PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Vladimir Magomedov (ranked 5631 p4p, 4097 weight class) and Charles Ribeiro (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Magomedov
vs
Ribeiro

167 cm
21
145
2 - 1 - 0

177 cm
19
155
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Intelligent

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Determined

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 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Vladimir Magomedov!
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, Charles Ribeiro!
The judges for this bout are Wesley Smith, Chris Downing and Frank Dennis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Ribeiro clinches.
Ribeiro blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Ribeiro tries to score a body lock takedown but Magomedov shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Magomedov prevents a takedown attempt there.
Magomedov lands with a short shot to the head.
Ribeiro tries to pull guard but Magomedov forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Vladimir Magomedov has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Charles Ribeiro.
Ribeiro is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.

Magomedov breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

Magomedov drives through and clinches with Ribeiro against the cage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Magomedov misses with a hook to the ribs.

Magomedov pulls guard successfully.
Ribeiro stopping the sweep attempt from Magomedov.
Ribeiro is looking to work some ground and pound but Magomedov has wrist control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ribeiro trying to control but Magomedov is working from the bottom.
Magomedov wants to sweep here but Ribeiro controlling him for the moment.
Magomedov on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Magomedov tries to get out of the position.
Ribeiro throws a big elbow that misses.
Ribeiro wants to control from the top but Magomedov keeps moving.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Magomedov wants to sweep but no luck.
Magomedov is trying to control the position from the bottom.

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

Ribeiro pushes Magomedov up against the cage in a clinch.

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.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Magomedov.
Ribeiro on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Magomedov prevents a takedown attempt there.

Magomedov jumps guard and drags Ribeiro to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Ribeiro stopping the sweep attempt from Magomedov.
Ribeiro trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Magomedov has Ribeiro pulled in close to control his posture.
Ribeiro has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

Magomedov has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Ribeiro can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Magomedov can't keep his opponent in guard - Ribeiro advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.

Ribeiro looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Magomedov trying to control from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Magomedov tries to roll over but Ribeiro keeps him under control.
Ribeiro is taking a breather. Magomedov says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Ribeiro wants to control but Magomedov is keeping him busy.
Magomedov is trying to get back to full guard.
Magomedov is trying to stand.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Magomedov moves into the clinch successfully.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Vladimir Magomedov dominated that 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.

Magomedov clinches up against the cage.

Magomedov manages to break the clinch.

Magomedov shoots in and gets a takedown into Ribeiro's guard.

Ribeiro had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Magomedov defends it easily.
Magomedov wanted to stand there but Ribeiro had control of the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Ribeiro looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Magomedov trying to pass the guard. He's being very persistent here but Ribeiro manages to land a sweep and now he's on top!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Magomedov keeping full guard, as Ribeiro tries to pass.
Ribeiro trying to move into half guard but instead Magomedov has managed to sweep!

Ribeiro looking for a guillotine here but Magomedov defends easily.
Ribeiro trying to keep a closed guard but Magomedov is proving a slippery customer.

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.
Ribeiro can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Magomedov controls the pace.
Magomedov stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Ribeiro swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Magomedov has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Magomedov is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Magomedov has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Ribeiro is proving hard to escape from.
Magomedov trying to control but Ribeiro is working from the bottom.
Magomedov is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Ribeiro can do to turn this around?

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Magomedov drops back for a leg but he's not going to get it - he lets go and Ribeiro dives on top into guard.

Ribeiro not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Ribeiro trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Ribeiro with a flurry of punches that miss.
Ribeiro slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Magomedov tries to land a sweep but no joy.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Magomedov moves out of range of the leg kick from Ribeiro.
Magomedov is looking to counter the offense by Ribeiro and move into the clinch.
Vladimir Magomedov is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Ribeiro fails with a takedown attempt.

The fight moves into the clinch position.

Magomedov's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Magomedov throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Ribeiro was covering up waiting for the punch and Magomedov finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Ribeiro is looking to stand back up... there's a bit of a scramble and Magomedov dives into side control.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Vladimir Magomedov 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!

Ribeiro throws a series of punches but Magomedov avoids them all with ease.

Magomedov decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.

Ribeiro looking for submissions off his back.
Magomedov trying to control from Ribeiro's half guard. Ribeiro has other ideas though and has regained full guard.

Ribeiro looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Magomedov trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Ribeiro is on top in guard.

Ribeiro takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Magomedov is looking to stand up but Ribeiro isn't so interested in that idea.

Magomedov is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Ribeiro is aware though and is defending well.
Ribeiro 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.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Ribeiro passes Magomedov's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Magomedov manages to get to full guard.
Ribeiro advances position into side control!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Magomedov is looking to reverse the position.
A bit of a lull in the action here.

Ribeiro is trying to get an arm triangle but Magomedov is defending well.
Magomedov is pushing Ribeiro's head away, looking to escape. Ribeiro manages to hold on to the position though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Magomedov trying desperately to get back to his feet here but he's not having any joy at all. He's going to tire himself out if he's not careful.
Magomedov is looking to regain half guard here but Ribeiro keeps moving and retains side control.

Ribeiro is trying to get an arm triangle but Magomedov is defending well.
Magomedov is trying to control Ribeiro's posture but Ribeiro avoids it.

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

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Ribeiro tries to clinch but Magomedov moves out of range.
Ribeiro changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Magomedov tries to avoid it but Ribeiro manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Magomedov to the ground. Magomedov escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Ribeiro doesn't manage to clinch there - Magomedov circles away.
Magomedov feinted with a counter takedown.

Magomedov fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Ribeiro to the ground. Magomedov is now in Ribeiro's guard.
Ribeiro can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Magomedov controls the pace.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Ribeiro keeping moving, preventing Magomedov from controlling successfully.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Charles Ribeiro.
Well Magomedov has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Wesley Smith scores the fight 30:28
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 29:28
Judge Frank Dennis scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Vladimir Magomedov!
In defeat, Charles Ribeiro stepped up to the mic, saying 'I had a bad performance'.