PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Maksud Magomedov (ranked 1310 p4p, 1425 weight class) and Balthasar Van Thüringen (ranked 138 p4p, 150 weight class). Magomedov kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is Lezginka - Kavkaz. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Magomedov
vs
Van Thüringen

180 cm
33
226
19 - 12 - 0

192 cm
29
235
15 - 9 - 2

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

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 19 - 12 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Maksud Magomedov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 15 - 9 - 2, fighting out of Las Vegas, Balthasar Van Thüringen!
The judges for this bout are Colin Fotheringham, Paul Tew and James Glass.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Magomedov shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Van Thüringen connects with a looping right hand.
Van Thüringen moves into range and connects with a jab.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Van Thüringen.
Van Thüringen lands with an uppercut that bounces Magomedov off the cage and back into range.
Balthasar Van Thüringen seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Nice cross by Van Thüringen.
Van Thüringen lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Magomedov.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Magomedov cracks Van Thüringen with an elbow. That is naaassty.
Sloppy strikes there by Magomedov.
Magomedov 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.
Magomedov throwing strikes but missing, from side control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Magomedov tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
Van Thüringen pushes Magomedov away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Magomedov gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.
Magomedov connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Van Thüringen some visible discomfort.
Magomedov is looking to take a break and control but Van Thüringen is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Magomedov lands some shots froms side control.
Van Thüringen managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Magomedov.
Magomedov throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.
Magomedov taking a break here but Van Thüringen is having none of it and regains half guard.
Magomedov not landing any meaningful shots this time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Magomedov throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Magomedov stalling away here and it's allowed Van Thüringen to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.
Van Thüringen being controlled here, momentarily.
Magomedov with a nice head shot there.
Magomedov stops Van Thüringen from standing up.
Magomedov lands a couple of elbows.
Magomedov working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Magomedov is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Magomedov trying to control but Van Thüringen is working from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Magomedov trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Magomedov might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Magomedov works over Van Thüringen with some ground and pound from guard.
Magomedov pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Van Thüringen is keeping the position for now.
Magomedov forces his way into half guard.
Magomedov missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Van Thüringen wants to get back to his feet.
Van Thüringen felt the need to train up his defensive grappling in the buildup to the fight. Presumably he was expecting to be in a difficult position like this, so let's see if he can get out of it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Magomedov missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Magomedov throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Magomedov missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

Van Thüringen pushes Magomedov off and gets back to his feet.
Magomedov shoots and misses
and Van Thüringen counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Van Thüringen is landing a lot of head punches in this opening round! Magomedov had better start moving his head a bit unless he wants his face to turn into mush.
Magomedov lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.

It looks like Balthasar Van Thüringen has been cut.
Magomedov avoids the body shot from Van Thüringen.
Magomedov takes one on the chin but seems OK.
A solid body kick from Van Thüringen.
Magomedov throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Van Thüringen now looks to counter with a shot at the body.

Magomedov shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Magomedov was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Balthasar Van Thüringen will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Balthasar Van Thüringen's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Nice body punch from Van Thüringen.
Van Thüringen fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Van Thüringen scores with the left hand. Magomedov knows he should have avoided that one.
Van Thüringen 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.
Van Thüringen scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Magomedov walks into a left hand.
Magomedov ducks under a wild hook from Van Thüringen.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Magomedov shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Van Thüringen is trying to defend but Magomedov finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Magomedov missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Magomedov thows a huge punch but Van Thüringen dodges it nicely.
Magomedov stalling away here and it's allowed Van Thüringen to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Van Thüringen avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Maksud Magomedov overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Magomedov throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Van Thüringen working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Magomedov.
Magomedov trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Magomedov trying to control but Van Thüringen is working from the bottom.

Van Thüringen manages to escape and get back to his feet.
Van Thüringen scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Van Thüringen is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Magomedov looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Magomedov shoots in for a takedown but Van Thüringen shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Magomedov with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Van Thüringen to score with a decent uppercut.
Magomedov has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Magomedov there as he acknowledges the shot.
Magomedov shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
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!
Van Thüringen with a hook.
Magomedov looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Van Thüringen is fending him off so far but Magomedov persists. Nope, Van Thüringen circles away and we're back to standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Maksud Magomedov. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Magomedov on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Van Thüringen, as that shot connected.
Magomedov uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Van Thüringen.

Magomedov scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.

Van Thüringen kicks Magomedov off and gets back to his feet.
Nice straight punches there by Van Thüringen. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Van Thüringen.
Magomedov fails miserably with a takedown attempt.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Van Thüringen enables Magomedov to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Van Thüringen manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.

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

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Van Thüringen is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Van Thüringen is struggling to control the position.
Van Thüringen prevents the takedown attempt.
Van Thüringen has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Magomedov is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Van Thüringen gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Van Thüringen.
Magomedov is working for takedown but Van Thüringen is calmly controlling the position for now.
Van Thüringen missing with knees to the body.
Magomedov takes a shot to the head.
Magomedov misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Magomedov has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Van Thüringen avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Van Thüringen has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Magomedov drops down looking for an ankle pick but Van Thüringen pulls his leg out and moves away.
Magomedov gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Van Thüringen.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Balthasar Van Thüringen showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Balthasar Van Thüringen's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Magomedov takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Magomedov takes a push kick to the midsection and stumbles backwards.
Magomedov looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Van Thüringen dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Van Thüringen lands a jab to the nose.
Magomedov takes one to the side of the head.
Van Thüringen lands a body shot.
Van Thüringen fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Magomedov looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Van Thüringen scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Van Thüringen cracks Magomedov with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Magomedov fails miserably with a takedown attempt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Van Thüringen connects with a crisp jab.
Magomedov takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Magomedov tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Van Thüringen throws a half hearted mid kick.
Maksud Magomedov has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Van Thüringen cracks Magomedov with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
The fight stays on the outside here - Magomedov looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Magomedov gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Van Thüringen counters with a body kick.
Van Thüringen lands a really nice looking cross but Magomedov seems unphased.
Van Thüringen connects with the punch.
Magomedov takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Van Thüringen cracks Magomedov with a right hand to the side of the head.
Balthasar Van Thüringen is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Van Thüringen lands with a cross.
Nice sprawl there from Van Thüringen as Magomedov shoots in.
Van Thüringen let fly with a counter punch to the body but it didn't land.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Maksud Magomedov. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Van Thüringen moves into range and lands a nice body kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Magomedov tries for a takedown but Van Thüringen circles away easily
and Van Thüringen counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Van Thüringen connects with a single shot there.

Van Thüringen sends Magomedov crashing to the mat with a devastating uppercut! Van Thüringen is motioning to the referee to let Magomedov up. He wants to try and finish this one on the feet!

Magomedov is rocked!
Magomedov walks forward, straight into a front kick from Van Thüringen.
Oh Magomedov is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Van Thüringen lands a head shot.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Magomedov tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Van Thüringen manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.

Van Thüringen sends Magomedov crashing to the mat with a devastating uppercut! Van Thüringen is motioning to the referee to let Magomedov up. He wants to try and finish this one on the feet!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Van Thüringen lands an uppercut out of nowhere! Magomedov falls backwards - clearly groggy! Van Thüringen dives in and finishes the fight with more strikes for a TKO finish!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:11 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Balthasar Van Thüringen!
After winning the bout, Balthasar Van Thüringen thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.