PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Grigoriev Maxim (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ivan Nifontov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Maxim's ring entrance music is that housewives' favourite, Dolphin feat Stella - Eyes. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Maxim
vs
Nifontov

176 cm
27
155 lbs
5 - 7 - 0

172 cm
21
155 lbs
5 - 4 - 0

Good takedowns
Basic striking
Granite chin

Decent wrestler
Counter striker
Solid chin

CEC Nutrition Q160

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Grigoriev Maxim!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 4 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Ivan Nifontov!
The judges for this bout are Tarja Halkonen, Roosa Järviläinen and Matti Vanhoillinen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nifontov shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Maxim as he avoids it easily.

Maxim shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Maxim showed some decent athleticism there.
Nifontov is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Nifontov avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Maxim.
Maxim working the head and body with strikes.
Maxim landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Nifontov taking some punishment here, with Maxim in his half guard.
Maxim wants to lay and pray for a moment but Nifontov keeps working.

Nifontov looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Maxim thows a huge punch but Nifontov dodges it nicely.
Maxim slips a nice elbow through Nifontov's hands, connecting with Nifontov's forehead.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Maxim lands a nice short elbow.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Maxim working Nifontov over with strikes.
Maxim trying to control the action but Nifontov is working from the bottom.
Maxim working over Nifontov with some ground and pound. Nifontov looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Maxim seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Nifontov looking for submissions off his back.
Nifontov taking some punishment here, with Maxim in his half guard.
Maxim is nestled in close to Nifontov, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Maxim lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Maxim seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.

Nifontov is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Maxim pulls his head out easily.
Maxim 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.
Maxim looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Nifontov has hold of Maxim's hands but Maxim slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Maxim is keen to just control but Nifontov is a slippery customer.
Nifontov has hold of Maxim's hands but Maxim slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Ground and pound from Maxim.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Maxim scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Nifontov is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Maxim scores with a couple of nice shots.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Nifontov actively working from the bottom here.
Nifontov on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Maxim drops an elbow to the side of Nifontov's head.
Nifontov is refusing to be controlled, as Maxim sits in half guard.
Maxim prevents Nifontov from improving his position.
Maxim landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Maxim looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Nifontov with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Maxim scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Maxim is keen to just control but Nifontov is a slippery customer.

Nifontov is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Maxim pulls his head out easily.
Maxim lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.

Nifontov actively working from the bottom here.
Maxim landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Ground and pound from Maxim.
Maxim is looking to take a break and control but Nifontov is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

Nifontov looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Nifontov looks winded!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Maxim drops an elbow to the side of Nifontov's head.
Maxim lands with a punch from half guard.
Maxim drops an elbow to the side of Nifontov's head.

Nifontov looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Maxim controlling the pace.
Nifontov has hold of Maxim's hands but Maxim slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.

Nifontov looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Maxim looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Nifontov with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Maxim is trying to control the action in half guard but Nifontov is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.

Nifontov is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Maxim pulls his head out easily.
Maxim is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Maxim landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Maxim wants to take a breather but Nifontov is having none of it.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Maxim seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Nifontov has hold of Maxim's hands but Maxim slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Ground and pound from Maxim.
Maxim takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Nice strikes from Maxim there.
Maxim drops an elbow to the side of Nifontov's head.
Nifontov is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Maxim scores with a couple of nice shots.
Maxim performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Maxim scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Maxim is keen to just control but Nifontov is a slippery customer.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Nifontov can do anything to dispel that myth.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Nifontov taking some punishment here, with Maxim in his half guard.
Nifontov is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Maxim scores with a couple of nice shots.
Maxim slips a nice elbow through Nifontov's hands, connecting with Nifontov's forehead.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Maxim lands a nice short elbow.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Grigoriev Maxim dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Maxim shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Maxim showed some decent athleticism there.
Nice strikes from Maxim there.
Grigoriev Maxim overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Maxim seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Maxim wants to take a breather but Nifontov is having none of it.
Maxim is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Nifontov is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Maxim wants to pass to mount but Nifontov is defending the position.

Nifontov looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Maxim is trying to control the action in half guard but Nifontov is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Maxim connects with a nice short shot to Nifontov's temple.
Maxim working the head and body with strikes.
Maxim is looking to take a break and control but Nifontov is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Maxim lands with a punch from half guard.
Nifontov taking some punishment here, with Maxim in his half guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Maxim works his way into full mount!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nifontov tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Nifontov is bucking up trying to escape but Maxim cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Maxim looking to finish Nifontov with some ground and pound. This is bad for Nifontov!
Nifontov is wriggling around trying to escape.
Maxim landing strikes from the mount and Nifontov is in trouble!
Nifontov keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Nifontov is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Maxim lands a big shot there that rocks Nifontov but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Nifontov tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Maxim is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Maxim looking to control and managing it successfully.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Maxim working Nifontov over with strikes here.
Maxim breaks from Nifontov's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Nifontov takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Maxim punishing his opponent with strikes.
Maxim lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Nifontov is working to get back to half guard.
Nifontov taking shots to the head.
Maxim landing strikes, looking to finish!
Maxim lands a big elbow.

Nifontov is rocked!
Maxim working Nifontov over with strikes here.
Nifontov is still in real trouble! Can Maxim finish him?
Nifontov keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Nifontov is breathing heavily.
Maxim scoring with strikes but Nifontov is staying in there.
A nice elbow there by Maxim.
Nifontov is looking to improve his position but Maxim isn't that keen on the idea.
Maxim with the ground and pound from mount.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Maxim loads up on a couple of big shots to the head that have Nifontov scrambling to escape. He can't get free though and several more unanswered shots from Maxim land to the head. The referee has no choice but to stop the fight. Maxim stands and salutes the crowd.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:57 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Grigoriev Maxim!
An out of breath and clearly excited Grigoriev Maxim thanked CEC Nutrition Q160 for their help and support (and free stuff they sent him).