PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Ronny Naarden (ranked 2101 p4p, 1546 weight class) and Kaiden Thibodeaux (ranked 133 p4p, 92 weight class). Well, I have no idea who's going to take this one!

Naarden
vs
Thibodeaux

156 cm
25
133
3 - 0 - 0

150 cm
25
140
3 - 0 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Basic striking
Very quick

Good wrestler
Brawler
Heavy handed

Big Chief Nutrition & Laundry Services (70%)

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Ronny Naarden!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Kaiden Thibodeaux!
The judges for this bout are Steven Brown, Colin Fotheringham and James Ackerman.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Thibodeaux avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Thibodeaux throws a jab when Naarden was well out of range.
Thibodeaux circles away from the clinch attempt.
Naarden is looking to clinch.
Naarden is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Thibodeaux waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Naarden.
Naarden ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.

Naarden instigates a clinch.
Naarden tries to pull guard but Thibodeaux won't allow it.
Thibodeaux lands a body punch in the clinch.
Naarden jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Thibodeaux walks away with a smile on his face. Naarden gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Naarden on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Thibodeaux's coach down at Thib's Sweat Shoppe was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on Thibodeaux's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.
Naarden's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Thibodeaux connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Naarden scrambles back to his feet.

Naarden is rocked!

Naarden clinches.
A shot in the inside from Thibodeaux.

Thibodeaux breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Naarden avoids the body shot from Thibodeaux.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Naarden slips under a jab.
Naarden is trying to close the distance and clinch up, after that failed offence from Thibodeaux.
Naarden displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Thibodeaux throws out the jab.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Naarden wants to clinch.
Naarden bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Thibodeaux swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Naarden tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Thibodeaux manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Kaiden Thibodeaux seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Thibodeaux connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Naarden's hands.
Naarden is looking to clinch but Thibodeaux is avoiding it.
Thibodeaux scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Naarden doesn't seem bothered though.
Naarden moves in looking to clinch but Thibodeaux pushes him off.
Naarden tries to clinch but Thibodeaux moves out of range.
A slow jab from Thibodeaux misses its intended target.
Naarden uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Thibodeaux.
Thibodeaux ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Naarden moves away.
Thibodeaux throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Naarden tries to clinch up but Thibodeaux circles away and keeps his distance.
Naarden takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Naarden wants to clinch up but Thibodeaux keeps it at a distance.
Naarden tries to clinch up but Thibodeaux circles away and keeps his distance.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thibodeaux looks to land a left hand but Naarden moved out of range nicely.
Thibodeaux looks to throw the jab but Naarden is out of range.
A jab from Thibodeaux misses.
Naarden avoids the body shot from Thibodeaux.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Thibodeaux throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Naarden on the side of the head.
Naarden takes a jab right on the kisser.
Thibodeaux cracks Naarden with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Oh Naarden is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!

Naarden clinches up with Thibodeaux and pushes him back against the cage.
Thibodeaux lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Naarden looks to be in better condition than last time we saw him fight. Obviously he's been working hard on his cardio.
Thibodeaux misses with a body punch.
Naarden seems to have got his legs back now.
Thibodeaux digs a right hand into Naarden's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Naarden's gas tank.

Thibodeaux manages to break the clinch.
Thibodeaux throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Thibodeaux throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Naarden wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
Naarden tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Thibodeaux paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Naarden on the wrong end of a nice jab.

Naarden moves into the clinch.
Thibodeaux presses Naarden against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.

Thibodeaux pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thibodeaux lands a slapping body shot.
Naarden uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Thibodeaux.
Naarden takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Thibodeaux connects with the punch.
Thibodeaux throws the left hand but Naarden avoids the punch easily.
Thibodeaux misses with a looping right.
Thibodeaux misses with a looping left.
Thibodeaux circles away from the clinch attempt.
The fighters circling - Thibodeaux throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Naarden slips under a jab from Thibodeaux.
Thibodeaux with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Thibodeaux lands a nice shot to the body.
Naarden takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
The fight stays on the outside here - Naarden looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Thibodeaux avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Naarden takes one on the chin but keeps coming.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thibodeaux looks to land a right hand but Naarden moved out of range.
Naarden keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Thibodeaux lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Naarden at a distance.
Naarden tries to close the distance and clinch but Thibodeaux swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Naarden doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Thibodeaux lands a nice hook to Naarden's body. Naarden takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Naarden tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

Naarden has closed the distance and engaged Thibodeaux in a clinch.

Naarden has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Thibodeaux uses from the top position.

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

Naarden pushes a forearm under Thibodeaux's chin to create some space. He's escaped his hips and pivoted quickly for an armbar! Can he extend the arm? Yes, Thibodeaux is tapping out! Damn, that was fast!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:56 of round 1, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Ronny Naarden!