PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Tommy Bennett (ranked 4522 p4p, 4967 weight class) and Ibragim Ibragimov (ranked 360 p4p, 373 weight class). Well, I have no idea who's going to take this one!

Bennett
vs
Ibragimov

178 cm
19
153
2 - 0 - 0

170 cm
19
150
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Basic striking
Determined

Urban Fighter

Barry Bonds Performance Enhancers -160Q
Bondi MMA ðŸï¸

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 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Tommy Bennett!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Ibragim Ibragimov!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Franklin, Gwen Towbar and Wesley Smith.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ibragimov closes this distance looking for a takedown but Bennett circles away.
Ibragimov fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Ibragimov shoots for a double leg takedown but Bennett sprawls well. He's pushed Ibragimov's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Tommy Bennett has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ibragim Ibragimov.
Bennett throws a body shot but no joy.
Bennett misses with a straight left.
Bennett lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.

Ibragimov fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Bennett sprawls well initially but Ibragimov persists and gets the takedown into half guard.

Bennett kicks off Ibragimov and gets to his feet.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
A jab from Bennett misses.
Bennett scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Ibragimov doesn't seem bothered though.
Ibragim Ibragimov seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Ibragimov gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.

Ibragimov throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Bennett was covering up waiting for the punch and Ibragimov finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Ibragimov scoring with punches to the head and body.
Ibragimov working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Ibragimov throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ibragimov throws a strike but Bennett rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Bennett preventing the sweep.

Ibragimov has his feet on Bennett's hips. He pushes off and gets to his feet. Nice work.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Bennett enables Ibragimov to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Bennett manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Ibragimov landing some decent shots from guard.
Ibragimov pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Bennett is keeping the position for now.
Ibragimov is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Ibragimov throws a big elbow that misses.
Bennett keeping moving, preventing Ibragimov from controlling successfully.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ibragimov connects with a couple of short punches.
Ibragimov working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Bennett's head.
Ibragimov is in close to Bennett's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Ibragimov postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Ibragimov scoring with some ground and pound.
Bennett looks to be in better condition than last time we saw him fight. Obviously he's been working hard on his cardio.
Ibragimov is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Ibragimov looking to sit in guard and control but Bennett gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Ibragimov wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ibragimov wants to stand and escape but Bennett is having none of it.

Bennett stands up and waves to Ibragimov to follow him.
Bennett slaps away a takedown attempt from Ibragimov, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Ibragimov looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Ibragimov avoids the body shot from Bennett.
Bennett throws a shot to the body.
Ibragimov shoots in for a takedown but Bennett shows good takedown defense.
Ibragimov shoots in looking for a takedown. Bennett tries to sprawl out of it but Ibragimov keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Bennett manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Bennett throws a body punch but Ibragimov moves out of range.

Bennett tries to sprawl but Ibragimov drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Ibragimov lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Bennett taking some punishment here, with Ibragimov in his half guard.
Ibragimov working Bennett over with strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ibragimov slips a nice elbow through Bennett's hands, connecting with Bennett's forehead.
Ibragimov lands strikes from half guard.
Ibragimov working the head and body with strikes.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Ibragimov lands a nice short elbow.
Ibragimov trying to control from half guard but Bennett is working away.
Bennett looks like he's trying to stand up.
Ibragimov working Bennett over with strikes.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Ibragimov slows the pace down in half guard.
Ibragimov scoring with strikes to the body and head.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

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

Bennett changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.

Ibragimov is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Bennett's half guard.

Bennett pushes Ibragimov off and gets back to his feet.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Ibragimov staying out of range there.
Ibragimov shoots in but Bennett avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Ibragimov shoots for a takedown but Bennett saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.

Ibragimov looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Ibragimov lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Ibragimov keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Bennett's head.
Ibragimov keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Bennett's head.
Ibragimov throws an elbow that misses. Bennett uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Ibragimov's guard. Nice move by Bennett!

Ibragimov wants to stand up but Bennett is controlling him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bennett being controlled here momentarily.
Ibragimov looking to hit a scissor sweep but Bennett is one step ahead there.
Connects with an elbow from the bottom, proving to the judges that he's still active off his back.
Ibragimov wants to stand up but Bennett is controlling him.

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.
Ibragimov is controlling Bennett's posture.
Bennett prevents Ibragimov from getting back to his feet.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters, thinking about a standup.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.

Bennett gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Ibragimov to score an easy takedown into full guard.

Bennett uses the cage to get back to his feet.
Bennett tries to bum rush Ibragimov with a series of wild strikes but Ibragimov uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
No joy there for Bennett, who threw a few shots but didn't land.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Ibragimov shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Bennett is trying to defend but Ibragimov finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Ibragimov working over Bennett with some ground and pound. Bennett looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Ibragimov seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Ibragimov looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Bennett with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Ibragimov looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Bennett with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Bennett wants to get back to his feet.
Well, if Ibragimov is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Ibragimov connects with a nice short shot to Bennett's temple.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ibragimov working Bennett over with strikes.
Ibragimov winds up and cracks Bennett with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Ibragimov lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Bennett taking some punishment here, with Ibragimov in his half guard.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Ibragimov connects with a nice short shot to Bennett's temple.

Bennett is rocked!
Ibragimov scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Oh Bennett is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Ibragimov lands a big elbow - Bennett is out of it! He's waving his arms around but his eyes are closed and he's not intelligently defending himself - the ref has no choice but to jump in and stop the fight! This one is in the books! A TKO win for Ibragimov!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:59 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Ibragim Ibragimov!
After the fight, Ibragim Ibragimov was humble in paying tribute to his opponent but made it clear he wants to go on to bigger and better things. It seemed to go down well with the crowd who cheered him loudly.