PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Ioannis Nikolaidis (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ivan Onishchenko (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.

Nikolaidis
vs
Onishchenko

183 cm
19
165 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

176 cm
18
160 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Likes comics

BJJ Brown Belt
Brawler
Tends to cut

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 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Ioannis Nikolaidis!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Ivan Onishchenko!
The judges for this bout are Marco Blurström, Anni Minnemäki and Tarja Halkonen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Excellent takedown into side control there by Nikolaidis.
Nikolaidis working the ground and pound but Onishchenko is defending the strikes.
Onishchenko is trying to control Nikolaidis's posture but Nikolaidis avoids it.
Onishchenko tries to improve position but can't.
Onishchenko trying to control but Nikolaidis flips him over like a cheap hooker and has his back!

Onishchenko preventing the rear naked choke attempt from Nikolaidis.
Nikolaidis controls the action.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Nikolaidis looking for the choke from the back.
Onishchenko trying to get back to his feet but Nikolaidis is in full control for now.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Onishchenko showing good submission defense here.
Onishchenko trying to control but he's just got himself in more trouble.
Onishchenko tries to break free.
Nikolaidis is trying to stick to Onishchenko's back but Onishchenko is turning into Nikolaidis. He's managed to reverse the position - now he's in Nikolaidis's guard. Polite applause from the crowd in appreciation of some nice Jiu Jitsu by Onishchenko.
Onishchenko tries to free his leg and advance position but Nikolaidis is retaining full guard.
Onishchenko trying to control the position from guard on top but Nikolaidis is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Onishchenko is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Nikolaidis keeping moving, preventing Onishchenko from controlling successfully.
Nikolaidis has a closed guard, preventing Onishchenko from standing up.
Nikolaidis throwing strikes off his back to little effect.
Nikolaidis controlling Onishchenko's posture.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Nikolaidis fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Onishchenko to the ground. Nikolaidis is now in Onishchenko's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Onishchenko looking for a sweep. Not yet Onishchenko, not yet.
Onishchenko throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.
Nikolaidis knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Onishchenko on the ground.
Nikolaidis is stalling in the full guard.
Onishchenko controls Nikolaidis momentarily but Nikolaidis frees himself.

Onishchenko looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Onishchenko is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nikolaidis is trying to control but can't.
Nikolaidis is controlling Onishchenko's trapped leg to prevent Onishchenko from advancing to side control.

Onishchenko is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Nikolaidis wants to control but Onishchenko is keeping busy.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Onishchenko trying to control from half guard but Nikolaidis is working away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Nikolaidis gets a takedown into half guard.
Onishchenko is trying to maintain the position but Nikolaidis is very close to passing his half guard.
The fighters are battling for position here. Onishchenko manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Onishchenko looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Onishchenko working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Nikolaidis doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Nikolaidis manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Nikolaidis stops Onishchenko from standing up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Onishchenko tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Nikolaidis trying to control but Onishchenko is working from the bottom.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Onishchenko is pulling down on Nikolaidis's head to control his posture.
Nikolaidis is looking to stand up but Onishchenko won't let him.
Onishchenko thows some rabbit punches from the bottom but they don't do any damage.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Onishchenko shoots in for a takedown but Nikolaidis shows good takedown defense.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Onishchenko tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Nikolaidis was well out of range. Poor timing from Onishchenko.
Onishchenko is looking to take this fight into the clinch.

Nikolaidis gets a double leg takedown into Onishchenko's guard.
Nikolaidis trying to control the position from guard on top but Onishchenko is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Onishchenko wants to stand and escape but Nikolaidis is having none of it.
Onishchenko not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.

Onishchenko looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nikolaidis wants to control from the top but Onishchenko keeps moving.
Nikolaidis is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Nikolaidis looking to sit in guard and control but Onishchenko gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Nikolaidis is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Onishchenko can do to turn this around?
Nikolaidis wants to stand but Onishchenko is controlling the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Onishchenko wants to control from the top but Nikolaidis keeps moving.
Onishchenko wants to stand but Nikolaidis is controlling his posture from full guard.
Nikolaidis can't keep his opponent in guard - Onishchenko advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Nikolaidis blocking the ground and pound attempt from Onishchenko.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Ioannis Nikolaidis will probably get the nod.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Onishchenko will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Nikolaidis lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Ioannis Nikolaidis is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Onishchenko tries to clinch there but Nikolaidis circles away.
An attempted straight right counter from Nikolaidis misses the target.
Onishchenko will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Onishchenko looks to land a body kick but Nikolaidis moved away.
Onishchenko fails to land the takedown.
Ioannis Nikolaidis has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ivan Onishchenko.
Onishchenko tries a head kick but it misses.
Onishchenko shoots and misses
and Nikolaidis counters with a nice uppercut.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Nikolaidis clinches up with Onishchenko and pushes him back against the cage.
Nikolaidis misses with a body punch.

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

Nikolaidis shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nikolaidis won't allow Onishchenko to sweep him here.
Onishchenko trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.
Onishchenko bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Nikolaidis's guard.

Ioannis Nikolaidis overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Onishchenko trying to stand up but can't free himself from Nikolaidis's guard.
Nikolaidis utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Onishchenko trying to control but Nikolaidis is working from the bottom.
Nikolaidis is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Onishchenko wants to stand and escape but instead Nikolaidis has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

Onishchenko is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Onishchenko is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nikolaidis is trying to maintain the position but Onishchenko is very close to passing his half guard.
Nikolaidis is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Nikolaidis wants to get back to full guard but Onishchenko has passed into side control.
Onishchenko has knee on belly and moves into mount.
Onishchenko trying to control but Nikolaidis is having none of it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Onishchenko throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.
Onishchenko tries to stand up but he's trapped just for the moment.
You get the feeling that Nikolaidis really doesn't like being in this position too much.
Onishchenko throws some wild stikes that Nikolaidis manages to avoid easily.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Nikolaidis is trying to escape the mount.

Onishchenko working to secure an arm triangle but it's not happening for him just yet.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Ivan Onishchenko.
I think Nikolaidis has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Marco Blurström scores the fight 29:28
Judge Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 30:28
Judge Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ioannis Nikolaidis!