PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Lorik Kabashi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Gabriel Correia (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Lorik Kabashi could well score a knockout today. He has the power to get to Gabriel Correia's chin.

Kabashi
vs
Correia

185 cm
20
185 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

181 cm
18
185 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Big heart

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Tends to cut

Dragon

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Lorik Kabashi!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Gabriel Correia!
The judges for this bout are Alexandre Firmino, Mauricio Rocha and Matheus Silva.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Kabashi checks a leg kick.

Kabashi gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Correia sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Correia trying to stand up but can't free himself from Kabashi's guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Correia pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Kabashi is keeping the position for now.

Correia decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Kabashi, up you get!

Correia moves into the clinch.
Kabashi unloads a knee to the mid-section. Correia lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Correia tries to stall but Kabashi uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Correia is looking to take this one to the mat.
Nice elbow from Kabashi.

It looks like Gabriel Correia has been cut.
Kabashi tries to land a knee to the head but misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Correia can't break the clinch.
Kabashi utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Kabashi is breathing heavily.
Nice elbow from Kabashi.
Kabashi using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Correia has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Kabashi wants to stall.
Kabashi is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Kabashi pushes off an throws an elbow but Correia leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Kabashi crunches a lovely knee into Correia's ribcage.
Correia dodges an elbow strike from Kabashi.
Correia avoiding damage as Kabashi throws knees to the body.
Correia is trying to break the clinch but Kabashi has him pressed against the cage.

Correia has Kabashi pressed up against the cage. He's trying to work for a single leg takedown. Correia pulls back from the cage and twists to the side, sending Kabashi tumbling to the mat - Correia dives into Kabashi's guard.
Correia is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Correia tries to free his leg and advance position but Kabashi is retaining full guard.
Kabashi keeping moving, preventing Correia from controlling successfully.
Correia 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.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Gabriel Correia hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.

Kabashi pushes Correia up against the cage in a clinch.
Kabashi throws an elbow but it's blocked.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Kabashi just misses with a elbow thrown towards Correia's brow.

Correia breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

The fight moves into the clinch position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Correia has had enough of the clinch but Kabashi keeps him there for the moment.
Correia tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Kabashi lands a nice elbow.
Kabashi throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Correia fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Lorik Kabashi has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Gabriel Correia.
Kabashi using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Correia has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Correia tries to land knees in the clinch but Kabashi avoids the damage to the body.
Correia avoids the elbow strike from Kabashi, against the cage.
Correia goes for a takedown in the clinch but Kabashi prevents it.
Kabashi comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Correia tries to pull guard but Kabashi holds him up against the cage and eventually Correia drops back down to his feet.
Correia is looking to break free of the clinch but Kabashi has double underhooks.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Correia displaying some good clinch control by pressing Kabashi up against the cage.
Kabashi throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Correia blocks an elbow strike.
Kabashi lands an elbow inside that Correia shrugs off.
Correia has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Kabashi after a bit of a struggle.
Kabashi has Correia pressed against the cage, preventing Correia from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
With the fighters up against the cage, Kabashi throws an elbow but misses.
Kabashi working Correia over with knees to the body.
Correia blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Correia pulls guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Kabashi wants to stand but Correia has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Correia is adopting a defensive guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Gabriel Correia will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Gabriel Correia's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Correia looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Correia circles away from the clinch attempt.
Kabashi fails to land with a series of punches.

Kabashi gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Correia is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Kabashi tries to land a knee to the head but misses.

Correia gets control of Kabashi's arms and successfully pulls guard. Correia will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Kabashi won't allow Correia to sweep him here.
Correia is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Kabashi preventing the sweep.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Correia throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.

Correia wriggles free and stands up.
Kabashi is looking to clinch but Correia is avoiding it.

Correia clinches.
Correia blocks the elbow strike.
Correia is looking to break free of the clinch but Kabashi has double underhooks.
Correia blocks an elbow strike from Kabashi.
Correia looking to stall.
Correia wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Correia is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Kabashi throws an elbow but it's blocked.

Correia ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Correia no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Correia has a closed guard, preventing Kabashi from standing up.
Correia wants to stand and escape but Kabashi is having none of it.
Kabashi is looking to stand up but Correia won't let him.
Correia is trying to control the position but Kabashi postures up.
Correia bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Kabashi's guard.
Correia passes Kabashi's right leg, so he's now in half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kabashi tries to kick Correia off but Correia keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Correia tries to pass the half guard into mount. Kabashi knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Correia moves into full mount! Kabashi won't be happy about that!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Correia looking to control but Kabashi is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Kabashi knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Correia on the ground.
Correia takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Correia wants to control the pace but Kabashi is squirming around nicely.
Correia lands a big shot there that rocks Kabashi but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Correia can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Kabashi is looking to escape.
Correia controlling from the full mount.
Correia wants to control the pace but Kabashi is squirming around nicely.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Kabashi working to try and regain half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gabriel Correia showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Gabriel Correia's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. And we move into the final round!

Kabashi doesn't manage to clinch there - Correia circles away.

Correia gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Correia with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Kabashi on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Correia tries to throw a body punch but Kabashi avoids it by throwing Correia back against the cage.
Correia jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Kabashi walks away with a smile on his face. Correia gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Kabashi tries to clinch up.
Lorik Kabashi seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Kabashi closes the distance and clinches.
Correia wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Kabashi has him pressed against the cage.
Kabashi misses with an elbow over the top.
Correia blocks the elbow strike.
Kabashi scores a nice knee to the body.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Correia is trying to pull guard but Kabashi turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Kabashi is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Correia is defending well for now.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Correia is trying to break the clinch but Kabashi has him pressed against the cage.
Correia wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Kabashi has him pressed against the cage.
Kabashi tries to land a knee to the head but Correia blocks with his arms.
Good body shot from Correia.
Correia is trying to break the clinch but Kabashi has him pressed against the cage.
Correia has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Kabashi avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Lorik Kabashi has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Gabriel Correia.
Correia jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Kabashi walks away with a smile on his face. Correia gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Kabashi displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Correia.
Correia rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Kabashi moves out of range and avoids them all easily.

Kabashi moves into the clinch.
Kabashi creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Correia's defenses.
Kabashi lands an elbow just above Correia 's eye.
Correia wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kabashi lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Kabashi misses with an elbow over the top.
A frustrated look appears on Correia's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Correia is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Kabashi pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Kabashi landing knees to the body.
Kabashi gets underhooks to prevent Correia's takedown attempt.
Knees in the clinch landing for Kabashi.
Correia takes a knee right on the jaw!
Correia is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Knees to the body from Kabashi.
With the fighters up against the cage, Kabashi throws an elbow but misses.
Kabashi avoids a wild elbow strike from Correia.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Correia has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Kabashi after a bit of a struggle.
Correia wants to break free but Kabashi has control.
Knees to the body from Kabashi.
Correia is trying to pull guard but Kabashi has him pressed against the cage.
Correia takes a knee to the side of the body.
Kabashi lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Correia avoids a wild elbow strike from Kabashi.
Correia tries to land a knee to the head but Kabashi blocks with his arms.
Kabashi misses with a knee to the head.
Correia wants to take the fight to the mat but Kabashi manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
Kabashi connects with a knee to the head.
Kabashi misses with a knee strike.
Kabashi with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Correia wants to get back to striking at distance but Kabashi won't allow it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Correia has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Kabashi uses from the top position.
Kabashi wanted to stand there but Correia had control of the position.
Correia looking to hit a scissor sweep but Kabashi is one step ahead there.
Kabashi tries to stand but Correia is controlling from the bottom.
Lorik Kabashi has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Correia trying to control the position here.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Lorik Kabashi.
I think Correia has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Alexandre Firmino scores the fight 28:29
Judge Mauricio Rocha scores the fight 28:29
Judge Matheus Silva scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Gabriel Correia!
Gabriel Correia took some time post fight to say the following; 'I wanna thank everyone: GOD, my team, my sponsors, my family... Everyone who are here. Thank you!'.