PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Key Stone (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Khabib Nurmagomedov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Khabib Nurmagomedov will no doubt be looking to use his reach advantage to good effect.

Stone
vs
Nurmagomedov

165 cm
18
160 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

177 cm
25
162 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Good chin

Good wrestler
Brawler
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Key Stone!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Khabib Nurmagomedov!
The judges for this bout are Wesley Smith, Alan Glass and Chris Downing.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Stone misses with a series of wild punches.

Nurmagomedov has managed to clinch.
Stone makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Nurmagomedov tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Stone smiles and moves away.
Stone throws a head kick that misses.
Stone will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.

Nurmagomedov drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Nurmagomedov wants to lay and pray for a moment but Stone keeps working.
Stone could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Nurmagomedov advances to mount.
Nurmagomedov lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Stone hang on?

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nurmagomedov unloads with some shots from mount but Stone bucks and avoids them well.
Stone has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.
Nurmagomedov tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Stone wants to hold on but Nurmagomedov pushes him away.
Nurmagomedov scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Stone?
Nurmagomedov with a couple of short strikes.
Stone is in all sorts of trouble here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nurmagomedov tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Poor strikes thrown by Nurmagomedov there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Nurmagomedov controlling the position easily from mount.
Nurmagomedov lands a nice shot to the head.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Nurmagomedov breaks from Stone's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Nurmagomedov wants to control the pace but Stone is squirming around nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stone gets back to half guard.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Nurmagomedov in particular looking to stall.
Nurmagomedov thows a huge punch but Stone dodges it nicely.
Nurmagomedov controlling the action here.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Khabib Nurmagomedov hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Stone tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

Nurmagomedov clinches with his opponent.

Nurmagomedov pulls guard.
Stone stands up over Nurmagomedov, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Nurmagomedov 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.
Stone trying to control but Nurmagomedov is working from the bottom.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Nurmagomedov can do anything to dispel that myth.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Nurmagomedov looking to hit a scissor sweep but Stone is one step ahead there.
Nurmagomedov controls Stone momentarily but Stone frees himself.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Stone misses with a jab, cross combination.

Nurmagomedov closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Stone struggles to land a body shot inside as Nurmagomedov controls his hands.
Stone has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Stone tries to circle away but Nurmagomedov has him pinned against the cage.
Nurmagomedov has Stone pressed against the cage, preventing Stone from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Stone gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Nurmagomedov.

Nurmagomedov manages to break the clinch.
A combination from Stone does no damage.
Stone tries to close the distance and clinch up but Nurmagomedov swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Nurmagomedov lets loose with a powerful body kick. Stone will feel that in the morning.

Nurmagomedov darts in and clinches Stone up against the cage.
Nurmagomedov has Stone pressed against the cage, preventing Stone from circling away and getting back to striking at range.

Nurmagomedov's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Key Stone is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Nurmagomedov closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Nurmagomedov tries to pass to full mount but Stone defends it.
Nurmagomedov scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Still in half guard, Nurmagomedov seems content to control.

Nurmagomedov is looking for a kimura but Stone is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Nurmagomedov to get the leverage.
Nurmagomedov tries to stand and escape but Stone actually recovers to full guard.
Stone looking to control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nurmagomedov controls from within his opponent's guard.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Stone fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

Nurmagomedov closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Nurmagomedov jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Stone walks away with a smile on his face. Nurmagomedov gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Nurmagomedov avoids the head kick by Stone.

Nurmagomedov feints and as Stone raises his hands in defense, Nurmagomedov changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Nurmagomedov stays in close to Stone's body and controls the position.
Nurmagomedov wants to control from the top but Stone keeps moving.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stone keeping full guard, as Nurmagomedov tries to pass.

Khabib Nurmagomedov has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Stone misses with a wild combination.
Stone closes the distance and clinches up with Nurmagomedov, looking for a takedown. Stone pushes Nurmagomedov against the cage but Nurmagomedov circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Stone misses with a few strikes there.

Nurmagomedov looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Nurmagomedov controlling the pace.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stone wants to stand back up but Nurmagomedov manages to pass into side control.
Nurmagomedov in side control, just content to control the action for now.
Nurmagomedov tries to stand but Stone is controlling his head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Khabib Nurmagomedov showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Stone's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Stone misses with a few strikes there.

Stone rushes Nurmagomedov and presses him up against the cage.
Stone working hard to break the clinch.

Nurmagomedov pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Stone circles away from the clinch attempt.
Sloppy strikes from Stone. Those never looked like landing.
Stone tries to close the distance and clinch but Nurmagomedov swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Nurmagomedov keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Stone looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.

Nurmagomedov shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Stone manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Nurmagomedov wants to pass the guard but Stone is keeping the position.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Nurmagomedov has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Stone is proving hard to escape from.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nurmagomedov trying to control but Stone is working from the bottom.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Nurmagomedov wants to stand but Stone has a closed guard, so he can't escape.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Khabib Nurmagomedov.
A punch combination from Stone misses.

Stone gets caught flat footed, as Nurmagomedov shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Nurmagomedov wants to stand but Stone has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Khabib Nurmagomedov has got the better of the ground game so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nurmagomedov pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Stone is keeping the position for now.
Stone can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Nurmagomedov controls the pace.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Nurmagomedov looking to sit in guard and control but Stone gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Nurmagomedov wants to get back to his feet but Stone is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nurmagomedov tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Stone postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.

Nurmagomedov had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Stone defends it easily.
Nurmagomedov working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Stone.
Stone prevents Nurmagomedov from getting back to his feet.
Nurmagomedov is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Nurmagomedov avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Stone missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Key Stone has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nurmagomedov looking for a sweep. Not yet Nurmagomedov, not yet.
Nurmagomedov trying to control the position.
Stone might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Stone throwing strikes from guard but Nurmagomedov blocks nicely.
Nurmagomedov pulls Stone in close to prevent any damage.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Khabib Nurmagomedov hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Nurmagomedov avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Nurmagomedov throws a right and a left that both miss.
Nurmagomedov wants to clinch up but Stone keeps it at a distance.
Nurmagomedov looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Khabib Nurmagomedov is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Stone throws a sloppy head kick and Nurmagomedov moves out of range easily.

And that's the end of the fight!
Khabib Nurmagomedov comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Nurmagomedov has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 27:30
Judge Alan Glass scores the fight 27:30
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Khabib Nurmagomedov!