PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Nickolas Bryant (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nino Niederreiter (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Bryant
vs
Niederreiter

170 cm
50
184 lbs
18 - 13 - 1

180 cm
31
175 lbs
11 - 3 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Good chin

Excellent grappler
World class MT
Heavy handed

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 18 - 13 - 1, fighting out of New York, Nickolas Bryant!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 3 - 0, fighting out of London, Nino Niederreiter!
The judges for this bout are Alec Ball, Trevor Gratis and Yves DeLean.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Bryant.
Bryant throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Niederreiter throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Bryant throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Niederreiter misses with a wild body shot.
Nino Niederreiter seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Niederreiter bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.
Bryant tries to land a front kick but Niederreiter steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Niederreiter thumps Bryant with a low kick.
The fighters circling - Bryant throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Niederreiter dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Bryant. That did some damage!
Bryant takes a jab right on the kisser.
Niederreiter displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Bryant throws out the jab.
Niederreiter uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Niederreiter throws a head kick that misses.
Niederreiter lands a nice leg kick that just misses Bryant's sensitive parts.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Bryant sizes up Niederreiter with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Niederreiter throws a half hearted mid kick.
Niederreiter looks to land a body kick but Bryant moved away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bryant lands an overhand right.
A low kick from Niederreiter is predictable there

and Bryant decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Niederreiter's guard.
Bryant in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Bryant pushes down on Niederreiter's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Niederreiter is looking for a sweep. Bryant is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Niederreiter has found himself in a tricky position here. He's been working his transitions in training so let's see if he can work his way out of it.
Niederreiter moves into full guard.
Bryant content to stall in guard here.
Bryant trying to control the position from guard on top but Niederreiter is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Niederreiter had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Bryant defends it easily.
Bryant trying to control the position from guard on top but Niederreiter is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Niederreiter has his foot on Bryant's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Bryant works his way back into a safe position though.
Bryant lands a couple of digs.
Bryant lands a couple of elbows.
Bryant trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Niederreiter is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Bryant is looking for a sweep. Niederreiter is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Niederreiter thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Bryant's head.
Niederreiter is nestled in close to Bryant, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Niederreiter scoring with strikes to the body and head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Niederreiter seems to be looking for submissions.
Bryant moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Niederreiter trying to control but Bryant is working from the bottom.
Bryant wants to control but instead he gets his guard passed and Niederreiter is now in half guard.

Bryant looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Ground and pound from Niederreiter.
Bryant wants to improve his position but Niederreiter is controlling well.
Niederreiter trying to pass the guard but Bryant defending well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Bryant is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Niederreiter pulls his head out easily.
Niederreiter lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Bryant wants to control but Niederreiter is keeping busy.
Niederreiter trying to control the action but Bryant is working from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nino Niederreiter dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Bryant looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Niederreiter lands with a kick to the ribs.
Bryant uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Niederreiter.
Bryant takes a nasty kick to the mid section... That should keep him thinking. Does he try and block and risk a head kick landing?
Bryant goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Niederreiter fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Bryant checks it well.
Bryant will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Niederreiter throws out a counter right but Bryant avoids it with no problem.
Bryant throws a jab when Niederreiter was well out of range.
Niederreiter keeps Bryant at a distance using the push kick.
Bryant shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Niederreiter defends it nicely.
Bryant misses with a wild body shot.
Niederreiter is clearly trying to counter these attacks from Bryant with a body shot.

Bryant manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Niederreiter on his heels. He'll look to pass Niederreiter's guard now, I'm sure.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Niederreiter working for a triangle but Bryant defends it easily.

Niederreiter is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Niederreiter not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Niederreiter lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Bryant preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Bryant manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Niederreiter manages to get himself to full guard.

Niederreiter keeping moving, preventing Bryant from controlling successfully.

Niederreiter throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Bryant trying to control the position from guard on top but Niederreiter is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bryant is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Bryant distracts Niederreiter with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.

Niederreiter working for a triangle but Bryant defends it easily.
Bryant trying to control but Niederreiter is working from the bottom.
Bryant is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Bryant'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.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Niederreiter is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Bryant is aware though and is defending well.
Bryant postures up.
Bryant working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.

Niederreiter is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Bryant is aware though and is defending well.
Niederreiter is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Niederreiter frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Bryant taking shots to the head.
Bryant wants to control but Niederreiter is having none of it.
Bryant is trying desperately to improve position.
Niederreiter has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Niederreiter can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Bryant is looking to escape.
Niederreiter cracks Bryant with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Niederreiter is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Niederreiter fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Bryant wants to control but Niederreiter is having none of it.
Bryant gets back to half guard.
Nino Niederreiter has got the better of the ground game so far.
Bryant is doing well to control the position and prevent Niederreiter from advancing to side control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nino Niederreiter showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Niederreiter throws a body kick that misses.
A solid leg kick lands there for Niederreiter.
Niederreiter misses with a left hand
and Bryant counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Bryant fails to land with a series of punches.
Bryant misses the shot to the body.
Niederreiter feints a counter leg kick.
Niederreiter slips a jab and a cross from Bryant.
Niederreiter fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Niederreiter scores with the left hand. Bryant knows he should have avoided that one.
Niederreiter throws out a powerful jab.
Bryant misses with an uppercut.
Niederreiter thinks about the counter body kick.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Niederreiter.
Niederreiter swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Niederreiter throws a front kick aimed at Bryant's knee but Bryant avoids it well.
Bryant thows a left - swing and a miss!
Bryant throws a body punch but Niederreiter moves out of range.
Jab, jab by Niederreiter - just one landing.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Bryant takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Nino Niederreiter seems to be getting the better of the standup.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Niederreiter thumps Bryant with a low kick.
Bryant on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Bryant will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Niederreiter throws a nice outside leg kick.
Bryant misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Bryant drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Niederreiter scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Bryant throws a big shot that misses.
Bryant ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Niederreiter moves away.
Bryant has a nice red mark on his side after a thudding body kick by Niederreiter.

Bryant drives through with a takedown into guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

Niederreiter looking for a guillotine here but Bryant defends easily.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Bryant trying to control the position from guard on top but Niederreiter is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Niederreiter is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Bryant is aware though and is defending well.
Bryant works over Niederreiter with some ground and pound from guard.
Bryant stands up over Niederreiter, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Niederreiter looking to hit a scissor sweep but Bryant is one step ahead there.
Bryant postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.

Niederreiter had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Bryant defends it easily.
Bryant makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bryant tries to free his leg and advance position but Niederreiter is retaining full guard.
Bryant keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Niederreiter's head.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Bryant's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Bryant postures up.
Niederreiter can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Bryant controls the pace.
Niederreiter is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Bryant content to stall in guard here.
Bryant cracks Niederreiter with a solid left hand.
Niederreiter keeping moving, preventing Bryant from controlling successfully.
Niederreiter is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Bryant keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Niederreiter's head.

Niederreiter is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Bryant landing some decent shots from guard.
Nino Niederreiter is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Bryant trying to control the position from guard on top but Niederreiter is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Niederreiter looking for a guillotine here but Bryant defends easily.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Bryant's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Nickolas Bryant has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Bryant not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Nino Niederreiter.
Well Niederreiter has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Alec Ball scores the fight 27:30
Judge Trevor Gratis scores the fight 27:30
Judge Yves DeLean scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Nino Niederreiter!