PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Anastasios Ioannidis (ranked 3928 p4p, 24599 weight class) and Nguyen Thanh Tung (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Thanh Tung has chosen Em Của Ngày Hôm Qua as his entrance music. Nguyen Thanh Tung is staring across the cage at his opponent, tweaking his nipples.

Ioannidis
vs
Thanh Tung

192 cm
18
220
0 - 0 - 0

185 cm
21
225
3 - 7 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Granite chin

BANZAI NUTRITION

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Anastasios Ioannidis!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Nguyen Thanh Tung!
The judges for this bout are Steve Montenegro, John Kavanagh and Joseph Jones.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ioannidis keeps the fight on the outside.
Thanh Tung with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Ioannidis to score with a decent uppercut.
Ioannidis fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Thanh Tung on the side of the head.
Ioannidis digs a good hook to Thanh Tung's body.
Ioannidis throws the left hand but Thanh Tung avoids the punch easily.

Thanh Tung scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Thanh Tung in particular looking to stall.
Thanh Tung should think about turning a few of those tyres round his middle into muscle if he wants people to take him seriously as an athlete.
Thanh Tung trying to pass the guard but Ioannidis defending well.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Ioannidis wants to control but Thanh Tung is keeping busy.
Ioannidis wants to get back to full guard.
Thanh Tung controlling the action here.
Ioannidis wants to improve his position but Thanh Tung is controlling well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ioannidis slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Ioannidis working a defensive guard here.
Thanh Tung controls from within his opponent's guard.
Thanh Tung won't allow Ioannidis to sweep him here.
Ioannidis is working hard here to advance position.
Thanh Tung is stalling in the full guard.
Ioannidis is trying to keep Thanh Tung in close.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Ioannidis wants to control the position but Thanh Tung says "no thanks buddy" and passes to half guard.
Ioannidis trying to control here.
Thanh Tung controlling the action here.
Ioannidis is looking to control Thanh Tung's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Ioannidis avoid being mounted?

Thanh Tung decides he's had enough of the ground and stands up.
Thanh Tung on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Anastasios Ioannidis seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Ioannidis misses with a straight left.
Ioannidis lunges at Thanh Tung with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Thanh Tung's hand.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thanh Tung lands a head kick!

It looks like Anastasios Ioannidis has been cut.
Thanh Tung throws a sloppy head kick and Ioannidis moves out of range easily.
Ioannidis lands an overhand right.
Ioannidis misses with a wild body shot.
Ioannidis lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Ioannidis jabs at Thanh Tung's body.
Ioannidis throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Thanh Tung sees it coming and avoids it easily.
The fighters circling - Ioannidis throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Thanh Tung moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.

Thanh Tung shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Ioannidis manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Thanh Tung looks winded!
Ioannidis is trying to keep Thanh Tung in close.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thanh Tung won't allow Ioannidis to sweep him here.
Thanh Tung must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Ioannidis working a defensive guard here.
Thanh Tung content to stall in guard here.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Thanh Tung takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Anastasios Ioannidis will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Anastasios Ioannidis's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Thanh Tung throws a poor cross that misses
and Ioannidis counters with a body kick that brings a smile to the face of both fighters.

Thanh Tung 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.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Ioannidis looking to control.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Thanh Tung stays in close to Ioannidis's body and controls the position.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters, thinking about a standup.
Ioannidis trying to control the position.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Thanh Tung throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Ioannidis tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Thanh Tung is in Ioannidis's guard.
Ioannidis wants to sweep but no luck.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Ioannidis is trying to keep Thanh Tung in close.
Thanh Tung content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ioannidis can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Thanh Tung controls the pace.
Thanh Tung passes Ioannidis's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Thanh Tung trying to control the pace.
Ioannidis is trying to control but can't.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thanh Tung looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Ioannidis wants to control but Thanh Tung is keeping busy and won't allow it.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Nguyen Thanh Tung is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Thanh Tung closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.

Thanh Tung looking to score a takedown here. Ioannidis is defending well but Thanh Tung drives through and ends up in Ioannidis's guard.
Ioannidis can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Thanh Tung controls the pace.
Ioannidis looking to control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thanh Tung working some strikes from top position.
Ioannidis looking to control.
Thanh Tung is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Ioannidis trying to keep a closed guard but Thanh Tung is proving a slippery customer.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Ioannidis misses the jab.
Ioannidis misses with a body shot
and Thanh Tung counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Ioannidis throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Thanh Tung needs to keep his hands up - Ioannidis had a free shot at his head there.

Thanh Tung gets the takedown into side control.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Ioannidis is trying to control Thanh Tung's posture but Thanh Tung avoids it.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Nguyen Thanh Tung showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Anastasios Ioannidis's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare each other down, ready to get 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.

A shot to the body from Ioannidis misses
and Thanh Tung counters with a nice uppercut.
Ioannidis misses with a lunging right hand

and Thanh Tung counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Ioannidis is trying to control the position but Thanh Tung postures up.
Thanh Tung landing with the ground and pound.
Ioannidis working a defensive guard here.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Thanh Tung controlling from the top position.
Thanh Tung pushing down on Ioannidis's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ioannidis is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Thanh Tung's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Thanh Tung's back!
Thanh Tung looking very determined here, making life difficult for Ioannidis.
Ioannidis keeps control of the position as Thanh Tung tries to break free.
Thanh Tung is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Thanh Tung looking to stop the rear naked choke attempt by controlling the hands.
A lull in the action here.
Thanh Tung trying to control the action but Ioannidis just sinks the hooks in.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thanh Tung wants to escape the position.
Thanh Tung is keeping busy.
Thanh Tung rolls, trying to escape but Ioannidis keeps control of the position.
Thanh Tung looking very determined here, making life difficult for Ioannidis.
Thanh Tung is really stuck here.
Ioannidis is looking to control Thanh Tung but Thanh Tung is wriggling around and keeping busy.
Thanh Tung can't escape the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ioannidis trying to control.
Ioannidis is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Thanh Tung is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Thanh Tung wants to control his opponent's hands but Ioannidis gets his hands free.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Thanh Tung is really stuck here.
Ioannidis struggling to keep hold of the position.
Ioannidis is really struggling to control Thanh Tung but he's trying to hold on to the position.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Thanh Tung trying to control but not successfully.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Anastasios Ioannidis.
I think Ioannidis has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Steve Montenegro scores the fight 29:28
Judge John Kavanagh scores the fight 29:28
Judge Joseph Jones scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Anastasios Ioannidis!