PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Amir Halilov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rafael Martinez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd seem to be enjoying Martinez's choice of entrance music: Juicy. The crowd giving both fighters a great reception on their way into the arena. That's good to see.

Halilov
vs
Martinez

191 cm
28
207 lbs
9 - 5 - 0

196 cm
24
223 lbs
9 - 2 - 1

Good takedowns
Counter striker
Cardio machine

ADCC Champion
World class boxer
Heavy handed

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 9 - 5 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Amir Halilov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 2 - 1, fighting out of St Petersburg, Rafael Martinez!
The judges for this bout are Dmitry Maklakov, Aleksandr Martynov and Valeri Chadov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Martinez lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Martinez lands a jab-cross combination.
Martinez stalks Halilov and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Halilov's face. Halilov staggers backwards, shaken.

It looks like Amir Halilov has been cut.
Martinez throws a right and a left that both miss.
Martinez throws a right and a left that Halilov avoids nicely.
Martinez lands a head shot.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Martinez lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Halilov slips a jab and a cross from Martinez.
Martinez throws out a powerful jab.
Halilov shoots in and drives through. Martinez sprawls well.
Martinez thuds a left hand into Halilov's body.
Martinez lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Halilov takes a jab right on the kisser.
Martinez takes a swing at Halilov's ribcage but misses.
Halilov with a poor takedown
and Martinez connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Martinez is working the combinations to good effect here.
No joy there for Martinez, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Halilov circles away from the clinch attempt.
Martinez throws out a loose jab but Halilov uses good head movement to avoid it.
Rafael Martinez seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Martinez darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Halilov regains full guard. Nicely done.
Halilov seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Halilov has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Halilov is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

We're going to have a standup here because Amir Halilov wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Halilov dodges the punch combination from Martinez.
Halilov tries for a takedown but Martinez sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Amir Halilov. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Martinez works the jab nicely.
Martinez connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Halilov's hands.
Martinez connects with a body shot that sends Halilov's belly button to the back.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Martinez swinging wildly here.
Martinez looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.

Martinez looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Halilov is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Halilov avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Martinez stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Halilov swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Halilov is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

We're going to have a standup here because Amir Halilov wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Martinez misses with a wild body shot.
A punch lands to the side of Halilov 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Halilov with a poor takedown
letting Martinez counter with a right hand.

Halilov shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Martinez manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Halilov stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Martinez swivels though and keeps the full guard.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Martinez controls Halilov momentarily but Halilov frees himself.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Halilov wants to control from the top but Martinez keeps moving.
Halilov is really struggling to control Martinez but he's trying to hold on to the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rafael Martinez dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Amir Halilov's cut.
That's time! Halilov's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Martinez takes the fight into the clinch.
Martinez misses with a knee to the head.

Martinez breaks the clinch.
Halilov shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Martinez connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Martinez fails in his attempt to clinch.
Martinez with a body punch. A glancing blow.
A nice combination there by Martinez.
Martinez thows a body shot but no joy.
Rafael Martinez seems to be getting the better of the standup.
A swing and a miss from Martinez.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Martinez lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
Martinez scores with a crisp jab that stopped Halilov in his tracks.
Halilov fails with a takedown attempt.
Martinez jabs at Halilov's body.
Halilov walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Halilov moves out of range as Martinez strikes.
Martinez looks to land a left hand but Halilov moved out of range nicely.
No joy there for Martinez, who threw a few shots but didn't land.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Halilov closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
The fighters circling - Martinez throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Amir Halilov is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Martinez throws a jab but it's blocked by Halilov.

Martinez takes the fight into the clinch.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Halilov goes for a takedown attempt but Martinez pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Amir Halilov. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Martinez lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Martinez throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Halilov.
Halilov shoots and misses
and Martinez counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Halilov slips a straight right by Martinez.
Halilov avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Martinez swings widly with a right hand

and Halilov counters with a single leg into guard. Martinez didn't expect that.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Halilov wants to pass the guard but Martinez is keeping the position.
Halilov trying to control but Martinez is working from the bottom.
Halilov has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Martinez wants to stand up but Halilov is controlling him.

Halilov got a little sloppy there for a moment and Martinez has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Halilov has managed to get both his arms back between Martinez's legs - danger averted.
Martinez is breathing heavily.
Martinez is pulling down on Halilov's head. It's preventing any offense from Halilov, at least for the moment.
Martinez working a defensive guard here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Martinez 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.

Martinez looking for a guillotine here but Halilov defends easily.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Martinez can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Halilov controls the pace.

Martinez looking for a guillotine here but Halilov defends easily.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Halilov wants to control from the top but Martinez keeps moving.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rafael Martinez showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Amir Halilov's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Halilov looks for a takedown but Martinez sprawls well.
Martinez throws a shot to the body.
Martinez takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Martinez is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Halilov.
Decent striking displayed by Martinez there.
Martinez fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
A left and a right from Martinez both land. Nice combination.
Halilov shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Halilov slips a jab and a cross from Martinez.
Halilov keeps the fight on the outside.

Halilov shoots in and bounces Martinez off the ropes to secure the takedown into guard.
Halilov trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Halilov pushes down on Martinez's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Halilov wants to lay and pray for a moment but Martinez keeps working.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Martinez wants to control but Halilov is keeping busy and won't allow it.

Halilov is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Martinez wants to get back to full guard.

Martinez looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Martinez takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Halilov is keen to just control but Martinez is a slippery customer.
Martinez trying to control from the bottom.

Martinez looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Halilov moves nicely into side control.

Halilov is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Martinez has escaped the position, nice work there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Halilov trying to control the action but Martinez is working from the bottom.

Halilov tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Halilov has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Halilov trying to control the position but Martinez is working away.
Martinez can't do much from the bottom here.

Halilov goes for an armbar! This could be all over! Wait, no, Martinez rolls with the submission and now he's on top in Halilov's guard! Nice work there by Martinez!
Rafael Martinez is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Martinez tries to free his leg and advance position but Halilov is retaining full guard.
Martinez trying to control the position from guard on top but Halilov is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Martinez sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Martinez is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Martinez showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Halilov working a defensive guard here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Martinez wants to control from the top but Halilov keeps moving.
Amir Halilov has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Martinez throws a series of strikes that have Halilov backpedaling.

And that's the end of the fight!
Rafael Martinez comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Martinez winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 27:30
Judge Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight 27:30
Judge Valeri Chadov scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rafael Martinez!