PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Nikolay Naymov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rasgard Thenga (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Naymov has a slight injury, which hopefully won't affect the fight too much. The atmosphere really building for this one as we go over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Naymov
vs
Thenga

176 cm
18
141 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

183 cm
23
142 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Solid boxing
KO power

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Very confident

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Nikolay Naymov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Rasgard Thenga!
The judges for this bout are Thiago Cunha, Luis Engracia and Paulo Santos.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Naymov rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Thenga moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Naymov misses with the combination.
Thenga avoids a punch combination nicely.
Naymov is breathing heavily.
Naymov misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Thenga is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Thenga tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Thenga wants to clinch up but Naymov keeps it at a distance.
Thenga tries to close the distance and clinch up but Naymov swats him away and circles back towards the center.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Thenga is looking to clinch but Naymov is avoiding it.
Thenga throws a right hand that Naymov ducks under and follows up with a left that Naymov also avoids with ease.
Thenga tries to clinch there but Naymov circles away.
Naymov throws a combination that misses
and Thenga counters with a stiff right hand.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Thenga gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Thenga lands with a light punch inside.

Thenga breaks the clinch.
Thenga tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Thenga tries to clinch up but Naymov circles away and keeps his distance.
Thenga moves in looking to clinch but Naymov pushes him off.
A leg kick checked by Naymov.
Naymov keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Thenga tries to clinch but Naymov is having none of it.
Naymov misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

That's two 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.
Naymov throws a nice looking combination but Thenga bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Thenga throws a left and a right that both miss
and Naymov counters with a one-two to the body.
Naymov throws a left and a right that both miss
and Thenga counters with a series of strikes. Naymov will be more careful next time no doubt.
Thenga is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Naymov uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Thenga.
Thenga tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Naymov paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Thenga scores with a jab to the jaw.
Thenga tries to close the distance and clinch up but Naymov swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Naymov misses with a combination

and Thenga counters by clinching up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thenga tries to score a body lock takedown but Naymov shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Thenga stalling.
Thenga presses Naymov against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Thenga is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Naymov is defending well for now.
Thenga lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Naymov or not.
Thenga lands a body punch in the clinch.

Thenga pulls guard successfully.
Thenga not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Thenga controlling Naymov's posture.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Naymov stopping the sweep attempt from Thenga.

Thenga looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Thenga seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Naymov has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Rasgard Thenga hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Naymov throws a left and a right that both miss

and Thenga counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rasgard Thenga dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Naymov throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Thenga counters with a nice uppercut.
Thenga tries to clinch up.
Thenga swinging wildly here.
Thenga tries to clinch but Naymov is having none of it.
Thenga tries to clinch
and Naymov counters with a series of strikes. Thenga will be more careful next time no doubt.
Naymov displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Naymov keeps the fight on the outside.
Naymov stuffs the takedown.
Thenga tries to close the distance and clinch but Naymov swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Thenga fails in his attempt to clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Naymov avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Thenga throws a series of punches but Naymov avoids them all with ease.
Thenga throws an overhand right that lands on Naymov's shoulder, as Naymov tries to avoid the shot.
Thenga tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Naymov paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Naymov throws a combination that misses

and Thenga counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Thenga.

Thenga escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
A big left from Thenga misses.
Naymov swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Thenga moves into the clinch.
Naymov looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
A bit of stalling here from Thenga.

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.
Naymov prevents a takedown attempt there.

Thenga manages to break the clinch.
Thenga is looking to clinch.
Naymov swats away the attempt to clinch by Thenga.
Thenga tries to clinch but Naymov is having none of it.
Nikolay Naymov is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Thenga tries to close the distance and clinch but Naymov swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Nikolay Naymov is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Thenga scores with the left hand. Naymov knows he should have avoided that one.
Thenga tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A punch combination from Thenga misses.
Thenga throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Naymov swats away the attempt to clinch by Thenga.
Naymov throws a series of punches but Thenga moves out of range.

Thenga has managed to clinch.

Thenga jumps guard and drags Naymov to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Thenga has control of Naymov's left arm, preventing Naymov from doing any damage.
Thenga not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Thenga pulls Naymov in to control the position.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.

Thenga escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Naymov gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.

Thenga uses the cage to get back to his feet.
Thenga tries to clinch up but Naymov circles away and keeps his distance.
Thenga tries to close the distance and clinch but Naymov swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Naymov fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Thenga slips a jab and a cross from Naymov.
Naymov defending well as Thenga loads up on a big left hand.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rasgard Thenga showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Thenga dives in and grabs Naymov's left leg, looking for a takedown. Naymov pushes down on Thenga's head and hops out.
No joy there for Naymov, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Thenga scores with a one two! Naymov had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
Thenga swinging wildly here.
Thenga tries to clinch up.
Thenga avoids a punch combination nicely.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Naymov falls off balance throwing a combination
enabling Thenga to counter with a crisp jab.
Thenga misses with a jab, cross combination.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Naymov throws a combination that misses
and Thenga counters with a left and a right that stings Naymov.

Naymov is rocked!
Naymov avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Oh Naymov is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!

Thenga pushes Naymov up against the cage in a clinch.
Naymov seems to have got his legs back now.
Thenga is trying to drag Naymov to the mat but Naymov just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.

Thenga ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Thenga no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Thenga is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Naymov on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Naymov tries to get out of the position.
Thenga perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Naymov on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Thenga controlling the action here.
Thenga has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thenga controlling the pace for now.
Thenga throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.

That's four 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.
Thenga controlling from mount.
Rasgard Thenga is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Rasgard Thenga hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Thenga throws a one two combo.

And that's the end of the fight!
Rasgard Thenga comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Thenga has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Thiago Cunha scores the fight 27:30
Judge Luis Engracia scores the fight 27:30
Judge Paulo Santos scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rasgard Thenga!