PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Vassily Kessikbayev (ranked 4228 p4p, 3859 weight class) and Lorenzo Thompson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Kessikbayev
vs
Thompson

183 cm
18
228
0 - 0 - 0

197 cm
25
245
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid boxing
Big heart

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Very confident

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Vassily Kessikbayev!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Lorenzo Thompson!
The judges for this bout are Radbod Blank, Nard Betker and Paulsen Ambrosius.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kessikbayev stuns Thompson with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Kessikbayev just misses with a punch to the body.

Thompson closes the distance and clinches.

Thompson breaks from the clinch.
Kessikbayev misses with a wild body shot.
Thompson unleashes a big counter combination but Kessikbayev bobs and weaves and avoids any damage.

Thompson drives through with a takedown into guard.
Thompson trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Thompson is still trying to improve position.
Kessikbayev manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Thompson manages to get himself to full guard.

We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Thompson can do anything to dispel that myth.
Kessikbayev passes Thompson's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Thompson trying to hold on to Kessikbayev's head to control him but Kessikbayev postures up.
Thompson tries to roll over but Kessikbayev keeps him under control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thompson trying to control here.
Thompson won't allow Kessikbayev to pass to mount.
Thompson is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Kessikbayev scores with a couple of nice shots.

Kessikbayev is looking for a kimura but Thompson is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Kessikbayev to get the leverage.
Kessikbayev prevents Thompson from improving his position.
Thompson trying to hold on to Kessikbayev's head to control him but Kessikbayev postures up.
Kessikbayev throwing shots but Thompson is blocking nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Kessikbayev seems to be looking for submissions.
Thompson has his hands clasped together around Kessikbayev's back. He's all about the action.
Kessikbayev trying to pass the guard but Thompson defending well.
Thompson tries to roll over but Kessikbayev keeps him under control.
Kessikbayev thows a huge punch but Thompson dodges it nicely.

Thompson actively working from the bottom here.
Thompson is looking to improve his position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thompson blocking the ground and pound attempt from Kessikbayev.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Kessikbayev missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Thompson wants to improve his position but Kessikbayev is controlling well.
Thompson avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Kessikbayev.
Kessikbayev throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Thompson keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.

Kessikbayev is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Thompson doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Kessikbayev.
Thompson is positioning himself well to prevent Kessikbayev advancing to mount.

That's four 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.
Kessikbayev thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Thompson's head.
Kessikbayev trying to control the action but Thompson is working from the bottom.
Kessikbayev has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Thompson is trying to stand up here but Kessikbayev is controlling him well.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Thompson closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Kessikbayev is looking for a sweep.
Kessikbayev sneaks back into half guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Kessikbayev manages to get to full guard.
Kessikbayev wants to sweep here but Thompson controlling him for the moment.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Vassily Kessikbayev dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Kessikbayev lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.

Thompson closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Thompson slows the pace down in half guard.
Thompson is looking to advance position but Kessikbayev won't allow it.
Kessikbayev slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Thompson preventing the sweep.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kessikbayev working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Thompson.
Kessikbayev trying to keep a closed guard but Thompson is proving a slippery customer.
Thompson is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Kessikbayev could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thompson stopping the sweep attempt from Kessikbayev.

Kessikbayev is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Thompson is aware though and is defending well.
Thompson is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Kessikbayev is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Thompson wants to stand but Kessikbayev is controlling his posture from full guard.
Kessikbayev is trying to keep Thompson in close.
Vassily Kessikbayev overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Kessikbayev throwing strikes off his back to little effect.
Thompson preventing the sweep.
Kessikbayev has a closed guard, preventing Thompson from standing up.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
No joy there for Kessikbayev, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Kessikbayev cracks a nice hook into Thompson's ribs.

Thompson moves into the clinch successfully.

Thompson ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Thompson no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Kessikbayev might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Thompson doesn't do any damage with a couple of strikes from the bottom.
Kessikbayev passes Thompson's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Kessikbayev throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Thompson has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Kessikbayev is working away from the top position though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kessikbayev stops Thompson from getting back to his feet.
Kessikbayev throwing shots but Thompson is blocking nicely.
Kessikbayev not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Thompson gets back to full guard.
Thompson keeping moving, preventing Kessikbayev from controlling successfully.
Thompson avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Kessikbayev in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Thompson trying to strike off his back.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Thompson holds on and takes a little breather.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.

Thompson drives through with a takedown into Kessikbayev's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Kessikbayev looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

Kessikbayev working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Thompson doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Thompson manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Kessikbayev manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Thompson manages to get himself to full guard.

The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Thompson throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.
Kessikbayev passes Thompson's left leg - he's now in half guard.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Vassily Kessikbayev dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Thompson throws a body kick that misses.
Thompson displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Kessikbayev throws out the jab.

Thompson clinches up with Kessikbayev and pushes him back against the cage.

Thompson manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Kessikbayev is fighting to break Thompson's control of his arms but Thompson is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Kessikbayev missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Thompson looking for a sweep. Not yet Thompson, not yet.
Kessikbayev chips away with some ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kessikbayev postures up.
Thompson working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Kessikbayev.
Kessikbayev postures up.
Kessikbayev wants to control from the top but Thompson keeps moving.

Thompson had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Kessikbayev defends it easily.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Kessikbayev dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Kessikbayev tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Thompson was well out of range. Poor timing from Kessikbayev.
Kessikbayev fails to land with a series of punches.
Kessikbayev throws a body shot but no joy.
Kessikbayev takes a swing at Thompson's ribcage but misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Thompson looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Thompson keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Thompson is continuing to stall.
Kessikbayev gets full guard.
Kessikbayev lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Kessikbayev trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Thompson is looking to sweep but instead, Kessikbayev has passed into half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thompson tries to get to full guard but Kessikbayev has control of the leg.
Thompson is staying active underneath Kessikbayev, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Kessikbayev passes the half guard and he's now in mount! Big trouble for Thompson!
Kessikbayev cracks Thompson with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Kessikbayev wants to control the pace but Thompson is squirming around nicely.
Kessikbayev sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
Kessikbayev misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thompson can't escape the position.
Thompson is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Thompson avoids a series of strikes thrown by Kessikbayev.
Kessikbayev looking to finish with strikes here!
Thompson wants to control but Kessikbayev is having none of it.
Thompson tries to reverse the position but Kessikbayev maintains control.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Thompson wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Kessikbayev.
Lorenzo Thompson has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Kessikbayev throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.

And that's the end of the fight!
Vassily Kessikbayev showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Kessikbayev, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Radbod Blank scores the fight 30:27
Judge Nard Betker scores the fight 30:27
Judge Paulsen Ambrosius scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Vassily Kessikbayev!