PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Ilham Aliyev (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mario Pepe (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Aliyev comes to the cage accompanied by Hollywood Undead - Sell Your Soul. Ilham Aliyev is staring across the cage at his opponent, tweaking his nipples... Tweaking his own nipples that is.

Aliyev
vs
Pepe

185 cm
34
185 lbs
22 - 10 - 2

185 cm
26
180 lbs
8 - 4 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Very strong

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 22 - 10 - 2, fighting out of Amsterdam, Ilham Aliyev!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Mario Pepe!
The judges for this bout are Paulsen Ambrosius, Paul Aken and Radbod Blank.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Aliyev shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Pepe pinned against the cage. Pepe gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Pepe displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Aliyev throws out the jab.
Aliyev fails with the takedown.
Some wild striking there from Pepe.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Aliyev looks for a takedown but Pepe sprawls well.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ilham Aliyev. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Pepe misses with a wild body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pepe misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Aliyev.

Aliyev gets a double leg takedown into Pepe's guard.
Aliyev working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Aliyev is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Aliyev 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.
Aliyev 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.
Aliyev in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Aliyev postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Pepe really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Aliyev. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Pepe wants to stand up but Aliyev is controlling him.
Aliyev trying to control the position from guard on top but Pepe is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Aliyev cracks Pepe with a solid left hand.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Pepe wants to control but Aliyev passes easily into half guard.

Aliyev is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Pepe has hold of Aliyev's hands but Aliyev slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Aliyev throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.

Aliyev is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Aliyev connects with a nice short shot to Pepe's temple.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Aliyev sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Pepe defending well though.

Aliyev is working for a submission of some sort.
Aliyev not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Pepe keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Aliyev thows a huge punch but Pepe dodges it nicely.
Aliyev working over Pepe with some ground and pound. Pepe looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Aliyev missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Pepe is trying to stand up here but Aliyev is controlling him well.
Aliyev not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Aliyev throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Aliyev prevents Pepe from standing back up.
Aliyev working over Pepe with some ground and pound. Pepe looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Aliyev winds up and cracks Pepe with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Aliyev lands strikes from half guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Aliyev takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Aliyev throwing shots but Pepe is blocking nicely.
Aliyev lands with a punch from half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ilham Aliyev 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.

Aliyev works Pepe's body with a nice hook.
Pepe blocks a jab.
Pepe swings for the body but Aliyev moves out of range.

Aliyev scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Aliyev working the ground and pound.

Aliyev looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
The strikes coming from Aliyev are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
Aliyev fails to land a wild elbow strike.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Aliyev is putting a hurting on Pepe here, landing some big shots from side control.
Pepe avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Aliyev.
Pepe dodges the ground and pound from Aliyev.
Pepe regains half guard, as Aliyev was trying to land strikes.

Aliyev is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Aliyev throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Aliyev with the ground and pound but Pepe uses the opportunity to regain guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Aliyev keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Pepe's head.
Aliyev throws a big right hand that misses.
Aliyev trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Aliyev postures up in Pepe's guard and throws a big left but Pepe blocks it.
Aliyev tries to free his leg and advance position but Pepe is retaining full guard.
Aliyev content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Aliyev is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Aliyev throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Ilham Aliyev overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Pepe keeping moving, preventing Aliyev from controlling successfully.
Aliyev working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pepe avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Aliyev is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Pepe can do to turn this around?

Pepe pushes Aliyev off and gets back to his feet.
Pepe throws a poor cross that misses

and Aliyev moves into the clinch.
Pepe is trying to force a seperation but Aliyev has the dominant position.

Pepe escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Both fighters are looking to counter, which isn't making for the most exciting fight in the world.
Pepe slaps away a takedown attempt from Aliyev, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Aliyev shoots in and drives through. Pepe sprawls well.
No joy there for Pepe, who threw a few shots but didn't land.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pepe throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Aliyev jabs Pepe to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Pepe connects with a looping right hand.
Aliyev misses with a takedown attempt - Pepe sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ilham Aliyev. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Aliyev shoots in but no luck this time.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
A combination from Pepe does no damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ilham Aliyev dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Pepe throws a big shot that misses.
Aliyev changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Pepe tries to avoid it but Aliyev manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Pepe to the ground. Pepe escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Pepe lands a jab to Aliyev's midsection.
Aliyev fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Pepe tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Aliyev was well out of range. Poor timing from Pepe.
Good exchange - Aliyev coming out on top.

Aliyev throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Pepe was covering up waiting for the punch and Aliyev finishes the takedown easily into guard.

Aliyev drops back, looking for a kneebar! Pepe looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Pepe looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Pepe!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pepe tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
Pepe postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Pepe throwing shots but missing, from side control.
Pepe working the ground and pound but Aliyev is defending the strikes.
Aliyev regains half guard, as Pepe was trying to land strikes.
Aliyev keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Aliyev is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Pepe's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Pepe's back!
Aliyev thows a huge left but connects with the canvas and not his opponent.

Pepe defends a rear naked choke attempt by controlling one of Aliyev's arms.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pepe has the hand control, trying to stop the rear naked choke.
Aliyev throwing wild punches that miss their target.
Pepe is in a world of trouble here. He's outmatched on the ground here and he'd better get Aliyev off his back sharpish unless he wants to be submitted.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
The crowd hopeful of a finish here - Aliyev's supporters are on their feet, screaming for him to go for the rear naked choke.
Aliyev softening up his opponent with strikes here.

Pepe is displaying good submission defense - not really looking in danger of submitting to the rear naked choke at the moment. That could change in an instant of course if Aliyev gets his way!

Aliyev is working for a rear naked choke. Pepe is not defending it well and Aliyev has tightened it up quickly! This could be all over! Pepe refuses to tap and goes to sleep, forcing the referee to intervene. A little trickle of blood came out of Pepe's nose as his head slumped to the floor. That is naaaasty!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:56 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (RNC). Ilham Aliyev!
A relieved looking Ilham Aliyev thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.