PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Miroljub Petrovic (ranked 3332 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nkululeko Sokhela (ranked 4235 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Petrovic
vs
Sokhela

180 cm
25
175 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

190 cm
25
180 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Big heart

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Very confident

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Miroljub Petrovic!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Nkululeko Sokhela!
The judges for this bout are David Hoff, Winston Alpacca and Bart Greer.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Petrovic misses with a body shot.
Sokhela misses with a looping right.
Petrovic misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Sokhela counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Sokhela keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
A jab lands there for Sokhela.
Good leg kick by Sokhela there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Petrovic defending well as Sokhela loads up on a big left hand.
Sokhela looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Petrovic takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Sokhela misses with a looping right.
Petrovic tries to move into range but Sokhela moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Petrovic slips a straight right by Sokhela.
Petrovic is looking for a counter combo.
Sokhela throws a nice inside leg kick.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Sokhela misses the jab.
Sokhela scores with a punch to the head.
Petrovic uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Sokhela.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sokhela is looking to slow Petrovic down with leg kicks.
Nkululeko Sokhela is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Sokhela moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Sokhela is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Petrovic.
A telegraphed right hand from Sokhela misses the target.
Petrovic throws a head kick that misses
and Sokhela counters with a slapping leg kick.

Petrovic scores with a takedown into Sokhela's guard.
Sokhela is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Sokhela pulls Petrovic in close to his closed guard and prevents Petrovic from doing any damage or advancing position.
Petrovic slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Petrovic seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Sokhela for as long as he can get away with.

Petrovic decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Sokhela, up you get!

Petrovic closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Sokhela trying his best to control but Petrovic has mounted him.
Petrovic controlling the position easily from mount.
Sokhela keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Petrovic content just to control the position here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sokhela is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Sokhela is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Sokhela tries to lock up and control but Petrovic gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Petrovic takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Sokhela is in all sorts of trouble here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Sokhela avoids a series of strikes thrown by Petrovic.
Sokhela is in all sorts of trouble here.
Sokhela tries to hold on but Petrovic postures up.
Petrovic wants to control the pace but Sokhela is squirming around nicely.
Sokhela keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Sokhela tries to lock up and control but Petrovic gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nkululeko Sokhela dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Petrovic fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Petrovic misses with a kick to the body.
Petrovic fails with the takedown
and Sokhela cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

Petrovic closes the distance and clinches.
Petrovic tries to pull guard but Sokhela holds him up against the cage and eventually Petrovic drops back down to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Miroljub Petrovic. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Sokhela pushes Petrovic back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Sokhela lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Petrovic or not.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sokhela lands an uppercut.

Sokhela's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Petrovic has his takedown stuffed
and Sokhela counters with a slapping leg kick.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Petrovic slips under a jab.
Sokhela feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Petrovic's calf.
Sokhela throws a nice inside leg kick.
Petrovic throws a head kick that misses
and Sokhela counters with a lovely straight right hand!
A jab from Sokhela misses.
Petrovic looks for a takedown but Sokhela sprawls well.
Petrovic needs to keep his hands up - Sokhela had a free shot at his head there.
Petrovic with a poor takedown

and Sokhela counters with a crisp right hand that drops Petrovic! Sokhela lets Petrovic back up to his feet, looking for a finish!

Petrovic is rocked!
This has been an exciting period of action!
Petrovic circles to his right, straight into a beautiful hook by Sokhela. Petrovic falls face first into the canvas - great knockout victory for Sokhela!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:52 of round 2, we have a winner by way of KO (Punch). Nkululeko Sokhela!
Our winner, Nkululeko Sokhela, 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.