PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Ilya Messer (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and James Alan (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Well, I have no idea who's going to take this one!

Messer
vs
Alan

169 cm
17
165 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

165 cm
18
155 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
Big heart

BJJ Brown Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

Fighters First Nutrition Amsterdam 160

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Ilya Messer!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, James Alan!
The judges for this bout are Paul Aken, Patrick Alders and Daniel Blasius.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Alan shoots in but no luck this time.
Messer scoring well with a low kick there.
Messer lands with a nice body kick.
Alan wants to clinch
and Messer makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Messer throws a leg kick which misses Alan's front leg but catches the back leg as Alan tries to avoid it.
Alan closes the distance and clinches up with Messer, looking for a takedown. Alan pushes Messer against the cage but Messer circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Messer scores with a push kick.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Messer.
Messer throws a nice outside leg kick.
Messer scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
A nice combination there by Messer.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Alan tries to bum rush Messer with a series of wild strikes but Messer uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Messer jabs Alan to the body, keeping him at a distance.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Alan takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Messer feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Alan's calf.

Messer tries to keep at a distance but Alan has taken the fight into the clinch.
I was talking to Messer's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.
Alan is looking to control Messer's arms but Messer gets an underhook and turns him. Now Alan has his back to the cage.
A hook to the body from Messer.
Alan fails to pull guard.
Ilya Messer has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of James Alan.
Messer keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Alan's efforts to push away.
Messer is struggling to control the position.
A short left from Messer.
Messer is defending well against a takedown attempt.

Messer has double underhooks and is working for a body lock takedown. He's got it. The fighters land in half guard but Alan regains guard immediately.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Alan is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Messer looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Messer tries to free his leg and advance position but Alan is retaining full guard.
Alan wants to get back to his feet but Messer is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Alan being controlled here, momentarily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

James Alan has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Messer fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Messer throws a quick inside leg kick.
James Alan seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Messer lands a nice hook to Alan's body. Alan takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Messer fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Alan looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Messer scores with a head kick. Alan tried to block it but didn't get his arm up in time.
Alan misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Messer lands a nice looking kick to the body. Alan takes a step back to recover.
Alan's coach down at Smash Brothers was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on Alan's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.
Alan throws a sloppy head kick and Messer moves out of range easily.
Messer cracks a nice hook into Alan's ribs.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Messer keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Messer scores with a jab to the head.
Alan misses with a takedown attempt
and Messer counters with a nice body kick.
Messer jabs Alan to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Messer lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Alan closes the distance but Messer moves to the side
and Messer counters with an outside leg kick.
Messer ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
A nice leg kick lands there from Messer.
Alan throws a sloppy head kick and Messer moves out of range easily.
Alan throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ilya Messer dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Alan with a poor takedown
and Messer counters with an outside leg kick.
Alan takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Messer cracks Alan with a good jab.
Nice jab there from Messer.
Alan goes for a double leg but Messer avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Messer continues to drive forward.
Messer lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Still in the clinch, Messer scores with a nice short uppercut.
Messer gets through Alan's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Messer lands with a right to the head.
Alan is trying desperately to land a takedown but Messer is having absolutely none of it. This is turning into a bit of a nightmare for Alan.
Messer presses Alan against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Messer blocks a body shot from Alan.
Alan is trying to break the clinch but Messer is controlling him.
Messer lands an elbow that stopped Alan in his tracks for a moment.
Messer is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A nice right hand lands inside from Messer.
Messer taking a breather.
Alan is trying to maintain a safe position but Messer gets an underhook and turns Alan into the cage.
Messer lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Messer.
Alan wants a takedown.
Ilya Messer has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of James Alan.
Messer avoiding damage.
Messer lands a nice uppercut.
Messer keeps control of Alan as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Messer avoiding damage.
Messer lands a nice uppercut.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Alan can't get the takedown.
Alan is looking to break free of the clinch but Messer has double underhooks.
Messer scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Alan misses with a body punch.
Stalling in the clinch from Messer.
Alan is looking to take this one to the mat.
A short body shot lands from Messer as the two fighters clinch.
Messer pushes Alan back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Alan fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Alan tries for a takedown. No joy.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Messer gets through Alan's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Messer.
Messer lands with a short shot to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Messer has Alan pressed against the cage, preventing Alan from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Messer stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Messer digs a right hand underneath Alan's ribcage. Alan let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Alan drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Messer gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Alan can't get the takedown.
Alan is breathing heavily.
Messer lands an elbow inside that Alan shrugs off.
Messer lands a left hand that snaps the head of Alan backwards.
Alan can't get the takedown.
Messer lands a body punch.
Still in the clinch, Messer scores with a nice short uppercut.
A short right from Messer.
Messer digs a right hand underneath Alan's ribcage. Alan let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Alan's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nice body punch from Messer.
Messer lands a right hand.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
A body shot lands from Messer.
Messer lands a hook to the side of the head.
Messer lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Messer lands a left hand.
Messer lands with a short shot to the head.
Alan takes a shot to the head.
Alan looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Messer displaying some good clinch control by pressing Alan up against the cage.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Alan tries to pull guard but Messer holds him up against the cage and eventually Alan drops back down to his feet.
Alan wants to break the clinch but can't.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ilya Messer dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Messer scores with a shot to the body.
No joy there for Messer, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Messer throws a front kick that sends Alan stumbling back into the cage.
Messer plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Alan tries to clinch up but Messer circles away and keeps his distance.
Alan darts in trying to clinch
and Messer counters with a nice body shot.
Alan looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Alan looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Messer is fending him off so far but Alan persists. Nope, Messer circles away and we're back to standing.
Alan tries to clinch but Messer moves away
and Messer counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Alan with a poor takedown
and Messer counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Messer goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
Messer digs a good hook to Alan's body.
Messer lets loose with a powerful body kick. Alan will feel that in the morning.
A kick lands to the mid section there for Messer.
Ilya Messer is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Messer lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Nice body kick there by Messer.
Messer cracks Alan with an open hand slap.
Alan throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Alan fails with the takedown.
Ilya Messer has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of James Alan.
Alan takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Messer lands the left hand.
Messer pushes Alan away with a front kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Alan gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Messer.
Messer is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Alan can do to turn this around?
This has been an exciting period of action!
Messer lands a nice leg kick that just misses Alan's sensitive parts.
Alan tries for a takedown but Messer circles away easily
and Messer counters with an outside leg kick.
Messer goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Alan stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Messer.
Messer throws a front kick that sends Alan stumbling back into the cage.
Alan with a poor takedown
letting Messer counter with a right hand.
Messer moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
An inside leg kick lands from Messer.
Messer throws a body kick that sends a sickening thudding noise reverberating around the arena.
Ilya Messer is winning the standup battle so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A thudding body kick lands there by Messer!
Nice shot by Messer.
Alan doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Messer counters with a body kick that brings a smile to the face of both fighters.
Crunch! Messer slams his shin into Alan's torso.
A thudding body kick lands there by Messer!
Ilya Messer is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Messer sizes up Alan with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Messer throws a nice outside leg kick.
Messer throws a head kick that half lands.
Danga de danga de dang - Messer scores with a four punch combination!
Alan misses with a shot to the body
and Messer counters with a body kick that stops Alan in his tracks momentarily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Messer looks to land a combination. Alan sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Messer lands a slapping body shot.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Messer throws a front kick that sends Alan stumbling back into the cage.
Alan gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Messer counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Messer catches Alan with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Messer bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Alan's head backwards.
James Alan is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Messer lands with a right hand.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
A left lands for Messer.
Alan takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
James Alan has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Messer lets loose with a powerful body kick. Alan will feel that in the morning.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ilya Messer showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Messer has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Paul Aken scores the fight 30:27
Judge Patrick Alders scores the fight 30:27
Judge Daniel Blasius scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ilya Messer!
Ilya Messer thanked the fans post fight for their support.