PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Woodrow Daniels (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Virou Nele (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Daniels
vs
Nele

212 cm
21
177 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

189 cm
22
179 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Woodrow Daniels!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Virou Nele!
The judges for this bout are Illya Tyunina, Fedor Mirinova and Aleksei Zolotukhin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nele fails with a takedown attempt.
Nele takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Virou Nele seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Nele shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Daniels counters by clinching up.

Daniels breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

Nele closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Daniels's guard.

Daniels looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Nele passes into side control.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Daniels gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nele content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Nele stalling away here and it's allowed Daniels to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Nele drops back for a leg but he's not going to get it - he lets go and Daniels dives on top into guard.

Daniels scoring with some ground and pound.
Daniels cracks Nele with a solid left hand.
Daniels really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Daniels scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Nele really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Daniels. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Nele preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Daniels is looking to stand up but Nele won't let him.
Daniels is in close to Nele's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Daniels loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Daniels makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Daniels landing some decent shots from guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Daniels accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Daniels tries to stand but Nele is controlling from the bottom.
Daniels loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Daniels lands a couple of digs.
Daniels scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Daniels distracts Nele with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Daniels is working Nele over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.

Daniels stands up from Nele's guard - Daniels perhaps looking for a knockout.

Nele fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Daniels to the ground. Nele is now in Daniels's guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Nele looking to sit in guard and control but Daniels gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Daniels is looking to work some ground and pound but Nele has wrist control.
Daniels scoring with some ground and pound.
Daniels throwing strikes but missing.
Nele trying to control the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Daniels keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Nele's head.
Daniels is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.

Daniels decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
Nele cracks the inside of Daniels's front leg.
Daniels takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Daniels tries to clinch up.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Daniels throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Nele attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Woodrow Daniels dominated that round.
That's time! Daniels's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Daniels defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Nele.

Nele closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Daniels keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Nele's efforts to push away.
Nele is trying to stall.
Nele looking to stall.
Nele is persisting with his attempts to control the action in the clinch, rather than do any real damage.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Nele wants to break free but Daniels has control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nele has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Daniels is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.

Daniels escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Nele shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Daniels sprawls well. Daniels wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Nele gets slowly back to his feet.
Woodrow Daniels has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Virou Nele.
Daniels leaves Nele with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Daniels tries to counter by clinching up but Nele breaks away and moves out of range.
Daniels is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Nele can do to turn this around?
Nele fails with the takedown

so Daniels counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Daniels scoring with punches to the head and body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Daniels works over Nele with some ground and pound from guard.
Nele is trying to control the position but Daniels postures up.

Daniels gets to his feet - Nele follows without any prompting.
Nele fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Nele shoots and misses

and Daniels counters by clinching up.
Nele is breathing heavily.

Daniels pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Virou Nele is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Daniels misses with a head kick.

Nele forces Daniels back against the cage and clinches.
Nele with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
A frustrated look appears on Daniels's face as he tries to break the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nele is trying to break the clinch but Daniels has him pressed against the cage.
Daniels looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Daniels stops a takedown attempt from Nele.
Nele keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Daniels's efforts to push away.
Nele is trying to break free.
Nele tries to pull guard but Daniels holds him up against the cage and eventually Nele drops back down to his feet.
Nele is trying to pull guard but Daniels has him pressed against the cage.
Nele has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Nele blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Daniels dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Daniels wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Daniels wants to get back to striking at distance but Nele won't allow it.
A frustrated look appears on Daniels's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Daniels wants to break the clinch but can't.
Daniels stalling against the cage.

Nele manages to break the clinch.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Nele closes this distance looking for a takedown but Daniels circles away.
Daniels appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Woodrow Daniels dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Nele throws a head kick but Daniels moves out of range.

Nele clinches with his opponent.
Nele swings wildly with an uppercut but Daniels uses good head movement to avoid it.
Daniels displaying some good clinch control by pressing Nele up against the cage.
Nele is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Nele goes for a takedown attempt but Daniels pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Daniels tries to work over Nele's front leg with a kick but Nele checks it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nele tries for a takedown but Daniels sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Nele is defended easily by Daniels.
Daniels wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
Woodrow Daniels has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Virou Nele.
Nele with a lazy takedown attempt

and Daniels moves into the clinch.
A frustrated look appears on Daniels's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Nele is trying to push Daniels away but Daniels has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Nele has Daniels pressed against the cage, preventing Daniels from circling away and getting back to striking at range.

Daniels pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Nele throws a body kick that misses

so Daniels counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Daniels lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.

Daniels stands up and waves to Nele to follow him.

Daniels gets tackled into the cage by Nele. Nele maintains the clinch.
Nele is trying to break the clinch but Daniels is controlling him.

Nele has picked Daniels up - he's going for a ride! Nele dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Daniels regains full guard. Nicely done.
Nele must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Nele stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Daniels swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Daniels 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.

Daniels working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Nele doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Oh but Daniels is tightening it up a little... Nele has to be careful here... He's got his foot tucked under now, this looks tight! Nele reacted too slowly and this one could be over in a matter of seconds! YES! Nele taps out! Nice BJJ there by Daniels!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:56 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle Choke). Woodrow Daniels!