PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Ryan Nugent (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jose Aldo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Nugent
vs
Aldo

170 cm
20
147 lbs
4 - 4 - 0

170 cm
18
145 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Good chin

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Solid chin

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 4 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Ryan Nugent!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Jose Aldo!
The judges for this bout are Mauricio Rocha, Felipe Paraventi and Thiago Cunha.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nugent keeps the fight on the outside.
Aldo tries to close the distance and clinch but Nugent swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

Nugent shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Nugent performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Nugent'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.
Nugent has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Aldo looks like he's trying to stand up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nugent slows the pace down in half guard.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Ryan Nugent.

Nugent scores a takedown into full mount!
Nugent tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Aldo's corner are shouting for him to stand up but that's bad cornering - how is he meant to stand up when he's mounted? He should be looking to improve his position on the ground before trying to stand back up.
Nugent controlling the pace for now.

The referee stands the fighters back up. Ryan Nugent just wasn't active enough from the dominant position.

Nugent scores a takedown into full mount!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Aldo squirming around on the bottom, looking to escape.
Aldo looks gassed!
Nugent tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Nugent won't let Aldo get back to his feet... He wants to keep the fight where it is for now.
Nugent controlling from mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Nugent seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Aldo for as long as he can get away with.

The referee stands the fighters back up. Ryan Nugent just wasn't active enough from the dominant position.

Nugent closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Nugent lands in his opponent's guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ryan Nugent dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Nugent closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Nugent seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Aldo is looking to escape.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Nugent in particular looking to stall.
Aldo is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nugent uses his free foot to push down on Aldo's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Aldo.
Aldo is trying to stand.
Nugent controlling the pace for now.
Aldo tries to buck Nugent off but he can't manage it.
Nugent controlling from the full mount.

That's two 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.

The referee stands the fighters back up. Ryan Nugent just wasn't active enough from the dominant position.

Nugent is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Aldo's half guard.
Nugent passes to side control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Nugent moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Nugent stands up and we're back to a striking position.

Nugent scores a takedown into full mount!
Nugent controlling the position easily from mount.
Aldo tries to buck Nugent off but he can't manage it.
Nugent controlling the pace for now.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Aldo is looking to get back to his feet - it's going to be hard from this position.
Nugent controlling the pace for now.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ryan Nugent dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Aldo is looking to clinch.

Nugent 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 referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Ryan Nugent.
Aldo wants to clinch.
Nugent keeps the fight on the outside.
Aldo is looking to clinch but Nugent is avoiding it.
Aldo throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.

Nugent closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Nugent lands in his opponent's guard.
Nugent is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Aldo takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Nugent distracts Aldo with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Nugent controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ryan Nugent overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Aldo wants to get back to his feet but Nugent passes into half guard.
Nugent controlling the action here.
Nugent lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Ryan Nugent.

Aldo gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nugent pushing down on Aldo's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Nugent content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Nugent is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!
Nugent controlling from mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Aldo squirming around on the bottom, looking to escape.
Nugent controlling from mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.

The referee stands the fighters back up. Ryan Nugent just wasn't active enough from the dominant position.

Nugent drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Aldo being controlled here, momentarily.
Jose Aldo has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Ryan Nugent is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Nugent advances to half guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ryan Nugent showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Nugent has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Mauricio Rocha scores the fight 30:24
Judge Felipe Paraventi scores the fight 30:26
Judge Thiago Cunha scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ryan Nugent!