PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Dante Nieves (ranked 24533 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nicholas De Theelbaer (ranked 4728 p4p, 0 weight class). Nicholas De Theelbaer has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Dante Nieves's chin.

Nieves
vs
De Theelbaer

222 cm
18
193 lbs
1 - 4 - 0

175 cm
18
185 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Tends to cut

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 1 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Dante Nieves!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nicholas De Theelbaer!
The judges for this bout are George Francis, Robert Twigg and Wesley Smith.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nieves misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

De Theelbaer gets a clinch.

De Theelbaer jumps guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
De Theelbaer wants to sweep but no luck.
De Theelbaer wants to get back to his feet but Nieves is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

De Theelbaer had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Nieves defends it easily.
Nieves has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Nieves not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Nieves lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Nieves 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.

That's one minute gone in the round.
De Theelbaer doesn't do any damage with a couple of strikes from the bottom.
De Theelbaer controlling the position.
Nieves is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.

Nieves drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Nieves jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

De Theelbaer shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.

Nieves kicks De Theelbaer off and gets back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Nieves tries to keep at a distance but De Theelbaer has taken the fight into the clinch.
De Theelbaer effectively controlling the action here.

De Theelbaer ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. De Theelbaer no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Nieves postures up.
De Theelbaer has momentary wrist control but Nieves slips an elbow through the middle.
Nieves has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of De Theelbaer is proving hard to escape from.
Nieves sitting in guard here, content to control.
This has been an exciting period of action!
De Theelbaer is trying to keep Nieves in close.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

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

De Theelbaer wants to stand but Nieves has a closed guard, so he can't escape.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Nieves wants to stand but De Theelbaer is controlling the position.
De Theelbaer controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
De Theelbaer trying to control the position from guard on top but Nieves is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
De Theelbaer tries to clinch up.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Nieves darts in looking for a takedown but De Theelbaer gets double underhooks and turns Nieves into the cage.
De Theelbaer fails with an attempt to clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nicholas De Theelbaer dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

De Theelbaer misses with the combination.
De Theelbaer misses with a looping right.
Nieves appears to be looking for a big counter.
De Theelbaer throws a head kick but Nieves moves out of range.
Nieves is trying to close the distance and clinch up, after that failed offence from De Theelbaer.
Nieves avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Nicholas De Theelbaer seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
De Theelbaer fails with an attempt to clinch.
Nieves feinted with a counter takedown.

De Theelbaer shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Nieves manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Nieves keeping moving, preventing De Theelbaer from controlling successfully.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
De Theelbaer is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Nieves will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

Nieves is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
De Theelbaer sitting in guard here, content to control.
De Theelbaer trying to control the position from guard on top but Nieves is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
De Theelbaer has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
De Theelbaer wants to pass the guard but Nieves is keeping the position.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.

De Theelbaer closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Nieves did well to prevent De Theelbaer getting side control.
De Theelbaer seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Nieves does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Nieves trying to hold on to De Theelbaer's head to control him but De Theelbaer postures up.
Nieves has hold of De Theelbaer's hands but De Theelbaer slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

De Theelbaer escapes and gets back to his feet.
Nieves fails to land with a series of punches.
De Theelbaer lands with a right that hurts Nieves. Nieves looks to clinch but De Theelbaer throws a short knee that drops Nieves. This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:28 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Punch and Knee). Nicholas De Theelbaer!