PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Sunny Nganam (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Tommy Maverick (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Nganam
vs
Maverick

189 cm
20
150 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

166 cm
19
149 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
KO power

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Powerful

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 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Sunny Nganam!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Tommy Maverick!
The judges for this bout are Eddie Farnsworth, John Kavanagh and Franklyn Lucas.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Nganam shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Maverick wants to control but Nganam is keeping busy and won't allow it.

Nganam decides to stand up and try his luck on the feet.
Nganam shoots in for a takedown but Maverick shows good takedown defense.
Maverick with a hook.
Maverick misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Nganam slips a jab and a cross from Maverick.
Maverick misses with a wild body shot.

Nganam has Maverick up against the cage in a clinch.
Nganam is working for takedown but Maverick is calmly controlling the position for now.

Nganam manages to break the clinch.
Maverick misses with a leg kick

and Nganam counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Nganam.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Nganam slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Maverick looking to hit a scissor sweep but Nganam is one step ahead there.
Nganam sitting in guard here, content to control.
Maverick wants to control but Nganam passes easily into half guard.
Maverick lands a couple of sideways elbows.
Nganam 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 two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Nganam throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Maverick wants to get back to full guard but Nganam has passed into side control.
Maverick looks to move to half guard but instead Nganam has passed into mount! Damn!
Maverick has given up his back here.

Nganam has his hand under the chin of his opponent looking for the choke. He's nearly got it! This one could be all over! But no, Maverick has freed his hand and lives to survive another… well, another couple of seconds at least!
Nganam biding his time, looking for the opening.
Nganam missing with strikes from the back.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nganam trying to secure his dominant position for a moment - making sure Maverick doesn't escape.

Nganam is remaining active here, looking for the choke. The more discerning members of the crowd will appreciate his efforts.
You know, I was talking to some of our celebrities at ringside tonight and they were split right down the middle on who was going to win this fight.

Maverick defending nicely against the rear naked choke attempt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Nganam is controlling his opponent, waiting for an opportunity to finish.
Nganam will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Maverick tries to roll but Nganam sticks to his back.
Nganam gets his hands free as Maverick looks to control.
Maverick tries to escape the position.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Nganam missing with strikes.
Maverick is really stuck here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sunny Nganam 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.

Maverick throws a left and a right that both miss

and Nganam counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Nganam.
Nganam lands a nice shot to the body.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Nganam as Maverick tries to tie him up.
Nganam jumps guard but Maverick stands there with Nganam around his waist. Nganam gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Stalling in the clinch from Nganam.
Maverick throws a punch but it's blocked by Nganam.
Nganam landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Maverick swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Nganam is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Maverick can do to turn this around?
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Nganam drops down looking for an ankle pick but Maverick pulls his leg out and moves away.

Nganam closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.

Maverick kicks Nganam off and gets back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Maverick tries to land a leg kick but Nganam saw it coming and moves away.
Maverick misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Nganam.
Nganam lands a head kick!
Maverick throws a body kick despite being completely out of range

and Nganam counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Nganam.

Nganam drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Maverick manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Nganam has Maverick in his guard.

Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Maverick postures up.

Maverick drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Nganam manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Maverick has Nganam in his guard.

This has been an exciting period of action!
Nganam is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nganam throws a big elbow that misses.
Nganam passes Maverick's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Nganam controlling the action here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Maverick makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Maverick.

Maverick is working an open guard so Nganam takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
Maverick throws a series of punches but Nganam avoids them all with ease.
Maverick throws a series of punches but Nganam avoids them all with ease.
Maverick throws a sloppy head kick and Nganam moves out of range easily.
Maverick leaves Nganam with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Sunny Nganam. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Nganam ducks under a wild hook from Maverick.
Nganam moves out of range of the body kick.

Maverick tries to sprawl but Nganam drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Nganam thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nganam with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
We've been hearing that Nganam has been drilling a lot of ground and pound in training, so let's see if he get the finish.
Nganam has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Nganam seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Maverick for as long as he can get away with.
Nganam missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Sunny Nganam will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Nganam feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Maverick keeping moving, preventing Nganam from controlling successfully.
Nganam is pushing down on Maverick's leg trying to pass to half guard. Maverick is fighting to maintain full guard but Nganam has managed to sneak the leg through.
Nganam missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Maverick wants to get back to full guard.
Maverick looks like he's trying to stand up.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Maverick is looking to get back to full guard here but Nganam has managed to pass to side control instead.
You can see the frustration on Maverick's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Maverick takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Maverick looking for a sweep but Nganam has passed into full mount! Oh no!
Nganam unloads with some shots from mount but Maverick bucks and avoids them well.
Nganam controlling from the full mount.
Nganam misses with a head shot.
Maverick tries to lock up and control but Nganam gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Nganam controlling from the full mount.
Tommy Maverick has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nganam wants to take Maverick's back here but Maverick is holding on to an arm, himself looking to escape.
Maverick srikes from the bottom but he's lost position and has given up his back.
Nganam gets his hands free as Maverick looks to control.
Maverick tries to roll but Nganam sticks to his back.

Maverick is staying cool under pressure, defending well against the rear naked choke attempt from his opponent.

Nganam working for the choke.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Maverick trying to control but not successfully.
I really don't envy Maverick right now.
Nganam throwing wild punches that miss their target.
Maverick just trying to survive but Nganam is wriggling into a better position, looking to finish.
Nganam missing with strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Nganam controls the position.
Nganam has the hooks in. Maverick is trying to push off one leg but he has to do so cautiously to avoid being submitted.
Nganam controls the position.
Nganam throwing wild punches that miss their target.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
A bit of a pause in the action here. Nganam controlling the positon.
Sunny Nganam is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Maverick is really stuck here.

And that's the end of the fight!
Sunny Nganam showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Nganam, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Eddie Farnsworth scores the fight 30:27
Judge John Kavanagh scores the fight 30:27
Judge Franklyn Lucas scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Sunny Nganam!
Sunny Nganam opened up his post fight interview with a scream to camera that he wants a title shot! Whether he deserves the shot will be up to the management of the organization, so I guess he'll have to wait and see.