PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Riad Belhanda (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ricardo Lombard (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Riad Belhanda had a look across the ring there at his opponent. He definitely means business

Belhanda
vs
Lombard

173 cm
23
179 lbs
4 - 4 - 0

178 cm
25
180 lbs
7 - 4 - 0

Dangerous GnP
Great low kicks
Very quick

Good wrestler
Counter fighter
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 4 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Riad Belhanda!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 4 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Ricardo Lombard!
The judges for this bout are Igor Prikhodko, Aleksei Zolotukhin and Aleksandr Martynov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Belhanda tries to land a leg kick but Lombard saw it coming and moves away.
Belhanda connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Belhanda, right into the meat.
Good work by Lombard as he checks the leg kick.
Belhanda fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Lombard misses with a straight right.
Lombard takes a jab right on the kisser.

Belhanda shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Lombard napping and manages to drive through into side control!
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Belhanda working away.
Lombard is looking for a sweep.
Lombard manages to get back to half guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Lombard is looking to improve his position.
Belhanda frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Belhanda thowing shots but they're missing.
Belhanda can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Lombard is looking to escape.
Belhanda cracks Lombard with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Lombard is wriggling around trying to escape.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Belhanda lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Lombard working to try and regain half guard.
Belhanda connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Lombard really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Belhanda trying to control but Lombard is having none of it.
Belhanda controlling the position easily from mount.
Belhanda prevents Lombard from getting the reversal.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lombard bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!

Lombard drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Lombard jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Belhanda controlling the position.
Belhanda utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Belhanda not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Lombard lands a couple of digs.
Lombard tries to free his leg and advance position but Belhanda is retaining full guard.
Belhanda is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Lombard throws an elbow that misses. Belhanda uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Lombard's guard. Nice move by Belhanda!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Belhanda connects with a couple of short punches.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
Lombard lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Belhanda!
This has been an exciting period of action!
Lombard landing strikes from the mount.
Belhanda tries to reverse the position but Lombard maintains control.
Lombard postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Belhanda looks a forlorn figure.
Lombard scoring with strikes but Belhanda is staying in there.
Belhanda manages to regain half guard. Good work.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Lombard throwing shots but Belhanda is blocking nicely.
Lombard is thwarting Belhanda's attempts to control the position.

Lombard seems to be working for a kimura but Belhanda defends the submission attempt.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Riad Belhanda will probably get the nod.
That's time! Belhanda's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Belhanda throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.

Lombard throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Belhanda tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Lombard is in Belhanda's guard.
Lombard loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Belhanda utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Lombard is looking to work some ground and pound but Belhanda has wrist control.
Ricardo Lombard has got the better of the ground game so far.
Lombard throws a big elbow that misses.

Lombard postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Belhanda is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Lombard, into his guard.
Belhanda lands a couple of elbows.
Belhanda preventing the sweep.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Belhanda looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Lombard looking to hit a scissor sweep but Belhanda is one step ahead there.
Belhanda has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

Belhanda got a little sloppy there for a moment and Lombard has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Belhanda has managed to get both his arms back between Lombard's legs - danger averted.
Belhanda throws a strike but Lombard rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

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

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lombard tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Belhanda wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Lombard regains half guard.
Belhanda is looking to stall here but Lombard recovers full guard.
Lombard is trying to keep Belhanda in close.
Belhanda won't allow Lombard to sweep him here.
Belhanda pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Lombard is keeping the position for now.
Belhanda stopping the sweep attempt from Lombard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Belhanda trying to control but Lombard is working from the bottom.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Lombard 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.
Lombard preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Belhanda wants to control from the top but Lombard keeps moving.

Riad Belhanda has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Lombard keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lombard tries for a takedown but Belhanda sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Belhanda looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Lombard lands with a good body shot.
Lombard tries to score with a low kick but Belhanda moves his leg out of the way.
Belhanda chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Belhanda misses with a takedown attempt - Lombard sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Lombard thows a left - swing and a miss!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Lombard shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ricardo Lombard showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Belhanda.
The fighters circling - Lombard throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Lombard ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Belhanda's corner calls for a 1-2. Belhanda obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Belhanda uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Lombard.
Good shot there by Belhanda.
Ooooh, nice body kick lands from Belhanda. Lombard shrugs it off though.
Belhanda jabs Lombard to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Lombard takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
A chopping leg kick lands by Belhanda.
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!
Lombard displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Belhanda throws out the jab.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Belhanda swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Decent striking displayed by Belhanda there.
Lombard throws a big shot that misses.
Belhanda moves into range and lands a nice body kick.
Belhanda misses with a head kick.
Belhanda connects with a right hand. Lombard shakes it off.

It looks like Ricardo Lombard has been cut.
Belhanda with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Lombard throws a lazy right hand but Belhanda sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Lombard misses with a left hand
and Belhanda counters with a low kick, right behind Lombard 's knee.
Belhanda lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
A punch combination from Belhanda misses.
Riad Belhanda seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Belhanda uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Lombard.

Belhanda closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Lombard's guard.
Belhanda stopping the sweep attempt from Lombard.
Lombard keeping moving, preventing Belhanda from controlling successfully.
Belhanda preventing the sweep.
Belhanda pushing down on Lombard's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Lombard regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Belhanda.
Belhanda stopping the sweep attempt from Lombard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lombard wants to hit a switch here but Belhanda passes into full mount! Oh no, disaster for Lombard there!
Belhanda is landing with some decent strikes but Lombard is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Lombard is squirming around, avoiding Belhanda's attempts to control the action.
Lombard sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.
Lombard is trying to control but can't.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lombard moves into full guard.
Belhanda controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Lombard wants to sweep here but Belhanda controlling him for the moment.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Belhanda looking to sit in guard and control but Lombard gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

And that's the end of the fight!
Riad Belhanda showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Belhanda has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Igor Prikhodko scores the fight for Riad Belhanda!
Judge Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight for Riad Belhanda!
Judge Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight for Riad Belhanda!

Riad Belhanda wins by unanimous decision!