PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Ronnie Le (ranked 4148 p4p, 4196 weight class) and Abdulrashid Sadulaev (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Le
vs
Sadulaev

196 cm
25
280
0 - 0 - 0

180 cm
25
240
0 - 0 - 0

Good takedowns
Solid Muay Thai
Good chin

Good wrestler
Counter fighter
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Ronnie Le!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Abdulrashid Sadulaev!
The judges for this bout are Michael Johnstone, Winston Alpacca and David Hoff.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Sadulaev looking to score a takedown here. Le is defending well but Sadulaev drives through and ends up in Le's guard.
Sadulaev is working Le over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Sadulaev loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Le avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Sadulaev seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Sadulaev is looking to work some ground and pound but Le has wrist control.
Le being controlled here, momentarily.
Sadulaev throws a big elbow that misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sadulaev wants to pass the guard but Le is keeping the position.
Le knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Sadulaev on the ground.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sadulaev sitting in guard here, content to control.
Sadulaev works over Le with some ground and pound from guard.
Sadulaev trying to control but Le is working from the bottom.
Le utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Sadulaev in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Sadulaev content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Sadulaev loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Sadulaev controlling from the top position.
Sadulaev's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.

Sadulaev shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.

Sadulaev 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.
Le avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Sadulaev stays in close to Le's body and controls the position.
Le will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Sadulaev with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sadulaev lands a couple of digs.
Sadulaev is stalling in the full guard.
Le on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Le tries to get out of the position.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Sadulaev accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Sadulaev working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Le's head.
Sadulaev slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Sadulaev preventing the sweep.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Le preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Sadulaev postures up in Le's guard and throws a big left but Le blocks it.
Sadulaev trying to control but Le is working from the bottom.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Sadulaev closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Sadulaev lands in his opponent's guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Le looking for a sweep. Not yet Le, not yet.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Abdulrashid Sadulaev dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Sadulaev doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Le counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Le tries to close the distance and clinch but Sadulaev swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Abdulrashid Sadulaev is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Le digs a good body shot into Sadulaev's ribs.
Le stuns Sadulaev with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.

Sadulaev drives through with a takedown into Le's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sadulaev postures up in Le's guard and throws a big left but Le blocks it.
Sadulaev has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Sadulaev with a flurry of punches that miss.
Le has momentary wrist control but Sadulaev slips an elbow through the middle.
Sadulaev tries to free his leg and advance position but Le is retaining full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sadulaev is stalling in the full guard.
Sadulaev wants to control from the top but Le keeps moving.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Sadulaev accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Abdulrashid Sadulaev has got the better of the ground game so far.
Sadulaev in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Sadulaev trying to control the position from guard on top but Le is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Sadulaev loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.

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.
Le clobbers Sadulaev with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Le stuns Sadulaev with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Le with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Sadulaev with a poor takedown
and Sadulaev takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Sadulaev has his takedown stuffed
and Le counters with a nice body shot.
Ronnie Le has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Abdulrashid Sadulaev.
Sadulaev is breathing heavily.

Sadulaev shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Le manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Le working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Sadulaev.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sadulaev won't allow Le to sweep him here.
Sadulaev has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Sadulaev with a nice head shot there.
Sadulaev postures up in Le's guard and throws a big left but Le blocks it.
Le keeping moving, preventing Sadulaev from controlling successfully.
Sadulaev throws a big elbow that misses.

Sadulaev has gone for a leg lock! Le slips out almost immediately though and dives into Sadulaev's guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sadulaev bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Le's guard.

Sadulaev works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Sadulaev is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Sadulaev winds up and cracks Le with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Sadulaev stalling.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Sadulaev thows a huge punch but Le dodges it nicely.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Ronnie Le will probably get the nod.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare each other down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Sadulaev shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Le's guard.
Sadulaev missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Sadulaev trying to control the position from guard on top but Le is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Sadulaev cracks Le with a solid left hand.
Sadulaev is working Le over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Sadulaev trying to control but Le is working from the bottom.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sadulaev working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Sadulaev with a nice head shot there.
Sadulaev in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

Sadulaev gets to his feet - Le follows without any prompting.
Sadulaev fails with the takedown
and Le counters with a left to the body.
Sadulaev tries for a takedown but Le circles away easily
enabling Le to counter with a crisp jab.
Sadulaev takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Le thuds his right hand into Sadulaev's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sadulaev with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Le to score with a decent uppercut.
Sadulaev with a poor takedown
and Le counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Ronnie Le has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Abdulrashid Sadulaev.

Sadulaev looking to score a takedown here. Le is defending well but Sadulaev drives through and ends up in Le's guard.
Le is looking to sweep but instead, Sadulaev has passed into half guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Le has hold of Sadulaev's hands but Sadulaev slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Le is not content to let Sadulaev control the position.
Sadulaev looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sadulaev passes the half guard and he's now in mount! Big trouble for Le!
Sadulaev takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Le is really trying hard to get back to his feet.
Sadulaev lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Le hang on?
Sadulaev can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Le is looking to escape.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sadulaev throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.
Sadulaev throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Le because Sadulaev loaded up on that one.
Sadulaev pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Sadulaev controlling the position easily from mount.
Sadulaev connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Sadulaev unloads with some shots from mount but Le bucks and avoids them well.
Sadulaev takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.

And that's the end of the fight!
Abdulrashid Sadulaev comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Sadulaev has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Michael Johnstone scores the fight 28:29
Judge Winston Alpacca scores the fight 28:30
Judge David Hoff scores the fight 28:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Abdulrashid Sadulaev!