PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Karen Darabedyan (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mattia Nicoletti (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Darabedyan comes to the cage accompanied by KDB Highlights. Mattia Nicoletti told me before the fight that he's been watching a lot of DVDs so let's see if that helps him in this one! I can't wait to find out!

Darabedyan
vs
Nicoletti

170 cm
42
176 lbs
14 - 23 - 0

175 cm
33
185 lbs
11 - 9 - 1

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
Good chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Good elbows
Good gas tank

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 - 23 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Karen Darabedyan!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 9 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Mattia Nicoletti!
The judges for this bout are George Francis, Stewart Dunkirk and Wesley Smith.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Darabedyan fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
A big right from Nicoletti misses.
Nicoletti looks to score with a jab to the body but Darabedyan is just out of range.
Darabedyan checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
The fighters circling - Darabedyan throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Nicoletti.
Darabedyan will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Nicoletti misses with a head kick.
A nice inside leg kick there by Nicoletti. That's going to slow Darabedyan down.
A left and a right from Darabedyan both land. Nice combination.
Nicoletti throws a body punch but Darabedyan moves out of range.
Darabedyan checks a leg kick nicely.
Darabedyan is looking to counter punch.
Nicoletti misses with a low kick.
A slapping body kick lands there for Nicoletti.
Darabedyan misses the jab.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Darabedyan!
Darabedyan has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Nicoletti.
A leg kick checked by Darabedyan.
A counter left hand to the body from Darabedyan misses its target.
Darabedyan has been working on his boxing with his coaches at Main Event Gym in the buildup to the fight.
Darabedyan throws a right and a left that Nicoletti avoids nicely.
Nicoletti tries to clinch up.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!

That's one minute gone in the round.
A nice leg kick lands there from Nicoletti.
Nicoletti misses with a body kick.

Nicoletti closes the distance and clinches.
With the fighters up against the cage, Nicoletti throws an elbow but misses.
Nicoletti prevents Darabedyan from breaking the clinch.
Nicoletti throws a knee to the head but misses.
Darabedyan tries to circle away but Nicoletti has him pinned against the cage.
Darabedyan blocks an elbow strike.
Nicoletti misses with an elbow strike.
Nicoletti pushes off an throws an elbow but Darabedyan leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Darabedyan tries to break the clinch but Nicoletti is controlling the position.
Darabedyan avoiding damage as Nicoletti throws knees to the body.

Darabedyan's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Nicoletti just misses with a punch to the body.
Nicoletti throws a solid leg kick but Darabedyan takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Nicoletti.
Mattia Nicoletti seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A telegraphed right hand from Nicoletti misses the target.
Nicoletti jabs at Darabedyan's body.
Nicoletti throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Nicoletti throws a predictable looking body shot
and Darabedyan counters with a straight right hand.
Nicoletti displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Darabedyan throws out the jab.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nicoletti tries to clinch up but Darabedyan circles away and keeps his distance.
Darabedyan lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Nicoletti circles away quickly and effectively.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Darabedyan rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Nicoletti moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Nicoletti steps in looking to clinch after the strikes miss from Darabedyan.
Darabedyan looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
A nice combination there by Darabedyan.
Darabedyan misses with a few strikes there.
Nicoletti scores with a kick to the body.
Nicoletti throws a sloppy head kick and Darabedyan moves out of range easily.
Darabedyan throws a nice looking combination but Nicoletti bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Darabedyan throws a right hand that Nicoletti ducks under and follows up with a left that Nicoletti also avoids with ease.
Darabedyan fails to land with a series of punches.
Darabedyan throws out a loose jab but Nicoletti uses good head movement to avoid it.
Decent striking displayed by Darabedyan there.
Nicoletti feints and then cracks Darabedyan's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Darabedyan down.

Nicoletti fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Darabedyan, pushing him back against the cage.
Nicoletti tries to land a knee to the head but Darabedyan blocks with his arms.
Nicoletti keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Darabedyan's efforts to push away.
Nicoletti avoiding damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nicoletti throws an elbow but it's blocked.

Darabedyan manages to break the clinch.
Nicoletti misses with a kick to the body.
Nicoletti tries to land a leg kick but Darabedyan saw it coming and moves away.
Nicoletti scores with a decent looking hook.
Nicoletti throws a low kick but Darabedyan moves out of range easily.
Darabedyan misses with a straight left.
Nicoletti dodges the punch combination from Darabedyan.
Nicoletti only half commits to the counter leg kick.
Nicoletti avoids a punch combination nicely.
A looping hook to the body misses from Nicoletti. Darabedyan does a little dance to reset his feet.

Darabedyan clinches with his opponent.
A short left from Darabedyan.
Nicoletti lands an elbow inside that Darabedyan shrugs off.
Nicoletti misses with an elbow strike.
Nicoletti lands an elbow that stopped Darabedyan in his tracks for a moment.
Nicoletti pushes off an throws an elbow but Darabedyan leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Darabedyan escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nicoletti throws a hook but Darabedyan blocks it.
A leg kick checked by Nicoletti.
A big right from Nicoletti misses.
Darabedyan throws a combination. Nicoletti tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
Darabedyan cracks Nicoletti with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Nicoletti lands a lovely overhand right.
Darabedyan misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Nicoletti blocks the body kick.
Darabedyan rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Nicoletti moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Nicoletti missing with a left hand there. Darabedyan was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Nicoletti throws a chopping leg kick but Darabedyan manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Darabedyan misses with a two punch combination.
Nicoletti pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Nicoletti throws a shot from downtown. Darabedyan moves away and avoids it.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Nicoletti uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Darabedyan.
Nicoletti is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
A low kick from Darabedyan is predictable there
and Nicoletti counters with a nice low kick that buckles Darabedyan's knee momentarily.
Nicoletti throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Darabedyan throws a big counter combination but Nicoletti scrambles out of danger and avoids any damage.
Nicoletti throws an off balance right hand
and Darabedyan connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Darabedyan keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Karen Darabedyan will probably get the nod.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Darabedyan misses with a jab, cross combination.
Nicoletti ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Darabedyan moves away.
An inside leg kick from Nicoletti misses.
Karen Darabedyan is winning the standup battle so far.
Nicoletti throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Darabedyan sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Darabedyan on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Nicoletti. Nicoletti obviously looking to wear him down.
Nicoletti tries to work over Darabedyan's front leg with a kick but Darabedyan checks it.
Nicoletti checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Nicoletti appeared to try and counter that last move with a leg kick.
Nicoletti throws a sloppy head kick and Darabedyan moves out of range easily.
Darabedyan misses with a combination
and Nicoletti counters with a left and a right that stings Darabedyan.
Nicoletti moves out of range as Darabedyan strikes.
Nicoletti moves out of range as Darabedyan throws a body kick.
Nicoletti throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Darabedyan checks a leg kick nicely.
Darabedyan blocks a leg kick.
Darabedyan throws a series of punches but Nicoletti avoids them all with ease.
Nicoletti showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Darabedyan.
Nicoletti tries to counter by closing the distance.
The fight stays on the outside here - Nicoletti looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nicoletti takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Some wild striking there from Darabedyan.
Darabedyan sets himself, and Nicoletti steps forward looking for the clinch! Darabedyan avoids it this time.
Nicoletti throws a front kick aimed at Darabedyan's knee but Darabedyan avoids it well.
Darabedyan swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Nicoletti steps in looking to clinch after the strikes miss from Darabedyan.
Karen Darabedyan is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Nicoletti tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Darabedyan manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Nicoletti takes a swing at Darabedyan's ribcage but misses.

Darabedyan gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Nicoletti prevents Darabedyan from breaking the clinch.
Darabedyan tries to break the clinch but Nicoletti is controlling the position.
Darabedyan looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
With the fighters up against the cage, Nicoletti throws an elbow but misses.
Darabedyan is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Nicoletti trying to control the position but instead, Darabedyan has worked for underhooks and has pushed Nicoletti into the cage.
Darabedyan blocks an elbow strike.
Nicoletti pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Darabedyan throws a head punch that misses.
Nicoletti looking to throw knees to the head but Darabedyan is blocking nicely.
Darabedyan avoiding damage as Nicoletti throws knees to the body.
Knees in the clinch landing for Nicoletti.
Nice elbow from Nicoletti.

Darabedyan breaks the clinch.
Nicoletti misses with a kick to the body.
Darabedyan lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Nicoletti circles away quickly and effectively.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Darabedyan takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Darabedyan throws a series of punches but Nicoletti moves out of range.
Nicoletti misses with a low kick as Darabedyan jumps back.
A combination from Darabedyan does no damage.
Darabedyan checks the leg kick nicely there.
Darabedyan misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
A low kick from Nicoletti is predictable there
and Darabedyan counters with a straight right hand.
Darabedyan misses with the combination.
A bone on bone clash there as Darabedyan blocks the leg kick.
Darabedyan is looking to counter punch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nicoletti is looking to clinch but Darabedyan is avoiding it.

Darabedyan gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Nicoletti lands a damaging elbow.
Nicoletti working Darabedyan over with knees to the body.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Nicoletti throws an elbow that misses.
Mattia Nicoletti seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Darabedyan tries to break free but Nicoletti pushes him back against the cage.
Nicoletti pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Nicoletti tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Darabedyan avoids it.
Darabedyan on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Nicoletti lands a knee to the head.
Darabedyan blocks an elbow strike.
Darabedyan looking to slow down the pace here.
Nicoletti misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Darabedyan.
Nicoletti pushes off an throws an elbow but Darabedyan leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.

Darabedyan breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Nicoletti looks to land a body kick but Darabedyan moved away.
Nicoletti avoids a punch combination nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nicoletti tries to clinch but Darabedyan is having none of it.
Nicoletti checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Nicoletti tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Darabedyan paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Darabedyan is trying to close the distance and clinch up, after that failed offence from Nicoletti.
Nicoletti ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Darabedyan moves away.
Darabedyan was looking to counter that last move with a shot to the body but he didn't commit.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Nicoletti tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Darabedyan is able to avoid easily.
Darabedyan throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Nicoletti.
Nicoletti pivots, looking for a leg kick but Darabedyan is out of range and Nicoletti settles back down.
Nicoletti tries to clinch up but Darabedyan circles away and keeps his distance.
Nicoletti tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Nicoletti lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Darabedyan moves out of range of the body kick.
A big left from Nicoletti misses.
Nicoletti moves away from the strike by Darabedyan.
Nicoletti is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
An attempted straight right counter from Darabedyan misses the target.
Darabedyan throws out a loose jab but Nicoletti uses good head movement to avoid it.
Nicoletti finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Darabedyan went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
Nicoletti will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mattia Nicoletti showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Nicoletti fails in his attempt to clinch.
Nicoletti misses with a body kick.
Nicoletti tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Darabedyan throws a head kick that misses.
Darabedyan throws the left hand but Nicoletti avoids the punch easily.
Nicoletti wants to clinch.
Nicoletti throws a body punch but Darabedyan moves out of range.
Good work by Darabedyan as he checks the leg kick.
Darabedyan throws a head kick but Nicoletti moves out of range.
Nicoletti tries to clinch up.
Darabedyan throwing a counter right hand but Nicoletti manages to avoid it.
Nicoletti blocks the body kick.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Darabedyan throws a left and a right that both miss
and Nicoletti counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Darabedyan thinking.

Nicoletti has managed to clinch.
Nicoletti tries a knee to the head but Darabedyan blocks it.

Darabedyan's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Darabedyan throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.

Darabedyan gets tackled into the cage by Nicoletti. Nicoletti maintains the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Darabedyan pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Darabedyan keeps the fight on the outside.
Nicoletti pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
It looked like Darabedyan wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Darabedyan checks a leg kick.
Darabedyan misses the jab.
Nicoletti is looking to land body kicks.
Darabedyan throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Nicoletti.
A chopping leg kick lands by Nicoletti.
Nicoletti misses with a leg kick
and Darabedyan counters with a series of strikes. Nicoletti will be more careful next time no doubt.
Darabedyan lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Darabedyan throws a jab but it's blocked by Nicoletti.
Nicoletti throws a head kick but Darabedyan moves out of range.
Darabedyan tries a head kick but it misses.
Darabedyan keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Nicoletti.
Darabedyan takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Nicoletti thows a left - swing and a miss!
Nicoletti cracks Darabedyan with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Darabedyan looks to land a combination but Nicoletti avoids it well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nicoletti tries to score with a low kick but Darabedyan moves his leg out of the way.
Nicoletti catches Darabedyan with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Nicoletti scores with a decent looking hook.
Darabedyan checks a low kick from Nicoletti.

Darabedyan gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Darabedyan tries to break the clinch but Nicoletti is controlling the position.
Darabedyan wants to break the clinch but can't.
Darabedyan is trying to push Nicoletti away but Nicoletti has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Nicoletti unloads a knee to the mid-section. Darabedyan lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Nicoletti just misses with a elbow thrown towards Darabedyan's brow.
Darabedyan on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Nicoletti lands a good knee to the midsection. Darabedyan won't want to take too many of those.
Nicoletti with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Nicoletti with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Nicoletti tries to land knees in the clinch but Darabedyan avoids the damage to the body.
Darabedyan blocks the elbow strike.
Darabedyan tries to break free but Nicoletti pushes him back against the cage.
Darabedyan blocks the elbow strike.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Darabedyan tries to land knees in the clinch but Nicoletti avoids the damage to the body.
Darabedyan misses with a short punch on the inside.
Darabedyan is trying to push Nicoletti away but Nicoletti has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Darabedyan wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Nicoletti using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Darabedyan has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Darabedyan wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Nicoletti has him pressed against the cage.
Nicoletti stalling in the clinch.
Nicoletti throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Darabedyan on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

Darabedyan breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Darabedyan takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Nicoletti lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
Nicoletti is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Darabedyan.
Nicoletti uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Darabedyan has time to react.
Nicoletti tries to clinch there but Darabedyan circles away.
Nicoletti throws a body kick despite being completely out of range
and Darabedyan counters with a series of strikes. Nicoletti will be more careful next time no doubt.
Nicoletti missing with a left hand there. Darabedyan was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Nicoletti scores with a jab. Darabedyan acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Nicoletti moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Nicoletti feints and then cracks Darabedyan's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Darabedyan down.
Nicoletti defending well as Darabedyan loads up on a big left hand.
Nicoletti throws a body shot but no joy.
Nicoletti tries to clinch up.
A leg kick checked by Darabedyan.
And Darabedyan counters with a quick kick to the body but Nicoletti blocks it.
Darabedyan bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Darabedyan seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.
Darabedyan tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
We are yet to see a takedown attempt from Nicoletti in the fight. On paper you would think he is the more dominant ground fighter so let's see if these unusual tactics pay off.
Darabedyan cracks the inside of Nicoletti's front leg.
Darabedyan misses with a jab, cross combination.
Darabedyan checks a leg kick nicely.
Darabedyan went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
Nicoletti throws out a leg kick but Darabedyan moves out of range and Nicoletti only half commits.
Darabedyan is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Darabedyan lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Darabedyan misses with a jab, cross combination.

Nicoletti has managed to clinch.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Nicoletti misses with a knee to the head.

And that's the end of the fight!
Mattia Nicoletti comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Nicoletti 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 George Francis scores the fight 28:29
Judge Stewart Dunkirk scores the fight 28:29
Judge Wesley Smith scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Mattia Nicoletti!
Mattia Nicoletti was full of energy after the big win and talked about how he thinks he can do big things in this sport. The crowd were appreciative of his determination to succeed.