PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Rock Down (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nguyen Hoang Minh (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Down might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to The battle. Rock Down has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Down
vs
Hoang Minh

190 cm
20
180 lbs
3 - 3 - 0

185 cm
21
190 lbs
0 - 4 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Experienced

BJJ White Belt
Good kicks
Very confident

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 3 - 0, fighting out of London, Rock Down!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 4 - 0, fighting out of London, Nguyen Hoang Minh!
The judges for this bout are Phil Schofield, Paul Tew and Richard Clark.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Down shoots in looking for a takedown but Minh manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Down's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Despite the aggression on Minh's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.
Down throws a leg kick
and Minh counters with a series of strikes. Down will be more careful next time no doubt.
Down throws a right and a left that Minh avoids nicely.
Down misses the body punch

and Minh counters by moving into the clinch.

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

Down shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Minh manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Minh not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Down pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Minh is keeping the position for now.
Minh looking to control.
We've been hearing good reports from Down's training camp. Apparently he has been rolling around with some good quality BJJ practitioners and has been sharpening his skills. Let's see if that has an impact on the fight today.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Minh wants to sweep but no luck.
Minh has been taking part in the yoga sessions down at Cozad MMA London. Presumably he's going to look for a slick submission... Or maybe he's looking to avoid one.
Minh managing to control the position.
Down cracks Minh with a solid left hand.

Minh has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Down can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Minh keeping full guard, as Down tries to pass.
Minh can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Down controls the pace.
Minh not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.

Minh is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Down controlling from the top position.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
A jab from Down misses.
Down misses with a leg kick.
Minh steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Down.
Down fails in his attempt to clinch.
Minh throws a counter combo.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Minh swats away the attempt to clinch by Down.
Minh is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.

Down instigates a clinch.

Down breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Minh avoids a kick to the body.
Down throws a lazy head kick
and Minh counters with a two punch combo.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Down gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.

Down breaks from the clinch.
Down pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Minh unleashes a big counter combination but Down bobs and weaves and avoids any damage.
Down misses with an attempted mid kick.

Minh gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Down is breathing heavily.
Minh is looking to sweep but instead, Down has passed into half guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Minh is looking to improve his position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rock Down dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Down misses with a right hand
letting Minh counter with a right hand.

Minh gets tackled into the cage by Down. Down maintains the clinch.

Minh's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

Down drives through and clinches with Minh against the cage.
Down has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Minh is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Minh is looking to control Down's arms but Down gets an underhook and turns him. Now Minh has his back to the cage.
Down has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Minh is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Minh tries to land knees in the clinch but Down avoids the damage to the body.
Minh looking for a takedown.
Down tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Minh's elbow.
Minh tries to pull guard but Down won't allow it.

Down's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Rock Down seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Down shoots in and gets a takedown into Minh's guard.
Minh has Down pulled in close to control his posture.
Down preventing the sweep.
Minh keeps trying to improve his position.
Down is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Minh can do to turn this around?
Minh working a defensive guard here.
Minh keeping moving, preventing Down from controlling successfully.
Down working some strikes from top position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Minh is trying to control the position but Down postures up.
Down pushes down on Minh's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Minh is looking to improve his position.
Down controlling the action here.
Down's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Minh has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Down is working away from the top position though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Down is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Minh has managed to free his arm - good work.
Minh has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Down is working away from the top position though.
Rock Down overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Minh tries to get to full guard but Down has control of the leg.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Minh has hold of Down's hands but Down slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Down trying to control the action but Minh is working from the bottom.
Still in half guard, Down seems content to control.

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.
Minh tries to roll over but Down keeps him under control.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.

Down pushes Minh up against the cage in a clinch.

Down has dropped down and is working for a takedown. Minh is trying to keep an underhook but Down manages to get the takedown into half guard.
Minh is trying to maintain the position but Down is very close to passing his half guard.
Down uses his free foot to push down on Minh's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Minh.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Minh is trying to escape the mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rock Down dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Down 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.
Down slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Down distracts Minh with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Minh wants to sweep here but Down controlling him for the moment.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Down is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Minh is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Down seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Down with a nice head shot there.
Minh is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Down slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.

Down drops back, looking for a kneebar! Minh looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Minh looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Minh!

Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Down manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Minh looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Down wants to control but Minh is keeping him busy.
Minh is looking for a sweep. Down is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Down drops an elbow to the side of Minh's head.
Down passes to side control.
Minh really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Down. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Minh tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Down working the body and head with strikes.
Down is staying tight to Minh's torso, preventing him from escaping.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Down goes for an armbar here - this could be all over! But no, Minh has escaped beautifully and is now on top in side control! Oh, that's unlucky for Down but great work by Minh.
Nguyen Hoang Minh has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Down sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
Down trying to control but Minh postures up.
Minh missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Down gets back to full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Down keeping moving, preventing Minh from controlling successfully.

Down looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Minh trying to control the position from guard on top but Down is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Down throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Rock Down is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Down looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

And that's the end of the fight!
Rock Down showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Down, 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 Phil Schofield scores the fight 30:27
Judge Paul Tew scores the fight 30:27
Judge Richard Clark scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rock Down!
During a confident post fight interview, Rock Down thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.