PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between JJ Thomas (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rafael Misiek (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Thomas comes to the cage accompanied by Linkin Park - In the End. Misiek is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: El Picante. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Thomas
vs
Misiek

184 cm
33
177 lbs
20 - 12 - 1

181 cm
29
185 lbs
18 - 16 - 2

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

GREEN!160

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 20 - 12 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, JJ Thomas!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 18 - 16 - 2, fighting out of New York, Rafael Misiek!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Franklin, Alan Glass and Chris Downing.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Misiek misses with an uppercut.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Thomas checks a leg kick.

Misiek gets caught napping as Thomas dives in and scores a takedown. Misiek manages to retain guard.
Misiek wants to stand but Thomas is controlling the position.
Thomas trying to control but Misiek is working from the bottom.
Thomas pushing down on Misiek's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Thomas trying to pass the guard but Misiek defending well.
Misiek tries to roll over but Thomas keeps him under control.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Thomas trying to control the action but Misiek is working from the bottom.
Misiek tries to roll over but Thomas keeps him under control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thomas moves nicely into side control.

Thomas looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Misiek is pushing Thomas's head away, looking to escape. Thomas manages to hold on to the position though.

Thomas tries for a kimura but Misiek is defending well.
Misiek tries to get back to half guard but can't.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Thomas has knee on belly and moves into mount.

That's two 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.

Thomas with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
Misiek tries to hold on but Thomas pushes him away.

Thomas has control of Misiek's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and Misiek regains control of the situation pretty easily.

Thomas is working for a guillotine from mount but Misiek frees his head quite easily.

Thomas looks like he's working for a submission but he's not found anything just yet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thomas can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Misiek is looking to escape.
Thomas prevents Misiek from getting the reversal.
Misiek regains half guard.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Thomas checks a leg kick.
Misiek ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Thomas moves away.
Misiek walks into a jab.
Thomas closes the distance and clinches up with Misiek, looking for a takedown. Thomas pushes Misiek against the cage but Misiek circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Misiek tries a low kick but Thomas avoids it.
Misiek's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Thomas connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Misiek scrambles back to his feet.
Misiek walks into a jab.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Misiek lands with a slapping head kick.
Thomas moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Misiek throws an ugly left hook that misses
letting Thomas counter with a right hand.
A punch combination from Misiek misses.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Thomas looks to score with a jab to the body but Misiek is just out of range.
Misiek with a poor takedown
and Thomas cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

Thomas 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.
Misiek trying to keep a closed guard but Thomas is proving a slippery customer.
Misiek wants to sweep but no luck.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Misiek keeping moving, preventing Thomas from controlling successfully.
Thomas looking to pass the guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

JJ Thomas dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Thomas scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Thomas seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.

Thomas is looking for a kimura but Misiek is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Thomas to get the leverage.
Misiek tries to get to full guard but Thomas has control of the leg.
Misiek tries to kick Thomas off but Thomas keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Thomas is thwarting Misiek's attempts to control the position.

Thomas is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Misiek defends it well.

Thomas is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Misiek doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Thomas.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thomas wants to pass the guard but Misiek is defending well.
Thomas frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Misiek tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Thomas trying to control but he's not successful this time.

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.
Misiek can't escape the position.

Thomas jumps to side control looking for an arm triangle but Misiek manages to avoid the submission attempt.

Thomas has worked his way into a potential kimura here. Misiek is trying to get out of the position but his squirming has just got him deeper into trouble. Thomas yanks on the arm and Misiek is forced to tap due to a very painful looking submission! Nice work by Thomas.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:39 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). JJ Thomas!
An out of breath JJ Thomas thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.