PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Pascal Letaivu (ranked 1683 p4p, 74 weight class) and Nigel Nobody (ranked 2027 p4p, 92 weight class). Nobody has chosen Red - Same Disease as his entrance music. Pascal Letaivu has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Letaivu
vs
Nobody

170 cm
22
146 lbs
5 - 4 - 0

162 cm
21
130 lbs
3 - 3 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Lethal high kicks
Good gas tank

KOMBAT KLOTHING

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Pascal Letaivu!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 3 - 0, fighting out of New York, Nigel Nobody!
The judges for this bout are John Roberts, John Kavanagh and Bruno Lombardi.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Letaivu slips under a jab from Nobody.
Nobody displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Letaivu throws out the jab.
Nobody uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Letaivu.
Nobody looks to throw a body kick
and Letaivu counters with a left and a right that stings Nobody.
Nobody misses with a hook to the body
and Letaivu counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Nobody thinking.
Nobody misses with a hook
and Letaivu counters with a right hand to the body.
Letaivu slips a jab and a cross from Nobody.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Letaivu tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Nobody paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Nobody misses with a lunging right hand
enabling Letaivu to counter with a crisp jab.
Letaivu blocks a head kick by Nobody.
Nobody misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Letaivu.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nobody walks into a stiff left hand from Letaivu.
Letaivu is looking to clinch.
Nobody misses with a body kick.
Nobody fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Letaivu manages to avoid it.
Nobody throws a head kick that misses.
Letaivu misses with a straight left.
Nobody with the counter takedown but Letaivu avoids it easily.
A combination from Letaivu does no damage.
Nobody ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Nobody throws out a counter right but Letaivu avoids it with no problem.
Pascal Letaivu is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Nobody avoids the body shot from Letaivu.
Nobody looks like he wanted to counter with a high kick but didn't throw it.
Letaivu throws a big shot that misses.
Nobody doesn't fully commit to the body shot counter.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Letaivu misses with the combination.
Nobody throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Letaivu seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.
Nobody throws a lazy body kick
and Letaivu counters with a left to the body.
Letaivu throws a body punch but Nobody moves out of range.

Letaivu takes the fight into the clinch.
A hook to the body from Letaivu.
Letaivu misses with a punch on the inside.
Letaivu misses with a hook to the ribs.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Still in the clinch, Letaivu scores with a nice short uppercut.
I was talking to Letaivu's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.
Letaivu tries to throw a body punch but Nobody avoids it by throwing Letaivu back against the cage.

Nobody breaks the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nobody throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Letaivu swings for the body but Nobody moves out of range.
Letaivu misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Nobody.
A big left from Nobody misses.
Letaivu misses with a body shot.
Letaivu lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Letaivu connects with a body shot.
Nobody scores with a body shot.
Nobody connects with a nice looking jab.
Nobody tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Letaivu was well out of range. Poor timing from Nobody.
Letaivu was looking to counter that last move with a shot to the body but he didn't commit.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nobody connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Letaivu swings for the body but Nobody moves out of range.
Nobody just misses with a punch to the body.
Letaivu misses with a lunging right hand
and Nobody counters with a thumping low kick.
Nobody swings for the body but Letaivu moves out of range.
A counter left hand to the body from Letaivu misses its target.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Letaivu lands with a good body shot.
Letaivu lands a jab to Nobody's midsection.
Letaivu throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Nobody with the counter takedown but Letaivu avoids it easily.
Letaivu throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Pascal Letaivu dominated that round.
That's time! Letaivu's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Letaivu ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Nobody moves away.
A looping hook to the body misses from Letaivu. Nobody does a little dance to reset his feet.
Nobody drops down looking to force a counter takedown but Letaivu defends it well.
Nobody throws a head kick that misses.
Letaivu swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Letaivu throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Nobody throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Letaivu throws a predictable looking body shot
and Nobody counters with a leg kick.
Letaivu is looking to wear down Nobody with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Letaivu connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Nobody misses with an attempted mid kick.
Letaivu is looking to counter with a shot to the body.
Letaivu's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Letaivu duly obliges.
Nobody avoids a punch combination nicely.
Nobody changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Nobody drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Check out the look on Nobody's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
Letaivu can't do much from the bottom here.
Nobody landing strikes.
Nobody fails to land a wild elbow strike.
Letaivu struggling a bit here.
Nobody has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Letaivu takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
Letaivu tries to improve position but can't.
Letaivu sneaks back into half guard.
Letaivu wants to improve his position but Nobody is controlling well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Letaivu avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Nobody.
Letaivu has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Nobody is working away from the top position though.
Nobody looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Nobody tries to pass the half guard into mount. Letaivu knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Nobody is nestled in close to Letaivu, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Nobody is thwarting Letaivu's attempts to control the position.
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Nobody working his ground and pound in the gym. So far it seems to be working well.
Letaivu is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Nobody missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Letaivu wants to sweep but Nobody has passed to side control!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Both fighters take a look at the clock.
Letaivu wants to control but Nobody postures up.
Letaivu is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Nobody's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Letaivu is trying to control but can't.
Nobody missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Letaivu is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Nobody's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Nobody's back!
Nigel Nobody has got the better of the ground game so far.
Letaivu just keeping the dominant position. He can't wait too long though, otherwise the referee will stand them back up.
Letaivu controlling well, preventing Nobody from escaping the position.
Nobody looking very determined here, making life difficult for Letaivu.
Nobody is defending well here and trying to improve his position.
Letaivu is controlling his opponent, waiting for an opportunity to finish.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nobody is really stuck here.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Letaivu 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.
Nobody turns into Letaivu and is now in his guard.
Nobody postures up in Letaivu's guard and throws a big left but Letaivu blocks it.
Letaivu working a defensive guard here.
Letaivu looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Nobody trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Nobody scoring with some ground and pound.
Letaivu is pulling down on Nobody's head. It's preventing any offense from Nobody, at least for the moment.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Nobody's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nigel Nobody showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Nobody dips to his left and cracks Letaivu with an uppercut!
Nobody tests Letaivu's chin there with a solid looking shot.

Letaivu gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Letaivu misses with a punch to the body.
Letaivu gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Nobody.
Nobody has Letaivu pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Letaivu manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.

Nobody breaks the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Letaivu connects with a body shot that sends Nobody's belly button to the back.
Nobody misses with a body shot.
Nobody lands with an overhand left.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nobody steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Letaivu.
Letaivu takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Letaivu lands a nice shot to the body.
Letaivu swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Nobody lands with a good body shot.
Nobody ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Letaivu looks to land a combination. Nobody sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Letaivu tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Nobody paws at him with a jab and circles away.

Letaivu closes the distance and clinches.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Letaivu misses with a body punch.

Nobody escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Letaivu lands with a nice body punch.
Letaivu tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Nobody was well out of range. Poor timing from Letaivu.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Nobody throws a looping overhand right but Letaivu ducks down to avoid it.
Pascal Letaivu seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Nobody misses with a looping left.
Letaivu connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Nobody momentarily.
Nobody tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Letaivu was well out of range. Poor timing from Nobody.
Nobody throws a head kick that misses
and Letaivu counters with a left to the body.
Letaivu displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Nobody.
Letaivu went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
Pascal Letaivu has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Nigel Nobody.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Letaivu avoids the head kick by Nobody.
Nobody on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Nobody tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Letaivu was well out of range. Poor timing from Nobody.
Letaivu ducks right into an uppercut from Nobody.
Nobody takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Letaivu tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Nobody was well out of range. Poor timing from Letaivu.
Nobody misses with a head kick.
Pascal Letaivu is winning the standup battle so far.
Letaivu tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Nobody was well out of range. Poor timing from Letaivu.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nobody throws a body shot but no joy.
Nobody is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Letaivu.
Nobody misses with a low kick.
Letaivu scores with a jab to the jaw.
Letaivu moves out of range of the body kick from Nobody.
Letaivu appears to be looking for a counter punch to the body.
The fighters circling - Nobody throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Nobody throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Letaivu misses the shot to the body.
A nice side step and Nobody releases a counter shot to the body, but it doesn't find it's home.
Nobody sizes up Letaivu with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Pascal Letaivu.
I think Letaivu has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 John Roberts scores the fight 29:28
Judge John Kavanagh scores the fight 29:28
Judge Bruno Lombardi scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Pascal Letaivu!
Pascal Letaivu bigged himself up after the win. The crowd seemed to love it.
Nigel Nobody was interviewed post fight and said 'I am Nobody!'.