PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Talon Sypher (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nurlan Mustafin (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Nurlan Mustafin looks lathargic as he enters the arena. Wake up son, you're about to have a fight!

Sypher
vs
Mustafin

200 cm
25
260 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

183 cm
26
255 lbs
7 - 6 - 0

Decent wrestler
Brawler
KO power

BJJ Blue Belt
Good kicks
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Talon Sypher!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 6 - 0, fighting out of London, Nurlan Mustafin!
The judges for this bout are Wesley Smith, Alan Glass and Tiny Johnson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Mustafin closes this distance looking for a takedown but Sypher circles away.
Nice sprawl there from Mustafin as Sypher shoots in.

Sypher shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Mustafin is trying to defend but Sypher finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Still in half guard, Sypher seems content to control.
Sypher wants to take a breather but Mustafin is having none of it.

Sypher is looking for a kimura here.
Sypher scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Sypher looks to land a strike but Mustafin avoids it nicely and regains full guard.
Sypher engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Sypher trying to control but Mustafin is working from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sypher loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Sypher sitting in guard here, content to control.
Sypher seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Mustafin for as long as he can get away with.

Talon Sypher has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.

Sypher shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Mustafin is trying to defend but Sypher finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Sypher working the head and body with strikes.
Sypher performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Sypher is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well, if Sypher 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.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Ground and pound from Sypher.
Mustafin manages to get to full guard.
Sypher working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Sypher has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sypher slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.

Sypher drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Sypher jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Sypher tries to free his leg and advance position but Mustafin is retaining full guard.
Mustafin wants to get back to his feet but Sypher is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Sypher stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Mustafin swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Mustafin is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Mustafin looks gassed!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sypher postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Sypher slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.

Sypher throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Mustafin was covering up waiting for the punch and Sypher finishes the takedown easily into guard.

Mustafin had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Sypher defends it easily.
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.
Sypher is in close to Mustafin's body, working some short punches and elbows.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Talon Sypher dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Mustafin gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Sypher trying to control but Mustafin is working from the bottom.
Sypher pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Mustafin is keeping the position for now.
Sypher wants to control from the top but Mustafin keeps moving.
Sypher controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.

Talon Sypher has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Sypher does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.

Sypher darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Mustafin is breathing heavily.
Sypher is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sypher winds up and cracks Mustafin with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Mustafin has hold of Sypher's hands but Sypher slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Mustafin avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Sypher.
Sypher sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Ground and pound from Sypher.
Sypher controlling the action here.
Sypher looks to score some points with some ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mustafin wants to get back to his feet.
Sypher will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Mustafin has hold of Sypher's hands but Sypher slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Mustafin on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Sypher slows the pace down in half guard.
Sypher working the head and body with strikes.
Mustafin is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Sypher scores with a couple of nice shots.
Sypher wants to control but Mustafin is keeping him busy.
Ground and pound from Sypher.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mustafin wants to control but Sypher is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Mustafin on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Sypher controlling the pace.
Sypher lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Sypher seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Sypher seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.

Sypher seems to be looking for submissions.
Sypher lands with a punch from half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Sypher is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Sypher is thwarting Mustafin's attempts to control the position.
Sypher looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Mustafin wants to control but Sypher is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Sypher takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Sypher seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

Sypher is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Sypher is nestled in close to Mustafin, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Talon Sypher 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.

Sypher wants to clinch.
Sypher is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Mustafin can do to turn this around?

Sypher looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Sypher wants to control but Mustafin is keeping him busy.

Sypher is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Sypher missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Mustafin is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Sypher scores with a couple of nice shots.
Sypher working Mustafin over with strikes.
Mustafin takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Sypher lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sypher trying to control from Mustafin's half guard. Mustafin has other ideas though and has regained full guard.
Sypher stands up over Mustafin, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Sypher landing some decent shots from guard.

Sypher decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.

Sypher shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Mustafin is trying to defend but Sypher finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Sypher seems to be working for a kimura but Mustafin defends the submission attempt.
Mustafin is not content to let Sypher control the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mustafin wants to get back to full guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Sypher decides to stand up and try his luck on the feet.
Sypher fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.

Sypher bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Mustafin tries to wriggle free to get back to his feet but he's given up his back! Oops.
Mustafin covers up after taking a massive shot to the side of the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sypher scores with punches and elbows.
Sypher scores with punches to the body.

Sypher has his opponent's back and is working for the choke.
Sypher just keeping the dominant position. He can't wait too long though, otherwise the referee will stand them back up.
Sypher has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Mustafin wants to control his opponent's hands but Sypher gets his hands free.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sypher controlling the position well here. Mustafin rolled but Sypher kept the hooks locked in and stayed in the dominant position.
Sypher lands with a nice looking elbow that stuns Mustafin.
Sypher scores with punches and elbows.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Sypher lands a shot to the body.

Mustafin is displaying good submission defense - not really looking in danger of submitting to the rear naked choke at the moment. That could change in an instant of course if Sypher gets his way!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Mustafin covers up after taking a massive shot to the side of the head.

And that's the end of the fight!
Talon Sypher showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Sypher has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Wesley Smith scores the fight 30:25
Judge Alan Glass scores the fight 30:25
Judge Tiny Johnson scores the fight 30:25

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Talon Sypher!