PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Jonas Valanciunas (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nicky Fernandez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Valanciunas
vs
Fernandez

192 cm
26
215 lbs
16 - 6 - 0

190 cm
28
213 lbs
16 - 9 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Lethal high kicks
KO power

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Urban Savage

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 16 - 6 - 0, fighting out of New York, Jonas Valanciunas!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 16 - 9 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Nicky Fernandez!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Blasius, Paulsen Ambrosius and Wagner Zegers.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Valanciunas lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Valanciunas moves into range and connects with a jab.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Fernandez.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Fernandez staying calm.
Valanciunas on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Valanciunas tries to get out of the position.
Fernandez wants to lay and pray for a moment but Valanciunas keeps working.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
Fernandez working the ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Fernandez in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Fernandez controlling the position.
Fernandez looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Valanciunas is avoiding damage well.
Fernandez trying to control the position but Valanciunas is working away.
Fernandez looking to control but instead Valanciunas has slipped a leg in, to regain half guard.
Fernandez not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fernandez missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Fernandez slips a nice elbow through Valanciunas's hands, connecting with Valanciunas's forehead.
Fernandez scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Valanciunas avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Fernandez.
Fernandez trying to control the pace.
Valanciunas won't allow Fernandez to pass to mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Fernandez missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Fernandez stalling.
Fernandez missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Fernandez sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Valanciunas defending well though.
Fernandez throwing shots but Valanciunas is blocking nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Valanciunas keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Fernandez moves into full mount! Valanciunas won't be happy about that!
Valanciunas is bucking up trying to escape but Fernandez cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Valanciunas knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Fernandez on the ground.
Fernandez lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Fernandez scores with a couple of good head shots there.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Fernandez trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Valanciunas looks to be in better condition than last time we saw him fight. Obviously he's been working hard on his cardio.
Poor strikes thrown by Fernandez there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nicky Fernandez dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Fernandez dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Fernandez misses with a wild body shot.

Fernandez manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Valanciunas on his heels. He'll look to pass Valanciunas's guard now, I'm sure.
Fernandez is working Valanciunas over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Fernandez throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Valanciunas works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Valanciunas has momentary wrist control but Fernandez slips an elbow through the middle.
Fernandez is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Fernandez trying to control the position from guard on top but Valanciunas is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Fernandez pushing down on Valanciunas's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Fernandez looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Fernandez takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Valanciunas is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Fernandez scores with a couple of nice shots.
Valanciunas wants to get back to his feet.
Valanciunas blocking the ground and pound attempt from Fernandez.
Well, if Fernandez is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fernandez looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Fernandez moves into full mount! Valanciunas won't be happy about that!
Fernandez content just to control the position here.
Fernandez has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Fernandez fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Valanciunas is trying to get to the ropes to help him get back to his feet.
Fernandez lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
The referee warns Valanciunas that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Fernandez scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Fernandez tries to control but Valanciunas wriggling away.
Fernandez tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Fernandez lands a big shot to the head and Valanciunas winces in pain. He's tapped out due to strikes!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:19 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Strikes). Nicky Fernandez!
Nicky Fernandez seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.