PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Somchai Saetang (ranked 3622 p4p, 4320 weight class) and Nick Holey (ranked 389 p4p, 441 weight class). Nick Holey told me before the fight that he's been watching a lot of DVDs so let's see if that helps him in this one! I can't wait to find out!

Saetang
vs
Holey

189 cm
24
145
5 - 1 - 0

150 cm
43
130
18 - 27 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Granite chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Somchai Saetang !
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 18 - 27 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Nick Holey!
The judges for this bout are Sosuke Kotani, Yasuomi Hirokawa and Yukihiro Yamamoto.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Holey goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
Saetang really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

Saetang rushes Holey and presses him up against the cage.
Holey is trying to break the clinch but Saetang has him pressed against the cage.
Saetang throws a knee to the head but misses.
Holey on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

Holey successfully pulls guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Saetang has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Holey is proving hard to escape from.

Holey working for a triangle but Saetang defends it easily.
Saetang is looking to stand up but Holey won't let him.
Saetang will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Holey is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Holey seems keen to control Saetang 's posture.
Holey has a closed guard, preventing Saetang from standing up.
Holey has Saetang pulled in close to control his posture.
Saetang preventing the sweep.
Saetang is looking to stand up but Holey won't let him.
Saetang has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Saetang wants to stand and escape but instead Holey has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

Saetang looking to sweep using the butterfly guard but Holey puts pay to that idea as he passes nicely into half guard.
Saetang knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Holey on the ground.
Holey is looking to take a break and control but Saetang is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Holey tries to stand but his hand is stuck under Saetang .
Holey thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Holey wants to stand up but Saetang has a hold of him and won't allow it.
Holey controlling the pace.
Saetang wants to get back to full guard.
Holey sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Holey wants to control but Saetang is keeping him busy.
Holey is thwarting Saetang 's attempts to control the position.
Holey perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Holey prevents Saetang from improving his position.
Holey with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.

Holey is working for a submission of some sort.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Holey wants to pass to mount but Saetang is defending the position.
Saetang is refusing to be controlled, as Holey sits in half guard.
It looks like Holey is going to stand back up.
Saetang is not content to let Holey control the position.
Holey with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Saetang is looking to improve his position.

That's four 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.
Saetang wants to control but Holey is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Holey looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Holey works his way into full mount!
Saetang is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Holey lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Holey looking to control but Saetang is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Saetang tries to reverse the position but Holey maintains control.
Holey dominating with strikes here.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Holey looking to secure an arm triangle but Saetang defends it well.
BOOM! Holey connects with a massive shot to the dome!
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Nick Holey dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare each other down, ready to get back to the action.

Saetang lands with a kick to the temple. Holey shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"

It looks like Nick Holey has been cut.

Saetang clinches.
Knees in the clinch landing for Saetang .
Holey on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

Holey drags the fight down to the ground.
Saetang trying to stand up but can't free himself from Holey's guard.
Holey has control of Saetang 's left arm, preventing Saetang from doing any damage.
Saetang tries to stand but Holey is controlling from the bottom.
Holey looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Holey wants to stand but Saetang is controlling the position.
Saetang wants to stand and escape but instead Holey has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

Saetang is controlling Holey's posture.
Saetang on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Saetang tries to get out of the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Holey trying to control but Saetang is working from the bottom.
Saetang preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Holey with a flurry of punches that miss.
Holey wants to stand but Saetang is controlling his posture from full guard.
Saetang keeping moving, preventing Holey from controlling successfully.
Saetang wants to control but Holey passes easily into half guard.
Holey looks to score some points with some ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Saetang trying to control from the bottom.
Holey wants to stand but Saetang has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.
Holey sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Saetang defending well though.
Holey is trying to control. Saetang wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Holey content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Saetang is looking to control Holey's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Saetang avoid being mounted?
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Saetang is trying to control but can't.
Holey seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters, thinking about a standup.
Saetang looks to be in better condition than last time we saw him fight. Obviously he's been working hard on his cardio.
Holey working Saetang over with strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Holey wants to stand up but Saetang is controlling the position.
Holey seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Holey's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
Saetang is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Nick Holey has got the better of the ground game so far.
Saetang is refusing to be controlled, as Holey sits in half guard.
Saetang tries to regain full guard. Instead though, Holey has advanced to mount. Uh oh.

Holey looking for a guillotine from mount but Saetang is having none of it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Saetang is trying desperately to improve position.
Holey trying to control but he's not successful this time.

Holey looking to secure an arm triangle but Saetang defends it well.
Holey controlling his opponent.
Holey can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Saetang is looking to escape.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Holey lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Saetang hang on?
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Nick Holey showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Nick Holey's cut.
That's time! Saetang 's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Saetang clinches with his opponent.
Saetang misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Holey.
Holey avoiding damage as Saetang throws knees to the body.
Holey on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Saetang keeps control of Holey as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Holey fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Saetang missing with knees to the body.
Saetang misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Holey.
Saetang missing with knees to the body.
Holey misses with a knee to the head.
Holey is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Holey throws a knee to the head but misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Saetang landing knees to the head.
Saetang is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Holey is defending well for now.
Holey wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.

Holey has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Saetang uses from the top position.
Holey not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Saetang wants to stand but Holey has a closed guard, so he can't escape.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Saetang avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Holey working a defensive guard here.
Holey has his hands on Saetang 's head, controlling the position.
Saetang wants to get up but he can't break Holey's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Holey pulls Saetang in close to prevent any damage.
Saetang trying to stand up but can't free himself from Holey's guard.
Holey has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

Holey is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Saetang is aware though and is defending well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Holey trying to keep a closed guard but Saetang is proving a slippery customer.
Holey looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

Holey has thrown up a leg looking for a triangle. Saetang doesn't defend quickly enough and Holey has managed to lock this one up! Can Saetang escape?! NO! He's tapping out! Damn, that was a quick submission - congrats to Holey on a fantastic submission victory.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:35 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle). Nick Holey!