PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Shahriyar Chai (ranked 4729 p4p, 4733 weight class) and Duke Babaganush (ranked 446 p4p, 447 weight class). Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Chai
vs
Babaganush

179 cm
18
169
0 - 1 - 0

177 cm
19
166
1 - 0 - 0

Good takedowns
Basic striking
Granite chin

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Shahriyar Chai!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Duke Babaganush!
The judges for this bout are Robert Douchet, Dillan Fox and Ian Loll.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Babaganush misses the jab.
Chai connects with a body shot that sends Babaganush's belly button to the back.
Babaganush throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Chai throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Chai throws a hook but Babaganush blocks it.
Chai throws a series of punches but Babaganush avoids them all with ease.
Nice defenses there by Babaganush.
Babaganush scores with a nice right hand.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Chai.
Chai cracks Babaganush with a big right hand but Babaganush just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Babaganush avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Chai.
Chai is looking to take a break and control but Babaganush is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Chai scoring with punches from side control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Chai throwing shots but missing, from side control.
Babaganush taking a bit of punishment here - Chai scoring with strikes.
Chai scores with punches from side control.
Chai works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
Babaganush really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Chai. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Chai wants to control but Babaganush is keeping him busy.
Chai throws an elbow but Babaganush slips to the side and avoids it well.
Chai scoring with punches and elbows.
We've been hearing that Chai has been drilling a lot of ground and pound in training, so let's see if he get the finish.
Babaganush wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
Chai working the head and body with strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Chai tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
Chai in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Babaganush on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
Babaganush is trying to buck Chai off.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Chai in side control lands a decent elbow.
Chai landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
Chai scoring with punches from side control.
Chai working the ground and pound but Babaganush is defending the strikes.
Babaganush is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Chai has just dragged him back down to the mat.
Chai lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Babaganush down.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Chai scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Babaganush to see if he's OK.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Chai landing strikes.
Chai cracks Babaganush with a big right hand but Babaganush just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
A lull in the action here.
Chai lands an elbow.
Chai is chipping away with strikes.
Chai working the ground and pound but Babaganush is defending the strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Chai scores with a couple of short elbows.
Chai works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
Babaganush parries the strikes from Chai easily there. Chai is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Babaganush to escape.
Chai is chipping away with strikes.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Chai in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Chai cracks Babaganush with a big elbow.
Chai looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Babaganush is avoiding damage well.
Babaganush takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Babaganush is trying to get back to his feet.
Chai in side control lands a decent elbow.
The referee asks Chai politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Chai prefers to stall for the moment though.
Chai working the body and head with strikes.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Shahriyar Chai dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Babaganush scores with a decent looking hook.

Chai 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.
Chai throws a strike but Babaganush rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Babaganush must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Babaganush wants to control from the top but Chai keeps moving.
Chai is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Babaganush can do to turn this around?
Babaganush wants to stand and escape but instead Chai has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

Chai is in close to Babaganush's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Chai working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Babaganush's head.
Chai postures up and lands a big shot to Babaganush's brow.
Babaganush keeping moving, preventing Chai from controlling successfully.
Chai works over Babaganush with some ground and pound from guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Chai chips away with some ground and pound.
Chai works over Babaganush with some ground and pound from guard.
Babaganush wants to get back to his feet but Chai passes into half guard.
Chai takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Chai seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Chai stops Babaganush from getting back to his feet.
Shahriyar Chai overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Babaganush wants to improve his position but Chai is controlling well.
Babaganush taking some punishment here, with Chai in his half guard.
Chai lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Chai 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.
Babaganush taking some punishment here, with Chai in his half guard.
We've been informed that Babaganush has been working hard on his conditioning in the buildup to the fight.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Chai working over Babaganush with some ground and pound. Babaganush looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Chai scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Chai working the head and body with strikes.
Chai content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Babaganush regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Chai.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Chai lands a couple of digs.
Chai distracts Babaganush with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Chai is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.

Babaganush is rocked!
Chai throws a big right hand that misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Chai connects with a couple of short punches.
Babaganush wants to get back to his feet but Chai is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Chai works over Babaganush with some ground and pound from guard.
Chai working some strikes from top position.
Babaganush is still in real trouble! Can Chai finish him?
Chai lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Chai postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Babaganush seems to have recovered his senses.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Chai's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Babaganush preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Chai is in close to Babaganush's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Chai landing some decent shots from guard.
Chai wants to control from the top but Babaganush keeps moving.
Babaganush working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Chai.
Babaganush utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Chai postures up in Babaganush's guard and throws a big left but Babaganush blocks it.
Chai landing with the ground and pound.
Chai advances position into side control!
Babaganush is letting Chai control him for a moment.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Shahriyar Chai dominated that second 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. This is the final round!

Babaganush scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Chai misses with a looping right.
Duke Babaganush seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Babaganush lands a jab.
Chai uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Babaganush.
Chai tries to counter with a takedown but Babaganush is quick to defend against it.
Chai takes a swing at Babaganush's ribcage but misses.
Chai waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Babaganush.
Chai misses with a straight right.
Chai looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Babaganush lands a lovely overhand right.
Babaganush throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Babaganush throws a jab but it's blocked by Chai.
Chai was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Nice uppercut lands for Babaganush. That snapped Chai's head back.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Chai throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Chai displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Babaganush throws out the jab.
Babaganush thows a left - swing and a miss!
Babaganush's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Chai connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Babaganush scrambles back to his feet.
Babaganush defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Chai.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Babaganush throws a shot from downtown. Chai moves away and avoids it.
Babaganush throws a hook but Chai avoids it easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Babaganush throws an ugly left hook that misses
letting Chai counter with a right hand.
Babaganush might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
Babaganush misses with a straight right.
Babaganush walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Chai checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Chai ducks under a wild hook from Babaganush.
Babaganush swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Babaganush misses with a looping right.
Babaganush ducks under a wild hook from Chai.
Babaganush misses with a hook.
Babaganush looks to land a right hand but Chai moved out of range.
Chai is looking to counter punch.
Chai misses the jab.
Babaganush ducks under a wild hook from Chai.
Babaganush swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Chai throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Chai scores with a jab.
Babaganush will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Babaganush throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Chai is looking to counter punch.
Babaganush pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Chai displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Babaganush throws out the jab.
Duke Babaganush seems to be getting the better of the standup.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Babaganush misses the jab.
Babaganush misses with a straight left.
Babaganush tries a low kick but Chai avoids it.
Babaganush lands a really nice looking cross but Chai seems unphased.
Chai missing with a left hand there. Babaganush was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!

Chai drives through with a takedown into Babaganush's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Babaganush is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Chai is controlling him.
Chai throws a big right hand that misses.
Chai slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Chai connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Babaganush some visible discomfort.
Chai trying to control the position but Babaganush is working away.
Chai looking to control but instead Babaganush has slipped a leg in, to regain half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Babaganush has hold of Chai's hands but Chai slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Babaganush on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Chai wants to lay and pray for a moment but Babaganush keeps working.
Chai thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Chai wants to lay and pray for a moment but Babaganush keeps working.
Babaganush has hold of Chai's hands but Chai slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Chai thows a huge punch but Babaganush dodges it nicely.
Babaganush on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Chai working Babaganush over with strikes.
Chai throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Shahriyar Chai is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Chai controlling the action here.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Babaganush can do anything to dispel that myth.

And that's the end of the fight!
Shahriyar Chai showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Chai, 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 Robert Douchet scores the fight for Shahriyar Chai!
Judge Dillan Fox scores the fight for Shahriyar Chai!
Judge Ian Loll scores the fight for Shahriyar Chai!

Shahriyar Chai wins by unanimous decision!
Shahriyar Chai seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.