PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Nicole Salvacion (ranked 6702 p4p, 24941 weight class) and Lovely Tierra (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Lovely Tierra told me before the fight that he's been watching a lot of DVDs so let's see if that helps him in this one! I can't wait to find out!

Salvacion
vs
Tierra

175 cm
20
143
16 - 17 - 1

165 cm
18
143
5 - 4 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent elbows
Experienced

BJJ Blue Belt
Good kicks
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 16 - 17 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nicole Salvacion!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Lovely Tierra!
The judges for this bout are Tiny Johnson, Chris Downing and Wesley Smith.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
We've got one fighter who appears to only be looking to counter and the other not looking particularly aggressive either, so we could be in for a dull fight.
Salvacion shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Tierra as he jumps to the side.
Tierra flicks out a counter leg kick but Salvacion steps away.
Tierra stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Tierra wants it to stay on the feet.

Salvacion darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Salvacion is figuring out what he wants to do next.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tierra wants to get back to his feet.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Salvacion sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Tierra is trying to get back to full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Salvacion slows the pace down in half guard.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Salvacion is pressing down on Tierra's thigh, looking to free his foot. Tierra is holding on for now.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Tierra tries for a takedown but Salvacion sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Salvacion shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Tierra sprawls well. Tierra wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Salvacion gets slowly back to his feet.
Tierra now looks to counter with a shot at the body.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Nicole Salvacion. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Salvacion closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Tierra is trying to stand back up but Salvacion is controlling him

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Salvacion is taking a breather. Tierra says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Salvacion takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Salvacion sitting and controlling from the half guard.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Tierra can do anything to dispel that myth.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Nicole Salvacion dominated that round.
That's time! Salvacion's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Tierra manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Salvacion on his heels. He'll look to pass Salvacion's guard now, I'm sure.
Tierra trying to stand up but can't free himself from Salvacion's guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Salvacion seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.
Tierra trying to stand up but can't free himself from Salvacion's guard.
Salvacion being controlled here, momentarily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Tierra wants to control from the top but Salvacion keeps moving.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Salvacion defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Tierra.
Salvacion shoots in but no luck this time.
Nice sprawl there from Tierra as Salvacion shoots in.

Salvacion shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Salvacion showed some decent athleticism there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Salvacion stops Tierra from getting back to his feet.
Tierra is trying to maintain the position but Salvacion is very close to passing his half guard.
Tierra is positioning himself well to prevent Salvacion advancing to mount.
Salvacion not doing much here.

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.
Tierra is trying to stand back up but Salvacion is controlling him
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Lovely Tierra will probably get the nod - 10:9.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! And we move into the final round!

Salvacion will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.

Tierra looking to score a takedown here. Salvacion is defending well but Tierra drives through and ends up in Salvacion's guard.
Salvacion pulls Tierra in close to prevent any damage.
Salvacion trying to strike from the bottom but really, it's not the best position to be doing that from!
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Tierra has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Salvacion is proving hard to escape from.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tierra looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Salvacion is pulling down on Tierra's head to control his posture.
Tierra wanted to stand there but Salvacion had control of the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.

Salvacion manages to escape and get back to his feet.
Salvacion shoots for a double leg takedown but Tierra sprawls well. He's pushed Salvacion's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.

Tierra bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.

Tierra stands up.
Salvacion fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Tierra follows through with a counter body kick but it doesn't land.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Nicole Salvacion. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tierra shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Salvacion defends it nicely.
Tierra shoots in looking for a takedown. Salvacion tries to sprawl out of it but Tierra keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Salvacion manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Tierra shoots for a double leg takedown but Salvacion sprawls well. He's pushed Tierra's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Salvacion closes the distance and clinches up with Tierra, looking for a takedown. Salvacion pushes Tierra against the cage but Tierra circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
As Salvacion backs off Tierra throws a huge counter combo but Salvacion manages to avoid it all.

Salvacion gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Tierra to score an easy takedown into full guard.

Salvacion is edging up against the cage. He's using the cage to get back to his feet. Nice work there - the fighters are clinched.

And that's the end of the fight!
Nicole Salvacion showed his dominance in that final round.
I have no idea who won that fight. Let's wait and see whether the judges are as confused as me! Time for a split decision perhaps?!. 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 Tiny Johnson scores the fight 29:28
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 29:28
Judge Wesley Smith scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Nicole Salvacion!