PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Lyoto Machida (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and John Nolan (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Machida comes into the arena with For Whom The Bell Tolls blaring out of the sound system. I'm sure you'll be fascinated to know that I was talking to some pointless Z list celebrity before the fight and he thought that John Nolan was going to win. Let's see if he was right.

Machida
vs
Nolan

185 cm
36
205 lbs
27 - 21 - 1

190 cm
22
220 lbs
4 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent MT
Very strong

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 27 - 21 - 1, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Lyoto Machida!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, John Nolan!
The judges for this bout are Leandro Rodrigues, Alexandre Firmino and Seu Braga.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A head kick by Nolan misses
and Machida counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Nolan misses with a kick to the body
and Machida counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Nolan tries to land a leg kick but Machida saw it coming and moves away.
Nolan misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Nolan misses with a two punch combination.
Nolan slips a jab from Machida.
Nolan tries a low kick but Machida avoids it.
Nolan just misses with a punch to the body.
Nolan misses with a few strikes there.
Nolan dips to his left and cracks Machida with an uppercut!
A low kick from Nolan misses
and Machida counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Nolan is lucky that one didn't land flush.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Nolan swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Nolan misses with a head kick.
Machida dodges the punch combination from Nolan.
Nolan keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nolan scores with a jab to the jaw.
Nolan misses with a straight right.
Nolan misses with a jab, cross combination.
Nolan chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Machida can pounce on him.
Nolan throws a right hand that Machida ducks under and follows up with a left that Machida also avoids with ease.
Nolan throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
A looping hook to the body misses from Nolan. Machida does a little dance to reset his feet.
Nolan lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
Nolan rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Machida moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Nolan takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Nolan blocks a head kick by Machida.
Nolan wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Nolan looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Nolan throws a leg kick that is checked
and Machida counters with a flying knee. Nice.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A head kick misses from Nolan.
Nolan throws an overhand right that lands on Machida's shoulder, as Machida tries to avoid the shot.
Nolan misses with a leg kick
and Machida counters with a good low kick that Nolan was not able to check.
John Nolan seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A swing and a miss from Nolan.
Nolan throws a leg kick but Machida checks it.
Nolan looks to land a combination but Machida avoids it well.
Nolan throws a body kick that misses.
Nice body kick from Machida.
Nolan looks winded!
Machida throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Machida throws a series of punches but Nolan moves out of range.
The fighters circling - Nolan throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Machida scores with the left hand. Nolan knows he should have avoided that one.
Sloppy strikes from Nolan. Those never looked like landing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nolan throws a right hand that Machida ducks under and follows up with a left that Machida also avoids with ease.
Nolan tries to bum rush Machida with a series of wild strikes but Machida uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Nolan throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Nolan throws a head kick that misses
and Machida counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Sloppy strikes from Nolan. Those never looked like landing.
Machida throws a front kick that sends Nolan stumbling back into the cage.
Nolan drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Machida lands a high kick!
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Machida scores with a nice strike.
Nolan misses with a body shot.
Nolan misses with a head kick.
No joy there for Nolan, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Nolan misses with a body punch
and Machida counters with a left to the body.
Machida lands a nice hook to Nolan's body. Nolan takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A head kick misses from Machida.
Machida digs a good hook to Nolan's body.
Machida is looking to slow Nolan down with leg kicks.
Machida fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Nolan walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Nolan misses with an uppercut. Machida saw that one coming.
Machida avoids the head kick by Nolan.
Nolan takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Machida smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Machida uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Nolan has time to react.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
A slapping leg kick lands for Machida.
Nolan throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Machida.
A looping hook to the body misses from Nolan. Machida does a little dance to reset his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Lyoto Machida dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Machida dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Nolan. That did some damage!
Machida keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Nolan throws the kick towards the body but Machida avoids it.
Nolan throws a left and a right that both miss
and Machida counters with a low kick, right behind Nolan 's knee.
A low kick from Nolan is predictable there
and Machida counters with a nice low kick that buckles Nolan's knee momentarily.
Nolan throws a lazy head kick
and Machida counters with a slapping leg kick.
Machida takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Nolan throws a right hand that Machida ducks under and follows up with a left that Machida also avoids with ease.
Machida connects with an inside leg kick.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Nolan has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Machida.
Machida fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Nolan tries to bum rush Machida with a series of wild strikes but Machida uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Nolan is breathing heavily.
Machida delivers a nice body kick.
Nolan takes a head kick and keeps coming.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Machida tries to bum rush Nolan with a series of wild strikes but Nolan uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Machida lands a nice looking kick to the body. Nolan takes a step back to recover.
Machida tests Nolan's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Nolan's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
A head kick misses from Machida.
Nolan throws a leg kick
and Machida counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Nolan is lucky that one didn't land flush.
Nolan is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Machida rather than just go for the knockout.
Machida misses with a series of wild punches.
Machida dodges the punch combination from Nolan.
A low kick from Nolan misses
and Machida counters with a thumping low kick.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Nolan throws a sloppy head kick
letting Machida counter with a right hand.
Nolan misses with a double jab
and Machida counters with a head kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A jab lands there for Machida.
A jab lands there for Machida.
Nolan misses with a wild body shot.
Machida slips a jab and a cross from Nolan.
Nolan throws out a loose jab but Machida uses good head movement to avoid it.
Machida ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Nolan moves away.
Machida is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Nolan can do to turn this around?
Nolan takes a kick to the side of the head.
Nolan rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Machida counters with an outside leg kick.
Nolan misses with a hook to the body
and Machida makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
A punch combination from Machida misses.
Nolan takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Machida lands a lovely overhand right.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nolan misses with a double jab.
Nolan throws out a loose jab but Machida uses good head movement to avoid it.
Machida showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Nolan.
Both these guys seem content to just stand up and trade with eachother but Nolan might want to think about changing up his gameplan a bit because over the course of the fight, Machida has got the better of the exchanges.
Nolan swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Machida counters with a nice leg kick.
Machida keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Nolan lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Machida circles away quickly and effectively.
Machida scores with a hook to the body. Nolan takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Machida throws a quick inside leg kick.
Thud! ouch! good body kick from Machida - that will leave a mark!
An inside leg kick lands from Machida.
Machida bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Nolan's head.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Nolan throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Machida tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Machida closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Machida throws a jab when Nolan was well out of range.
Nolan misses with a jab, cross combination.
Nolan falls off balance throwing a combination
and Machida counters with a body kick that brings a smile to the face of both fighters.
Machida fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Nolan misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Machida lands with a slapping head kick.
Nolan throws a left and a right that both miss
and Machida counters with a head kick.
Lyoto Machida is winning the standup battle so far.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
An inside leg kick lands from Machida.
Machida misses with a wild combination.
Machida throws a sloppy head kick and Nolan moves out of range easily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Lyoto Machida dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Nolan misses with a two punch combination.
Nolan scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Nolan throws a series of punches but Machida avoids them all with ease.
Nolan ducks right into an uppercut from Machida.
Lyoto Machida is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Nolan swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Machida counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Nolan has developed a nice purple lump on his ribcage, as a result of some heavy body kicks from Machida.
Nolan needs to keep his hands up - Machida had a free shot at his head there.

Machida lands a big head kick that sends Nolan tumbling to the mat! Machida takes a step backwards and waves Nolan back to his feet - he wants the finish!

Nolan is rocked!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Some wild striking there from Nolan.
Nolan is still on wobbly legs! Can Machida finish him?
Nolan throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Nolan falls off balance throwing a combination
and Machida counters with a solid body kick.
Nolan seems to have recovered his senses.
Nolan takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
An inside leg kick lands from Machida.
Machida moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nolan takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Machida connects with a jab and follows up with a big overhand right! Oh that's hurt Nolan! He's out on his feet! Machida rushes in and drops Nolan with another big right hand, forcing the referee to stop the fight!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:13 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Punches). Lyoto Machida!
After the fight, Lyoto Machida was humble in paying tribute to his opponent but made it clear he wants to go on to bigger and better things. It seemed to go down well with the crowd who cheered him loudly.