PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Zahbit Lovanov (ranked 3181 p4p, 3691 weight class) and Akuma Manivong (ranked 356 p4p, 409 weight class). Akuma Manivong has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Lovanov
vs
Manivong

199 cm
20
265
2 - 2 - 1

193 cm
22
266
2 - 3 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

BJJ Brown Belt
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Urban Fighter

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Zahbit Lovanov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Akuma Manivong!
The judges for this bout are Gregory Folan, Dillan Fox and Robert Douchet.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Lovanov stuns Manivong with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Manivong takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Lovanov fails with the takedown.
Manivong connects with a nice looking jab.
Lovanov is looking to score with low kicks.
Manivong tries to counter with a clinch but Lovanov shakes him off and moves away.
Manivong tries to clinch but Lovanov moves out of range.
Lovanov uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Manivong.
A looping hook to the body misses from Manivong. Lovanov does a little dance to reset his feet.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Lovanov takes a swing at Manivong's ribcage but misses.
Manivong tries a quick counter leg kick but Lovanov is wise to it.
Manivong ducks right into an uppercut from Lovanov.
Manivong avoids the body shot from Lovanov.
Lovanov 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.
Manivong throws a body punch but Lovanov moves out of range.
Akuma Manivong is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Manivong throws a head kick but Lovanov moves out of range.

Lovanov 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.
Lovanov is working Manivong over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Lovanov is working Manivong over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Manivong is looking for a triangle but Lovanov pushes his legs off easily.

Manivong is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Lovanov is aware though and is defending well.
Lovanov is working Manivong over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Lovanov trying to control but Manivong is working from the bottom.

Manivong has his foot on Lovanov's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Lovanov works his way back into a safe position though.

Lovanov got a little sloppy there for a moment and Manivong has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Lovanov has managed to get both his arms back between Manivong's legs - danger averted.
Lovanov with a nice head shot there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lovanov working some strikes from top position.
Lovanov is stalling in the full guard.
Manivong throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.
Lovanov postures up.
Lovanov connects with a couple of short punches.
Manivong is trying to hold Lovanov in close to prevent damage but Lovanov has managed to pass into half guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Manivong trying to control here.
Manivong is trying to get back to full guard.
Lovanov scoring with strikes to the body and head.
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.
Manivong is trying to control but can't.
Lovanov seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Ground and pound from Lovanov.
Manivong is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Lovanov scores with a couple of nice shots.
Lovanov takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Lovanov working Manivong over with strikes.
Manivong wants to get back to his feet.
Still in half guard, Lovanov seems content to control.
Manivong moves into full guard.
Lovanov scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Lovanov distracts Manivong with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Manivong is trying to control the position but Lovanov postures up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Manivong manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Lovanov manages to get himself to full guard.

Manivong working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Manivong throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Lovanov works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Lovanov wants to sweep but no luck.
Lovanov keeping full guard, as Manivong tries to pass.
Manivong with a flurry of punches that miss.
Lovanov wants to sweep here but Manivong controlling him for the moment.
Lovanov is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Lovanov 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.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Zahbit Lovanov dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Manivong wants to clinch up but Lovanov keeps it at a distance.
Lovanov lands with a good body shot.
Lovanov misses with a wild body shot.
Nice shot by Lovanov.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Lovanov.
Zahbit Lovanov is winning the standup battle so far.
Manivong takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Lovanov misses the body punch
and Manivong counters with a body kick that stops Lovanov in his tracks momentarily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Lovanov stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Manivong.
Manivong gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Manivong steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Lovanov.
Manivong appeared to try and counter that last move with a leg kick.
Manivong tried to score with a low kick but Lovanov checks it.
Lovanov half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Manivong is looking to score with low kicks.
Manivong lands an overhand right.
Sloppy strikes from Lovanov. Those never looked like landing.
Manivong scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Lovanov changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Manivong digs a good body shot into Lovanov's ribs.
Manivong fails in his attempt to clinch.
Lovanov swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Lovanov looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
A looping hook to the body misses from Lovanov. Manivong does a little dance to reset his feet.
Manivong closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lovanov avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Manivong takes a swing at Lovanov's ribcage but misses.
Lovanov fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Manivong manages to avoid it.
Lovanov throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Manivong tries to counter by closing the distance.
Zahbit Lovanov seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Lovanov checks a low kick from Manivong.
Manivong moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Lovanov misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Manivong counters with an inside leg kick.
Manivong ducks under a wild hook from Lovanov.
Lovanov swings for the body but Manivong moves out of range.
Manivong shapes to counter with a head kick.
Manivong throws an overhand right that lands on Lovanov's shoulder, as Lovanov tries to avoid the shot.

Lovanov gets a takedown into half guard.
Lovanov is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Manivong can do to turn this around?
Manivong slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Manivong working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Lovanov.
Zahbit Lovanov overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Manivong wants to control the position but Lovanov says "no thanks buddy" and passes to half guard.
Lovanov seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Manivong won't allow Lovanov to pass to mount.
Manivong wants to control but Lovanov is keeping busy.
Lovanov stops Manivong from getting back to his feet.
Manivong wants to improve his position but Lovanov is controlling well.
Lovanov takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lovanov working over Manivong with some ground and pound. Manivong looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Lovanov is keen to just control but Manivong is a slippery customer.
Manivong wants to improve his position but Lovanov is controlling well.
Lovanov looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Manivong trying to control but Lovanov postures up.
Manivong wants to improve his position but Lovanov is controlling well.
Lovanov working the head and body with strikes.
Lovanov wants to lay and pray for a moment but Manivong keeps working.
Lovanov winds up and cracks Manivong with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Zahbit Lovanov dominated that second 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. This is the final round!

Sloppy strikes from Lovanov. Those never looked like landing.
Manivong flicks out a counter leg kick but Lovanov steps away.
Manivong scores with a leg kick.
Lovanov connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Lovanov is looking to wear down Manivong with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Lovanov fails in his attempt to clinch.
Lovanov clobbers Manivong with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Lovanov looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Manivong is fending him off so far but Lovanov persists. Nope, Manivong circles away and we're back to standing.
Manivong throws out a counter right but Lovanov avoids it with no problem.
Lovanov keeps the fight on the outside.
Lovanov keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Lovanov fails with the takedown
and Manivong counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Manivong throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Lovanov misses with a body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A low kick from Lovanov misses
and Manivong counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Lovanov throws a right hand that Manivong ducks under and follows up with a left that Manivong also avoids with ease.
Manivong takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Manivong throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Lovanov wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
An inside leg kick lands from Manivong.
Manivong feints and then cracks Lovanov's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Lovanov down.
A slow jab from Lovanov misses its intended target.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Manivong! But no joy.
Nice straight punches there by Lovanov. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Lovanov.
Manivong on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Manivong tries to close the distance and clinch but Lovanov swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Lovanov is looking to counter punch.
Lovanov throws a right hand that misses
and Manivong counters with a nice uppercut.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Lovanov misses the shot to the body.
Lovanov swings and misses with a hook to the body.
A little jabbing left from Manivong on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Lovanov scores with a hook.

A head kick lands from Manivong that sends Lovanov to the canvas. Lovanov tries to scramble back to his feet but Manivong brings him back down into side control.

It looks like Zahbit Lovanov has been cut.
Lovanov misses with an elbow from the bottom.

Manivong swings around for an armbar but Lovanov sees it coming a mile off and turns beautifully into Manivong's guard.
Lovanov is fighting to break Manivong's control of his arms but Manivong is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Lovanov with a nice head shot there.
Lovanov working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Lovanov lands a couple of elbows.
Manivong looking to hit a scissor sweep but Lovanov is one step ahead there.
Akuma Manivong has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lovanov stands up over Manivong, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Lovanov trying to control but Manivong is working from the bottom.
Lovanov scoring with punches to the head and body.

Manivong looking for subs off his back but Lovanov has passed one foot through into half guard.
Manivong is trying to maintain the position but Lovanov is very close to passing his half guard.
Manivong slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lovanov is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Lovanov works over Manivong with some ground and pound from guard.
Manivong wants to sweep but no luck.
Manivong is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Lovanov postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Lovanov works over Manivong with some ground and pound from guard.
Lovanov distracts Manivong with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Lovanov with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Lovanov landing with the ground and pound.

Manivong is rocked!

Lovanov is trying to tuck his arms in to keep them safe but Manivong has managed to isolate one of them and has got a loose triangle. Lovanov is looking to defend but Manivong has done well to lock his legs together - this could be big trouble for Lovanov! Manivong pulls down on the head and a little smile comes across his face - he knows he's got it. Yep, Lovanov taps out and this one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:57 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle). Akuma Manivong!
After the fight, Akuma Manivong was humble in paying tribute to his opponent but made it clear he wants to go on to bigger and better things. It seemed to go down well with the crowd who cheered him loudly.