PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Nikola Lazarevic (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Hector Fabio (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Nikola Lazarevic had a look across the cage there at his opponent. He definitely means business

Lazarevic
vs
Fabio

183 cm
23
130 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

180 cm
25
135 lbs
0 - 4 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Good chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Decent boxing
Heavy handed

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Nikola Lazarevic!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 4 - 0, fighting out of New York, Hector Fabio!
The judges for this bout are Lou da Vinci, Eddie Farnsworth and Chad Campbell.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Lazarevic slips a jab and a cross from Fabio.
Fabio looks really tired already! That doesn't bode well for a good, competitive fight!
Fabio misses with a body punch
and Lazarevic counters with a slapping leg kick.
Some wild striking there from Fabio.
Lazarevic pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Lazarevic throws a nice inside leg kick.
Fabio will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
A punch combination from Fabio misses.

Lazarevic takes the fight into the clinch.
Lazarevic landing knees to the body.

Lazarevic gets control of Fabio's arms and successfully pulls guard. Lazarevic will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Lazarevic is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.

Lazarevic looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Lazarevic looking to hit a scissor sweep but Fabio is one step ahead there.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Lazarevic has his foot on Fabio's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Fabio works his way back into a safe position though.
Lazarevic wants to stand up but Fabio is controlling him.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Fabio throwing strikes but missing.
Lazarevic looking to control.
Lazarevic will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Lazarevic trying to strike off his back.
Fabio wants to control from the top but Lazarevic keeps moving.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fabio stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Lazarevic swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Lazarevic knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Fabio on the ground.
Lazarevic pulls Fabio in close to prevent any damage.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Hector Fabio wasn't active enough on the ground.
Lazarevic lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Fabio circles away quickly and effectively.
Lazarevic misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Fabio throws a series of punches but Lazarevic moves out of range.
Lazarevic shoots in and drives through. Fabio sprawls well.
Fabio misses with the combination.
Fabio looks for a takedown but Lazarevic sprawls well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lazarevic tries for a takedown but Fabio sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Nikola Lazarevic. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Lazarevic moves into the clinch.

Lazarevic manages to break the clinch.
Hector Fabio seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Nice body punch from Lazarevic.

Lazarevic closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Fabio is trying to break the clinch but Lazarevic is controlling him.

Lazarevic's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Lazarevic is trying hard to land a takedown here. Fabio sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Fabio looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Lazarevic takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Fabio lands with a nice combination. Lazarevic backs away looking to recover.
Lazarevic shoots for a takedown but Fabio saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lazarevic connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Fabio's hands.
Fabio darts in trying to clinch
and Lazarevic counters with a body kick that brings a smile to the face of both fighters.
Fabio works the jab nicely.

Lazarevic has closed the distance and engaged Fabio in a clinch.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Lazarevic tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Fabio smiles and moves away.
Lazarevic takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Lazarevic misses with a double jab.
Fabio lands with a cross.
Fabio fails to land with a series of punches.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nikola Lazarevic 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.

Fabio misses with a few strikes there.
A solid body kick from Lazarevic.
Fabio on the wrong end of a kick to the body.
Lazarevic slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Nikola Lazarevic is winning the standup battle so far.
Lazarevic shoots for a double leg takedown but Fabio sprawls well. He's pushed Lazarevic's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.

Lazarevic instigates a clinch.

Lazarevic jumps guard.
Lazarevic is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Lazarevic decides to stand up.

Fabio tries to keep at a distance but Lazarevic has taken the fight into the clinch.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Lazarevic has hold of one of Fabio's legs. Fabio is fighting the takedown attempt but Lazarevic gets the trip and lands the takedown into guard.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Lazarevic avoids a guillotine attempt easily.

Lazarevic got a little sloppy there for a moment and Fabio has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Lazarevic has managed to get both his arms back between Fabio's legs - danger averted.

Fabio has his foot on Lazarevic's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Lazarevic works his way back into a safe position though.

Fabio looking for a guillotine here but Lazarevic defends easily.
Lazarevic is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Fabio working for a triangle but Lazarevic defends it easily.
Lazarevic 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.

Fabio is looking for a triangle but Lazarevic pushes his legs off easily.
Lazarevic is stalling in the full guard.

Fabio is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Lazarevic is aware though and is defending well.
Lazarevic really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lazarevic is looking to work some ground and pound but Fabio has wrist control.

Lazarevic gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
Fabio defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Lazarevic.
Fabio scores with a crisp jab that stopped Lazarevic in his tracks.

Lazarevic drives through and clinches with Fabio against the cage.

Lazarevic breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Fabio blocks a head kick by Lazarevic.
Fabio misses with a jab, cross combination.
Lazarevic looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Fabio is fending him off so far but Lazarevic persists. Nope, Fabio circles away and we're back to standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Nikola Lazarevic. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Lazarevic fails with the takedown.
Fabio goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.

Lazarevic darts in and clinches Fabio up against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Fabio is trying to force a seperation but Lazarevic has the dominant position.

Lazarevic drags the fight down to the ground.
Fabio wants to control from the top but Lazarevic keeps moving.
Fabio pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Lazarevic is keeping the position for now.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Fabio trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Lazarevic wants to stand but Fabio is controlling the position.
Fabio sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Lazarevic's guard.
Nikola Lazarevic overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Fabio is looking for a kimura here.
Lazarevic is trying to maintain the position but Fabio is very close to passing his half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nikola Lazarevic dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Fabio darts in and clinches Lazarevic up against the cage.
Lazarevic goes for a takedown in the clinch but Fabio prevents it.

Lazarevic's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Fabio takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
A punch combination from Fabio misses.
No joy there for Fabio, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Fabio stuffs the takedown attempt from Lazarevic. Lazarevic gets slowly back to his feet.
Fabio tries to clinch up but Lazarevic circles away and keeps his distance.
Lazarevic shoots in looking for a takedown. Fabio tries to sprawl out of it but Lazarevic keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Fabio manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Nikola Lazarevic. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Fabio tries to bum rush Lazarevic with a series of wild strikes but Lazarevic uses good footwork to avoid the assault.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lazarevic throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Fabio's waist but Fabio gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Lazarevic off to one side.
Lazarevic throws a nice head kick!
Fabio misses with a jab, cross combination.
Lazarevic closes this distance looking for a takedown but Fabio circles away.
Fabio tries for a takedown but Lazarevic sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
A punch combination from Fabio misses.
Lazarevic shoots for a double leg takedown but Fabio sprawls well. He's pushed Lazarevic's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Fabio swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Lazarevic throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Fabio's waist but Fabio gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Lazarevic off to one side.
Lazarevic slips a jab and a cross from Fabio.
Fabio throws a wild combination but nothing lands.

Lazarevic closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fabio tries for a takedown but Lazarevic manages to get underhooks.
Lazarevic is trying to pull guard but Fabio turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.

Lazarevic breaks from the clinch.
Fabio thuds his right hand into Lazarevic's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Fabio digs a good body shot into Lazarevic's ribs.
Lazarevic smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Fabio throws a shot to the body.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Fabio tries to clinch there but Lazarevic circles away.
Lazarevic avoids a punch combination nicely.
Lazarevic shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Fabio pinned against the cage. Fabio gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Fabio tries to clinch up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Fabio misses the shot to the body.
Lazarevic shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Fabio defends it nicely.
Fabio tries to clinch up.
Fabio stuffs the takedown attempt from Lazarevic. Lazarevic gets slowly back to his feet.
Fabio tries to bum rush Lazarevic with a series of wild strikes but Lazarevic uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Fabio looks to land a combination but Lazarevic avoids it well.
Lazarevic shoots for a takedown but Fabio saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.

Fabio closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Lazarevic's guard.
Fabio wants to control from the top but Lazarevic keeps moving.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lazarevic not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Fabio wants to stand but Lazarevic has a closed guard, so he can't escape.

Fabio drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Fabio jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Fabio is pushing down on Lazarevic's leg trying to pass to half guard. Lazarevic is fighting to maintain full guard but Fabio has managed to sneak the leg through.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Fabio is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Fabio is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Lazarevic doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Fabio.

And that's the end of the fight!
Hector Fabio comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Lazarevic has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Lou da Vinci scores the fight 29:28
Judge Eddie Farnsworth scores the fight 29:28
Judge Chad Campbell scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Nikola Lazarevic!