred circles away from the clinch attempt.
Nguyen throws a leg kick that misses.
Nguyen takes a push kick to the midsection and stumbles backwards.
Skjelbred is looking to chop away at Nguyen's legs.
Nguyen lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
A shot to the liver by Nguyen. Beautiful body shot.
Skjelbred moves out of range as Nguyen strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nguyen avoids the head kick by Skjelbred.
The fighters circling - Skjelbred throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Skjelbred tries to land a front kick but Nguyen steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Nguyen throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Skjelbred ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Nguyen moves away.
A punch combination from Nguyen misses.
Skjelbred scores with a nice head shot.
Skjelbred stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Nguyen.
A head kick misses from Nguyen.

Skjelbred clinches up against the cage.

Nguyen pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Skjelbred checks a leg kick nicely.
Skjelbred tries to land a front kick but Nguyen steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Skjelbred takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Skjelbred connects with a looping right hand.
A kick lands to the mid section there for Nguyen.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Skjelbred throws a series of punches but Nguyen avoids them all with ease.

Nguyen gets a clinch.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Nguyen throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.

Nguyen breaks the clinch.
Nguyen on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Skjelbred. Skjelbred obviously looking to wear him down.
Skjelbred takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.

Skjelbred moves into the clinch.
Nguyen lands a damaging elbow.
Skjelbred is trying to break the clinch but Nguyen is controlling him.
Skjelbred takes an elbow to the temple.
Knees to the body from Nguyen.
Skjelbred tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Nguyen just stands there and leans against the cage.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Nguyen pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Skjelbred takes a shot to the head.
Nguyen lands a left hand.
Nguyen throws an elbow that misses.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Van Dinh Nguyen will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Van Dinh Nguyen's cut.
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.

Skjelbred misses with a series of wild punches.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Skjelbred.
Nguyen takes a shot right to the bread basket.

Nguyen moves into range and clinches up with Skjelbred.
Skjelbred takes a knee to the side of the body.
Skjelbred avoids a wild elbow strike from Nguyen.
Skjelbred takes an elbow to the temple.
Skjelbred is leaning against Nguyen and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Skjelbred can't break the clinch.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Nguyen.

It looks like John Skjelbred has been cut.
Nguyen pushes Skjelbred back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.

Nguyen escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Nguyen waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Skjelbred.
Skjelbred has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Nguyen.
Skjelbred throws a lazy head kick
and Nguyen counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Nguyen tries to score with a low kick but Skjelbred moves his leg out of the way.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nguyen uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Skjelbred.
Nguyen dodges the punch combination from Skjelbred.
A low kick from Nguyen is predictable there
and Skjelbred counters with a left to the body.
Nguyen scores with a jab. Skjelbred acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Nguyen lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Skjelbred checks a leg kick.
Skjelbred takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.

Skjelbred moves into the clinch.
Nguyen lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Skjelbred has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.

Nguyen pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Nguyen swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Skjelbred throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Nguyen's waist but Nguyen gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Skjelbred off to one side.
Nguyen connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Skjelbred takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Skjelbred fails with an attempt to clinch.
Skjelbred tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Skjelbred doesn't manage to clinch there - Nguyen circles away.
An inside leg kick lands from Nguyen.
Skjelbred is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Nguyen tries to close the distance and clinch up but Skjelbred swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Nguyen throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Nguyen throws a chopping leg kick but Skjelbred manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Skjelbred lands a nice looking body shot.
John Skjelbred is winning the standup battle so far.
Nguyen slips a jab from Skjelbred.
John Skjelbred is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Skjelbred tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Nguyen tries to bum rush Skjelbred with a series of wild strikes but Skjelbred uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Nguyen throws a nice inside leg kick.
Nguyen lands a nice leg kick that just misses Skjelbred's sensitive parts.

Skjelbred drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Skjelbred working away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nguyen tries to bench press Skjelbred off him but Skjelbred keeps the position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Skjelbred throwing strikes but missing, from side control.
Skjelbred tries to stand but Nguyen is controlling his head.
The ground and pound from Skjelbred seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.
Nguyen is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
Skjelbred trying to pass the guard but Nguyen defending well.
Nguyen blocking the ground and pound attempt from Skjelbred.

Skjelbred seems to be working for a kimura but Nguyen defends the submission attempt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Skjelbred is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Skjelbred trying to control from Nguyen's half guard. Nguyen has other ideas though and has regained full guard.
Skjelbred is fighting to break Nguyen's control of his arms but Nguyen is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Nguyen bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Skjelbred's guard.
Nguyen postures up in Skjelbred's guard and throws a big left but Skjelbred blocks it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Van Dinh Nguyen showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Nguyen circles away from the clinch attempt.
Skjelbred connects with a high kick.
Nguyen with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Skjelbred drops his hands momentarily and Nguyen takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Nguyen uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Skjelbred.
Skjelbred fails with an attempt to clinch.

Skjelbred has Nguyen up against the cage in a clinch.
Nguyen misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Skjelbred.
Skjelbred is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Skjelbred avoids a wild elbow strike from Nguyen.
Skjelbred wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Nguyen has him pressed against the cage.
Nguyen misses with a hook from the clinch.
Skjelbred avoids the elbow strike from Nguyen, against the cage.
Skjelbred tries for a takedown. No joy.

Nguyen's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Skjelbred scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nguyen throws a head kick that misses
and Skjelbred cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Skjelbred throws a series of punches but Nguyen moves out of range.
Skjelbred takes a jab right on the kisser.
Skjelbred on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Nguyen buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Nguyen throws a jab but it's blocked by Skjelbred.
Nguyen slips a jab and a cross from Skjelbred.
Nguyen lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
Nguyen throws a leg kick which misses Skjelbred's front leg but catches the back leg as Skjelbred tries to avoid it.
Skjelbred closes the distance looking to clinch
letting Nguyen counter with a right hand.
Nguyen keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Skjelbred fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Nguyen on the side of the head.
Nguyen throws an off balance right hand
and Skjelbred counters with a one-two to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Skjelbred tries to clinch but Nguyen is having none of it.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Skjelbred.

Nguyen has taken the fight to the clinch.
Skjelbred tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Nguyen's elbow.
Skjelbred takes an elbow to the temple.
Nguyen throws an elbow that misses.

Nguyen breaks from the clinch.
Nguyen scores with a hook.
Skjelbred throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
A punch combination from Skjelbred misses.
Nguyen scores with a push kick.

Nguyen has managed to clinch.

Nguyen pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Nguyen showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Skjelbred.
Nguyen throws a nice outside leg kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Skjelbred fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Nguyen checks it well.
Good work by Skjelbred as he checks the leg kick.

Skjelbred clinches with his opponent.
Skjelbred on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Nguyen blocks a body shot from Skjelbred.

Nguyen escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Nguyen tries to land a leg kick but Skjelbred saw it coming and moves away.
Nguyen buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Skjelbred shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Nguyen sprawls well. Nguyen wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Skjelbred gets slowly back to his feet.
Skjelbred takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Nguyen fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Nguyen scores with a jab to the body.
John Skjelbred has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nguyen moves out of range as Skjelbred throws a body kick.
The crowd cheers as Nguyen lands an impressive looking overhand right. Skjelbred doesn't seem phased though.
Skjelbred is looking to wear down Nguyen with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Nguyen.
Skjelbred takes one to the side of the head.
Skjelbred throws a nice looking combination but Nguyen bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
A solid leg kick lands there for Nguyen.
Nguyen sizes up Skjelbred with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Nguyen moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Skjelbred tries to clinch up but Nguyen circles away and keeps his distance.
A slapping leg kick lands for Nguyen.
Nguyen throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
A head kick misses from Skjelbred.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Skjelbred misses with a few strikes there.
A bone on bone clash there as Skjelbred blocks the leg kick.

And that's the end of the fight!
Van Dinh Nguyen comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Nguyen winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Igor Prikhodko scores the fight 27:30
Judge Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight 27:30
Judge Illya Tyunina scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Van Dinh Nguyen!
A very excited looking Van Dinh Nguyen made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.