PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Mamed Khalidov (ranked 25260 p4p, 4377 weight class) and Howie Travis (ranked 502 p4p, 413 weight class). Howie Travis has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Mamed Khalidov's chin.

Khalidov
vs
Travis

174 cm
18
277
0 - 3 - 0

190 cm
18
280
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Solid boxing
Intelligent

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Mamed Khalidov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Howie Travis!
The judges for this bout are Donald Grub, Steven Brown and James Atkins.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Travis instigates a clinch.
Travis blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Khalidov tries to pull guard but Travis holds him up against the ropes and eventually Khalidov drops back down to his feet.
Khalidov tries a knee to the head but Travis blocks it.

Travis gets double underhooks and manages to take the fight to the ground.
Travis throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Khalidov works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Khalidov trying to keep a closed guard but Travis is proving a slippery customer.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Travis is looking to stand up but Khalidov won't let him.
Khalidov is trying to control the position but Travis postures up.
Travis wanted to stand there but Khalidov had control of the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Travis with a nice head shot there.
Travis stays in close to Khalidov's body and controls the position.
Travis in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Travis postures up in Khalidov's guard and throws a big left but Khalidov blocks it.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
Travis sitting in guard, not really doing much.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Khalidov goes for a double leg but Travis avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the ropes as Travis continues to drive forward.
Travis keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Khalidov's efforts to push away.
Khalidov is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Travis is defending well for now.

Travis pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Travis misses with a body kick.

Travis darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Travis takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Khalidov could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Travis missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Khalidov is staying active underneath Travis, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Travis controlling the pace.

Travis is looking for a kimura here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Khalidov won't allow Travis to pass to mount.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Khalidov tries to roll over but Travis keeps him under control.
Khalidov is breathing heavily.
Travis tries to pass to full mount but Khalidov defends it.
Khalidov is trying to control but Travis manages to pass to mount!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Travis controlling from the full mount.
Travis looking to finish Khalidov with some ground and pound. This is bad for Khalidov!

Travis is in full mount, looking to secure a guillotine but Khalidov is surviving well by controlling Travis's body position as best he can.
Travis is trying to control here but Khalidov has managed to regain half guard.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Travis thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Travis really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Khalidov. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Travis seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Howie Travis dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Mamed Khalidov's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Travis darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Khalidov trying to control here.
Travis throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Khalidov trying to control from the bottom.
Travis is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Travis content to control rather than advance.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Travis thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Travis works his way into full mount!
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Travis controlling the position easily from mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Travis postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Khalidov looks a forlorn figure.
Travis looking to control and managing it successfully.

Travis looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.

Travis is in full mount, looking to secure a guillotine but Khalidov is surviving well by controlling Travis's body position as best he can.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Khalidov sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.
Travis seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Travis has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

Travis is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Travis looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Let's hope that Travis 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.

Travis is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Khalidov defends it well.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Howie Travis showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Mamed Khalidov's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Travis lands with a shot to the body.
Travis tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

Travis closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Khalidov's guard.
Travis looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Travis trying to control but Khalidov is working from the bottom.
Travis must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Travis engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Travis trying to control but Khalidov is working from the bottom.
Travis controls from within his opponent's guard.

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.
Travis wants to control from the top but Khalidov keeps moving.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Khalidov fails with an attempt to clinch.
Travis misses with a low kick.

Travis closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Khalidov did well to prevent Travis getting side control.
Travis wants to get back to his feet.
Khalidov is not content to let Travis control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Travis working Khalidov over with strikes.

Travis postures up and decides to stand up, from the half guard. The ref calls for Khalidov to stand up.

Travis clinches up against the ropes.

Travis breaks from the clinch.
Travis misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

Travis fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Khalidov sprawls well initially but Travis persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Travis content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Travis seems to be looking for submissions.
Travis lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Nice strikes from Travis there.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Khalidov tries to roll over but Travis keeps him under control.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Howie Travis really dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Mamed Khalidov's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the ring so we can get back down to business.

Travis shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Travis was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Khalidov managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Travis.
Khalidov is trying to improve his position.

Travis has had enough of the ground for now and decides to stand.
Travis shoots for a takedown but Khalidov saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Khalidov throws a lazy head kick

and Travis counters by moving into the clinch.
Travis prevents the takedown attempt.
It's got to the stage where if one of these guys blows hard enough, the other might fall over.

Travis has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Khalidov uses from the top position.
Travis lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Khalidov has a closed guard, preventing Travis from standing up.
Khalidov might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Travis is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Travis pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Khalidov is keeping the position for now.

Travis decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
Travis throws a head kick that misses
and Khalidov counters with a stiff right hand.

Travis shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Travis was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Travis decides to stand up, so the ref orders Khalidov to his feet.

Khalidov gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Howie Travis has got the better of the ground game so far.
Travis is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Travis trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Khalidov can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Travis controls the pace.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
We're seeing a lot of stalling here from Travis.
Travis stops Khalidov from standing up.
Travis has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Khalidov is proving hard to escape from.

Travis stands up and waves to Khalidov to follow him.

Travis fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Khalidov sprawls well initially but Travis persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Travis is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Travis passes to side control.

Travis is trying to get an arm triangle but Khalidov is defending well.
Travis advances to full mount.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Travis looking to control and managing it successfully.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Howie Travis dominated that fourth round.
The cut man is working on Mamed Khalidov's cut.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

A momentary lapse in concentration from Khalidov enables Travis to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Khalidov manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Travis looking to pass the guard.
Travis sitting in guard here, content to control.

Travis got a little sloppy there for a moment and Khalidov has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Travis has managed to get both his arms back between Khalidov's legs - danger averted.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Travis is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Both of our modern day gladiators look out of it here - a gruelling 5 rounds of action taking it's toll on them, no doubt.
Travis trying to control the position from guard on top but Khalidov is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Travis postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Khalidov is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Travis, into his guard.

Khalidov won't allow Travis to sweep him here.

Khalidov drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Khalidov jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Travis has his hands on Khalidov's head, controlling the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Khalidov won't allow Travis to sweep him here.

Travis has his foot on Khalidov's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Khalidov works his way back into a safe position though.
Travis wants to stand up but Khalidov is controlling him.
Khalidov stopping the sweep attempt from Travis.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters, thinking about a standup.

Travis looking for a guillotine here but Khalidov defends easily.

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

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Travis feints and as Khalidov raises his hands in defense, Travis changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Travis tries to free his leg and advance position but Khalidov is retaining full guard.
Travis slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.

Travis looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.

Travis tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Travis has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Travis wants to control but Khalidov is keeping him busy.
Travis content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Travis scoring with punches from side control.

And that's the end of the fight!
Howie Travis comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Travis has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.

Judge Donald Grub scores the fight for Howie Travis!
Judge Steven Brown scores the fight for Howie Travis!
Judge James Atkins scores the fight for Howie Travis!

Howie Travis wins by unanimous decision!