PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between The Valera (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jacoby Lombard (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Lombard has chosen Retaliator as his entrance music. The Valera has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Valera
vs
Lombard

176 cm
19
170 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

182 cm
26
177 lbs
8 - 6 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
Good in bed

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

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 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, The Valera!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 6 - 0, fighting out of London, Jacoby Lombard!
The judges for this bout are Igor Prikhodko, Fedor Mirinova and Sergei Dronov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Valera shoots for a takedown but Lombard saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Lombard fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Valera misses with a takedown
and Lombard counters with a straight right hand.
Some wild striking there from Lombard.
Lombard throws a nice looking combination but Valera bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Valera shoots in looking for a takedown but Lombard manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Valera's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for The Valera. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Valera shoots in and gets a takedown into Lombard's guard.
Lombard has control of Valera's left arm, preventing Valera from doing any damage.
Let's hope that Lombard has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
Valera passes Lombard's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Lombard is trying to stand.

Valera is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Valera missing with the ground and pound from half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lombard is trying to control but can't.
Lombard moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.

Valera drops back, looking for a kneebar! Lombard looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Lombard looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Lombard!
Valera is breathing heavily.

Lombard is trying to get an arm triangle but Valera is defending well.
Lombard trying to control the position but Valera is working away.
Lombard in side control lands a decent elbow.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lombard creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
Lombard working the body and head with strikes.
Valera is trying to improve his position.
Valera is letting Lombard control him for a moment.
Valera is looking to slip a leg under and get half guard but Lombard is one step ahead and moves to full mount!
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!
Valera can't escape the position.
Lombard looking to control and managing it successfully.
Lombard can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Valera is looking to escape.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lombard landing punches.
Lombard controlling from the full mount.
A nice elbow there by Lombard.
Lombard trying to control but Valera is having none of it.

Lombard with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lombard trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Lombard is dominating on the ground here - he's now on his opponent's back, looking to sink in the hooks. Valera is in real trouble.
Lombard biding his time, controlling Valera.
Valera is defending well here and trying to improve his position.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Lombard is persistently looking for the submission but Valera is defending it well.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Valera is defending well here and trying to improve his position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jacoby Lombard dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Valera shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Lombard counters with a two punch combo.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Valera.
Valera shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Lombard but Lombard pushes him off and we're back to square one.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for The Valera. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Lombard scores with a three punch combo!
Lombard misses with a combination

and Valera decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Lombard's guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Valera is fighting to break Lombard's control of his arms but Lombard is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.

Valera got a little sloppy there for a moment and Lombard has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Valera has managed to get both his arms back between Lombard's legs - danger averted.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
Lombard is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Lombard content to control rather than advance.

Valera looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Valera with the active half guard here but Lombard passes nicely into side control.
Valera taking a bit of punishment here - Lombard scoring with strikes.
Lombard looks up at the clock and then as Valera takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Lombard smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!
Lombard is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Valera will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.
Lombard tries to advance to mount but Valera denies him.

Lombard wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Valera, who protects the arm well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Valera is looking for a sweep.
Lombard wants to control but Valera is keeping him busy.
Valera is being controlled here.
Lombard advances to mount.
Lombard controlling his opponent.
Valera is controlling an arm, preventing Lombard from taking his back. Although keeping him in mount is no better to be honest.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lombard looking to control and managing it successfully.
Valera has given up his back. Will we see Lombard going for some submissions?
Valera tries to escape the position.

Lombard is working for the rear naked choke. He has one arm under the chin but Valera has hold of the other arm. A bit of a stalemate here.
Lombard slows the pace down here. Having a little breather whilst he's in a dominant position, looking to rest and regain some energy, ready to go for the finish.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lombard is trying to stick to Valera's back but Valera is turning into Lombard. He's managed to reverse the position - now he's in Lombard's guard. Polite applause from the crowd in appreciation of some nice Jiu Jitsu by Valera.
Lombard seems keen to control Valera's posture.
Valera postures up.
Valera prevents Lombard from getting back to his feet.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Jacoby Lombard.
Valera has his takedown stuffed
and Lombard counters with a three punch combo that has Valera backing up. Valera nods at Lombard to acknowledge the strikes.
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!

Valera gets caught napping as Lombard dives in and scores a takedown. Valera manages to retain guard.
Lombard sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Lombard wants to control from the top but Valera keeps moving.
Jacoby Lombard has got the better of the ground game so far.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Lombard 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.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jacoby Lombard showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Lombard throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Valera.
A punch combination from Lombard misses.
Lombard throws a series of punches but Valera avoids them all with ease.
The Valera is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Lombard throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Valera.
Lombard stuffs the takedown.
Valera fails with the takedown
and Lombard connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
No luck for Valera with that takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for The Valera. That's going to take a lot out of him.
No joy there for Lombard, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
A cross from Lombard lands.
Lombard has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Lombard fails to land with a series of punches.
Valera misses with a takedown attempt - Lombard sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
A jab from Lombard finds it's way through Valera's defenses.
Lombard throws a series of punches but Valera moves out of range.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Valera showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Lombard.
Lombard lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
The Valera seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Valera closes the distance and clinches up with Lombard, looking for a takedown. Valera pushes Lombard against the ropes but Lombard circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Lombard scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
A right-left combo lands from Lombard.
Lombard connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Lombard lands with a hook. Valera tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Sloppy strikes from Lombard. Those never looked like landing.
Valera shoots in for a double leg but Lombard sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Lombard throws a leg kick which misses Valera's front leg but catches the back leg as Valera tries to avoid it.
Lombard lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Lombard closes the distance and lands a one-two.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Lombard scores with a nice strike.
Lombard lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lombard tries a low kick but Valera avoids it.
Lombard fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

Lombard gets caught flat footed, as Valera shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Lombard wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Lombard tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Lombard preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Lombard trying to control the position.
Valera slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Valera tries to advance to mount but can't.

Valera thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Valera working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Jacoby Lombard is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Lombard isn't going anywhere.
The strikes coming from Valera are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
Lombard is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Valera off and has taken his back!
You know, I was talking to some of our celebrities at ringside tonight and they were split right down the middle on who was going to win this fight.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lombard's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Valera tries to roll but Lombard sticks to his back.

And that's the end of the fight!
Jacoby Lombard comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Lombard has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Igor Prikhodko scores the fight 27:30
Judge Fedor Mirinova scores the fight 27:30
Judge Sergei Dronov scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Jacoby Lombard!
During a confident post fight interview, Jacoby Lombard thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.