PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Antonio Mata (ranked 3879 p4p, 128 weight class) and Khabib Nurmagomedov (ranked 2675 p4p, 86 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Mata
vs
Nurmagomedov

207 cm
20
278 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

225 cm
29
300 lbs
7 - 3 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Big heart

Good wrestler
Counter fighter
Granite chin

Hilo's OG Supplements

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Antonio Mata!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Khabib Nurmagomedov!
The judges for this bout are Robert Douchet, Yves DeLean and William Peck.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Mata throws a hook to the side of Nurmagomedov's head but Nurmagomedov sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Mata misses with a hook

and Nurmagomedov counters with a nice double leg into guard.

Mata pushes Nurmagomedov off and scrambles back to his feet.
Mata swinging wildly here.
Nurmagomedov feints the counter takedown.
Mata throws a poor cross that misses

and Nurmagomedov decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Mata's guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Nurmagomedov content to stall in guard here.
It looks like Nurmagomedov might be adopting somewhat of a lay and pray gameplan here, which I'm sure won't go down too well with the paying fans in attendance... Or the ring announcers come to think of it.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Nurmagomedov's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Nurmagomedov content to stall in guard here.
Mata not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Nurmagomedov has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mata looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Nurmagomedov advances to half guard.
Nurmagomedov performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Mata might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Nurmagomedov prevents Mata from improving his position.
Ground and pound from Nurmagomedov.
Nurmagomedov content to control rather than advance.
Nurmagomedov moves nicely into side control.
Nurmagomedov is pausing for a moment. What's he doing? It looks like he's clearing his nose. Oh dude! He's shot a load of snot all down Mata's shoulder. That is not cool.
Nurmagomedov landing a few strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nurmagomedov working the ground and pound.
Nurmagomedov moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.
Nurmagomedov's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
Let's hope that Nurmagomedov 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.
Nurmagomedov lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Nurmagomedov scoring with punches from side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
You can see the frustration on Mata's face as Nurmagomedov controls the position.
Mata is looking for a sweep.
Mata is not content to let Nurmagomedov control the position.
Nurmagomedov lands some shots froms side control.
Nurmagomedov moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.
Mata struggling a bit here.
Mata regains half guard.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Mata is looking to improve his position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nurmagomedov working Mata over with strikes.
Still in half guard, Nurmagomedov seems content to control.
Nurmagomedov is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Nurmagomedov drops an elbow to the side of Mata's head.
Nurmagomedov takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
We're seeing a lot of stalling here from Nurmagomedov.
Mata wants to get back to full guard.
My spies in Jitz MMA inform me that Nurmagomedov has been getting involved in the gym's BJJ sparring sessions. Let's see whether that pays dividends!
Nurmagomedov scoring with strikes to the body and head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Khabib Nurmagomedov dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Mata misses with a hook

and Nurmagomedov decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Mata's guard.
Nurmagomedov tries to free his leg and advance position but Mata is retaining full guard.
Nurmagomedov engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Mata looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Mata is trying to control the position but Nurmagomedov postures up.
Nurmagomedov connects with a couple of short punches.
Mata keeping full guard, as Nurmagomedov tries to pass.
Khabib Nurmagomedov has got the better of the ground game so far.
Nurmagomedov connects with a couple of short punches.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Nurmagomedov distracts Mata with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Nurmagomedov lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Nurmagomedov controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Nurmagomedov is working Mata over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Nurmagomedov postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Nurmagomedov stops Mata from standing up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nurmagomedov distracts Mata with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Nurmagomedov looking to pass the guard.
Mata is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Nurmagomedov is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Mata seems to have improved his submission grappling technique since last time we saw him. Let's see if he can pull off a submission.
Nurmagomedov is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Nurmagomedov is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Nurmagomedov cracks Mata with a solid left hand.
Nurmagomedov keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Mata's head.
Nurmagomedov not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nurmagomedov trying to control but Mata is working from the bottom.
Nurmagomedov looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Nurmagomedov postures up.
Nurmagomedov landing with the ground and pound.
Mata keeping moving, preventing Nurmagomedov from controlling successfully.
Mata has momentary wrist control but Nurmagomedov slips an elbow through the middle.
Nurmagomedov chips away with some ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nurmagomedov landing with the ground and pound.
Nurmagomedov engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Mata not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Nurmagomedov scoring with some ground and pound.
Nurmagomedov sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Mata's guard.
Nurmagomedov not doing much here.
Mata wants to improve his position but Nurmagomedov is controlling well.
Nurmagomedov with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Nurmagomedov passes into side control, despite Mata's attempt to control the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mata takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Nurmagomedov working the head and body with strikes.
Nurmagomedov remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.
Nurmagomedov scores with a couple of short elbows.
Nurmagomedov is chipping away with strikes.
Nurmagomedov connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Mata some visible discomfort.

Mata is rocked!
Mata tries to improve position but can't.
Mata seems a little lost for a moment, as Nurmagomedov dominates the positioning.
Nurmagomedov is putting a hurting on Mata here, landing some big shots from side control.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Nurmagomedov lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Mata down.
Oh Mata is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Nurmagomedov in side control here. He's dropped a big elbow there and Mata looks hurt! Oh, he is hurt! Nurmagomedov turns on the heat and pounds him out for a TKO victory! Good killer instinct there!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:59 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Khabib Nurmagomedov!
Khabib Nurmagomedov thanked the fans post fight for their support.