PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Joe Vatali (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Khaled Khaled (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Khaled comes into a darkened arena with his song building. DJ Khaled - Out Here Grindin' kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Vatali
vs
Khaled

188 cm
28
210 lbs
24 - 7 - 0

190 cm
24
215 lbs
9 - 0 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Very strong

BJJ Blue Belt
World class MT
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the light heavyweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 24 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Joe Vatali!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Khaled Khaled!
The judges for this bout are Don Winkell, Frank Antenori and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Vatali swings for the body but Khaled moves out of range.

Vatali shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Khaled has momentary wrist control but Vatali slips an elbow through the middle.
Khaled lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Vatali!
Vatali wants to control but Khaled is having none of it.
Vatali can't escape the position.
Vatali gets back to half guard.
Vatali is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Vatali is working hard here to advance position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Khaled is looking to advance position but Vatali won't allow it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Khaled trying to control from Vatali's half guard. Vatali has other ideas though and has regained full guard.
Vatali controlling Khaled's posture.
Khaled wants to control from the top but Vatali keeps moving.
Khaled controlling from the top position.
Khaled really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Vatali. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Khaled Khaled.
Khaled throws a leg kick but Vatali moved away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Vatali tries to clinch there but Khaled circles away.
Vatali fails in his attempt to clinch.
Khaled uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Vatali.
A looping hook to the body misses from Vatali. Khaled does a little dance to reset his feet.
Khaled misses with a low kick.

Vatali scores with a takedown into Khaled's guard.
Khaled keeping moving, preventing Vatali from controlling successfully.
Khaled utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Khaled keeping moving, preventing Vatali from controlling successfully.
Vatali postures up.
Vatali postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Khaled looking for a sweep. Not yet Khaled, not yet.
Khaled is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Vatali is looking to work some ground and pound but Khaled has wrist control.
Khaled looking to hit a scissor sweep but Vatali is one step ahead there.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Vatali wants to control from the top but Khaled keeps moving.
Vatali working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Vatali forces his way into half guard.
Vatali not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Vatali not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Vatali lands strikes from half guard.

Vatali is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Khaled defends it well.
Vatali tries to pass to full mount but Khaled defends it.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Vatali throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Vatali is trying to control. Khaled wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joe Vatali dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Vatali misses with a leg kick
and Khaled counters with a thumping low kick.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Khaled lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Vatali has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Vatali and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
A swing and a miss from Vatali.
Khaled misses with a low kick.
Vatali throws a body punch but Khaled moves out of range.
Vatali takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Vatali throws a sloppy body shot
and Khaled connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.

It looks like Joe Vatali has been cut.
A bone on bone clash there as Vatali blocks the leg kick.
Khaled misses with a kick to the body.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Khaled tries to close the distance and clinch up but Vatali swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Khaled connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Vatali shoots in for a double leg but Khaled sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Khaled misses with a low kick as Vatali jumps back.
Vatali looks to score with a jab to the body but Khaled is just out of range.
Vatali shoots in for a takedown but Khaled shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Khaled pivots, looking for a leg kick but Vatali is out of range and Khaled settles back down.
Joe Vatali seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Khaled lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Good standup being displayed there by Khaled as he connects with a hook.
Khaled is looking to slow Vatali down with leg kicks.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Khaled wants to clinch up but Vatali keeps it at a distance.
Vatali takes one to the chin there.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Vatali lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Khaled at a distance.
Vatali misses with a double jab.
Khaled throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.

Khaled drives through and clinches with Vatali against the cage.
Khaled is looking to control Vatali's arms but Vatali gets an underhook and turns him. Now Khaled has his back to the cage.
Vatali stalls.
Vatali changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Khaled fights it off and pushes away nicely.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Joe Vatali. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Vatali rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Khaled moves out of range and avoids them all easily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Khaled throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Some wild striking there from Khaled.
A punch lands to the side of Vatali 's head but he takes it in his stride.

Joe Vatali's cut is getting worse.
Khaled Khaled seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Vatali keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Vatali misses with a few strikes there.

Vatali looking to score a takedown here. Khaled is defending well but Vatali drives through and ends up in Khaled's guard.
Vatali stopping the sweep attempt from Khaled.
Vatali looking to pass the guard.
Vatali postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Khaled looking for a sweep. Not yet Khaled, not yet.
Vatali postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Vatali thows a big elbow that misses.
Vatali missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Vatali trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Vatali wants to control from the top but Khaled keeps moving.
Vatali throwing strikes from guard but Khaled blocks nicely.
Vatali slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Joe Vatali overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Vatali is looking to advance position but Khaled has hit a scissor sweep - now he's on top in mount!
Vatali slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
Vatali trying to control but Khaled postures up.
Vatali gets back to full guard.
Vatali 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.
Khaled postures up in Vatali's guard and throws a big left but Vatali blocks it.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Vatali manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Khaled manages to get himself to full guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Vatali sitting in guard, not really doing much.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Khaled Khaled showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Joe Vatali's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Vatali throws a solid leg kick but Khaled takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Vatali.
Khaled tries to clinch but Vatali is having none of it.

Vatali instigates a clinch.
Khaled tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Vatali tries to land a knee to the head but Khaled blocks with his arms.
Khaled connects with a knee to the head.
Vatali misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Khaled.
Khaled throws a knee to the head but misses.
Khaled is trying to force a seperation but Vatali has the dominant position.
Vatali blocks the elbow strike.
Vatali lands a body shot in the clinch.
Khaled is trying to break the clinch but Vatali is controlling him.
Vatali goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Khaled lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Khaled is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Khaled avoiding damage as Vatali throws knees to the body.
Vatali misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Khaled.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Khaled gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Vatali.
Vatali has Khaled pressed against the cage.
Vatali tries to score a body lock takedown but Khaled shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Khaled throws a knee to the head but misses.
A frustrated look appears on Khaled's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Vatali lands a shoulder strike.
Khaled misses with some punches.
Vatali swings away with an uppercut that misses.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Khaled.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Vatali tries to land knees in the clinch but Khaled avoids the damage to the body.
Vatali tries to land a knee to the head but Khaled blocks with his arms.
Khaled comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Vatali misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Khaled.
A knee to the head by Khaled.

Joe Vatali's cut is bleeding quite badly. He's got to try and protect it.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Khaled stalling the fight.
Vatali using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Khaled has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Khaled blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Khaled tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Khaled is looking to control Vatali's arms but Vatali gets an underhook and turns him. Now Khaled has his back to the cage.
Vatali lands a knee to the head.
Khaled taking a breather.
Khaled just leaning against Vatali, taking a breather.
Vatali landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
A frustrated look appears on Khaled's face as he tries to break the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Khaled blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Khaled tries to land a knee to the head but Vatali blocks with his arms.
Khaled looking to slow down the pace here.
Khaled blocks a body shot from Vatali.
Khaled tries to land a knee to the head but Vatali blocks with his arms.
Vatali working Khaled over with knees to the body.
Khaled prevents a body shot from Vatali.
Khaled tries to land a knee to the head but Vatali blocks with his arms.
Vatali wants a takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Joe Vatali. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Khaled with a knee to the head.
Khaled on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Joe Vatali has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Khaled blocks a body shot from Vatali.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Khaled tries to land a knee to the head but Vatali blocks with his arms.
Khaled wants to break free but Vatali has control.
Vatali blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Vatali is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Khaled with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Vatali lands an uppercut.
Khaled is trying to maintain a safe position but Vatali gets an underhook and turns Khaled into the cage.
Vatali is working for takedown but Khaled is calmly controlling the position for now.
Khaled on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Vatali lands a shoulder strike.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Khaled is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Vatali is keeping busy.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Vatali has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Khaled avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Khaled tries a knee to the head but Vatali blocks it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but Joe Vatali did the better work so I'd imagine he'll take it.
The cut man is working on Joe Vatali's cut.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Vatali blocks a low kick nicely.
Khaled circles away from the clinch attempt.
Khaled lands a leg kick that knocks Vatali off balance momentarily.
Vatali tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Vatali is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Vatali tries to clinch up but Khaled circles away and keeps his distance.
Khaled misses with a looping right.
Vatali slips a straight right by Khaled.
Khaled blocks a head kick by Vatali.
Vatali checks a low kick from Khaled.
Vatali just misses with a punch to the body.
Vatali is looking to wear down Khaled with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Nice cross by Vatali.
Vatali tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Khaled was well out of range. Poor timing from Vatali.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Vatali is defended easily by Khaled.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Khaled misses with a low kick.
Khaled throws a nice outside leg kick.
Vatali swats away the attempt to clinch by Khaled.
Vatali fails in his attempt to clinch.
Vatali tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
It's got to the stage where if one of these guys blows hard enough, the other might fall over.
Khaled throws the left hand but Vatali avoids the punch easily.
Vatali blocks a jab.
Khaled connects with a leg kick. Vatali looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Khaled throws a nice inside leg kick.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Khaled jabs Vatali right on the nose. Vatali blinks but takes it well.
Khaled scoring well with a low kick there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Khaled lands with a thumping leg kick.
Khaled wants to clinch.
Vatali swats away the attempt to clinch by Khaled.
Khaled misses with a few strikes there.
An inside leg kick lands from Khaled.
Khaled throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Vatali.

Vatali bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Vatali is working Khaled over with some ground and pound from side control.
Khaled is looking to regain half guard here but Vatali keeps moving and retains side control.
Khaled managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Vatali.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vatali trying to control the position but Khaled is working away.
Khaled tries to bench press Vatali off him but Vatali keeps the position.
Vatali is chipping away with strikes.
Vatali is putting a hurting on Khaled here, landing some big shots from side control.
Vatali in side control, throwing shots but Khaled defends.
Khaled taking punishment in the form of punches.

Vatali working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Khaled defending against the ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Khaled taking punishment in the form of punches.
Khaled is looking to reverse the position.
Khaled managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Vatali.
Vatali tries to cartwheel into mount but he doesn't manage it.
Khaled manages to work his way to half guard, despite Vatali's best efforts.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Vatali wants to take a breather but Khaled is having none of it.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Vatali working the head and body with strikes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Khaled Khaled dominated that fourth round.
The cut man is working on Joe Vatali's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Khaled throws a nice outside leg kick.
Vatali connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Khaled's hands.
Vatali lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Khaled at a distance.
Khaled tests Vatali's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Vatali tries to clinch up but Khaled circles away and keeps his distance.
Khaled shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Khaled scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
A swing and a miss from Khaled.
Vatali throws a series of punches but Khaled moves out of range.
Vatali pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Khaled back to the cage. Vatali follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Vatali closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Khaled quickly recovers to half guard.
Vatali throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Vatali lands strikes from half guard.
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.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Khaled moves into full guard.
Vatali showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Vatali throws a big right hand that misses.
Khaled looking for a sweep. Not yet Khaled, not yet.
Vatali thows a big elbow that misses.
Vatali looking to sit in guard and control but Khaled gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Vatali looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Vatali working for a triangle but Khaled defends it easily.
Khaled stopping the sweep attempt from Vatali.
Vatali manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vatali tries to control but Khaled wriggling away.
Vatali throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Vatali is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Khaled can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Vatali takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
A nice elbow there by Vatali.
Vatali tries to control but Khaled wriggling away.
Vatali unloading with bombs!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Khaled holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Vatali tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Vatali lands a heavy elbow.

Khaled is rocked!
Vatali looking to finish here with some ground and pound. He lands one big shot that has Khaled covering up... and two more big strikes land, forcing the referee to step in and put and end to proceedings! This fight is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:44 of round 5, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Joe Vatali!
Joe Vatali retains his light heavyweight title!