PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Abi Tural (ranked 2756 p4p, 284 weight class) and Lucas Blye (ranked 5427 p4p, 458 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.

Tural
vs
Blye

170 cm
32
153 lbs
15 - 11 - 1

173 cm
32
155 lbs
18 - 16 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Olympic wrestler
Excellent MT
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 15 - 11 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Abi Tural!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 18 - 16 - 0, fighting out of New York, Lucas Blye!
The judges for this bout are Radbod Blank, Albert Achterberg and Wagner Zegers.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Blye moves away from the strike by Tural.
Blye is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Tural.
Blye looks for a takedown but Tural sprawls well.
Blye ducks under a wild hook from Tural.
Tural looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Tural throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

so Blye counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Blye throws a big right hand that misses.
Blye trying to control the position from guard on top but Tural is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Blye with a nice head shot there.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Blye pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Tural is keeping the position for now.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tural trying to keep a closed guard but Blye is proving a slippery customer.
Tural keeping moving, preventing Blye from controlling successfully.
Blye stays in close to Tural's body and controls the position.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Blye moves in looking to clinch but Tural pushes him off.
Blye tries to clinch but Tural moves away
and Tural connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Blye tries a low kick but Tural avoids it.

Blye pushes Tural up against the cage in a clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Blye tries to score a body lock takedown but Tural shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Tural has a couple of punches blocked by Blye.
Tural lands with a light punch inside.

Blye jumps guard and drags Tural to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Blye working a defensive guard here.
Blye has his hands on Tural's head, controlling the position.
Let's hope that Blye has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
Blye working a defensive guard here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Blye is looking for a triangle here but Tural uses the submission attempt to pass into side control.
Blye is trying to control Tural's posture but Tural avoids it.
Tural wants to lay and pray for a moment but Blye keeps working.
Tural taking a breather here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Blye is looking to slip a leg under and get half guard but Tural is one step ahead and moves to full mount!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Tural avoids the attempt from Blye to control.
Blye can't escape the position.
Blye is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Blye 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.
Tural controlling the position easily from mount.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Blye tries to lock up and control but Tural gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Abi Tural dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Tural!
Tural swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.

Blye fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Tural sprawls well initially but Blye persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Blye takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Blye lands strikes from half guard.
Blye is trying to control. Tural wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Blye is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Blye not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Blye trying to control from half guard but Tural is working away.
Blye is controlling the pace.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tural works his way to full guard. Good work.
Blye sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Tural's guard.
Blye seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Tural does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Blye is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Tural!
Tural tries to lock up and control but Blye gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Blye lands with some strikes.
Poor strikes thrown by Blye there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Blye trying to control but Tural is having none of it.
Blye scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Tural?
Blye wants to control the pace but Tural is squirming around nicely.
Blye landing strikes, looking to finish!

Blye working for a submission but Tural is keeping him at bay.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tural working to try and regain half guard.
Blye trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Blye lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Blye controlling from mount.
Tural wants to hold on but Blye pushes him away.
Blye trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Blye throws some wild stikes that Tural manages to avoid easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Blye controlling the pace for now.
Lucas Blye has got the better of the ground game so far.
Blye tries to control but Tural wriggling away.
Blye working some short elbows here. He postures up to throw some more ground and pound but Tural slips a leg through to get back to half guard. Nice work.
Blye is just content to waste time from the top position. Tural takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Blye in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Blye has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Blye stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Tural swivels though and keeps the full guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Lucas Blye showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Blye tries to clinch but Tural moves out of range.
Blye misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Tural.
A quick step to the side and Tural tries to counter with a shot to the body but it doesn't connect.
Blye is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Tural scores with the left hand. Blye knows he should have avoided that one.
Blye defending well as Tural loads up on a big left hand.
Blye changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.
Blye doesn't manage to clinch there - Tural circles away.

Blye 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.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Blye pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Tural is keeping the position for now.
Blye trying to control the position from guard on top but Tural is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Tural is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Blye trying to control but Tural postures up.
Tural keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Blye trying to control but Tural postures up.
Blye holds on for dear life, maintaining half guard for now.
Tural is controlling the pace.
Blye is trying to control but can't.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Tural controlling the action here.
Blye trying to control here.
Blye misses with some strikes from the bottom.
Tural prevents Blye from improving his position.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Blye fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
It looked like Tural wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Tural throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Tural lands with a straight right. Blye didn't see that one coming.
Blye shoots for a double leg takedown but Tural sprawls well. He's pushed Blye's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Tural swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Blye fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Tural on the side of the head.
Blye on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Tural lunges at Blye with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Blye's hand.
Blye checks a low kick from Tural.
Tural scores with a jab.

Blye is rocked!
Tural misses with a two punch combination.
Blye is still on wobbly legs! Can Tural finish him?
Tural connects with a crisp jab.
Blye gets caught by a big overhand right and goes down! Tural gets on top of him and starts throwing some serious punches until the ref intervenes and stops the fight!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:58 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Abi Tural!
A very excited looking Abi Tural made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.