PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Nick Daley (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Sami Assasi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Daley kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is God save the queen, Sex Pistols. 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.

Daley
vs
Assasi

178 cm
22
169 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

184 cm
20
176 lbs
0 - 0 - 1

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Solid chin

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Nick Daley!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 1, fighting out of London, Sami Assasi!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Bishop, Donald Grub and Chris Edwards.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Assasi looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Assasi misses with a jab, cross combination.
Assasi tries to close the distance and clinch up but Daley swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Daley wants to clinch
and Assasi makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Assasi darts in trying to clinch
and Daley counters with a big head kick but Assasi shrugs it off.
A head kick by Daley misses
and Assasi counters with a nice body shot.
Assasi takes a swing at Daley's ribcage but misses.
Daley throws a sloppy head kick and Assasi moves out of range easily.
Daley avoids a punch combination nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Daley misses with a head kick.

Assasi drives through and clinches with Daley against the cage.

Daley gets control of Assasi's arms and successfully pulls guard. Daley will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Daley bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Assasi's guard.
Assasi wants to sweep but no luck.

Assasi looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Assasi is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Daley's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Assasi looking to control.
Assasi avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Daley's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Daley throwing strikes from guard but Assasi blocks nicely.
Daley trying to control but Assasi is working from the bottom.
Daley is looking to work some ground and pound but Assasi has wrist control.
Assasi keeping full guard, as Daley tries to pass.
Daley working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Daley slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Daley postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Daley is looking to take a break and control but Assasi is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Daley fails with the takedown

and Assasi counters by clinching up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Assasi can't get the takedown.
Daley misses with a knee strike.
Assasi tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Daley smiles and moves away.
Daley circles away from the clinch attempt

and Daley counters with a shoot takedown. Assasi fights it but they end up in guard.
Daley trying to control the position from guard on top but Assasi is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Assasi looking to control.
Daley keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Assasi's head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Daley trying to control the position from guard on top but Assasi is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Daley 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.
Daley 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.
Assasi is trying to control the position from the bottom.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Assasi is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Daley shoots and misses

and Assasi counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Assasi drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Nick Daley has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Sami Assasi.
Assasi looks gassed!
Assasi fails to pull the fight into his guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nick Daley dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Assasi falls off balance throwing a combination
and Daley counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Daley tries a head kick but it misses.
Daley throws a head kick but Assasi moves out of range.
Assasi blocks a head kick by Daley.
Daley misses with a body kick.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Daley lands a head kick!

Daley has closed the distance and engaged Assasi in a clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Assasi tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Daley has Assasi pressed against the cage.

Assasi lands a takedown into guard.
Daley is trying to control the position from the bottom.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Daley is on top in guard.
Assasi wants to sweep but no luck.
Daley throws a strike but Assasi rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Assasi postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Daley is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Assasi, into his guard.
Assasi is breathing heavily.
Assasi wants to sweep but no luck.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Daley lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Daley wants to control from the top but Assasi keeps moving.
Daley forces his way into half guard.
Daley is looking to take a break and control but Assasi is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Daley in particular looking to stall.
Daley thows a huge punch but Assasi dodges it nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Daley wants to lay and pray for a moment but Assasi keeps working.

Daley is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Assasi is trying to control but can't.
Daley thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Assasi's head.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Daley throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Assasi throws a right and a left that both miss.
Daley tries for a takedown but Assasi circles away easily

and Assasi moves into the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Daley is pressed up against the cage. Assasi has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Daley down to the mat. Daley avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Daley throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.

Daley instigates a clinch.

Assasi breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Daley swings away with a body shot that misses

and Assasi counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Assasi tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Daley smiles and moves away.
Daley throws a head kick but Assasi moves out of range.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nick Daley dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Assasi tries to clinch but Daley moves away

and Daley counters with a takedown into side control.
Assasi pushes Daley away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Daley gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.

Daley thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Daley has knee on belly and now moves to full mount! Trouble for Assasi!
Daley lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Assasi is trying to stand.
Daley unloading with bombs!
Daley looking to control but Assasi is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Assasi is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Daley lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Assasi hang on?
The referee warns Assasi that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Daley pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Daley lands a nice shot to the head.
Daley wants to control the pace but Assasi is squirming around nicely.
Assasi is in all sorts of trouble here.
Daley working Assasi over with strikes here.
Assasi is bucking up trying to escape but Daley cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Daley scoring with strikes but Assasi is staying in there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Assasi is not a happy chappy… he wants out of there.

Daley goes for an armbar but he's fallen flat on his backside there and now Assasi is on top in guard.
Assasi must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Daley will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
Assasi stopping the sweep attempt from Daley.
Daley is working hard here to advance position.
Daley thows some rabbit punches from the bottom but they don't do any damage.
Assasi won't allow Daley to sweep him here.
Assasi controls from within his opponent's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Assasi slips nicely into half guard.
Daley slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Daley is trying to keep Assasi in close.

Daley is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Daley trying to control the position.

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.

Daley has his foot on Assasi's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Assasi works his way back into a safe position though.
Assasi trying to control but Daley is working from the bottom.
Daley looking to hit a scissor sweep but Assasi is one step ahead there.
Nick Daley is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Assasi tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Daley counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.

And that's the end of the fight!
Nick Daley showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Daley, 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 Daniel Bishop scores the fight 30:27
Judge Donald Grub scores the fight 30:27
Judge Chris Edwards scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Nick Daley!