PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Ali Issa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jim White (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Jim White struggled to make weight for this fight. He only made it down to 207.1lbs 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. Ali Issa could well score a knockout today. He has the power to get to Jim White's chin.

Issa
vs
White

185 cm
23
205 lbs
4 - 2 - 0

180 cm
18
220 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
KO power

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Tends to cut

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 2 - 0, fighting out of London, Ali Issa!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Jim White!
The judges for this bout are Sam Margolis, Daniel Bishop and James Atkins.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Issa shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as White sprawls well. White wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Issa gets slowly back to his feet.

Issa gets tackled into the ropes by White. White maintains the clinch.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
White gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Issa.
White tries to pull guard but Issa holds him up against the ropes and eventually White drops back down to his feet.

White jumps into guard, dragging Issa to the mat.
Issa trying to control but White is working from the bottom.
White preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Issa not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Issa tries to free his leg and advance position but White is retaining full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Issa trying to control the position from guard on top but White is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Ali Issa has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Issa tries to clinch up against the ropes, rushing in the close the distance. White manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
White tries to grapple but his opponent circles

and Issa counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Issa.
Issa missing with knees to the body.
Issa is looking for a takedown up against the ropes. White gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ali Issa. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Issa jumps guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
White lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.

Issa scrambles and gets back to his feet.
Issa shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and White counters with a solid body kick.
Jim White seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Issa is breathing heavily.
Issa takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
White moves in looking to clinch but Issa pushes him off.

White gets in close and instigates a clinch.
White jumps guard but Issa stands there with White around his waist. White gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.

White has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Issa uses from the top position.
Issa stops White from standing up.

Issa drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but White manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Issa has White in his guard.
White really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Issa. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
White missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
White trying to control but Issa is working from the bottom.
White trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
White trying to control the position from guard on top but Issa is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
White in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Issa controls White momentarily but White frees himself.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
A solid body kick from White.
White throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Issa.
White swats away the attempt to clinch by Issa.
Issa fails with the takedown
and White counters with a series of strikes. Issa will be more careful next time no doubt.
White works Issa's body with a nice hook.
Issa takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
White is looking to clinch but Issa is avoiding it.

White closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Issa is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jim White dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

White changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Issa looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
White wants to control for a moment but Issa uses the opportunity to move back to half guard.
Issa wants to get back to full guard.
White is just content to waste time from the top position. Issa takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.
White postures up.
White pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Issa is keeping the position for now.
White should think about turning a few of those tyres round his middle into muscle if he wants people to take him seriously as an athlete.

Issa looking for a guillotine here but White defends easily.
White is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Issa pulls White in close to prevent any damage.
Issa is looking to stand up but White isn't so interested in that idea.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
White wants to control from the top but Issa keeps moving.

That's two 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.
Issa seems keen to control White's posture.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.

Issa shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in White's guard.
Issa stays in close to White's body and controls the position.
Issa lands a couple of decent looking shots.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Issa trying to control but White is working from the bottom.
White is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Issa content to stall in guard here.

We're going to have a standup here because Ali Issa wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
White works over Issa's head and body with a nice combination.
Issa misses with a takedown attempt - White sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
White throws a left and a right that both miss

and Issa counters with a shoot takedown. White fights it but they end up in guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Issa trying to control but White is working from the bottom.
Issa advances to half guard.

Issa seems to be working for a kimura but White defends the submission attempt.
Ali Issa overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ali Issa dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Issa shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Issa showed some decent athleticism there.
White tries to roll over but Issa keeps him under control.

Issa seems like he's working for an arm triangle here. He's freed his trapped foot and he's rotating nicely. White is in big trouble! He's tapping out! This one is aaaaaaaaaaaall over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:51 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Arm Triangle). Ali Issa!