PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Fouad Barayev (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Joe Thompson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Thompson has chosen The game as his entrance music. Fouad Barayev has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Barayev
vs
Thompson

190 cm
21
185 lbs
4 - 0 - 0

190 cm
21
185 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Likes ground

Apocalypse Clothing
Apocalypse Clothing

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the middleweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Fouad Barayev!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Joe Thompson!
The judges for this bout are Wesley Smith, Alan Glass and Cecil Peabody.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Barayev closes the distance and clinches up with Thompson, looking for a takedown. Barayev pushes Thompson against the cage but Thompson circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.

Barayev bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Thompson is trying to improve his position.
Barayev scores with punches from side control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The ground and pound from Barayev seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.
Barayev trying to control the action but Thompson is working from the bottom.
Barayev advances to full mount.
Thompson manages to get back to half guard.
Barayev wants to control but Thompson is keeping him busy.
Thompson gets full guard.
Barayev looking to pass the guard.
Barayev throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

Thompson wriggles free and stands up.
Thompson tries to clinch there but Barayev circles away.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Thompson shoots in for a takedown and gets it.

Thompson wants to work for an arm triangle but Barayev is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Barayev trying to control here.
Barayev wants to improve his position but Thompson is controlling well.
Barayev is breathing heavily.
Thompson is keen to just control but Barayev is a slippery customer.
Thompson tries to stand and escape but Barayev is controlling the position.
Barayev 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.

Barayev is looking to sinch up a gullotine here but Thompson pulls his head out easily.
Thompson working the head and body with strikes.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Barayev fails with the takedown

and Thompson counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Thompson wants to stand but Barayev is controlling his posture from full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Barayev is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Thompson preventing the sweep.
Barayev is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Barayev wants to lay and pray for a moment but Thompson keeps working.
Thompson is looking to improve his position.
Barayev works his foot free and advances to mount.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Thompson is squirming around, avoiding Barayev's attempts to control the action.
Thompson keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.

Barayev working for a guillotine from mount but Thompson is in no mood to give up.

Barayev jumps to side control looking for an arm triangle but Thompson manages to avoid the submission attempt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thompson is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Barayev landing a few strikes.
Barayev is looking to take a break and control but Thompson is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

Barayev decides to stand up, so the ref orders Thompson to his feet.
Thompson throws a right and a left that Barayev avoids nicely.

Barayev closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Thompson is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Thompson is trying to improve his position.
Thompson is not content to let Barayev control the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thompson is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Barayev trying to control the action but Thompson is working from the bottom.
Thompson gets back to half guard.
Thompson trying to control here.
Barayev wants to free his trapped foot but Thompson is holding on for dear life with his legs.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Thompson clinches.

Thompson pulls guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Thompson tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Thompson wants to stand but Barayev is controlling the position.

Thompson has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Barayev can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.

Thompson looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Joe Thompson will probably get the nod.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

A nice leg kick lands there from Thompson.

Thompson closes the distance and clinches.
Thompson goes for a takedown attempt but Barayev pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Thompson scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
The fight stays on the outside here - Barayev looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Barayev shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Thompson as he avoids it easily.
Barayev sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.

Thompson scores a takedown into full mount!
This has been an exciting period of action!
Barayev working to try and regain half guard.
Barayev tries to hold on but Thompson postures up.
Barayev is trying desperately to improve position.
Barayev regains half guard.
Barayev wants to get back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thompson throws a strike but Barayev avoids it easily and moves to full guard.
Thompson postures up.

Barayev looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Thompson's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Barayev seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Thompson is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Barayev keeping full guard, as Thompson tries to pass.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Thompson's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Thompson wants to pass the guard but Barayev is keeping the position.
Barayev trying to keep a closed guard but Thompson is proving a slippery customer.
Thompson stands and throws Barayev's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Barayev manages to get back to half guard.
Barayev moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Thompson is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Barayev tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Thompson would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Thompson postures up.

Thompson drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Thompson jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!

Thompson stands up and waves to Barayev to follow him.
Thompson scores with a jab.
Barayev fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Barayev fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Fouad Barayev. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Barayev lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Thompson backs up against the cage.

It looks like Joe Thompson has been cut.

Thompson gets a takedown into half guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Barayev works his way to full guard. Good work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Thompson decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
Barayev looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Thompson is fending him off so far but Barayev persists. Nope, Thompson circles away and we're back to standing.

Thompson fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Barayev, pushing him back against the cage.
Thompson misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Barayev.
Barayev tries to pull guard but Thompson holds him up against the cage and eventually Barayev drops back down to his feet.
Barayev drops down looking for an ankle pick but Thompson pulls his leg out and moves away.
A combination from Thompson does no damage.
Barayev has his takedown stuffed

and Thompson counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Barayev slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Barayev looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Thompson is looking to stand up but Barayev won't let him.
Thompson won't allow Barayev to sweep him here.

Barayev throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.

Thompson gets to his feet - Barayev follows without any prompting.
Thompson tries to clinch

and Barayev counters with a single leg into guard. Thompson didn't expect that.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Thompson controls Barayev momentarily but Barayev frees himself.
Barayev looking to pass the guard.
Barayev advances to half guard.

Barayev is working for a submission of some sort.

Barayev is trying to work for a kimura. He's got his hands clasped together - this could be trouble! No, Thompson has managed to free his arm - good work.
Nice strikes from Barayev there.

Thompson looking for submissions off his back.

Thompson looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Barayev scoring with strikes to the body and head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joe Thompson showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Joe Thompson's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Barayev scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Barayev is keen to just control but Thompson is a slippery customer.

Barayev is looking for a kimura but Thompson is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Barayev to get the leverage.
Thompson manages to get to full guard.

Thompson has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Barayev can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.

Thompson looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Barayev is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Thompson looking for a sweep. Not yet Thompson, not yet.
Barayev 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.
Barayev wants to control from the top but Thompson keeps moving.

Thompson working away from the bottom but not quite defensive enough there because Barayev has passed into half guard!
Barayev seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Thompson does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thompson is trying to control but can't.
Barayev wants to pass the guard but Thompson is defending well.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Barayev takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.

Thompson looking for submissions off his back.
Barayev wants to pass to mount but Thompson is defending the position.
Thompson slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.

Thompson manages to escape and get back to his feet.
Barayev looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Thompson is fending him off so far but Barayev persists. Nope, Thompson circles away and we're back to standing.
Barayev looks frusrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Fouad Barayev is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Barayev fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Fouad Barayev. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Barayev will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Barayev.
Thompson is looking for a sweep.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Barayev in side control, working for a kimura. He's got hold of an arm and he's torquing it... Thompson is tapping! That's the end of the fight!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:22 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). Fouad Barayev!
Fouad Barayev is the new middleweight champion!