PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Thomas Raven (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Vadim Nazarov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Nazarov has chosen "Fade to Black" by Metallica as his entrance music. Vadim Nazarov is staring across the cage at his opponent, tweaking his nipples.

Raven
vs
Nazarov

188 cm
38
197 lbs
29 - 14 - 1

187 cm
36
195 lbs
34 - 17 - 4

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Olympic wrestler
World class MT
Granite chin

Spartan Nutrition
Hellbent

King of Clothes
Aspire Clothing

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 29 - 14 - 1, fighting out of New York, Thomas Raven!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 34 - 17 - 4, fighting out of Las Vegas, Vadim Nazarov!
The judges for this bout are Andrew Berry, Chris Edwards and Donald Grub.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Raven pushes Nazarov up against the cage in a clinch.
A short left from Raven.

It looks like Vadim Nazarov has been cut.
Raven lands with a right to the head.
Raven goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Raven tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Raven is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Nazarov has a couple of punches blocked by Raven.
Nazarov can't find room to land a body shot as Raven controls the action.
Raven is pushing Nazarov up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Raven takes a shot to the head.
Nazarov has Raven pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Raven manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Nazarov misses with a hook from the clinch.
Raven doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Raven breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Raven scores with a body shot.
Vadim Nazarov seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Nazarov uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Nazarov fails with the takedown.
Thomas Raven has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Vadim Nazarov.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Raven has taken the fight to the clinch.
Raven struggles to land a body shot inside as Nazarov controls his hands.

Nazarov escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Nazarov misses with a hook.
Raven misses with a low kick.
Nazarov takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Raven throws a big shot that misses.
Raven lands a head shot.
Nazarov misses with a hook.
Raven ducks under a wild hook from Nazarov.
Nazarov shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Raven defends it nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Raven lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.

Raven shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Nazarov manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
This has been an exciting period of action!
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Nazarov holds on and takes a little breather.
Raven working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Raven wants to pass the guard but Nazarov is keeping the position.
Raven throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nazarov wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Raven with a flurry of punches that miss.
Raven controlling from the top position.
Nazarov is controlling Raven's posture.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Raven looks to score with a jab to the body but Nazarov is just out of range.
Raven looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Nazarov looks to land a right hand but Raven moved out of range.
Raven lands with an uppercut that bounces Nazarov off the cage and back into range.
A slow jab from Nazarov misses its intended target.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Raven connects with a crisp jab.
Raven takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Nazarov jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Nazarov looks to land a left hand but Raven moved out of range nicely.
Raven lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
Nazarov takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Raven misses with an attempted mid kick.

Raven has managed to clinch.

Nazarov has hold of one of Raven's legs. Raven is fighting the takedown attempt but Nazarov gets the trip and lands the takedown into guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Nazarov is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Raven looking to control but Nazarov passes into half guard.
Nazarov is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Thomas Raven dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Vadim Nazarov's cut.
That's time! Back to the action!

Nazarov throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Nazarov moves away from the strike by Raven.
As Raven backs off Nazarov throws a huge counter combo but Raven manages to avoid it all.
Nazarov misses with a wild body shot.
Nazarov staying out of range there.
A decent looking body kick lands there for Raven.
Raven throws a series of punches but Nazarov moves out of range.
Nazarov with the counter takedown but Raven avoids it easily.
Nazarov throws a right hand that misses
enabling Raven to counter with a crisp jab.
Nazarov throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Raven uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Nazarov has time to react.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Nazarov throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Raven sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Nazarov throws a good cross that connects.
Raven throws a body punch but Nazarov moves out of range.
Raven is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Nazarov can do to turn this around?
Nazarov moves out of range as Raven strikes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nazarov takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Raven swings away with a body shot that misses
and Nazarov counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Raven ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Raven works Nazarov's body with a nice hook.

Raven drives through and clinches with Nazarov against the cage.
Nazarov tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Raven has a couple of punches blocked by Nazarov.
Nazarov misses with some punches.
Nazarov throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Ravens head.
Raven has Nazarov pushed against the cage.
Raven can't find room to land a body shot as Nazarov controls the action.
Raven taking a breather.
Nazarov has Raven pressed against the cage, preventing Raven from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Raven presses Nazarov against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.

Raven wants the takedown. Nazarov is fighting it off but Raven persists and manages to bring the fight to the ground, ending up in Nazarov's guard against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Raven with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Nazarov has his hands on Raven's head, controlling the position.
Nazarov preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Nazarov manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Raven manages to get himself to full guard.

Nazarov with a flurry of punches that miss.
Nazarov is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.

Raven has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Nazarov can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Nazarov connects with a couple of short punches.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Raven not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Nazarov is working Raven over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Raven is controlling Nazarov's posture.
Nazarov content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Nazarov trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Nazarov throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Raven works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Nazarov postures up.
Raven looking for a sweep. Not yet Raven, not yet.
Raven working a defensive guard here.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

That's four 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.
Nazarov works over Raven's head and body with a nice combination.
Raven wants to clinch
and Nazarov counters with a straight right hand.
Raven misses with a body punch
and Nazarov counters with a right hand to the body.
Nazarov misses with a looping left.
It looked like Raven wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Raven moves away from the strike by Nazarov.
Raven waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Nazarov.
Thomas Raven is winning the standup battle so far.
Raven takes a swing at Nazarov's ribcage but misses.
Nazarov moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Raven slips a jab and a cross from Nazarov.
Nazarov wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Nazarov keeps the fight on the outside.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Vadim Nazarov will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The cut man is working on Vadim Nazarov's cut.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Nazarov blocks a leg kick.
Nazarov goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Raven looks to score with a jab to the body but Nazarov is just out of range.
Raven chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Nazarov swats away the attempt to clinch by Raven.
Nazarov changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.
Nazarov will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.

Nazarov throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Raven was covering up waiting for the punch and Nazarov finishes the takedown easily into guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Raven is on top in guard.

Nazarov is controlling Raven's posture.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Raven works over Nazarov with some ground and pound from guard.
Nazarov utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Raven trying to control the position from guard on top but Nazarov is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Raven loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

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.
Raven showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Raven has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Raven stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Nazarov swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Raven with a flurry of punches that miss.
Nazarov bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Raven's guard.

Raven has his hands on Nazarov's head, controlling the position.
Nazarov throws a big elbow that misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Raven looking for a guillotine here but Nazarov defends easily.
Raven is trying to control the position from the bottom.

Raven is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Nazarov works over Raven with some ground and pound from guard.
Nazarov trying to control the position from guard on top but Raven is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Nazarov showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Nazarov fails with a takedown attempt.
Nazarov throws a looping overhand right but Raven ducks down to avoid it.
Raven shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Nazarov sprawls well. Nazarov wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Raven gets slowly back to his feet.
Raven misses with a left hand
and Nazarov counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Raven on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Raven takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Raven swings and misses with a hook to the body.

And that's the end of the fight!
Vadim Nazarov comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Nazarov has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Andrew Berry scores the fight 28:29
Judge Chris Edwards scores the fight 28:29
Judge Donald Grub scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Vadim Nazarov!
Vadim Nazarov thanked the fans post fight for their support.