PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Ting Yan Wang (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Karim Chamakh (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Wang's entrance music is Minority - Green Day. A fine choice. Chamakh has chosen Robyn - Indestructible as his entrance music. Rumors backstage are that the fighters have been paid to keep it standing but we know that would never happen in MMA!

Yan Wang
vs
Chamakh

185 cm
32
195 lbs
27 - 14 - 1

168 cm
31
160 lbs
32 - 16 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Olympic wrestler
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

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 27 - 14 - 1, fighting out of St Petersburg, Ting Yan Wang!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 32 - 16 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Karim Chamakh!
The judges for this bout are Johanna Lukiainen, Tarja Halkonen and Ben Zyskovitsi.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Wang scores with a nice right hand.
Chamakh blocks a head kick by Wang.
Wang swings for the body but Chamakh moves out of range.
Chamakh on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.

It looks like Karim Chamakh has been cut.
Chamakh closes this distance looking for a takedown but Wang circles away.
Wang looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Wang just misses with a punch to the body.
Wang thows a body shot but no joy.
Wang looks to score with a jab to the body but Chamakh is just out of range.
Chamakh keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Wang.
Wang scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Chamakh avoids a punch combination nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Chamakh keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Wang.
Wang misses with a lunging right hand

and Chamakh counters with a takedown into side control.
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.
Sloppy strikes there by Chamakh.
Wang wants to get back to his feet but Chamakh drags him back down.
Chamakh in side control lands a decent elbow.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Wang wants to get back to his feet.
Chamakh looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Wang is avoiding damage well.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Wang wants to control but Chamakh postures up.
Wang is trying to get back to half guard.
Chamakh misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Chamakh in side control, just content to control the action for now.
Wang tries to improve position but can't.
Chamakh working the ground and pound but Wang is defending the strikes.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Chamakh works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
Chamakh is looking to take a break and control but Wang is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Wang is looking for a sweep.
Chamakh in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Chamakh working the head and body with strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Chamakh postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Chamakh throwing strikes but missing, from side control.
Chamakh controls the position from side control.
Chamakh fails to land a wild elbow strike.
Wang pushes Chamakh away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Chamakh gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.
Chamakh trying to control the position but Wang is working away.
Wang is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Chamakh is controlling him well.
Chamakh trying to control the action but Wang is working from the bottom.
Chamakh lands a decent elbow from side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wang is looking to reverse the position.
Chamakh is working Wang over with some ground and pound from side control.
Chamakh working the ground and pound from side control.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Wang is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Chamakh's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.

Wang has one foot on Chamakh's thigh - he pushes off and manages to get back to his feet.
Wang punishes Chamakh's body with a nice straight punch.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Wang misses with a straight left.
Chamakh ducks under a wild hook from Wang.
Wang lands a head kick!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Karim Chamakh will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Karim Chamakh's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Wang misses with a hook.
Wang throws a sloppy head kick and Chamakh moves out of range easily.
Wang goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Ting Yan Wang seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Wang lands a leg kick that knocks Chamakh off balance momentarily.
Wang throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Chamakh moves out of range of the body kick from Wang.
Wang throws a big shot that misses.
Chamakh avoids the head kick by Wang.
Wang shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
A shot to the body from Wang misses

so Chamakh counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Wang is looking to sweep but instead, Chamakh has passed into half guard.
Wang is not content to let Chamakh control the position.
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Chamakh working his ground and pound in the gym.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Chamakh lands a nice short elbow.
Chamakh lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Wang has hold of Chamakh's hands but Chamakh slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Chamakh sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Wang defending well though.
Wang wants to improve his position but Chamakh is controlling well.
Chamakh has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Chamakh sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Wang defending well though.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wang blocking the ground and pound attempt from Chamakh.
Chamakh wants to pass to mount but Wang is defending the position.
Chamakh thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Chamakh takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Chamakh thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Wang is trying to stand up here but Chamakh is controlling him well.
Chamakh seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Wang trying to control from the bottom.
Wang is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Chamakh scores with a couple of nice shots.
Wang avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Chamakh.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Chamakh is controlling the pace.
Chamakh working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Karim Chamakh has got the better of the ground game so far.
Ground and pound from Chamakh.
Chamakh lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Chamakh wants to take a breather but Wang is having none of it.
Chamakh lands with a punch from half guard.
Chamakh sitting and controlling from the half guard.
The step up in weight doesn't seem to be a problem for Chamakh. He's performing admirably here against the bigger man.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Chamakh thows a huge punch but Wang dodges it nicely.
Chamakh wants to control but Wang is keeping him busy.
Chamakh thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Wang's head.
Chamakh wants to lay and pray for a moment but Wang keeps working.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Chamakh throwing shots but Wang is blocking nicely.
Chamakh wants to lay and pray for a moment but Wang keeps working.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Wang wants to get back to his feet.
Wang has hold of Chamakh's hands but Chamakh slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Karim Chamakh showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Karim Chamakh'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. This is the final round!

Wang uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Chamakh has time to react.
Wang throws a jab but it's blocked by Chamakh.
We've been told by Wang's head coaches at Elite MMA Gym that he's been working on his takedown defense in preparation for this fight.
Wang misses with a body punch

so Chamakh counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Chamakh throwing strikes but missing.
Chamakh connects with a couple of short punches.
Chamakh scoring with some ground and pound.
Wang keeping moving, preventing Chamakh from controlling successfully.
Wang 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.
Wang can't keep his opponent in guard - Chamakh advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Wang is looking to escape.
Chamakh looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Chamakh working the head and body with strikes.
Chamakh thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Wang's head.
Chamakh misses with a head shot. Wang uses the momentum to regain guard.
Wang is trying to control the position but Chamakh postures up.
Wang looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Chamakh accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Chamakh wants to control from the top but Wang keeps moving.
Wang wants to stand but Chamakh is controlling the position.
Chamakh content to stall in guard here.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Wang throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Wang lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Wang is looking to chop away at Chamakh's legs.
Chamakh slips a jab from Wang.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Wang misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Chamakh.
Chamakh avoids the body shot from Wang.
Wang throws a body kick that digs right into the meat.
Wang misses with a head kick.
Wang throws a big shot that misses.
Wang misses with a shot to the body

and Chamakh counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Wang is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Chamakh scores with a couple of nice shots.
Chamakh sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Wang defending well though.
Chamakh throws a big elbow that misses, also allowing Wang to regain full guard.
Chamakh postures up in Wang's guard and throws a big left but Wang blocks it.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Wang 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.
Karim Chamakh 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.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Chamakh's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Wang is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Chamakh controlling from the top position.
Wang trying to control the position.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Chamakh sitting in guard here, content to control.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Chamakh trying to control the position from guard on top but Wang is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

And that's the end of the fight!
Karim Chamakh comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Chamakh 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 Johanna Lukiainen scores the fight 27:30
Judge Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 27:30
Judge Ben Zyskovitsi scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Karim Chamakh!