PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov (ranked 323 p4p, 1110 weight class) and Takeshi Takamura (ranked 36 p4p, 136 weight class). Nurmagomedov's ring entrance music is that housewives' favourite, Dagestan (Remix). Takamura is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: Inner Light - Shocking Lemon. Khabib Nurmagomedov could well score a knockout today. He has the power to get to Takeshi Takamura's chin.

Nurmagomedov
vs
Takamura

178 cm
29
170
10 - 1 - 0

173 cm
22
155
3 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Cardio machine

BJJ Purple Belt
Great elbows
Good gas tank

Kore Fight Nutrition
Brooklyn Apothecary

Savage Fightwear
Conviction

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the lightweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 10 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Khabib Nurmagomedov!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Takeshi Takamura!
The judges for this bout are Frank Antenori, Don Winkell and Jack Bonds.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nurmagomedov throws a lazy right hand but Takamura sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Takamura throws a hook but Nurmagomedov blocks it.
Takamura throws a body shot but no joy.
The fighters circling - Takamura throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Takamura scores with a hook to the body. Nurmagomedov takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
A cross from Takamura lands.
Nurmagomedov misses with a wild body shot.
Nurmagomedov displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Takamura throws out the jab.
We've been hearing reports that Nurmagomedov has been drilling takedowns in recent sessions so let's see if that has an impact on the result of this fight.
Nurmagomedov lands with a good body shot.
Takamura lands a jab to the head.
Nurmagomedov uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Takamura.
Takamura looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Takamura takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Takamura misses with a low kick.
Takamura scores with a nice body kick.
Takamura loads up on a big right hand but Nurmagomedov slips the punch.
Nurmagomedov was looking to counter that last move with a shot to the body but he didn't commit.
Takamura chopping away at his opponent's legs.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Thud! ouch! good body kick from Takamura - that will leave a mark!
Nurmagomedov moves out of range of the leg kick from Takamura.
Nurmagomedov was looking to counter that last move with a shot to the body but he didn't commit.
Takamura throws a hook to the side of Nurmagomedov's head but Nurmagomedov sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Nurmagomedov throws a body punch but Takamura moves out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nice defenses there by Nurmagomedov.
Nurmagomedov shoots in but Takamura avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Takamura misses with a body shot
and Nurmagomedov counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Takamura throws a low kick but Nurmagomedov avoids it.
Takeshi Takamura is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Takamura throws out a powerful jab.
Nurmagomedov with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Takamura to score with a decent uppercut.
Takamura tries to score with a low kick but Nurmagomedov moves his leg out of the way.
Nurmagomedov fails with a takedown attempt.
A looping hook to the body misses from Takamura. Nurmagomedov does a little dance to reset his feet.
Nurmagomedov takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Nurmagomedov slips a straight right by Takamura.
Nurmagomedov uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Takamura.
Takamura slips under a jab from Nurmagomedov.
Takamura finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Takamura jabs Nurmagomedov right on the nose. Nurmagomedov blinks but takes it well.

Takamura gets caught flat footed, as Nurmagomedov shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Nurmagomedov showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Nurmagomedov stops Takamura from standing up.
Takamura keeping moving, preventing Nurmagomedov from controlling successfully.
Nurmagomedov stops Takamura from standing up.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Nurmagomedov 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.
Takamura is looking to stand up but Nurmagomedov isn't so interested in that idea.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Takamura works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Takamura attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Nurmagomedov tries for a takedown but Takamura sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Khabib Nurmagomedov. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Takamura moves out of range as Nurmagomedov strikes.
Nurmagomedov swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Takamura misses with a hook. Nurmagomedov ducked under it nicely.
Nurmagomedov moves out of range as Takamura throws a body kick.
Takamura with a jab.
Nurmagomedov loads up on a big right hand but Takamura slips the punch.
Nurmagomedov shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Takamura is landing a lot of head punches in this opening round! Nurmagomedov had better start moving his head a bit unless he wants his face to turn into pâté.
Takamura tries to land a front kick but Nurmagomedov steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Takamura digs a good hook to Nurmagomedov's body.
Nurmagomedov misses with a takedown attempt - Takamura sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Takamura ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Takamura throws a jab but it's blocked by Nurmagomedov.
Nurmagomedov misses with an uppercut. Takamura saw that one coming.
Nice uppercut lands for Takamura. That snapped Nurmagomedov's head back.
Nurmagomedov walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Takamura has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Takamura there as he acknowledges the shot.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Takamura scores with a body shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nurmagomedov misses the shot to the body.
Nurmagomedov misses with a hook. Takamura ducked under it nicely.
Nurmagomedov goes for a double leg but Takamura avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Takamura continues to drive forward.
Nurmagomedov misses the body punch
and Takamura counters with a straight right hand.
Takamura throws a body shot but no joy.
Nurmagomedov works Takamura's body with a nice hook.
Takamura throws a low kick, looking for Nurmagomedov's leg but Nurmagomedov calmly moves out of range.

Nurmagomedov 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.

Takamura pushes Nurmagomedov off and gets back to his feet.
Takamura waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Nurmagomedov.
Nurmagomedov tries to bum rush Takamura with a series of wild strikes but Takamura uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Takamura takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Nurmagomedov swings for the body but Takamura moves out of range.
Takamura swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Nurmagomedov.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Takamura misses with an attempted mid kick.
Nurmagomedov 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.
Nurmagomedov throws a shot from downtown. Takamura moves away and avoids it.
Nurmagomedov throws a hook to the side of Takamura's head but Takamura sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Takeshi Takamura dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Takamura gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Nurmagomedov stops Takamura from standing up.
Nurmagomedov wants to control from the top but Takamura keeps moving.
Takamura wants to get back to his feet but Nurmagomedov is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Nurmagomedov wants to control from the top but Takamura keeps moving.
Nurmagomedov keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Takamura's head.
Takamura is looking to stand back up... there's a bit of a scramble and Nurmagomedov dives into side control.
Nurmagomedov in side control lands a decent elbow.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Takamura wants to get back to his feet.
Nurmagomedov trying to control the position but Takamura is working away.
Nurmagomedov scores with punches from side control.
Takamura wants to get back to his feet but Nurmagomedov drags him back down.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nurmagomedov creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Nurmagomedov trying to control the action but Takamura is working from the bottom.
Nurmagomedov 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.
Takamura tries to get back to his feet but has found himself mounted instead. Damn, that's gotta suck.
Nurmagomedov lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
A big strike lands for Nurmagomedov! That's really hurt Takamura and he's turned his back - Nurmagomedov keeps firing away and the ref dives in to stop the fight! Nurmagomedov jumps to his feet to celebrate the victory!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:46 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Khabib Nurmagomedov!
Khabib Nurmagomedov is the new lightweight champion!
A very excited looking Khabib Nurmagomedov 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.