PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between John Cavanagh (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Muhammed Ishboo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Cavanagh's ring entrance music is that housewives' favourite, Kalamazoo. Muhammed Ishboo has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with John Cavanagh's chin.

Cavanagh
vs
Ishboo

178 cm
20
156 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

189 cm
21
157 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Intelligent

Good takedowns
Counter striker
Tends to cut

Pacheco Labratories Inc

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 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, John Cavanagh!
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, Muhammed Ishboo!
The judges for this bout are Alan Glass, Robert Twigg and George Francis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Cavanagh tries to clinch up.
Ishboo shoots in looking for a takedown. Cavanagh tries to sprawl out of it but Ishboo keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Cavanagh manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.

Cavanagh closes the distance and pushes Ishboo back into the cage.
Cavanagh has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Ishboo avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Cavanagh trying to control the position but instead, Ishboo has worked for underhooks and has pushed Cavanagh into the cage.

Cavanagh has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Ishboo uses from the top position.
Ishboo is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Cavanagh utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Cavanagh lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Ishboo!
Cavanagh controlling the pace for now.
Ishboo in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cavanagh tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Ishboo tries to hold on but Cavanagh postures up.
Ishboo really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Cavanagh dominating with strikes here.
Cavanagh looking to control but Ishboo is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Cavanagh breaks from Ishboo's wrist control and lands an elbow.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Cavanagh tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Ishboo throwing punches from his back but nothing is landing.
Cavanagh trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Cavanagh takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Cavanagh cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!

Cavanagh looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
Cavanagh avoids the attempt from Ishboo to control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Ishboo looks gassed!
Cavanagh lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ishboo tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Cavanagh trying to control but Ishboo is having none of it.
Ishboo wants to hold on but Cavanagh pushes him away.
Ishboo really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Ishboo tries to hold on but Cavanagh pushes him away.
Cavanagh lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Cavanagh controlling from mount.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Ishboo can do anything to dispel that myth.
Cavanagh landing strikes, looking to finish!

That's four 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.
Cavanagh controlling the position easily from mount.
Cavanagh lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Ishboo is trying desperately to improve position.
Cavanagh can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Ishboo is looking to escape.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Cavanagh putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John Cavanagh dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Ishboo looks for a takedown but Cavanagh sprawls well.
Cavanagh is looking to clinch but Ishboo is avoiding it.
Cavanagh shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Ishboo as he jumps to the side.
Cavanagh fails to land with a series of punches.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Ishboo.
Cavanagh is trying to control Ishboo's posture but Ishboo avoids it.
Ishboo grinds an elbow into Cavanagh's temple.
Ishboo is breathing heavily.
Cavanagh can't do much from the bottom here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cavanagh gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Cavanagh trying to hold on to Ishboo's head to control him but Ishboo postures up.
Cavanagh is looking to escape.
Cavanagh trying to control here.

The referee stands the fighters back up. John Cavanagh just wasn't active enough from the dominant position.
Ishboo tries to grapple but his opponent circles

and Cavanagh counters with a nice double leg into guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ishboo is trying to keep Cavanagh in close.
Cavanagh 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.
Cavanagh slips nicely into half guard.
Cavanagh not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Cavanagh seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Ishboo does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Cavanagh tries to stand and escape but Ishboo is controlling the position.
Cavanagh blocks the strikes from Ishboo.
Cavanagh trying to control the action but Ishboo is working from the bottom.
Ishboo is trying to control but can't.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Ishboo tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Cavanagh tries to clinch but fails miserably

and Ishboo counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Cavanagh desperately trying to maintain half guard.
Ishboo blocks the strikes from Cavanagh.
Cavanagh wants to control but Ishboo is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Cavanagh moves into full guard.
Cavanagh is trying to control the position but Ishboo postures up.
Cavanagh manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cavanagh looking to control but Ishboo is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Ishboo wants to hold on but Cavanagh pushes him away.
Cavanagh looking to control and managing it successfully.
Cavanagh blocks Ishboo's feeble attempts to strike from the bottom.
Ishboo swinging wildly from the bottom but he's not landing.
Ishboo throwing hammer fists to the chest of Cavanagh. What's that going to do exactly?
Cavanagh is in the full mount, landing strikes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Cavanagh misses with a takedown attempt

and Ishboo moves into the clinch.
Ishboo jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Cavanagh walks away with a smile on his face. Ishboo gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Nice takedown defense from Ishboo. No joy for Cavanagh on that attempt.
Ishboo fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Cavanagh avoids it really well and circles away.
Ishboo swats away the attempt to clinch by Cavanagh.
Cavanagh lands with a hook. Ishboo tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ishboo fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Cavanagh avoids it really well and circles away.
John Cavanagh has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Muhammed Ishboo.
Ishboo takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
No luck for Ishboo with that takedown attempt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cavanagh tries to clinch there but Ishboo circles away.

Cavanagh has taken the fight to the clinch.
Cavanagh is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Cavanagh has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Ishboo avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Cavanagh tries to score a body lock takedown but Ishboo shows good agility there to stay on his feet.

Cavanagh jumps guard and drags Ishboo to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Cavanagh tries to strike from the bottom.
Cavanagh is trying to keep Ishboo in close.
Cavanagh is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Ishboo is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cavanagh is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Cavanagh wants to lay and pray for a moment but Ishboo keeps working.
Cavanagh drops an elbow to the side of Ishboo's head.
Well, if Cavanagh 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.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ishboo on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Ishboo is looking to control Cavanagh's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Ishboo avoid being mounted?
Cavanagh trying to control the action but Ishboo is working from the bottom.
Ishboo tries to get to full guard but Cavanagh has control of the leg.
Ishboo is refusing to be controlled, as Cavanagh sits in half guard.

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.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.

Cavanagh feints and as Ishboo raises his hands in defense, Cavanagh changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Cavanagh working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Ishboo's head.
Cavanagh wants to control from the top but Ishboo keeps moving.
Cavanagh controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
John Cavanagh is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Cavanagh trying to control but Ishboo is working from the bottom.
Cavanagh might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Cavanagh looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Muhammed Ishboo has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Ishboo keeping full guard, as Cavanagh tries to pass.

And that's the end of the fight!
John Cavanagh showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Cavanagh 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 Alan Glass scores the fight 30:27
Judge Robert Twigg scores the fight 30:27
Judge George Francis scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... John Cavanagh!