PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Hamza Ahmed (ranked 5281 p4p, 5001 weight class) and Jimuel Balongtong (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Jimuel Balongtong will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Ahmed
vs
Balongtong

182 cm
18
145
1 - 0 - 0

155 cm
18
140
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Tends to cut

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Hamza Ahmed!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Jimuel Balongtong !
The judges for this bout are James Ackerman, James Glass and James Atkins.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Ahmed shoots in and gets a takedown into Balongtong 's guard.
Balongtong is looking to stand back up but Ahmed counters by passing into half guard. Oops... bit sloppy there by Balongtong .

The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Ahmed stalling.
Balongtong wants to get back to full guard.
Ahmed has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Balongtong can't escape the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Balongtong sneaks a leg back under and regains half guard and is working straight away to try and get back to guard. He hasn't managed just yet though.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Ahmed throwing shots but Balongtong is blocking nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ahmed throwing shots but Balongtong is blocking nicely.
Ahmed is looking to advance position but Balongtong won't allow it.
Balongtong taking some punishment here, with Ahmed in his half guard.
Ahmed perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Ahmed takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Ahmed really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Ahmed looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Ahmed slows the pace down in half guard.
Ahmed lands strikes from half guard.
Ahmed 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.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Balongtong wants to control but Ahmed is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Ahmed working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Ahmed is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!
The referee warns Balongtong that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Balongtong is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Ahmed takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Balongtong tries to buck Ahmed off but Ahmed takes his back!
Ahmed will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Balongtong is very frustrated here, being controlled quite effectively by Ahmed.
Balongtong wants to control his opponent's hands but Ahmed gets his hands free.
Ahmed is punishing Balongtong with some ground and pound.

Balongtong preventing the rear naked choke attempt from Ahmed.
Good control from Ahmed.
Ahmed lands with a hammerfist to the side of Balongtong 's head.
Balongtong wants to get back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A bit of a pause in the action here. Ahmed controlling the positon.
Balongtong tries to roll but Ahmed sticks to his back.
Ahmed has the hooks sunk in and you can see the will to fight slowly draining out of Balongtong 's body.
Balongtong is trying to stand back up.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Ahmed is working for the rear naked choke. He has one arm under the chin but Balongtong has hold of the other arm. A bit of a stalemate here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Ahmed clinches with his opponent.
Balongtong is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Ahmed to keep the fight standing.

Ahmed turns his hips and lands a very nice judo throw into side control!
Balongtong tries to buck Ahmed off but Ahmed is having none of it.
Ahmed wants to lay and pray for a moment but Balongtong keeps working.
Balongtong is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Ahmed's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Balongtong slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Ahmed controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ahmed trying to control the position from guard on top but Balongtong is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Ahmed throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Balongtong works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Balongtong being controlled here, momentarily.
Ahmed would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters, thinking about a standup.
Balongtong looking to hit a scissor sweep but Ahmed is one step ahead there.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Ahmed staying out of range there.
Balongtong shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Ahmed counters with a shoot takedown. Balongtong fights it but they end up in guard.
Ahmed prevents Balongtong from getting back to his feet.
Ahmed wants to stand but Balongtong has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Balongtong looking to control.
Ahmed content to stall in guard here.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Ahmed's corner. There ya go! There ya go!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ahmed trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Balongtong gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Ahmed counters with a right hand to the body.
Hamza Ahmed has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jimuel Balongtong .
Balongtong is breathing heavily.

Balongtong gets caught flat footed, as Ahmed shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Ahmed sitting in guard, not really doing much.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ahmed wants to control from the top but Balongtong keeps moving.
Balongtong trying to keep a closed guard but Ahmed is proving a slippery customer.
Ahmed 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!
Balongtong is trying to keep Ahmed in close.

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.

Hamza Ahmed dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Ahmed closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Balongtong quickly recovers to half guard.
Ahmed with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Balongtong tries to get to full guard but Ahmed has control of the leg.
Ahmed is figuring out what he wants to do next.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ahmed tries to pass the half guard into mount. Balongtong knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Ahmed is working hard here to advance position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Balongtong makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Balongtong .
Ahmed is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Balongtong can do to turn this around?
Balongtong thows some rabbit punches from the bottom but they don't do any damage.
Ahmed trying to control but Balongtong is working from the bottom.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters, thinking about a standup.
Ahmed not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Balongtong fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Ahmed avoids it really well and circles away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Balongtong fails miserably with a takedown attempt.

Ahmed looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Balongtong !
Balongtong takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Balongtong is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Ahmed has just dragged him back down to the mat.

Ahmed is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Balongtong is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Ahmed working away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Balongtong taking punishment in the form of punches.

Ahmed is in a dominant position here, looking for a kimura. Balongtong looks calm but he's in trouble here. Ahmed gets his leg over his opponent's head and yanks on the arm. Balongtong is tapping like a morse code operator on the titanic! SOS! SOS! Ahmed lets go of the hold and Balongtong can pop his arm back in it's socket.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:25 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). Hamza Ahmed!