PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Theodore Nouveau (ranked 3713 p4p, 351 weight class) and Richard Richards (ranked 3194 p4p, 317 weight class). Theodore Nouveau looks tired to me. Hopefully he has got enough gas left in the tank to put in a good performance.

Nouveau
vs
Richards

168 cm
23
140 lbs
6 - 8 - 0

155 cm
26
155 lbs
4 - 4 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Very quick

Good wrestler
Brawler
Fast

Woodhouse's

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 6 - 8 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Theodore Nouveau!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 4 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Richard Richards!
The judges for this bout are Sandra Marshall, Daniel Franklin and Winston Alpacca.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Richards drives through with a takedown into guard.

Nouveau manages to escape and get back to his feet.
Nouveau dives in for a single leg takedown but Richards sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Richards feints the counter takedown.

Richards has Nouveau up against the cage in a clinch.

Nouveau breaks the clinch.
Nice sprawl there from Nouveau as Richards shoots in.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Richards tries a body shot but Nouveau blocks it.
Nouveau has Richards pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Richards manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Nouveau tries for a takedown but Richards manages to get underhooks.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Theodore Nouveau. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Nouveau has had enough of the clinch but Richards keeps him there for the moment.

Nouveau ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Nouveau no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Richards passes into half guard.
Nouveau trying to control from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nouveau wants to get back to full guard.
Richards is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Nouveau definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Still in half guard, Richards seems content to control.
Richards working over Nouveau with some ground and pound. Nouveau looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Richards perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Richards is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Richards thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Nouveau's head.
Richards landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Richards scoring with strikes to the body and head.

Nouveau is rocked!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The fighters are battling for position here. Nouveau manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Richards cracks Nouveau with a solid left hand.
Oh Nouveau is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Richards is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Nouveau seems to have got his legs back now.
Richards is in close to Nouveau's body, working some short punches and elbows.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Richards is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Richards working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Richards scoring with some ground and pound.
Richards won't allow Nouveau to sweep him here.

Nouveau is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Nouveau is controlling Richards's posture.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Richards's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Richards trying to control but Nouveau is working from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Richards's corner. There ya go! There ya go!

Nouveau is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Richards trying to control but Nouveau is working from the bottom.

Richards got a little sloppy there for a moment and Nouveau has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Richards has managed to get both his arms back between Nouveau's legs - danger averted.
Richards controlling from the top position.
Nouveau is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Richards is controlling Nouveau's position as best he can from this difficult position.
Nouveau is trying to control the action in half guard but Richards is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Richards is controlling Nouveau's trapped leg to prevent Nouveau from advancing to side control.
Richards is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Richards is still trying to improve position.
Richards wants to control but Nouveau is keeping busy.
Richards controlling the leg, holding on to half guard.
Nouveau blocks the strikes from Richards.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Richard Richards dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Richards fails with a takedown attempt.

Richards clinches up against the cage.

Richards works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.
Richards not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Richards has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Nouveau has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Richards postures up and lands a big shot to Nouveau's brow.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Richards trying to control the position from guard on top but Nouveau is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Richards looking to pass the guard.
Nouveau will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Richards working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Nouveau's head.
Nouveau can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Richards controls the pace.
Nouveau is looking to stand up but Richards isn't so interested in that idea.
Richards working some strikes from top position.
Richards postures up and lands a big shot to Nouveau's brow.

Nouveau has an active guard here but Richards has managed to pass into half guard.
Richard Richards has got the better of the ground game so far.
Richards working over Nouveau with some ground and pound. Nouveau looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Richards drops an elbow to the side of Nouveau's head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Richards is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Richards takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Nouveau on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Nouveau is refusing to be controlled, as Richards sits in half guard.
Richards is nestled in close to Nouveau, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Nouveau is not content to let Richards control the position.
Richards landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Nouveau is trying to control but can't.
Richards wants to lay and pray for a moment but Nouveau keeps working.
Richards tries to pass the half guard into mount. Nouveau knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Richards working Nouveau over with strikes.
Ground and pound from Richards.
Richards lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Richards moves nicely into side control.
Nouveau is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
Richards scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Nouveau wants to control but Richards is keeping busy.
My spies in Temp Spar Gym inform me that Richards has been getting involved in the gym's BJJ sparring sessions. Let's see whether that pays dividends!
Nouveau is looking to improve his position.
Richards wants to control but Nouveau is keeping him busy.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Richards seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Richards is nestled in close to Nouveau, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Richards is stalling here. Nouveau is in no mood to hang around though. He's locked up a kimura from the bottom! Richards seems to be keeping calm but he's forced to roll out of the hold and Nouveau has ended up in side control on the top. Nice work.
Richards is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Richards is trying to control Nouveau's posture but Nouveau avoids it.
Richards sneaks back into half guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Richards trying to hold on to Nouveau's head to control him but Nouveau postures up.
Nouveau throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Richard Richards showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Nouveau's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Nouveau gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Richards to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Nouveau is looking to stand up but Richards isn't so interested in that idea.
Richards is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Richards throws a big elbow that misses.
Richards stands up over Nouveau, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Richards trying to control but Nouveau is working from the bottom.
Richards controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Richards is looking to work some ground and pound but Nouveau has wrist control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Richards throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Nouveau works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Richards forces his way into half guard.
Richards seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Nouveau slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Richards lands a couple of digs.
Richards really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Nouveau. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Richards content to stall in guard here.
Richards lands a couple of digs.
Richard Richards is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Richards is stalling in the full guard.
Richards's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
Let's hope that Richards has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Richards slaps away a takedown attempt from Nouveau, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Nouveau closes the distance looking to clinch

and Richards counters with a single leg into guard. Nouveau didn't expect that.

Nouveau is working for submissions here. He's thrown up his legs looking for a triangle but Richards frees his head nicely. Oh but Nouveau has switched to an armbar! Richards is tapping furiously! Lovely submission there!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:44 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle Armbar). Theodore Nouveau!