PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Raphael Nero (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Vadim Lavrov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Well, the cameraman is lingering on a pretty young lady for a bit too long there. Keep your eyes on the prize buddy or you'll miss the fighter intros!

Nero
vs
Lavrov

186 cm
29
174 lbs
14 - 7 - 0

182 cm
34
182 lbs
23 - 14 - 1

BJJ Red Belt
Lethal high kicks
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Conquer

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 14 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Raphael Nero!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 23 - 14 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Vadim Lavrov!
The judges for this bout are Russell Pearce, Anthony Taglia and John Roberts.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Lavrov throws a nice outside leg kick.
Nero misses with a looping left.
Lavrov throws out a loose jab but Nero uses good head movement to avoid it.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Lavrov lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Nero has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Nero and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Lavrov lands with a shot to the body.
Nero slips under a jab.
Lavrov slips a jab and a cross from Nero.
Nero waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Lavrov.
Nero is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Lavrov tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lavrov swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Lavrov throws an overhand right that lands on Nero's shoulder, as Nero tries to avoid the shot.
Lavrov tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Vadim Lavrov is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Lavrov turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Lavrov scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Lavrov digs a good hook to Nero's body.
Lavrov connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Nero momentarily.
Nero throws a hook to the side of Lavrov's head but Lavrov sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nero tries a low kick but Lavrov avoids it.
A slow jab from Lavrov misses its intended target.
Nero lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Lavrov throws a head kick but Nero moves out of range.
Lavrov throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Nero sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Lavrov throws a front kick aimed at Nero's knee but Nero avoids it well.
Lavrov takes a swing at Nero's ribcage but misses.
Lavrov misses with a low kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nero lands a leg kick that knocks Lavrov off balance momentarily.
Vadim Lavrov seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Lavrov 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.
Lavrov throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Nero chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Lavrov can pounce on him.
Lavrov cracks Nero with a right hand to the side of the head.
Nero slips under a jab from Lavrov.
Nero moves out of range of the leg kick from Lavrov.
Lavrov misses with a looping left.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A low kick from Lavrov misses

and Nero counters with a shoot takedown. Lavrov fights it but they end up in guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Nero stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Lavrov swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Nero stops Lavrov from standing up.
Nero preventing the sweep.
Lavrov is looking to stand up but Nero isn't so interested in that idea.
Nero working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Lavrov wants to sweep here but Nero controlling him for the moment.
Lavrov wants to stand up but Nero is controlling him.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Lavrov looking to sweep using the butterfly guard but Nero puts pay to that idea as he passes nicely into half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Nero sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Lavrov defending well though.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Vadim Lavrov dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

A big left from Lavrov misses.
Lavrov throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
The fighters circle momentarily. Lavrov darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Nero tries a low kick but Lavrov avoids it.
Nero takes one on the button.
Nero scores with a nice right hand.
Nero tries to work over Lavrov's front leg with a kick but Lavrov checks it.
Nero misses with a kick to the body
and Lavrov connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nero throws a lazy body kick
and Lavrov counters with a nice leg kick.
No joy there for Lavrov, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Lavrov throws a poor cross that misses

and Nero counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Nero trying to control the position from guard on top but Lavrov is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Lavrov is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Nero slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Lavrov is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Nero looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Lavrov is avoiding damage well.
Nero has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
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!
Nero scores with punches from side control.
Lavrov pushes Nero away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Nero gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lavrov is working to avoid the ground and pound but Nero connects with a decent elbow.
Nero is chipping away with strikes.
Lavrov is looking to reverse the position.
Lavrov felt the need to train up his defensive grappling in the buildup to the fight. Presumably he was expecting to be in a difficult position like this, so let's see if he can get out of it.
Lavrov defending against the ground and pound.
Nero working the body and head with strikes.
Raphael Nero overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Lavrov is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Nero asserts his dominance and retains side control.
Nero throwing strikes but Lavrov manages to buck up and roll into a nice reversal - now he's on top in side control!
Lavrov tries to stand but Nero is controlling his head.
Nero manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Lavrov tries to kick Nero off but Nero keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Lavrov keeping control of the position.
Nero sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Lavrov defending well though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nero is trying to control the action in half guard but Lavrov is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Nero thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Lavrov's head.
Nice strikes from Nero there.
Lavrov has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Nero is working away from the top position though.
Nero thows a huge punch but Lavrov dodges it nicely.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Nero lands a nice short elbow.
Lavrov is looking to escape.
Nero wants to take a breather but Lavrov is having none of it.
Lavrov looks like he's trying to stand up.
Lavrov is looking for a sweep. Nero is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Nero thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Lavrov's head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lavrov wants to control but Nero is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Nero throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Nero is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Lavrov is trying to stand up here but Nero is controlling him well.
Lavrov is trying to escape back to his feet but Nero uses the scramble to pass into side control.
Nero looks up at the clock and then as Lavrov takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Nero smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!
Lavrov is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
Nero lands a decent elbow from side control.
Nero working the head with strikes.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Nero wants to control but Lavrov is keeping him busy.
Nero landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Raphael Nero 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. And we move into the final round!

Lavrov throws a body kick that misses.
Nero pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Nero slips under a jab.

Lavrov clinches with his opponent.
Lavrov tries to land a knee to the head but Nero blocks with his arms.
Lavrov lands a left hand.
Nero is looking to take this one to the mat.
Nero goes for a takedown in the clinch but Lavrov prevents it.
Nero is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Lavrov is defending well.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Raphael Nero. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Nero avoids a wild elbow strike from Lavrov.
Lavrov lands with a short head shot on the inside.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lavrov trying to land knees to the body.
Lavrov lands a left hand that snaps the head of Nero backwards.
Lavrov tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Lavrov lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Nero.
Nero blocks an elbow strike.
Nero wants a takedown but no success here.
Lavrov lands a hook to the side of the head.

Nero has double underhooks and is working for a body lock takedown. He's got it. The fighters land in half guard but Lavrov regains guard immediately.
Lavrov wants to stand up but Nero is controlling him.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Lavrov holds on and takes a little breather.
Nero throwing strikes from guard but Lavrov blocks nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lavrov avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Nero loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Nero prevents Lavrov from getting back to his feet.
Lavrov is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Nero wants to control from the top but Lavrov keeps moving.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Lavrov misses with a body shot.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lavrov connects with a body shot that sends Nero's belly button to the back.
Nero shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Lavrov pinned against the cage. Lavrov gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Lavrov fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Nero manages to avoid it.
Lavrov scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Lavrov fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Nero is out of range.
Jab by Nero.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lavrov uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Nero.
A slow jab from Nero misses its intended target.
Nero takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Lavrov tries to clinch but Nero moves out of range.
Lavrov throws a jab but it's blocked by Nero.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Lavrov misses with a leg kick

and Nero counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Nero thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Lavrov's head.
Nice strikes from Nero there.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Vadim Lavrov.
I think Lavrov 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 Russell Pearce scores the fight 29:28
Judge Anthony Taglia scores the fight 28:29
Judge John Roberts scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Vadim Lavrov!
Vadim Lavrov gave a mention to TFP Graphics - Pit Inc in his post fight interview. That will please them (and hopefully generate some sales).