PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Joel Nielson (ranked 5745 p4p, 501 weight class) and Yuri Boyka (ranked 7329 p4p, 547 weight class). Nielson comes to the cage accompanied by Enter Sandman by Metallica. Joel Nielson has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Nielson
vs
Boyka

188 cm
25
270 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

202 cm
25
240 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Good chin

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Intelligent

Annihilation Apparel

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 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Joel Nielson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Yuri Boyka!
The judges for this bout are Cecil Peabody, Tiny Johnson and George Francis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Boyka lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Boyka paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Yuri Boyka seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Nielson is looking to clinch.
Nielson tries to bum rush Boyka with a series of wild strikes but Boyka uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Nielson throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Nielson will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Some wild striking there from Boyka.
Nielson will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Nielson fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Sloppy strikes from Boyka. Those never looked like landing.
Nielson tries to counter with a takedown but Boyka is quick to defend against it.
Boyka is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Boyka throws a right hand that Nielson ducks under and follows up with a left that Nielson also avoids with ease.
Boyka throws a series of punches but Nielson avoids them all with ease.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
A nice combination there by Boyka.
Boyka fails to land with a series of punches.
Boyka fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Boyka throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Nielson half committed to a counter leg kick.
Boyka tries to bum rush Nielson with a series of wild strikes but Nielson uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Nielson shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Boyka pinned against the cage. Boyka gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Despite the aggression on Boyka's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Joel Nielson. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Boyka throws a right and a left that Nielson avoids nicely.
Nielson with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Nielson drops his hands momentarily and Boyka takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
No joy there for Boyka, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Nielson takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Boyka throws a series of punches but Nielson avoids them all with ease.
Boyka jabs. That one connects to the head of his opponent.
Nielson has a takedown stuffed.
No luck for Nielson with that takedown attempt.
Boyka throws a counter combo.
Boyka scores with a three punch combo!
Nielson dives in and grabs Boyka's left leg, looking for a takedown. Boyka pushes down on Nielson's head and hops out.
Boyka misses with a wild combination.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Nielson slips a jab and a cross from Boyka.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Jab by Boyka.
Boyka swinging wildly here.
Boyka looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Nielson fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Nielson on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Boyka misses with the combination.
Boyka throws a right and a left that Nielson avoids nicely.
Boyka lands with a straight right. Nielson didn't see that one coming.
Boyka lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
Boyka misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Boyka throws a series of punches but Nielson avoids them all with ease.
Boyka misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Nielson throws a right and a left that Boyka avoids nicely.
Boyka throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Nielson on the side of the head.
Sloppy strikes from Boyka. Those never looked like landing.
Boyka keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Boyka swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A jab from Boyka finds it's way through Nielson's defenses.
Boyka closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Sloppy strikes from Boyka. Those never looked like landing.
Boyka lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
Nielson takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Boyka uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.

Nielson gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Nielson avoiding damage.
Nielson lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Nielson successfully pulls guard.

Boyka stands and steps away. Nielson gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Boyka will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Boyka might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
Boyka lands with a straight right. Nielson didn't see that one coming.
Boyka scores with a one two! Nielson had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Boyka rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Nielson moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Boyka misses with a series of wild punches.
Boyka misses with a double jab.
Nielson shoots in for a takedown but Boyka shows good takedown defense.
Boyka misses with a few strikes there.
Boyka tries to bum rush Nielson with a series of wild strikes but Nielson uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Nielson fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Boyka avoids it really well and circles away.
Boyka is working the combinations to good effect here.
A decent looking cross lands there for Boyka.
Nielson tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Boyka paws at him with a jab and circles away.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Boyka throws a series of punches but Nielson avoids them all with ease.
Boyka fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Nielson showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Boyka.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Yuri Boyka dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

A punch combination from Boyka misses.
Boyka has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

Nielson fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Boyka, pushing him back against the cage.
Boyka wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Nielson has him pressed against the cage.
A bit of stalling here from Nielson.
Boyka can't break the clinch.
Boyka wants to get back to striking at distance but Nielson won't allow it.
Boyka is trying to break free.
Nielson keeps control of Boyka as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.

Nielson escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Nielson swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Nielson avoids a punch combination nicely.
Nielson will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Boyka throws a combination. Nielson tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
Boyka uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Boyka lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Boyka.
Boyka throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Nielson.
Boyka throws a combination that misses

and Nielson moves into the clinch.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Nielson pressing his opponent against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Nielson turns his back and goes for a hip toss. It's a bit messy but it gets the job done and Nielson manages to end up in side control.
Nielson postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Nielson cracks Boyka with an elbow. That is naaassty.

Nielson wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Boyka, who protects the arm well.

Nielson wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Boyka, who protects the arm well.
Boyka is trying to get back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Nielson working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Nielson tries to cartwheel into mount but he doesn't manage it.
Nielson 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.
Nielson working the ground and pound.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Nielson throwing shots but missing, from side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Nielson wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Boyka, who protects the arm well.

Nielson tries for a kimura but Boyka is defending well.
Boyka tries to escape but Nielson is in control.
Nielson throwing strikes but missing, from side control.
Boyka is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Nielson asserts his dominance and retains side control.

Nielson is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Boyka has escaped the position, nice work there.
Boyka really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Nielson. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nielson working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.

Nielson has an Americana. Boyka didn't react quickly enough there and he's in big trouble now! He tries to squirm out but is forced to tap! Nielson is delighted and gyrates in front of the ring girls. They seem to like the attention - it'll be interesting to see if Nielson hooks up with any of them at the after show party.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:46 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Americana). Joel Nielson!
A very excited looking Joel Nielson made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.