PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Shamil Zavurov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Bryan Nickoson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Zavurov's entrance music is Empire Of The Sun – Alive. A fine choice. This should be fireworks!

Zavurov
vs
Nickoson

172 cm
26
169 lbs
4 - 3 - 0

182 cm
20
179 lbs
3 - 5 - 0

Decent wrestler
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Fast

GREEN!160
Mohito Fightwear

Mohito Fightwear

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 4 - 3 - 0, fighting out of London, Shamil Zavurov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 5 - 0, fighting out of London, Bryan Nickoson!
The judges for this bout are Chris Edwards, James Ackerman and Richard Clark.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
The fight stays on the outside here - Zavurov looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

Zavurov takes the fight into the clinch.
Zavurov throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Zavurov misses with a punch on the inside.
Zavurov lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Nickoson working hard to break the clinch.
Nickoson wants to break the clinch but can't.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Zavurov missing with knees to the body.
Zavurov displaying some good clinch control by pressing Nickoson up against the cage.
Zavurov misses with an elbow over the top.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zavurov tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Zavurov displaying some good clinch control by pressing Nickoson up against the cage.
Zavurov misses with some punches.
Zavurov misses with a punch on the inside.
Nickoson stalling against the cage.
Nickoson dodges an elbow strike from Zavurov.
Zavurov stalling.
Nickoson blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Zavurov struggles to land a body shot inside as Nickoson controls his hands.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nickoson wants to break free but Zavurov has control.
Zavurov lands with a left to the head.
Nickoson is trying to pull guard but Zavurov has him pressed against the cage.
Nickoson looking to slow down the pace here.
A short right from Zavurov.
Zavurov misses with the head strike.
Nickoson looking to stall.
Zavurov misses with a punch to the body.
Zavurov being controlled against the cage.
Zavurov swings wildly with an uppercut but Nickoson uses good head movement to avoid it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zavurov lands with a short shot to the head.
Zavurov tries a body shot but Nickoson blocks it.
Nickoson looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Zavurov slowing the pace effectively.
Zavurov dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Zavurov lands a body punch.
A head punch on the inside from Zavurov fails to land.
Zavurov will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Nickoson up against the cage.
Zavurov stalling the fight.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Zavurov takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Zavurov seems to have come into the fight with the intention of avoiding any damage in the clinch, rather than actually showing any aggression.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Shamil Zavurov.
Zavurov moves to clinch but Nickoson breaks away
and Zavurov takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Zavurov tries to clinch
and Nickoson counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Nickoson scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Zavurov fails in his attempt to clinch.
Nickoson looks to land a left hand but Zavurov moved out of range nicely.
Zavurov seems to be moving with more speed, compared to his last bout. He must have been working on that in the gym.
Zavurov fails with an attempt to clinch.
Nickoson walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Zavurov checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Zavurov wants to clinch up but Nickoson keeps it at a distance.
Zavurov moves in looking to clinch but Nickoson pushes him off.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Nickoson misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Nickoson dives in for a single leg takedown but Zavurov sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Zavurov is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Zavurov moves in looking to clinch but Nickoson pushes him off.
Nickoson feints a counter leg kick.
Zavurov tries to clinch up
and Nickoson counters with a three punch combo that has Zavurov backing up. Zavurov nods at Nickoson to acknowledge the strikes.
Nickoson misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Nickoson fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Zavurov on the side of the head.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Zavurov darts in trying to clinch
and Nickoson counters with a stiff right hand.
Zavurov moves in looking to clinch but Nickoson pushes him off.

Zavurov clinches up with Nickoson and pushes him back against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zavurov lands a right hand.
Zavurov tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Zavurov manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Zavurov misses with a punch on the inside.
Zavurov tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Nickoson's elbow.
Nickoson blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Zavurov will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Nickoson up against the cage.
Zavurov stalling the fight.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Zavurov throws a head punch that misses.
Zavurov is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Stalling in the clinch from Zavurov.
Nickoson blocks an uppercut.
Nickoson is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Zavurov pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Zavurov doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Zavurov taking a breather.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Shamil Zavurov.

Nickoson tries to keep at a distance but Zavurov has taken the fight into the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nickoson prevents a body shot from Zavurov.
Zavurov has Nickoson pressed against the cage.
Zavurov misses with a body punch.
Zavurov leaning against his opponent.
Zavurov doesn't land with the attempted body shot.

Nickoson breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Zavurov is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Nickoson can do to turn this around?
Nickoson will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.

Zavurov clinches up against the cage.
Zavurov just leaning against Nickoson, taking a breather.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nickoson is trying to stall.
Still in the clinch, Zavurov scores with a nice short uppercut.
Zavurov pushes off an throws an elbow but Nickoson leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Zavurov tries to land knees in the clinch but Nickoson avoids the damage to the body.
Zavurov swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Nickoson is looking to break free of the clinch but Zavurov has double underhooks.
Zavurov misses with an elbow strike.
Nickoson is trying to force a seperation but Zavurov has the dominant position.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Zavurov takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Zavurov prevents Nickoson from breaking the clinch.
Zavurov lands a left hand.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Shamil Zavurov dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Zavurov fails in his attempt to clinch.
Nickoson throws a counter combo.
Zavurov is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Zavurov darts in trying to clinch
and Nickoson counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Zavurov has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Nickoson finds it's way round the side to connect with Zavurov's head.
Zavurov throws a right and a left that both miss.
Danga de danga de dang - Nickoson scores with a four punch combination!
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Zavurov closes the distance looking to clinch
and Nickoson counters with a nice uppercut.

Zavurov rushes Nickoson and presses him up against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zavurov tries to land knees in the clinch but Nickoson avoids the damage to the body.
Zavurov misses with a punch to the body.
Zavurov throws a punch but it's blocked by Nickoson.
A head punch on the inside from Zavurov fails to land.
Nickoson blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Nickoson blocks an elbow strike from Zavurov.
Nickoson wants to break free but Zavurov has control.
Zavurov tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Nickoson trying to stall but Zavurov improves his position.
Zavurov misses with a hook from the clinch.
Zavurov misses with a short punch on the inside.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Zavurov throws a head punch that misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nickoson blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Zavurov lands a nice knee to the body.
Zavurov scores with a shoulder strike.
Nickoson has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Nickoson blocks an uppercut.
Zavurov throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Nickosons head.

Nickoson jumps guard and drags Zavurov to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Zavurov wanted to stand there but Nickoson had control of the position.
Nickoson is trying to control the position but Zavurov postures up.

Nickoson throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Zavurov got a little sloppy there for a moment and Nickoson has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Zavurov has managed to get both his arms back between Nickoson's legs - danger averted.
Bryan Nickoson has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Nickoson trying to keep a closed guard but Zavurov is proving a slippery customer.
Nickoson throwing strikes off his back to little effect.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Zavurov wants to get up but he can't break Nickoson's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Zavurov tries to clinch but Nickoson moves out of range.
Nickoson is looking for the big counter here.

That's four 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.
Zavurov throws a right hand that misses
and Nickoson counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Zavurov uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Nickoson has time to react.
Zavurov throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Nickoson.
Shamil Zavurov is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Zavurov moves in looking to clinch but Nickoson pushes him off.
Shamil Zavurov seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Zavurov needs to keep his hands up - Nickoson had a free shot at his head there.

Zavurov moves into the clinch.
Zavurov swings wildly with an uppercut but Nickoson uses good head movement to avoid it.
Zavurov throws a punch but it's blocked by Nickoson.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Zavurov pushes off an throws an elbow but Nickoson leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Zavurov dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Zavurov tries a body shot but Nickoson blocks it.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Shamil Zavurov.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Zavurov, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Chris Edwards scores the fight 30:27
Judge James Ackerman scores the fight 29:28
Judge Richard Clark scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Shamil Zavurov!
Jumping up and down and very excited, Shamil Zavurov waved his t-shirt featuring Mohito Fightwear's logo in front of the cameras.