PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Nyquil Salazar (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rodney Ferguson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Salazar might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Enter Sandman. Rodney Ferguson will no doubt be looking to use his reach advantage to good effect.

Salazar
vs
Ferguson

183 cm
22
195 lbs
7 - 5 - 0

200 cm
23
185 lbs
1 - 3 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Decent elbows
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Very confident

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Nyquil Salazar!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Rodney Ferguson!
The judges for this bout are , and Timothy Bukovac.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nice takedown defense from Salazar. No joy for Ferguson on that attempt.

Salazar pushes Ferguson up against the cage in a clinch.
Ferguson has had enough of the clinch but Salazar keeps him there for the moment.
Nice elbow from Salazar.
Salazar lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Ferguson jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Salazar walks away with a smile on his face. Ferguson gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Salazar throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Salazar slaps away a takedown attempt from Ferguson, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Nyquil Salazar has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Rodney Ferguson.
Salazar lands a front kick.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Salazar misses with a knee to the head.
Salazar gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Salazar lands an elbow that stopped Ferguson in his tracks for a moment.

It looks like Rodney Ferguson has been cut.
Ferguson is trying to drag Salazar to the mat but Salazar just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Ferguson looks gassed!
Salazar using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
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!

Salazar drags the fight down to the ground.
Salazar controlling the position.
Connects with an elbow from the bottom, proving to the judges that he's still active off his back.

Ferguson got a little sloppy there for a moment and Salazar has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Ferguson has managed to get both his arms back between Salazar's legs - danger averted.
Salazar manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Ferguson manages to get himself to full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ferguson preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Salazar postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Salazar lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Salazar throws a big right hand that misses.
Salazar is looking to work some ground and pound but Ferguson has wrist control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Salazar stands and steps away. Ferguson gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.

Salazar pushes Ferguson up against the cage in a clinch.
Salazar working Ferguson over with knees to the body.
Salazar lands a nice elbow from the clinch.

Salazar decides to pull guard.
Ferguson is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Salazar manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Salazar punishing his opponent with strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ferguson taking shots to the head.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
A nice elbow there by Salazar.

Salazar looking for a guillotine from mount but Ferguson is having none of it.

Salazar looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
Salazar raining down shots from the mount!
Salazar wants to control the pace but Ferguson is squirming around nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Salazar has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Ferguson's face.
Salazar has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Ferguson's face.

Salazar working for a submission but Ferguson is keeping him at bay.
Salazar landing shots from mount.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Salazar tries to control but Ferguson wriggling away.
Salazar is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Ferguson can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Salazar lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Salazar landing strikes, looking to finish!
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!
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Salazar cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Salazar pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.

Ferguson is rocked!
Salazar fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Ferguson is still in real trouble! Can Salazar finish him?
Ferguson takes a big shot to the dome and his eyes have rolled back in his head! Salazar's killer instinct has kicked in as he finishes the fight with more strikes. Impressive finish.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:45 of round 1, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Nyquil Salazar!