PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Josh Laston (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Bastian Nokia (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Laston comes into the arena with Ice Cube - Today was a Good Day blaring out of the sound system. Man, I cannot wait for this one!

Laston
vs
Nokia

185 cm
23
198 lbs
9 - 6 - 0

182 cm
32
197 lbs
5 - 29 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
Good chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Determined

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 9 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Josh Laston!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 29 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Bastian Nokia!
The judges for this bout are , Jack Bonds and Timothy Bukovac.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Laston falls off balance throwing a combination

and Nokia counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Nokia.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Laston tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Nokia trying to control the position from guard on top but Laston is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Laston is looking to stand up but Nokia isn't so interested in that idea.
Laston controlling Nokia's posture.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Josh Laston.

Laston gets a takedown into half guard.
Laston is figuring out what he wants to do next.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Laston lands a nice short elbow.
Nokia is trying to stand up here but Laston is controlling him well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Laston is controlling the pace.
Laston 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.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Nokia is staying active underneath Laston, who seems content to just control the action from this position.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Josh Laston just wasn't active enough.

Laston bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Laston happy to just control the position for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Laston passes to full mount! That's big trouble for Nokia!
Nokia really wants to buck Laston off and get back to his feet.
Laston controlling the position easily from mount.
Nokia is trying to escape but when you're mounted that's not too easy.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Laston cracks Nokia with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Laston controlling the position easily from mount.
Laston raining down shots from the mount!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Josh Laston dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Laston 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.
Nokia wants to stand up but Laston is controlling him.
Laston wants to control from the top but Nokia keeps moving.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Josh Laston wasn't doing enough on the ground.

Laston shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Laston was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nokia prevents Laston from improving position.
Laston controls the position.
Nokia is not content to let Laston control the position.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Josh Laston just wasn't active enough.

Laston closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Nokia quickly recovers to half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Laston trying to control from half guard but Nokia is working away.
Laston is looking to advance position but Nokia won't allow it.
Laston seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Nokia does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.

Josh Laston has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.

Laston gets the takedown into side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Laston sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Nokia is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
Laston is pausing for a moment. What's he doing? It looks like he's clearing his nose. Oh dude! He's shot a load of snot all down Nokia's shoulder. That is not cool.
Laston tries to advance to mount but can't.
Laston wants to lay and pray for a moment but Nokia keeps working.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Josh Laston just wasn't active enough.

Nokia gets caught napping as Laston dives in and scores a takedown. Nokia manages to retain guard.
Laston trying to control the position from guard on top but Nokia is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Laston looking to sit in guard and control but Nokia gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Laston bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Nokia's guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Josh Laston dominated that second round.
That's time! Laston's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Laston shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Laston showed some decent athleticism there.
Laston takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.

Josh Laston has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.

Laston closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Nokia did well to prevent Laston getting side control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Laston trying to control from Nokia's half guard. Nokia has other ideas though and has regained full guard.
Laston looking to sit in guard and control but Nokia gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Josh Laston overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Nokia is fighting to break Laston's control of his arms but Laston is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Laston wants to sweep here but Nokia controlling him for the moment.
Laston has Nokia pulled in close to control his posture.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Josh Laston.

Laston looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Nokia is not content to let Laston control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Laston stops Nokia from getting back to his feet.
Josh Laston is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Laston wants to pass the guard but Nokia is defending well.
Laston slows the pace down in half guard.

We're going to have a standup here because Josh Laston wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.

Laston scores with a takedown into Nokia's guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Laston stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Nokia swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Nokia can't keep his opponent in guard - Laston advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Nokia is looking to escape.

And that's the end of the fight!
Josh Laston showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Laston 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 Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 30:27
Judge Jack Bonds scores the fight 30:27
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Josh Laston!
Josh Laston seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.