PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Finley Nielsen (ranked 1650 p4p, 3259 weight class) and River Castaneda (ranked 172 p4p, 307 weight class). On his way into the cage it seems that Finley Nielsen has been attacked by a crazed fan! It looks like it might have been the just bleed guy! Luckily Finley Nielsen seems to be OK! I thought that lunatic was in prison!?

Nielsen
vs
Castaneda

169 cm
27
150
7 - 8 - 0

173 cm
26
144
3 - 4 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Cardio machine

BJJ Blue Belt
Good kicks
Solid chin

Pulling Guard

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 8 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Finley Nielsen!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, River Castaneda!
The judges for this bout are Patrick Alders, Wagner Zegers and Saam Ante.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Castaneda is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Nielsen.
Finley Nielsen seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Castaneda throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.

Nielsen dives in and scores a takedown into Castaneda's guard.

Castaneda is edging up against the cage. He's using the cage to get back to his feet. Nice work there - the fighters are clinched.
Castaneda struggles to land a body shot inside as Nielsen controls his hands.
Castaneda tries to land knees in the clinch but Nielsen avoids the damage to the body.
Castaneda missing with knees to the body.
Castaneda trying to land knees to the body.
Nielsen definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Nielsen blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Nice body punch from Nielsen.
Nielsen blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Castaneda tries a knee to the head but Nielsen blocks it.
Nielsen misses with an elbow strike.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Castaneda with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.

Nielsen successfully pulls guard.
Nielsen pulls Castaneda in to control the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nielsen has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Nielsen wants to sweep but no luck.
Nielsen pulls Castaneda in close to prevent any damage.
Nielsen continues to stall.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
This is a sustained period of stalling by Nielsen.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Castaneda ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Nielsen moves away.

Nielsen scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Nielsen drops an elbow to the side of Castaneda's head.
Nielsen thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Castaneda's head.
Nielsen seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Nielsen lands strikes from half guard.
Nielsen working the head and body with strikes.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Nielsen lands a nice short elbow.
Nielsen is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nielsen content to control rather than advance.
Nielsen working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Nielsen prevents Castaneda from standing back up.
Nielsen slips a nice elbow through Castaneda's hands, connecting with Castaneda's forehead.
Nielsen is nestled in close to Castaneda, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Nielsen takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Nielsen looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Nielsen connects with a nice short shot to Castaneda's temple.
Castaneda has hold of Nielsen's hands but Nielsen slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Nielsen seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Castaneda really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Nielsen. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Nielsen's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nielsen lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Nielsen landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Nielsen slows the pace down in half guard.

Castaneda actively working from the bottom here.
Nielsen working Castaneda over with strikes.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Finley Nielsen 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.

Castaneda throws a low kick but Nielsen avoids it.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Castaneda looks to land a combination. Nielsen sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.

Nielsen takes the fight into the clinch.

Nielsen has double underhooks and is working for a body lock takedown. He's got it. The fighters land in half guard but Castaneda regains guard immediately.
Nielsen 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.
Nielsen slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Nielsen throwing strikes but missing.
Nielsen makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Nielsen postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Nielsen passes Castaneda's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Nielsen stalling.
Nielsen looks to score some points with some ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Castaneda taking some punishment here, with Nielsen in his half guard.

Nielsen is looking for a kimura here.
Nielsen lands strikes from half guard.
Still in half guard, Nielsen seems content to control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Nielsen working Castaneda over with strikes.
Nielsen slips a nice elbow through Castaneda's hands, connecting with Castaneda's forehead.
Finley Nielsen overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Castaneda has hold of Nielsen's hands but Nielsen slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Nielsen is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
We've been informed that Castaneda has been working hard on his conditioning in the buildup to the fight.
Nielsen is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Castaneda can do to turn this around?

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nielsen working the head and body with strikes.
Nielsen lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Nielsen is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Nielsen lands a nice short elbow.
Nielsen lands strikes from half guard.
Nielsen lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Nielsen content to control rather than advance.
Nielsen is nestled in close to Castaneda, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nielsen lands with a punch from half guard.
Nielsen drops an elbow to the side of Castaneda's head.
Castaneda looks like he's trying to stand up.
Castaneda is breathing heavily.

Nielsen wants to work for an arm triangle but Castaneda is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Nielsen working over Castaneda with some ground and pound. Castaneda looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Nielsen is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Nielsen has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Nielsen with good strikes from the mount here!

Castaneda is rocked!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nielsen landing punches.
Castaneda is still in real trouble! Can Nielsen finish him?
Nielsen in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Castaneda takes a big shot to the dome and his eyes have rolled back in his head! Nielsen's killer instinct has kicked in as he finishes the fight with more strikes. Impressive finish.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:33 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Finley Nielsen!