PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Bob Sapp (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Khabib Nurmagomedov has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Nurmagomedov
vs
Sapp

225 cm
27
300 lbs
5 - 0 - 0

189 cm
23
307 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

Good wrestling
Counter fighter
Granite chin

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

Strong Suplementos 159Q/$200

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the super heavyweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Khabib Nurmagomedov!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Bob Sapp!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Cesar, Mauricio Rocha and Felipe Paraventi.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sapp waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Nurmagomedov.
Nurmagomedov drops down looking for a counter takedown but Sapp sprawls and moves away.
A lazy left from Sapp finds it's target.

It looks like Khabib Nurmagomedov has been cut.
Sapp misses with a left hand

and Nurmagomedov counters with a shoot takedown. Sapp fights it but they end up in guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Sapp wants to get back to his feet but Nurmagomedov is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Sapp is trying to control the position but Nurmagomedov postures up.
Nurmagomedov engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nurmagomedov trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Nurmagomedov looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Nurmagomedov works over Sapp with some ground and pound from guard.
Nurmagomedov cracks Sapp with a solid left hand.
Nurmagomedov is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Nurmagomedov is in close to Sapp's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Nurmagomedov is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Nurmagomedov lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Nurmagomedov keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Sapp's head.
Nurmagomedov working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Nurmagomedov 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.
Sapp looking for a sweep. Not yet Sapp, not yet.
Nurmagomedov is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Sapp wants to stand but Nurmagomedov is controlling the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nurmagomedov is looking to work some ground and pound but Sapp has wrist control.
Nurmagomedov is in close to Sapp's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Nurmagomedov will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Nurmagomedov keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Sapp's head.
Nurmagomedov controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Nurmagomedov lands a couple of digs.
Nurmagomedov lands a couple of digs.
Nurmagomedov controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Nurmagomedov scoring with punches to the head and body.
We've been hearing that Nurmagomedov has been drilling a lot of ground and pound in training, so let's see if he get the finish.
Sapp is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nurmagomedov not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Nurmagomedov lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Nurmagomedov lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Nurmagomedov 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.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Nurmagomedov working some strikes from top position.
Nurmagomedov landing some decent shots from guard.
Nurmagomedov is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Khabib Nurmagomedov dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Khabib Nurmagomedov's cut.
That's time! Nurmagomedov's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Nurmagomedov uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Sapp.
Sapp misses the jab.
Nurmagomedov walks into a left hand.
Sapp fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Nurmagomedov tries to counter with a takedown but Sapp is quick to defend against it.
Sapp throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Nurmagomedov sees it coming and avoids it easily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sapp throws a looping overhand right but Nurmagomedov ducks down to avoid it.
Sapp's coach down at Johnson MMA was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on Sapp's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.
Sapp misses with a hook

and Nurmagomedov decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Sapp's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nurmagomedov working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Nurmagomedov landing with the ground and pound.
Nurmagomedov is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Nurmagomedov is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Nurmagomedov scoring with some ground and pound.
Nurmagomedov controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Nurmagomedov's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Nurmagomedov seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Sapp for as long as he can get away with.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nurmagomedov has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Nurmagomedov postures up.
Nurmagomedov stays in close to Sapp's body and controls the position.
Nurmagomedov advances position into side control!
Khabib Nurmagomedov overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Nurmagomedov lands a decent elbow from side control.

It looks like Bob Sapp has been cut.
Sapp can't do much from the bottom here.
Nurmagomedov controlling from side mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Sapp can do anything to dispel that myth.
Sapp takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Nurmagomedov working the ground and pound.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.
Nurmagomedov cracks Sapp with a big elbow.
Nurmagomedov is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.
Sapp really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Nurmagomedov. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sapp tries to bench press Nurmagomedov off him but Nurmagomedov keeps the position.
Nurmagomedov working the ground and pound.
Sapp tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Nurmagomedov wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Nurmagomedov cracks Sapp with an elbow. That is naaassty.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Nurmagomedov controlling the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Khabib Nurmagomedov dominated that second round.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

A punch combination from Sapp misses.
Nurmagomedov changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Sapp swings widly with a right hand

and Nurmagomedov counters with a nice double leg into side control. Sapp won't be happy with that.
Nurmagomedov staying calm.
Nurmagomedov lands an elbow.
Nurmagomedov takes a little break here. Sapp wants to take advantage but he is being controlled well.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Nurmagomedov lands an elbow.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nurmagomedov scores with a couple of short elbows.

That has opened up Bob Sapp's cut even more.
Nurmagomedov working the ground and pound.
Nurmagomedov is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Sapp will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.
Nurmagomedov has knee on belly and now moves to full mount! Trouble for Sapp!
Nurmagomedov landing strikes from the mount and Sapp is in trouble!

The cut above Bob Sapp's eye is starting to cause him problems now.

The referee calls the doctor in to look at Bob Sapp's cut. Oh no, the doctor has called an end to the bout!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:53 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Cut). Khabib Nurmagomedov!
Khabib Nurmagomedov is the new super heavyweight champion!