PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Nick Folignus (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nick Thompson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Folignus comes to the cage accompanied by Laces Out. Thompson has chosen Kreator - Extreme Aggressions as his entrance music. Both fighter's entrance songs getting the crowd jumping here.

Folignus
vs
Thompson

186 cm
28
193 lbs
11 - 11 - 0

185 cm
36
192 lbs
32 - 25 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Firebird Designs
Fury Nutrition Inc.

Affordable Quality + Reliable Laundry

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 11 - 11 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Nick Folignus!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 32 - 25 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nick Thompson!
The judges for this bout are Lou da Vinci, Dean Styles and Steve Montenegro.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Folignus shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Thompson as he jumps to the side.
Folignus avoids the body shot from Thompson.
A jab from Thompson does it's job there.
Thompson throws a nice outside leg kick.
Nice cross by Thompson.
Thompson shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Thompson scores with a jab.
Thompson throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Folignus takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Thompson misses the shot to the body.
Thompson connects with a single shot there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Folignus takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Thompson misses with an uppercut. Folignus saw that one coming.
Thompson ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
A good leg kick by Thompson.
Thompson lands with a nice body punch.
Nick Thompson is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Folignus shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Thompson defends it nicely.
Thompson turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Folignus tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Thompson defends well and Folignus ends up having to push Thompson into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Nick Folignus. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thompson lands a hook that snaps the head of Folignus backwards.
A shot in the inside from Thompson.
Thompson told us before the fight that he's been working on his elbows. An under utilised technique these days - let's see if it can sway the outcome of the fight.

Folignus has double underhooks and is working for a body lock takedown. He's got it. The fighters land in half guard but Thompson regains guard immediately.
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!
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Folignus wants to control from the top but Thompson keeps moving.
Folignus trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Folignus trying to control the position from guard on top but Thompson is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Thompson is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Folignus takes a jab right on the kisser.
Thompson ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Folignus moves away.
Folignus throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Thompson lands with an overhand left.
Thompson fails to land with a series of punches.
Thompson fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Folignus keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Folignus doesn't succeed with the takedown
letting Thompson counter with a right hand.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thompson looks to land a right hand but Folignus moved out of range.
Thompson rushes in with a sloppy looking punch

and Folignus counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Thompson's guard now.
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!
Folignus is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Thompson trying to keep a closed guard but Folignus is proving a slippery customer.
Thompson wants to get back to his feet but Folignus is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Folignus trying to control the position from guard on top but Thompson is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nick Thompson dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Folignus dives in and grabs Thompson's left leg, looking for a takedown. Thompson pushes down on Folignus's head and hops out.
Thompson slips a straight right by Folignus.
Folignus fails to land the takedown.
Thompson misses the shot to the body.
Folignus shoots in for a double leg but Thompson sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Nick Folignus. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Thompson throws a leg kick that is checked

and Folignus counters with a single leg into guard. Thompson didn't expect that.
Folignus trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Folignus trying to control but Thompson is working from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Folignus is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Thompson is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.

We're going to have a standup here because Nick Folignus wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Thompson fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Folignus manages to avoid it.
Sloppy strikes from Thompson. Those never looked like landing.
A looping hook to the body misses from Thompson. Folignus does a little dance to reset his feet.
Thompson swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Folignus counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Folignus stops Thompson from getting back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Folignus is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Thompson is refusing to be controlled, as Folignus sits in half guard.

Folignus is working for a kimura but Thompson is defending it quite comfortably.
Folignus trying to control from Thompson's half guard. Thompson has other ideas though and has regained full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Folignus is looking to advance position but Thompson has hit a scissor sweep - now he's on top in mount!
Folignus is wriggling around trying to escape.
Thompson sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Thompson wants to get back to his feet but Folignus is holding on tight.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Folignus tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Nick Folignus overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Folignus is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Thompson seems to be looking to move to his opponent's back but Folignus is holding on tight.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nick Folignus dominated that second round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Thompson throws a body kick that misses.
Folignus misses with a takedown attempt - Thompson sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Folignus takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Folignus blocks a jab.
Thompson feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Folignus's calf.
Nick Thompson seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Folignus pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Thompson misses with a wild combination.
Thompson with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thompson misses the shot to the body.
Thompson throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Folignus shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Thompson sprawls well. Thompson wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Folignus gets slowly back to his feet.
Jab from Thompson.
Thompson throws an overhand right that lands on Folignus's shoulder, as Folignus tries to avoid the shot.
A slapping body kick lands there for Thompson.
Thompson throws a nice inside leg kick.
Thompson throws out a loose jab but Folignus uses good head movement to avoid it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Folignus shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Folignus avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Thompson ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Folignus moves away.
Folignus moves out of range of the body kick.
A left lands for Thompson.
Thompson tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Folignus is able to avoid easily.
Folignus shoots in for a takedown but Thompson shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Nick Folignus. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Thompson misses with a hook. Folignus ducked under it nicely.
Thompson misses with a wild body shot.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thompson misses with a hook.
Folignus uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Thompson.
Nick Thompson seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A slow jab from Thompson misses its intended target.
Thompson loads up on a big right hand but Folignus slips the punch.
Folignus throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
Thompson with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Thompson misses with a left hand

and Folignus counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Thompson keeping moving, preventing Folignus from controlling successfully.
Folignus looking to sit in guard and control but Thompson gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thompson postures up.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Folignus working for a triangle but Thompson defends it easily.
Thompson must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Folignus is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.

And that's the end of the fight!
Nick Thompson comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Thompson 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 Lou da Vinci scores the fight 28:29
Judge Dean Styles scores the fight 28:29
Judge Steve Montenegro scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Nick Thompson!
Our winner, Nick Thompson, made sure he spent some time buttering up the crowd during his post fight interview, which will no doubt bring him a few more fans.