PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Khalifa Khalifa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Anthony Ellison (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Khalifa's entrance music is Random Arab Music. A fine choice. Man, I cannot wait for this one!

Khalifa
vs
Ellison

190 cm
31
205 lbs
15 - 9 - 0

189 cm
36
215 lbs
13 - 17 - 1

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Experienced

BJJ Blue Belt
Good kicks
Granite chin

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 15 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Khalifa Khalifa!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 13 - 17 - 1, fighting out of Sydney, Anthony Ellison!
The judges for this bout are Damien Edna, Eliza Hachem and John Mangel.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Ellison gets caught flat footed, as Khalifa shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Ellison looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Khalifa content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Khalifa with a flurry of punches that miss.
Khalifa postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Khalifa working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Khalifa working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
We've been hearing that Khalifa has been drilling a lot of ground and pound in training, so let's see if he get the finish.
Ellison is looking to stand up but Khalifa isn't so interested in that idea.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Ellison preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Khalifa postures up and lands a big shot to Ellison's brow.
Khalifa working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Khalifa slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Khalifa postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ellison is looking for a sweep.
Khalifa scoring with punches from side control.
Ellison managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Khalifa.
Khalifa 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.
Ellison is trying to improve his position.
Ellison is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Khalifa working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
Ellison is not content to let Khalifa control the position.
Khalifa scores with punches from side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Khalifa prevents Ellison from escaping the position.
Khalifa throwing strikes but missing, from side control.
Ellison is looking for a sweep.
Ellison is not content to let Khalifa control the position.
Ellison seems a little lost for a moment, as Khalifa dominates the positioning.
Khalifa trying to control the action but Ellison is working from the bottom.
Ellison is looking for a sweep.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ellison is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
Khalifa works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
Khalifa scoring with punches and elbows.
Ellison is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Khalifa asserts his dominance and retains side control.
Khalifa working the ground and pound.
Khalifa is chipping away with strikes.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Khalifa lands a decent elbow from side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Khalifa working the ground and pound.

Khalifa is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Ellison is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Khalifa trying to control the action but Ellison is working from the bottom.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Khalifa cracks Ellison with a big elbow.
Khalifa scores with punches from side control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Khalifa Khalifa dominated that round.
That's time! Khalifa's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Ellison misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Khalifa takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.

Ellison gets caught napping as Khalifa dives in and scores a takedown. Ellison manages to retain guard.
Khalifa controls from within his opponent's guard.
Khalifa wants to control from the top but Ellison keeps moving.
Ellison really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Khalifa. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Ellison wants to get back to his feet but Khalifa is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Khalifa engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Khalifa postures up and lands a big shot to Ellison's brow.
Ellison is looking to stand back up but Khalifa counters by passing into half guard. Oops... bit sloppy there by Ellison.
Ellison tries to get to full guard but Khalifa has control of the leg.
Khalifa working over Ellison with some ground and pound. Ellison looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Ellison pushes Khalifa off looking to stand but Khalifa dives back in and keeps control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Khalifa slips a nice elbow through Ellison's hands, connecting with Ellison's forehead.
Khalifa scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Khalifa scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Khalifa Khalifa overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Khalifa is taking a breather. Ellison says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.

Khalifa is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Ellison doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Khalifa.
Ellison preventing any damage for now, controlling his opponent's head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Khalifa seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Ellison is looking to get back to is feet but Khalifa passes into side control.
Khalifa content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.
Khalifa is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Ellison can do to turn this around?
Khalifa lands a few punches from side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ellison is looking to regain half guard here but Khalifa keeps moving and retains side control.
Ellison on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
Khalifa lands a few punches from side control.
Khalifa lands an elbow.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Khalifa looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Ellison is avoiding damage well.
Khalifa cracks Ellison with a big elbow.
Ellison on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Khalifa lands a nice forearm strike.
Ellison is trying to get back to half guard.
Khalifa lands an elbow.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Khalifa Khalifa dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Ellison moves in looking to clinch but Khalifa pushes him off.
Khalifa tries to score a power double leg takedown but Ellison sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Khalifa somewhat.
Khalifa shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Ellison sprawls well. Ellison wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Khalifa gets slowly back to his feet.
Khalifa misses with a combination
and Ellison counters with a two punch combo.
Ellison fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Khalifa avoids it really well and circles away.
No luck for Khalifa with that takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Khalifa Khalifa. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Khalifa is trying hard to land a takedown here. Ellison sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Khalifa shoots in for a takedown but Ellison shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Khalifa fails with the takedown.

Khalifa darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Ellison wants to stand back up but Khalifa manages to pass into side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Khalifa cracks Ellison with a big elbow.
Khalifa wants to lay and pray for a moment but Ellison keeps working.
Khalifa scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Ellison to see if he's OK.
Khalifa advances to full mount.
Anthony Ellison has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Khalifa looking to control but Ellison is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Khalifa landing punches.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Khalifa sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Khalifa punishing his opponent with strikes.
Khalifa lands a heavy elbow.
Ellison trying desperately to get to his feet.
Khalifa lands with some strikes.
Khalifa lands a nice shot to the head.
Khalifa putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Khalifa lands a big shot there that rocks Ellison but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Khalifa scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Ellison takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Khalifa landing punches.
A nice elbow there by Khalifa.
Khalifa has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Ellison's face.
BOOM! Khalifa connects with a massive shot to the dome!

Ellison is rocked!
Khalifa loads up on a couple of big shots to the head that have Ellison scrambling to escape. He can't get free though and several more unanswered shots from Khalifa land to the head. The referee has no choice but to stop the fight. Khalifa stands and salutes the crowd.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:48 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Khalifa Khalifa!
Our winner, Khalifa Khalifa, made sure he spent some time buttering up the crowd during his post fight interview, which will no doubt bring him a few more fans.