PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Josue Mukendi (ranked 4172 p4p, 4066 weight class) and Manzoor Nadir (ranked 216 p4p, 204 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Mukendi
vs
Nadir

180 cm
18
170
0 - 0 - 0

177 cm
18
155
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Big heart

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Josue Mukendi!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Manzoor Nadir!
The judges for this bout are Steven Brown, Phil Schofield and Donald Grub.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Mukendi shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Mukendi was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Nadir tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Mukendi wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Nadir looks to move to half guard but instead Mukendi has passed into mount! Damn!
Nadir wants to control but Mukendi is having none of it.
Mukendi controlling his opponent.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mukendi sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nadir is trying desperately to improve position.
Mukendi trying to control but Nadir is having none of it.
Mukendi is really struggling to control Nadir but he's trying to hold on to the position.
Nadir is wriggling around trying to escape.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Mukendi controlling his opponent.
Mukendi trying to control but Nadir is having none of it.
Nadir tries to get back to half guard but can't.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mukendi wants to control the pace but Nadir is squirming around nicely.
Nadir tries to hold on but Mukendi pushes him away.
Mukendi can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Nadir is looking to escape.
Mukendi prevents Nadir from getting the reversal.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Mukendi trying to control but Nadir is having none of it.
Mukendi content just to control the position here.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Josue Mukendi dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Nadir shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Mukendi manages to get to full guard.
Mukendi is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Nadir can do to turn this around?
Mukendi seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mukendi 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.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nadir controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Mukendi is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.

Mukendi shoots in and bounces Nadir off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Mukendi stays in close to Nadir's body and controls the position.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Nadir is on top in guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nadir advances to half guard.
Nadir trying to control the pace.
Mukendi keeping hold of Nadir's head, controlling as best he can.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Nadir content to control rather than advance.
Mukendi controlling the leg, holding on to half guard.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Nadir is controlling the pace.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Manzoor Nadir showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Back to the action! So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Mukendi dives in for a single leg takedown but Nadir sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Mukendi fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Mukendi jumps guard but Nadir turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Josue Mukendi. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Nadir has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Mukendi uses from the top position.
Mukendi trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Josue Mukendi overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Mukendi's corner is telling him to maintain position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mukendi trying to control but Nadir is working from the bottom.
Nadir tries to land a sweep but no joy.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nadir seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Mukendi trying to control the position from guard on top but Nadir is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Mukendi.
Nadir is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Mukendi trying to control the action but Nadir is working from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mukendi slows the pace down.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mukendi is looking to take a break and control but Nadir is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Mukendi controls the position from side control.
Mukendi wants to lay and pray for a moment but Nadir keeps working.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Mukendi has a takedown stuffed.

Nadir drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Mukendi trying to keep a closed guard but Nadir is proving a slippery customer.
Nadir 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.
Nadir passes easily into side control. Nice work.

And that's the end of the fight!
Manzoor Nadir comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Nadir has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Steven Brown scores the fight 28:29
Judge Phil Schofield scores the fight 28:29
Judge Donald Grub scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Manzoor Nadir!
Manzoor Nadir bigged himself up after the win. The crowd seemed to love it.