PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Valmir Nurmagomedov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Julio Cesar Neves Jr (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Valmir Nurmagomedov has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Nurmagomedov
vs
Cesar Neves Jr

168 cm
18
145 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

173 cm
19
150 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

Good takedowns
Counter fighter
Granite chin

BJJ Brown Belt
Basic striking
Determined

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 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Valmir Nurmagomedov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Julio Cesar Neves Jr!
The judges for this bout are Dirk Anderson, Santiago Holmes and Bart Greer.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Neves Jr closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Nurmagomedov to the mat! Nurmagomedov manages to get full guard.
Neves Jr connects with a couple of short punches.
Neves Jr is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.

Nurmagomedov is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Neves Jr distracts Nurmagomedov with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.

Neves Jr thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Neves Jr lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Neves Jr lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.

Nurmagomedov is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Neves Jr is aware though and is defending well.
Neves Jr with a nice head shot there.
Neves Jr keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Nurmagomedov's head.
Neves Jr working some strikes from top position.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Nurmagomedov working for a triangle but Neves Jr defends it easily.
Neves Jr stands up over Nurmagomedov, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Neves Jr works over Nurmagomedov with some ground and pound from guard.
Neves Jr is in close to Nurmagomedov's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Neves Jr lands a couple of digs.
Nurmagomedov has momentary wrist control but Neves Jr slips an elbow through the middle.

Nurmagomedov looking for a guillotine here but Neves Jr defends easily.
Nurmagomedov is breathing heavily.
Neves Jr makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Neves Jr is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Neves Jr content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Neves Jr postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Nurmagomedov is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Neves Jr working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Nurmagomedov's head.
Neves Jr lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Neves Jr is in close to Nurmagomedov's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Neves Jr scoring with punches to the head and body.
Neves Jr stands up over Nurmagomedov, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Neves Jr makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Neves Jr postures up and lands a big shot to Nurmagomedov's brow.

Neves Jr thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Neves Jr slips nicely into half guard.

Nurmagomedov looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
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. Neves Jr connects with a nice short shot to Nurmagomedov's temple.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Neves Jr looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Nurmagomedov with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.

Neves Jr is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Nurmagomedov sees it coming and defends easily.

Neves Jr is trying to work for a kimura but Nurmagomedov is defending well.
Nurmagomedov taking some punishment here, with Neves Jr in his half guard.
Neves Jr looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Nurmagomedov with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Neves Jr prevents Nurmagomedov from improving his position.
Neves Jr winds up and cracks Nurmagomedov with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Nurmagomedov taking some punishment here, with Neves Jr in his half guard.
Nurmagomedov is in trouble now - Neves Jr has advanced to mount!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neves Jr postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Nurmagomedov looks a forlorn figure.
A nice elbow there by Neves Jr.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Neves Jr has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Nurmagomedov's face.

Neves Jr looking for a guillotine from mount but Nurmagomedov is having none of it.
Neves Jr working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Neves Jr lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Nurmagomedov hang on?
Neves Jr lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.

Nurmagomedov is rocked!

It looks like Valmir Nurmagomedov has been cut.
Nurmagomedov is bucking up trying to escape but Neves Jr cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Oh Nurmagomedov is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Neves Jr is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Nurmagomedov can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Neves Jr is in full mount looking to finish with strikes. He lands a big shot, followed by another and Nurmagomedov goes limp! The ref jumps in to end the fight - a big win for Neves Jr!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:58 of round 1, we have a winner by way of KO (Strikes). Julio Cesar Neves Jr!
Our winner, Julio Cesar Neves Jr, made sure he spent some time buttering up the crowd during his post fight interview, which will no doubt bring him a few more fans.