PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Nikolay Panayotov (ranked 1920 p4p, 2146 weight class) and Nigel Benn Jr (ranked 253 p4p, 284 weight class). Panayotov's entrance music is Mad World - Gary Jules / Tears For Fears (Cover by Jasmine Thompson). A fine choice. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Panayotov
vs
Benn Jr

196 cm
40
205
17 - 15 - 0

185 cm
41
203
34 - 28 - 0

Great wrestler
World class boxer
KO power

Olympic wrestler
World class MT
Granite chin

Vegan Gains

Voodoo Nutrition

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 17 - 15 - 0, fighting out of New York, Nikolay Panayotov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 34 - 28 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Nigel Benn Jr!
The judges for this bout are Jack Bonds, Don Winkell and Percy O'Donnell.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Benn Jr slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Benn Jr bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Panayotov's head backwards.
Panayotov pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Panayotov slips under a jab from Benn Jr.
Panayotov takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Benn Jr misses the shot to the body.
Panayotov throwing a counter right hand but Benn Jr manages to avoid it.
Benn Jr misses with a right hand
and Panayotov counters with a straight right hand.
Panayotov slips a jab from Benn Jr.
Benn Jr throws a shot from downtown. Panayotov moves away and avoids it.
A quick step to the side and Panayotov tries to counter with a shot to the body but it doesn't connect.
Panayotov has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Panayotov pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Benn Jr throws out a counter right but Panayotov avoids it with no problem.
Benn Jr swings widly with a right hand

and Panayotov counters by clinching up.
Benn Jr told us before the fight that he's been working on his elbows. An under utilised technique these days - let's see if it can sway the outcome of the fight.
Panayotov with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Panayotov using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Benn Jr has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Benn Jr breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Panayotov misses with a left hand
and Benn Jr counters with an inside leg kick.
Benn Jr misses with a series of wild punches.
Benn Jr throws a hook but Panayotov blocks it.
Benn Jr throws a hook to the side of Panayotov's head but Panayotov sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Panayotov fails in his attempt to clinch.
Panayotov lands a right hook to the body.
Panayotov cracks Benn Jr with an open hand slap.

Panayotov clinches with his opponent.
Panayotov tries to land knees in the clinch but Benn Jr avoids the damage to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Panayotov lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Panayotov tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Benn Jr looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Panayotov.
Panayotov throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Benn Jrs head.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Benn Jr is trying to break free.
Benn Jr is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Panayotov tries to throw a body punch but Benn Jr avoids it by throwing Panayotov back against the cage.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Benn Jr.
Panayotov lands an uppercut.
Benn Jr wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Panayotov is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Benn Jr is defending well.
Benn Jr looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
A head punch on the inside from Panayotov fails to land.
Panayotov doesn't land with the attempted body shot.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Benn Jr takes a shot to the head.
Benn Jr pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Panayotov is stalling here.
Panayotov effectively controlling the action here.
Panayotov misses with a punch on the inside.
A knee to the head by Panayotov.

It looks like Nigel Benn Jr has been cut.
Benn Jr wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Panayotov tries to stall but Benn Jr uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Benn Jr is trying to push Panayotov away but Panayotov has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Benn Jr lands a nice uppercut.
Panayotov with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Benn Jr blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Panayotov has a couple of punches blocked by Benn Jr.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Panayotov blocks a body shot from Benn Jr.
Panayotov scores with a shot to the side of Benn Jr's head.
Benn Jr can't break the clinch.
Benn Jr blocks a body shot from Panayotov.

Benn Jr pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
The fighters circling - Panayotov throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Benn Jr misses with a few strikes there.
Panayotov tries to counter by moving into the clinch but Benn Jr manages to circle out of the way.
A looping hook to the body misses from Benn Jr. Panayotov does a little dance to reset his feet.
Benn Jr misses with a hook
and Panayotov counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Benn Jr lands a nice shot to the body.
Benn Jr throws a series of punches but Panayotov avoids them all with ease.

Panayotov has managed to clinch.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Nikolay Panayotov dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Nigel Benn Jr's cut.
That's time! Panayotov's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Benn Jr swinging wildly here.
Panayotov throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Benn Jr throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Panayotov.
Panayotov keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Benn Jr scores with a nice right hand.
Benn Jr throws a poor cross that misses
and Panayotov counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Benn Jr misses with a series of wild punches.
Panayotov lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Panayotov just misses with a punch to the body.
Panayotov takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Panayotov is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.
Benn Jr misses with a double jab
and Panayotov makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Panayotov is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Panayotov lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Benn Jr at a distance.
Panayotov scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Panayotov tries to move into range but Benn Jr moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Panayotov, as that shot connected.
Benn Jr missing with a left hand there. Panayotov was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Panayotov throws a hook but Benn Jr blocks it.
Benn Jr misses with an uppercut. Panayotov saw that one coming.
Benn Jr rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Panayotov moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Panayotov avoids a punch combination nicely.
Panayotov misses with a lunging right hand
and Benn Jr counters with a left and a right that stings Panayotov.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Panayotov displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Benn Jr blocks a jab.
Benn Jr doesn't fully commit to the body shot counter.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Panayotov gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Benn Jr.

It looks like Nikolay Panayotov has been cut.
Benn Jr connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Panayotov's hands.
Benn Jr misses with a series of wild punches.
A slow jab from Benn Jr misses its intended target.
Nigel Benn Jr is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Benn Jr throws a left and a right that both miss
and Panayotov counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Nigel Benn Jr seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Benn Jr misses with a double jab
and Panayotov counters with a thumping low kick.
Panayotov moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
Panayotov is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Panayotov swings widly with a right hand
and Benn Jr counters with a nice uppercut.
Nigel Benn Jr seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Benn Jr misses with a double jab.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Benn Jr throws a hook but Panayotov avoids it easily.
Panayotov seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Good standup being displayed there by Benn Jr as he connects with a hook.

Panayotov is rocked!
Benn Jr drops Panayotov with a naaaaasty hook - Panayotov is in real trouble here! Benn Jr dives in to side control and pounds out his opponent for a TKO victory! The crowd goes nuts!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:23 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Nigel Benn Jr!
Nigel Benn Jr decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.