PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Darko El Kharraz (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Glenn Mathews (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Glenn Mathews struggled to make weight for this fight. He only made it down to 156.4lbs at the first attempt and had to take the additional two hours to make the official bout weight. Let's see how much it's taken out of him. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

El Kharraz
vs
Mathews

182 cm
19
168 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

173 cm
19
166 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Excellent MT
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Heavy handed

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Darko El Kharraz!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of London, Glenn Mathews!
The judges for this bout are Andrew Berry, Richard Clark and Steven Brown.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nice takedown defense from Mathews. No joy for El Kharraz on that attempt.
El Kharraz shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Mathews as he avoids it easily.
El Kharraz avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
El Kharraz changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Mathews tries to avoid it but El Kharraz manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Mathews to the ground. Mathews escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Darko El Kharraz. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Mathews stuffs the takedown attempt from El Kharraz. El Kharraz gets slowly back to his feet.
El Kharraz fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Mathews throws a right hand that El Kharraz ducks under and follows up with a left that El Kharraz also avoids with ease.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
No joy there for Mathews, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
El Kharraz shoots in for a double leg but Mathews sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.

That's one minute gone in the round.
El Kharraz shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Mathews moves in looking to clinch but El Kharraz pushes him off.
El Kharraz avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
El Kharraz closes this distance looking for a takedown but Mathews circles away.
Mathews tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but El Kharraz was well out of range. Poor timing from Mathews.
El Kharraz shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Mathews pinned against the cage. Mathews gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Mathews misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
El Kharraz looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Mathews is fending him off so far but El Kharraz persists. Nope, Mathews circles away and we're back to standing.

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.
El Kharraz dives in and grabs Mathews's left leg, looking for a takedown. Mathews pushes down on El Kharraz's head and hops out.
Mathews throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Nice sprawl there from Mathews as El Kharraz shoots in.
No joy there for Mathews, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
El Kharraz fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Mathews avoids it really well and circles away.
Mathews throws a jab but it's blocked by El Kharraz.
El Kharraz misses with a takedown attempt - Mathews sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
El Kharraz shoots in for a double leg but Mathews sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Glenn Mathews is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Mathews displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from El Kharraz.
El Kharraz is breathing heavily.
El Kharraz tries to clinch but Mathews moves away
and Mathews counters with a three punch combo that has El Kharraz backing up. El Kharraz nods at Mathews to acknowledge the strikes.

Mathews gets in close and instigates a clinch.
El Kharraz jumps guard but Mathews stands there with El Kharraz around his waist. El Kharraz gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Mathews doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Mathews working aggressively here.
Mathews working hard to break the clinch.

El Kharraz pulls Mathews into guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

El Kharraz throws his legs up looking to secure a triangle. Oh, that looks pretty tight, I gotta say! Mathews escapes and throws El Kharraz's legs to the side, diving into side control!
Mathews wants to stand but El Kharraz is controlling his arm.
El Kharraz is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
El Kharraz regains half guard.
Mathews tries to stand but his hand is stuck under El Kharraz.

El Kharraz looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Mathews tries to stand but his hand is stuck under El Kharraz.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

El Kharraz looking for submissions off his back.
El Kharraz trying to control here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Glenn Mathews dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

El Kharraz misses with a takedown
and Mathews counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
El Kharraz changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Mathews tries to avoid it but El Kharraz manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Mathews to the ground. Mathews escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Mathews misses with a jab, cross combination.

Mathews pushes El Kharraz up against the cage in a clinch.
El Kharraz missing with knees to the body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
El Kharraz fails to pull the fight into his guard.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Darko El Kharraz. That's going to take a lot out of him.
El Kharraz tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Mathews wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
El Kharraz tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Mathews smiles and moves away.
El Kharraz tries to clinch but Mathews moves out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mathews tries to grapple but his opponent circles

and El Kharraz moves into the clinch.
Mathews wants to break free but El Kharraz has control.
Mathews can't find room to land a body shot as El Kharraz controls the action.
El Kharraz misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Mathews.

El Kharraz ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. El Kharraz no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.

El Kharraz is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Mathews wants to stand but El Kharraz is controlling his posture from full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

El Kharraz is looking for a triangle but Mathews pushes his legs off easily.

El Kharraz is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.

El Kharraz looking for a guillotine here but Mathews defends easily.

El Kharraz escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Mathews gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Mathews has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of El Kharraz is proving hard to escape from.
Mathews is breathing heavily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

El Kharraz is looking for a triangle but Mathews pushes his legs off easily.
Mathews must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Mathews trying to stand up but can't free himself from El Kharraz's guard.
El Kharraz throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.

El Kharraz working for submissions but it's allowed Mathews to get to half guard.

El Kharraz looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Mathews prevents El Kharraz from improving his position.

El Kharraz actively working from the bottom here.

El Kharraz is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Mathews pulls his head out easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

El Kharraz actively working from the bottom here.
Mathews prevents El Kharraz from improving his position.

El Kharraz looking for submissions off his back.
Mathews tries to stand but his hand is stuck under El Kharraz.

El Kharraz looking for submissions off his back.

El Kharraz looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Darko El Kharraz dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Mathews stuffs the takedown attempt from El Kharraz. El Kharraz gets slowly back to his feet.
El Kharraz shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Mathews defends it nicely.
Glenn Mathews seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
El Kharraz shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Mathews counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Darko El Kharraz. That's going to take a lot out of him.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mathews fails with an attempt to clinch.
El Kharraz misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.

That's one minute gone in the round.
El Kharraz tries for a takedown but Mathews circles away easily
and Mathews counters with a three punch combo that has El Kharraz backing up. El Kharraz nods at Mathews to acknowledge the strikes.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
El Kharraz shoots in looking for a takedown. Mathews tries to sprawl out of it but El Kharraz keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Mathews manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Mathews fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
El Kharraz tries for a takedown but Mathews circles away easily
and Mathews counters with a lovely straight right hand!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Horrible takedown by El Kharraz or perhaps it was just good defense by Mathews which made him look bad.
Mathews tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but El Kharraz was well out of range. Poor timing from Mathews.
El Kharraz doesn't manage to clinch there - Mathews circles away.

El Kharraz rushes Mathews and presses him up against the cage.

El Kharraz has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Mathews uses from the top position.

Mathews got a little sloppy there for a moment and El Kharraz has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Mathews has managed to get both his arms back between El Kharraz's legs - danger averted.

Mathews avoids a guillotine attempt easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

El Kharraz is working an open guard so Mathews takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
Darko El Kharraz is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
El Kharraz fails with the takedown

and Mathews moves into the clinch.
Mathews is trying to force a seperation but El Kharraz has the dominant position.
Mathews is looking to break free of the clinch but El Kharraz has double underhooks.

El Kharraz manages to pull guard.
Mathews is looking to stand up but El Kharraz won't let him.

El Kharraz is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.

El Kharraz has his foot on Mathews's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Mathews works his way back into a safe position though.

El Kharraz is looking for a triangle but Mathews pushes his legs off easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mathews trying to stand up but can't free himself from El Kharraz's guard.

El Kharraz is active off his back here, looking for submissions.

El Kharraz has thrown up a leg looking for a triangle. Mathews doesn't defend quickly enough and El Kharraz has managed to lock this one up! Can Mathews escape?! NO! He's tapping out! Damn, that was a quick submission - congrats to El Kharraz on a fantastic submission victory.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:39 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle). Darko El Kharraz!