PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Vadim Nazarov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Raimundo Sobral (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Nazarov comes to the cage accompanied by "Fade to Black" by Metallica. Raimundo Sobral has the eye of the tiger tonight.

Nazarov
vs
Sobral

187 cm
25
195 lbs
12 - 5 - 2

180 cm
25
202 lbs
12 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Excellent grappler
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the middleweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 12 - 5 - 2, fighting out of Las Vegas, Vadim Nazarov!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Raimundo Sobral!
The judges for this bout are Gwen Towbar, Frank Dennis and Wesley Smith.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nazarov fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Sobral looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Sobral takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Sobral pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Sobral tries a head kick but it misses.
A jab from Nazarov misses.
Sobral misses with a left hand
and Nazarov cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Nazarov lands a glancing blow to the side of Sobral's head.
We can't be sure of the tactics at this early stage but we have heard that Sobral has been working on his takedowns a lot in the buildup to the fight and we can only assume he's going to look to take this to the mat.
Sobral takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Nazarov comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Nazarov seems to be moving with more speed, compared to his last bout. He must have been working on that in the gym.
Nazarov ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Sobral moves away.
Nazarov swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Sobral throws a right hand that Nazarov ducks under and follows up with a left that Nazarov also avoids with ease.
Sobral lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Nazarov circles away quickly and effectively.
Sobral shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Nazarov but Nazarov pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Nazarov misses with a two punch combination.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nazarov bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
Nazarov misses with a body shot.
Nazarov with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Nazarov swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Sobral slips a straight right by Nazarov.
Nazarov ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Sobral moves away.
Sobral throws an off balance right hand
and Nazarov counters with a nice body shot.
Nazarov misses with a lunging right hand

and Sobral counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Sobral.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Nazarov is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Sobral pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Nazarov is keeping the position for now.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Sobral accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Sobral pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Nazarov is keeping the position for now.
Sobral trying to control the position from guard on top but Nazarov is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Sobral is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Sobral is looking to advance position but Nazarov has hit a scissor sweep - now he's on top in mount!
Nazarov lands with some strikes.
Nazarov is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Sobral can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Nazarov raining down hammerfists from mount.
Sobral regains half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sobral works his way to full guard. Good work.
Nazarov is working Sobral over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Sobral wants to sweep but no luck.
Nazarov is in close to Sobral's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Nazarov is in close to Sobral's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Nazarov stopping the sweep attempt from Sobral.
Nazarov with a nice head shot there.
Sobral avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Sobral utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Sobral has momentary wrist control but Nazarov slips an elbow through the middle.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Nazarov throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Nazarov accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Nazarov postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Sobral has Nazarov pulled in close to control his posture.
Nazarov tries to free his leg and advance position but Sobral is retaining full guard.
Nazarov trying to control but Sobral is working from the bottom.
Nazarov stopping the sweep attempt from Sobral.
Nazarov wants to control from the top but Sobral keeps moving.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Sobral working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Nazarov.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Vadim Nazarov dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Nazarov takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Nazarov misses with a hook to the body
and Sobral counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Nazarov ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Nazarov misses with a left hand
and Sobral counters with a nice body shot.
Nazarov checks a leg kick.
Nazarov throws the left hand but Sobral avoids the punch easily.
Sobral is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Nazarov.
Nazarov moves out of range as Sobral throws a body kick.
Nazarov fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
The fighters circling - Nazarov throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Nazarov throws a lazy uppercut
and Sobral counters with a straight right hand.
Nazarov is looking to wear down Sobral with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Sobral misses with a hook.
Sobral slips a jab and a cross from Nazarov.
A slow jab from Nazarov misses its intended target.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nazarov throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Nazarov takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Vadim Nazarov seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Sobral shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Sobral keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Nazarov.
Nazarov thows a left - swing and a miss!
Nazarov connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Sobral has his takedown stuffed

and Nazarov counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Sobral jumps guard but Nazarov stands there with Sobral around his waist. Sobral gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Vadim Nazarov has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Raimundo Sobral.
Nazarov misses with a punch to the body.
Nazarov lands an uppercut.
Nazarov misses with a body punch.

Nazarov pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sobral misses with an uppercut. Nazarov saw that one coming.
A combination from Sobral does no damage.
Nazarov walks forward, straight into a front kick from Sobral.
Nazarov lands with a shot to the body.
Nazarov throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Nazarov misses with an uppercut

and Sobral decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Nazarov's guard.
Sobral sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Nazarov's guard.

Sobral is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Nazarov sees it coming and defends easily.

Sobral is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Sobral wants to pass to mount but Nazarov is defending the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sobral is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Nazarov is positioning himself well to prevent Sobral advancing to mount.

Sobral is trying to work for a kimura but Nazarov is defending well.
Sobral is looking to advance position but Nazarov won't allow it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sobral prevents Nazarov from improving his position.
Nazarov is not content to let Sobral control the position.
Sobral sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Nazarov defending well though.

Sobral seems to be looking for submissions.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Sobral is looking to advance position but Nazarov won't allow it.

Sobral is actively looking for submissions here but good counter grappling here from Nazarov as he works his way to full guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Raimundo Sobral showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Nazarov works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Nazarov throws a jab but it's blocked by Sobral.
Nazarov throws a body shot but no joy.
Nazarov keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Nazarov misses with a body shot

and Sobral counters with a single leg into guard. Nazarov didn't expect that.

Sobral has gone for a leg lock! Nazarov slips out almost immediately though and dives into Sobral's guard.
Nazarov is working Sobral over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Nazarov landing with the ground and pound.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Nazarov postures up in Sobral's guard and throws a big left but Sobral blocks it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sobral utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Nazarov scoring with some ground and pound.
Nazarov with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Nazarov missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Sobral is striking but Nazarov is not phased and passes to half guard.
Sobral is refusing to be controlled, as Nazarov sits in half guard.
Vadim Nazarov overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Sobral is looking to improve his position.
Ground and pound from Nazarov.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Sobral is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Nazarov pulls his head out easily.
Nazarov scoring with strikes to the body and head.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Sobral blocking the ground and pound attempt from Nazarov.
Sobral is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Nazarov missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Nazarov looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Sobral with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Nazarov is just content to waste time from the top position. Sobral takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.

Sobral looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Nazarov passes into half guard.
Nazarov scores with a big shot! Sobral's head bounced off the canvas with a huge thud! More strikes land and the referee has jumped in to save Sobral! He was hurt real bad - good stoppage!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:58 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Vadim Nazarov!
Vadim Nazarov retains his middleweight title!
Vadim Nazarov thanked the fans post fight for their support.