PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Branislav Boledovic (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Thulani Imamu (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Thulani Imamu has the eye of the tiger tonight.

Boledovic
vs
Imamu

187 cm
25
200 lbs
7 - 5 - 0

188 cm
26
201 lbs
8 - 4 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Very strong

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
Powerful

Steel Penn Nutrition

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 7 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Branislav Boledovic!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Thulani Imamu!
The judges for this bout are Paul Aken, Aafke Stam and Saam Ante.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Imamu keeps the fight on the outside.
Imamu ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Boledovic moves away.
Boledovic doesn't manage to clinch there - Imamu circles away.
Boledovic tries to clinch there but Imamu circles away.
Boledovic tries to clinch up.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Boledovic has Imamu pressed against the cage, preventing Imamu from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Boledovic tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Boledovic stalls.
Imamu is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Boledovic lands a right hand.
Boledovic lands a body shot in the clinch.
Boledovic lands with a short shot to the head.
Imamu wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Imamu tries to break the clinch but Boledovic is controlling the position.

Imamu breaks the clinch.
Imamu connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Boledovic's hands.

It looks like Branislav Boledovic has been cut.
Boledovic walks into a stiff left hand from Imamu.
Imamu ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Boledovic moves away.
Boledovic blocks a head kick by Imamu.
Imamu misses with a wild body shot.
Boledovic tries to clinch up.
Boledovic chopping away at his opponent's legs.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Boledovic is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Imamu misses the shot to the body.
A jab lands there for Imamu.
A big right from Imamu misses.
Imamu lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Imamu throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Imamu throws a right hand that Boledovic ducks under and follows up with a left that Boledovic also avoids with ease.
Imamu avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Boledovic takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Boledovic shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Imamu pinned against the cage. Imamu gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Boledovic staying out of range there.
Boledovic tries to clinch there but Imamu circles away.

Boledovic rushes Imamu and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Imamu tries to circle away but Boledovic has him pinned against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Boledovic is working on a single leg takedown against the cage. Imamu can't fight it off and eventually Boledovic manages to take the fight to the floor. Imamu looks annoyed but at least he's managed to land in guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Imamu wriggles free and stands up.
Boledovic tries to close the distance and clinch up but Imamu swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Boledovic misses with a few strikes there.
Imamu throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Boledovic wants to clinch up but Imamu keeps it at a distance.
Boledovic tries to clinch up.
Imamu misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Boledovic.
Boledovic fails with an attempt to clinch.
The fight stays on the outside here - Boledovic looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Imamu misses the shot to the body.
Boledovic slips a straight right by Imamu.
Imamu blocks a head kick by Boledovic.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The fight stays on the outside here - Boledovic looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Boledovic tries to clinch but Imamu moves out of range.
Imamu keeps the fight on the outside.
A nice combination there by Imamu.
Boledovic is breathing heavily.

Boledovic instigates a clinch.

Boledovic gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, Imamu regains guard.

Imamu uses the cage to get back to his feet.
Boledovic fails with an attempt to clinch.
Imamu lands a right hook to the body.
Boledovic tries to clinch there but Imamu circles away.
Imamu is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Boledovic rather than just go for the knockout.
Boledovic takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Imamu lands a head shot.
Boledovic tries to close the distance and clinch but Imamu swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Imamu lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.

Branislav Boledovic's cut is getting worse.
Imamu jabs at Boledovic's body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A jab from Imamu finds it's way through Boledovic's defenses.
Imamu cracks Boledovic with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Boledovic takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Imamu cracks Boledovic with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Good standup being displayed there by Imamu as he connects with a hook.
Imamu lands with a nice body punch.
Imamu lands a glancing blow to the side of Boledovic's head.
Imamu works Boledovic's body with a nice hook.
Imamu will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Imamu throws a right and a left that both miss.
Boledovic is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.

Branislav Boledovic's cut is bleeding quite badly. He's got to try and protect it.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Imamu circles away from the clinch attempt.
Boledovic tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Imamu paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Imamu avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Imamu misses with the combination.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Thulani Imamu dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Branislav Boledovic's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Boledovic on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Imamu misses with a wild body shot.
Imamu connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Imamu misses with a looping left.
A looping hook to the body misses from Imamu. Boledovic does a little dance to reset his feet.
Boledovic takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Imamu pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Boledovic throws a combination that misses
and Imamu counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Boledovic thinking.
Imamu throws a head kick that half lands.
Boledovic wants to clinch but Imamu slips to the side
and Imamu counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Boledovic misses with the combination.

Boledovic feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Boledovic wants to pass the guard but Imamu is keeping the position.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Boledovic won't allow Imamu to get back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Boledovic throwing strikes from guard but Imamu blocks nicely.
Boledovic loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Imamu is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Boledovic trying to control the position from guard on top but Imamu is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Boledovic closes the distance but Imamu moves to the side
and Imamu counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Imamu scores with a shot to the body.
Boledovic avoids the body shot from Imamu.
Boledovic uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Imamu.
Imamu scores with a shot to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Imamu circles away from the clinch attempt
and Imamu connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
No joy there for Imamu, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Boledovic darts in trying to clinch
enabling Imamu to counter with a crisp jab.
Nice defenses there by Boledovic.
Boledovic wants to clinch up but Imamu keeps it at a distance.
Imamu ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Boledovic moves away.
Imamu jabs at Boledovic's body.
Imamu misses with an uppercut. Boledovic saw that one coming.
Imamu misses with a body shot.
Boledovic blocks a head kick by Imamu.
Imamu throws a body punch but Boledovic moves out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Boledovic doesn't manage to clinch there - Imamu circles away.

Boledovic rushes Imamu and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

Imamu pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Boledovic misses with the combination.
Boledovic looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Boledovic clinches but Imamu breaks the clinch
and Imamu counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Imamu slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Boledovic moves in looking to clinch but Imamu pushes him off.
Boledovic tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.

Boledovic fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Imamu sprawls well initially but Boledovic persists and gets the takedown into half guard.

Boledovic is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.

Imamu manages to escape and get back to his feet!
Thulani Imamu is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Imamu tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Boledovic was well out of range. Poor timing from Imamu.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Imamu misses with a looping left.
Imamu lands with a kick to the temple. Boledovic shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"
Imamu throws a right and a left that both miss.

Boledovic has taken the fight to the clinch.
Imamu prevents the takedown attempt.
Imamu on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Imamu wants to break free but Boledovic has control.
Imamu tries to break free but Boledovic pushes him back against the cage.
Boledovic misses with a knee to the head.
Imamu blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Imamu tries to break free but Boledovic pushes him back against the cage.
Imamu has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.

Imamu pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Boledovic looks to clinch
and Imamu counters with a three punch combo that has Boledovic backing up. Boledovic nods at Imamu to acknowledge the strikes.
Boledovic throws a series of strikes that have Imamu backpedaling.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Boledovic takes the fight into the clinch.
Boledovic jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Imamu walks away with a smile on his face. Boledovic gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Imamu lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Good standup being displayed there by Imamu as he connects with a hook.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Thulani Imamu showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Branislav Boledovic's cut.
That's time! Back to the action! Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Imamu lands with a slapping head kick.
Imamu throws a jab but it's blocked by Boledovic.
Boledovic darts in trying to clinch
and Boledovic takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Boledovic looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Imamu misses with a straight left.
Boledovic looks to clinch
and Imamu counters with a big head kick but Boledovic shrugs it off.
Branislav Boledovic is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Imamu throws a head kick but Boledovic moves out of range.
Imamu misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Imamu throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Boledovic tries to clinch but Imamu moves away
and Imamu counters with a straight right hand.
Boledovic tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Imamu counters with a nice body shot.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Imamu avoiding damage as Boledovic throws knees to the body.
Boledovic lands a body shot in the clinch.
Boledovic keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Imamu's efforts to push away.
Imamu is trying to break the clinch but Boledovic has him pressed against the cage.
Imamu has had enough of the clinch but Boledovic keeps him there for the moment.
Boledovic pushes off an throws an elbow but Imamu leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Boledovic lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Boledovic stalls.
Imamu tries to break the clinch but Boledovic is controlling the position.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Imamu wants to break the clinch but can't.
Boledovic pushes Imamu back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Imamu tries to break the clinch but Boledovic is controlling the position.
A shot in the inside from Boledovic.
Imamu has had enough of the clinch but Boledovic keeps him there for the moment.
Boledovic throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.

Imamu manages to break the clinch.
Boledovic tries to close the distance and clinch but Imamu swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Imamu lands with a nice combination. Boledovic backs away looking to recover.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Boledovic moves in looking to clinch but Imamu pushes him off.
Boledovic fails with an attempt to clinch.
Boledovic is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Imamu swings for the body but Boledovic moves out of range.
Boledovic tries to close the distance and clinch but Imamu swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Boledovic is looking to clinch.

Boledovic shoots in and bounces Imamu off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Boledovic accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Boledovic won't allow Imamu to get back to his feet.
Boledovic wants to control from the top but Imamu keeps moving.
Boledovic trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Imamu wants to stand up but Boledovic is controlling him.
Boledovic trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

Imamu is edging up against the cage. He's using the cage to get back to his feet. Nice work there - the fighters are clinched.
Imamu has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Boledovic lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Imamu looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Boledovic presses Imamu against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Boledovic prevents Imamu from breaking the clinch.
Imamu is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Boledovic digs a right hand into Imamu's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Imamu's gas tank.
Imamu is trying to break the clinch but Boledovic has him pressed against the cage.
Imamu has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Imamu wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Imamu tries to break the clinch but Boledovic is controlling the position.
Boledovic is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Imamu is defending well for now.
A bit of stalling here from Boledovic.

Imamu breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

Boledovic shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.

Imamu defends a decent attempt at a guillotine from Boledovic.
Branislav Boledovic has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A nice elbow there by Boledovic.
Imamu really wants to buck Boledovic off and get back to his feet.
Imamu takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.

Boledovic working for a guillotine from mount but Imamu is in no mood to give up.
Imamu really wants to buck Boledovic off and get back to his feet.
Boledovic wants to control the pace but Imamu is squirming around nicely.
Imamu wants to try and get back to his feet.
Imamu is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.

And that's the end of the fight!
Branislav Boledovic showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Imamu has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Paul Aken scores the fight 28:29
Judge Aafke Stam scores the fight 28:29
Judge Saam Ante scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Thulani Imamu!