PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Igor Laponov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Vike Nickolson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Laponov might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Oxxxymiron - Where we don't have. I don't know about you partner, but I'm pumped for this one!

Laponov
vs
Nickolson

172 cm
26
150 lbs
4 - 4 - 0

166 cm
26
140 lbs
3 - 6 - 0

Good takedowns
Basic striking
Good chin

Good wrestler
Brawler
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 4 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Igor Laponov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 6 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Vike Nickolson!
The judges for this bout are Sandra Marshall, Dirk Anderson and Winston Alpacca.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Laponov throws a body shot but no joy.
Laponov has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.
Nickolson throws a hook to the side of Laponov's head but Laponov sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Nickolson slips a straight right by Laponov.

Nickolson moves into range and clinches up with Laponov.
Laponov fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Laponov tries to pull guard but Nickolson forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Nickolson lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Laponov backwards.
Nickolson lands a body punch.
Laponov tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Nickolson just stands there and leans against the cage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Igor Laponov. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Nickolson breaks from the clinch.

Nickolson rushes Laponov and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Still in the clinch, Nickolson scores with a nice short uppercut.
Nickolson gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Laponov.
Laponov tries to pull guard but Nickolson won't allow it.

Nickolson ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Nickolson no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Laponov stops Nickolson from standing up.
Laponov in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nickolson looking to hit a scissor sweep but Laponov is one step ahead there.
Laponov trying to control but Nickolson is working from the bottom.
Laponov throws a big elbow that misses.
Nickolson keeping moving, preventing Laponov from controlling successfully.
Laponov stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Nickolson swivels though and keeps the full guard.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Laponov pushing down on Nickolson's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.

That's two 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.
Nickolson is trying to get back to full guard.
Nickolson is trying to stand up here but Laponov is controlling him well.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Nickolson can do anything to dispel that myth.
Laponov is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Nickolson!

Laponov with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
Nickolson is working to get back to half guard.
Laponov sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
Laponov scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Nickolson?

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Laponov working to secure an arm triangle but it's not happening for him just yet.
Laponov looking to finish with strikes here!
Laponov 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.

Laponov is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Nickolson can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
Laponov trying to control but Nickolson is having none of it.
Nickolson avoids a series of strikes thrown by Laponov.

Laponov has isolated one of Nickolson's arms. Nickolson looking to fight him off but Laponov twists into an armbar. It's tight... Will he tap?? YES, he's tapped! This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:59 of round 1, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Igor Laponov!
Igor Laponov seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.