PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Sundar Thapa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Curtis Jackson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Curtis Jackson will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Thapa
vs
Jackson

187 cm
21
245 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

200 cm
25
260 lbs
6 - 6 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Heavy handed

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Sundar Thapa!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 6 - 0, fighting out of New York, Curtis Jackson!
The judges for this bout are John Roberts, Alyssa Summers and Dean Styles.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Jackson lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Jackson takes one on the chin but seems OK.
No luck for Jackson with that takedown attempt.
Jackson fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Jackson thows a left - swing and a miss!
Jackson tries to work over Thapa's front leg with a kick but Thapa checks it.
Thapa throws a lazy uppercut

and Jackson moves into the clinch.
Jackson gets underhooks to prevent Thapa's takedown attempt.
Thapa misses with a hook to the ribs.
Thapa tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Jackson trying to land knees to the body.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Jackson creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Thapa can't find room to land a body shot as Jackson controls the action.

Thapa has clasped his hands together around Jackson's back... aaand, he's got a takedown into side control. Nicely done.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Thapa happy to just control the position for now.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Jackson tries to buck Thapa off but Thapa is having none of it.
Sloppy strikes there by Thapa.
Thapa is looking to take a break and control but Jackson is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Jackson struggling a bit here.
Thapa wants to lay and pray for a moment but Jackson keeps working.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Jackson struggling a bit here.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.
Thapa wants to lay and pray for a moment but Jackson keeps working.
Jackson regains half guard, as Thapa was trying to land strikes.
Thapa is stalling here. Jackson is in no mood to hang around though. He's locked up a kimura from the bottom! Thapa seems to be keeping calm but he's forced to roll out of the hold and Jackson has ended up in side control on the top. Nice work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Jackson tries for a kimura but Thapa is defending well.
Thapa is trying to get back to half guard.
Jackson is looking to take a break and control but Thapa is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Thapa seems a little lost for a moment, as Jackson dominates the positioning.
Thapa is positioning himself to get back to half guard.

Jackson tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thapa manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.

Jackson is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Thapa defends it well.
Thapa is trying to control but can't.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Thapa tries to roll over but Jackson keeps him under control.
Jackson wants to pass to mount but Thapa is defending the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sundar Thapa dominated that round.
That's time! Thapa's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Jackson misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Jackson misses with a body shot.
Thapa checks the leg kick.
Jackson tries to clinch but Thapa moves out of range.
Thapa slips a straight right by Jackson.
Thapa looks to land a combination but Jackson avoids it well.
Thapa with a lazy takedown attempt
and Jackson counters with a nice uppercut.
Jackson misses with a takedown attempt - Thapa sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Thapa throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Jackson connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
A jab from Thapa misses.
Thapa throws a hard body shot but it just misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thapa avoids the body shot from Jackson.
Thapa circles away from the clinch attempt.
Jackson takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
No joy there for Thapa, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Thapa just misses with a punch to the body.
Thapa tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Jackson was well out of range. Poor timing from Thapa.

Thapa gets a double leg takedown into Jackson's guard.
Jackson wants to sweep but no luck.
Jackson is trying to keep Thapa in close.
Thapa is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Thapa has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Thapa working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thapa not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Thapa won't allow Jackson to sweep him here.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Thapa trying to control the position from guard on top but Jackson is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Sundar Thapa.
Jackson is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Thapa throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Thapa is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thapa fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Jackson avoids it really well and circles away.
Thapa tries to score a power double leg takedown but Jackson sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Thapa somewhat.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Sundar Thapa. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Thapa tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Jackson swivels and escapes.
Jackson has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.

Thapa feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Jackson keeping moving, preventing Thapa from controlling successfully.
Jackson keeping full guard, as Thapa tries to pass.
Thapa trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Thapa might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thapa won't allow Jackson to sweep him here.
Jackson trying to keep a closed guard but Thapa is proving a slippery customer.
Thapa is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Thapa trying to control the position from guard on top but Jackson is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Thapa in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Jackson manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Thapa manages to get himself to full guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sundar Thapa dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Thapa throws the left hand but Jackson avoids the punch easily.
Jackson throws a big shot that misses.

Jackson looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for Thapa!

Jackson is working for a guillotine from mount but Thapa frees his head quite easily.
Thapa tries to hold on but Jackson pushes him away.
Thapa sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.
Thapa is staying active underneath Jackson, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Thapa trying to control from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Jackson prevents Thapa from improving his position.
Jackson looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Thapa tries to roll over but Jackson keeps him under control.
Thapa is not content to let Jackson control the position.
Jackson is looking to advance position but Thapa won't allow it.
Sundar Thapa overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Thapa slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thapa tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Thapa bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Jackson's guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Thapa accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Jackson is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Thapa manages to get to full guard.
Thapa controls Jackson momentarily but Jackson frees himself.
Curtis Jackson has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Thapa has Jackson pulled in close to control his posture.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thapa lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Jackson!
Thapa wants to control the pace but Jackson is squirming around nicely.
Thapa with a couple of short strikes.
Thapa lands with some strikes.
Jackson can't escape the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Jackson is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Thapa lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Jackson takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Thapa lands a heavy elbow.
Thapa with a couple of short strikes.
Thapa controlling the pace for now.
Thapa landing strikes from the mount.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Thapa lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.

And that's the end of the fight!
Sundar Thapa showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Thapa, 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 John Roberts scores the fight 30:27
Judge Alyssa Summers scores the fight 30:27
Judge Dean Styles scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Sundar Thapa!
After the fight, Sundar Thapa was humble in paying tribute to his opponent but made it clear he wants to go on to bigger and better things. It seemed to go down well with the crowd who cheered him loudly.