PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Ithalo Foreman (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Tristan Mkhalele (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Mkhalele has chosen Noir Désir - Un jour en France as his entrance music. Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Foreman
vs
Mkhalele

189 cm
24
185 lbs
4 - 1 - 0

180 cm
23
201 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Very strong

BJJ Blue Belt
Good elbows
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the middleweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Ithalo Foreman!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Tristan Mkhalele!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Bishop, Chris Edwards and Andrew Berry.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Foreman shoots for a takedown but Mkhalele saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Mkhalele avoids the body shot from Foreman.
Mkhalele tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Mkhalele keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Mkhalele moves in looking to clinch but Foreman pushes him off.
Mkhalele tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Foreman misses with a wild combination.
A punch combination from Foreman misses.
Foreman throws a good cross that connects.
Mkhalele tries to clinch but Foreman moves out of range.
Mkhalele fails with an attempt to clinch.
Ithalo Foreman seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Foreman swinging wildly here.
Foreman misses with a few strikes there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Foreman avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Foreman throws a one two combo.
Mkhalele tries to clinch but Foreman moves out of range.
Foreman keeps the fight on the outside.
Foreman throws a body punch but Mkhalele moves out of range.
Mkhalele uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Foreman.
Mkhalele tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Mkhalele tries to clinch up but Foreman circles away and keeps his distance.
Mkhalele is looking to clinch but Foreman is avoiding it.
Horrible takedown by Foreman or perhaps it was just good defense by Mkhalele which made him look bad.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ithalo Foreman. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Mkhalele throws a sloppy head kick and Foreman moves out of range easily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Foreman looks to land a combination but Mkhalele avoids it well.

Foreman clinches.
Mkhalele blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Mkhalele gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.

It looks like Ithalo Foreman has been cut.
Foreman lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Mkhalele lands an elbow that stopped Foreman in his tracks for a moment.
Mkhalele lands an elbow that stopped Foreman in his tracks for a moment.
Foreman wants to break free but Mkhalele has control.
Foreman blocks an elbow strike.
Mkhalele pressing his opponent against the cage.
Nice body punch from Foreman.
Foreman manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
With the fighters up against the cage, Mkhalele throws an elbow but misses.
Foreman lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Foreman manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.

Foreman manages to break the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Foreman looks to throw the jab but Mkhalele is out of range.
Mkhalele clinches but Foreman breaks the clinch
and Foreman counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Foreman swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Mkhalele tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Foreman counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Foreman throws a right and a left that Mkhalele avoids nicely.
Foreman misses with a few strikes there.
Mkhalele tries to clinch
and Foreman counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Foreman tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Mkhalele swivels and escapes.
Foreman is breathing heavily.
Mkhalele tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Foreman paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Foreman avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Mkhalele connects with a solid leg kick.
No luck for Foreman with that takedown attempt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mkhalele is looking to clinch.

Mkhalele pushes Foreman up against the cage in a clinch.
Foreman takes an elbow to the forehead.
Mkhalele lands an elbow that stopped Foreman in his tracks for a moment.
Mkhalele lands an elbow inside.

Ithalo Foreman's cut is getting worse.
Mkhalele with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Foreman working hard to break the clinch.
Mkhalele lands a nice elbow.
Foreman takes an elbow to the temple.
Mkhalele throws an elbow that misses.
Mkhalele tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Mkhalele looking for a takedown.
Mkhalele looking to throw knees to the head but Foreman is blocking nicely.
Mkhalele is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Foreman gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Foreman misses with a punch to the body.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Mkhalele just misses with a elbow thrown towards Foreman's brow.
Foreman looking to stall.
Foreman tries to break free but Mkhalele pushes him back against the cage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ithalo Foreman dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Ithalo Foreman's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Foreman dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Foreman looks to land a left hand but Mkhalele moved out of range nicely.

Mkhalele clinches with his opponent.
Mkhalele misses with an elbow strike.
Mkhalele using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Foreman has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Foreman takes an elbow to the temple.
Foreman taking a breather.
Foreman avoids a wild elbow strike from Mkhalele.
Foreman has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.

Mkhalele is trying to trip Foreman. He has hold of a leg but Foreman is hopping around, keeping his balance for the moment. Mkhalele persists though and gets the takedown into guard.
Foreman tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Mkhalele pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Foreman is keeping the position for now.
Mkhalele is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.

Mkhalele 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.
Mkhalele is breathing heavily.

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

That's one minute gone in the round.
Foreman works a leg free and moves into half guard.

Mkhalele is defending against the submission attempts here by Foreman.
Foreman performing his best blanket impression for a moment.

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.
Mkhalele is trying to control but can't.
Foreman missing with the ground and pound from half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mkhalele trying to hold on to Foreman's head to control him but Foreman postures up.
Foreman sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Foreman seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Mkhalele for as long as he can get away with.
Mkhalele 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.
Foreman wants to control but Mkhalele is keeping him busy.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Foreman wants to clinch.
Foreman ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Mkhalele moves away.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Foreman throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
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 Ithalo Foreman will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Ithalo Foreman's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Foreman misses with a two punch combination.
Mkhalele tries to clinch but fails miserably
letting Foreman counter with a right hand.
Mkhalele wants to clinch up but Foreman keeps it at a distance.
Mkhalele throws a head kick but Foreman moves out of range.
Foreman thows a body shot but no joy.
Foreman closes this distance looking for a takedown but Mkhalele circles away.
Foreman misses with a hook. Mkhalele ducked under it nicely.
Foreman misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Mkhalele.
Mkhalele connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Mkhalele tries to close the distance and clinch up but Foreman swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Foreman throws a lazy right hand but Mkhalele sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Mkhalele circles away from the clinch attempt.
Mkhalele fails in his attempt to clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A head kick misses from Mkhalele.
Some wild striking there from Mkhalele.
Mkhalele tries to clinch but Foreman moves out of range.
Ithalo Foreman is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Foreman keeps the fight on the outside.
Foreman wants to clinch but Mkhalele slips to the side

and Mkhalele holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Mkhalele takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Mkhalele with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Mkhalele throws an elbow that misses.
Foreman has Mkhalele pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Mkhalele manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Mkhalele tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Mkhalele prevents Foreman from breaking the clinch.
Mkhalele throws an elbow but it misses.
Mkhalele gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.

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.
Mkhalele misses with an elbow over the top.
Come on Mkhalele - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.

Mkhalele pulls guard effortlessly.
Foreman wants to control from the top but Mkhalele keeps moving.
Mkhalele being controlled here, momentarily.

Foreman drops back looking for a leg! Mkhalele is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Mkhalele manages to kick Foreman off! Foreman jumps back into Mkhalele's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Foreman avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Foreman sitting in guard, not really doing much.

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.
Foreman trying to control the position from guard on top but Mkhalele is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Foreman looking to pass the guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Foreman trying to control the position from guard on top but Mkhalele is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tristan Mkhalele really dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Ithalo Foreman's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Foreman misses with a takedown attempt

and Mkhalele counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Mkhalele is keen to just control but Foreman is a slippery customer.
The fighters are battling for position here. Foreman manages to regain full guard. Nice work.

Mkhalele gets to his feet. Foreman looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!
Foreman moves in looking to clinch but Mkhalele pushes him off.
Foreman throws a shot from downtown. Mkhalele moves away and avoids it.
Mkhalele throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Mkhalele tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Foreman paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Foreman avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Mkhalele is absolutely dripping with sweat - he looks exhausted.
A jab lands there for Foreman.
Good shot there by Foreman.
Foreman throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nice takedown defense from Mkhalele. No joy for Foreman on that attempt.
Foreman moves in looking to clinch but Mkhalele pushes him off.
Mkhalele turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Foreman throws a series of punches but Mkhalele moves out of range.
Foreman swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Foreman blocks a head kick by Mkhalele.
Mkhalele wants to clinch up but Foreman keeps it at a distance.

Mkhalele rushes Foreman and presses him up against the cage.
Mkhalele lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Foreman wants to stall.
Foreman wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Mkhalele stalling against the cage.

Mkhalele breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Foreman misses with a jab, cross combination.
Mkhalele ducks under a wild hook from Foreman.
Foreman tries to grapple but his opponent circles

and Mkhalele counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Mkhalele.
Foreman takes an elbow to the forehead.
Mkhalele lands an elbow just above Foreman 's eye.

Mkhalele breaks from the clinch.
Foreman circles away from the clinch attempt.
Mkhalele is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Foreman throws a shot from downtown. Mkhalele moves away and avoids it.
Foreman throws a body punch but Mkhalele moves out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Foreman throws a body punch but Mkhalele moves out of range.
Foreman closes the distance and lands a one-two.

Mkhalele shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Foreman napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Mkhalele working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.

Mkhalele is trying to get an arm triangle but Foreman is defending well.
Mkhalele trying to control the position but Foreman is working away.
Mkhalele postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Foreman manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
Mkhalele trying to control from half guard but Foreman is working away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Mkhalele looking for a submission but Foreman manages to get full guard, putting an end to that submission attempt.
Mkhalele trying to control the position from guard on top but Foreman is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Foreman is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Mkhalele throwing strikes from guard but Foreman blocks nicely.
Mkhalele wants to pass the guard but Foreman is keeping the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tristan Mkhalele dominated that fourth round.
The cut man is working on Ithalo Foreman's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Foreman tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Foreman loads up on a big right hand but Mkhalele slips the punch.
Ithalo Foreman is winning the standup battle so far.
Foreman moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
Mkhalele tries to clinch up.
Some wild striking there from Foreman.
Foreman throws a series of punches but Mkhalele moves out of range.
Both of our modern day gladiators look out of it here - an gruelling 5 rounds of action taking it's toll on them, no doubt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Foreman lands with a hook. Mkhalele tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Mkhalele tries to clinch but Foreman moves away
and Foreman counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Foreman misses with a body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Foreman circles away from the clinch attempt.
Mkhalele tries to close the distance and clinch up but Foreman swats him away and circles back towards the center.
A head kick misses from Mkhalele.
Foreman looks to score with a jab to the body but Mkhalele is just out of range.
Foreman displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Mkhalele wants to clinch up but Foreman keeps it at a distance.
Foreman misses with a body shot.
Foreman throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Mkhalele tries to close the distance and clinch up but Foreman swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Mkhalele wants to clinch.

Foreman gets the takedown into side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mkhalele gets back to half guard.
Mkhalele gets back to full guard.
Foreman trying to stand up but can't free himself from Mkhalele's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mkhalele trying to control the position.
Tristan Mkhalele has got the better of the ground game so far.
Mkhalele is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Foreman stopping the sweep attempt from Mkhalele.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Foreman gets to his feet. Mkhalele looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!

That's four 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.
Foreman chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Mkhalele can pounce on him.
Foreman digs a good body shot into Mkhalele's ribs.
Foreman misses with a double jab.

Mkhalele pushes Foreman up against the cage in a clinch.
Foreman wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Mkhalele's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Mkhalele lands a damaging elbow.
Mkhalele creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Foreman's defenses.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ithalo Foreman showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Foreman has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Daniel Bishop scores the fight 48:47
Judge Chris Edwards scores the fight 48:48
Judge Andrew Berry scores the fight 48:47

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Ithalo Foreman!
Ithalo Foreman is the new middleweight champion!