PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Akeen Coker (ranked 2609 p4p, 2049 weight class) and Neil Nucombe (ranked 296 p4p, 0 weight class). The atmosphere really building for this one as we go over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Coker
vs
Nucombe

180 cm
39
170
21 - 15 - 0

166 cm
49
166
35 - 19 - 0

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 21 - 15 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Akeen Coker!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 35 - 19 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Neil Nucombe!
The judges for this bout are Chris Saunders, Roger Salmon and Colin Fray.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nucombe just misses with a punch to the body.
A punch lands to the side of Nucombe 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Nucombe lands with a shot to the body.
Coker lands with a right hand.
Nucombe connects with the punch.
Coker connects with the punch.
Coker throws a sloppy head kick and Nucombe moves out of range easily.
Nucombe wants to counter with a clinch but Coker pushes him away.
A nice inside leg kick there by Coker. That's going to slow Nucombe down.
Nucombe throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Coker counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Coker darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Coker slips under a jab from Nucombe.
Nucombe on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Nucombe swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Coker has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.
A punch lands to the side of Nucombe 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Nucombe lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Coker smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Nucombe misses with an uppercut.
Good shot there by Coker.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Coker throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Nucombe misses with a hook. Coker ducked under it nicely.
Coker tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Nucombe throws a good cross that connects.
Nucombe looks to throw the jab but Coker is out of range.
Coker throwing a counter right hand but Nucombe manages to avoid it.
Nucombe takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Nucombe misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Coker.

Coker moves into the clinch.
Nucombe with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
A right hook to the body lands for Coker.
Coker presses Nucombe against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Nucombe throws a punch but it's blocked by Coker.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Nucombe.
Coker lands with a light punch inside.

Coker wants the takedown. Nucombe is fighting it off but Coker persists and manages to bring the fight to the ground, ending up in Nucombe's guard against the cage.
Nucombe is looking to stand back up but Coker counters by passing into half guard. Oops... bit sloppy there by Nucombe.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Coker thows a huge punch but Nucombe dodges it nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Coker missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Coker sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Nucombe defending well though.
Coker throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Coker thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Nucombe's head.
Nucombe is holding on to half guard well.
Coker thows a huge punch but Nucombe dodges it nicely.
Nucombe gets full guard.
Nucombe really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Coker. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Coker throws a big right hand that misses.
Coker in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Coker accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Nucombe avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Nucombe tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Coker loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Nucombe working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Coker.
Coker trying to control the position from guard on top but Nucombe is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Coker throwing strikes but missing.
Coker throws an elbow that misses. Nucombe uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Coker's guard. Nice move by Nucombe!

Coker is working for submissions here. He's thrown up his legs looking for a triangle but Nucombe frees his head nicely. Oh but Coker has switched to an armbar! Nucombe is tapping furiously! Lovely submission there!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:57 of round 1, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle Armbar). Akeen Coker!
Akeen Coker decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.