PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Virgil Keller (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Gabriel Salwa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Keller kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is War Music. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Keller
vs
Salwa

184 cm
27
197 lbs
13 - 7 - 0

184 cm
29
198 lbs
20 - 6 - 0

Good wrestling
World class MT
Cardio machine

Excellent grappler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the middleweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 13 - 7 - 0, fighting out of London, Virgil Keller!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 20 - 6 - 0, fighting out of New York, Gabriel Salwa!
The judges for this bout are Frank Antenori, Don Winkell and Jack Bonds.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Salwa lands a nice leg kick that just misses Keller's sensitive parts.
Salwa takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.

It looks like Gabriel Salwa has been cut.
Salwa digs a good body shot into Keller's ribs.

Keller drops Salwa with a nice combination! Keller dives into Salwa's guard, looking to finish!

Salwa is rocked!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Keller trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Salwa is still in real trouble! Can Keller finish him?
Our spies down at at Sheep Shaggers of Aberdeen inform us that Salwa has really been working on his submissions in the buildup to this fight. Will it pay off?
Salwa keeping moving, preventing Keller from controlling successfully.
Salwa looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Salwa seems to have recovered his senses.
Keller trying to control the position from guard on top but Salwa is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Salwa escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Keller gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Salwa is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Salwa utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Keller trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Salwa working a defensive guard here.
Keller is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Keller passes into half guard.
Keller works his way into full mount!
Poor strikes thrown by Keller there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Keller avoids the attempt from Salwa to control.
BOOM! Keller connects with a massive shot to the dome!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Salwa is trying to escape the mount.

Salwa defends a decent attempt at a guillotine from Keller.
Keller trying to control but he's not successful this time.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Salwa is desperately trying to improve his position but Keller has a good base and remains in mount.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Keller punching from mount but Salwa doing a good job of avoiding damage.

Keller is working on an americana here. Ooh, that looks pretty nasty! Nope, Salwa has managed to escape the submission attempt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Keller jumps to the side looking to secure the arm triangle…. Ooooh, that looks tight… Salwa is gargling but he's managed to escape! Nice work there by Salwa and Keller has given up the dominant position trying to land that submission.

Keller goes for an armbar! This could be all over! Wait, no, Salwa rolls with the submission and now he's on top in Keller's guard! Nice work there by Salwa!
Salwa seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.

Keller throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Salwa passes easily into side control. Nice work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Keller is looking to slip a leg under and get half guard but Salwa is one step ahead and moves to full mount!
Salwa takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.

Salwa jumps to side control looking for an arm triangle but Keller manages to avoid the submission attempt.
Keller is not content to let Salwa control the position.
Keller manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Salwa wants to improve his position but Keller is controlling well.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Keller wants to free his trapped foot but Salwa is holding on for dear life with his legs.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Virgil Keller dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Gabriel Salwa's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Keller slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Salwa jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Keller lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Virgil Keller is winning the standup battle so far.
Salwa changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Salwa lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Salwa throws a leg kick
and Keller counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Keller slips under a jab.
Salwa lands a jab to Keller's midsection.
Salwa takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Salwa misses with an attempted mid kick.
Keller ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Keller misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Salwa.
Salwa throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Keller takes one to the side of the head.
Salwa ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Keller moves away.
Salwa thows a body shot but no joy.
Keller tries to move into range but Salwa moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Salwa lands a nice hook to Keller's body. Keller takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Salwa does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Salwa.
Salwa misses with a few strikes there.
Salwa connects with a leg kick. Keller looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Salwa thuds a mid kick into his opponent's body. That will wear on Keller if he has to take too many more of those.
A looping hook to the body misses from Salwa. Keller does a little dance to reset his feet.
Salwa digs a good hook to Keller's body.
Salwa dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Keller. That did some damage!
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Salwa, right into the meat.
Keller throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Keller lands with a straight right. Salwa didn't see that one coming.
Salwa fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Keller manages to avoid it.
A head kick from Salwa lands but Keller takes it in his stride.

It looks like Virgil Keller has been cut.
Keller takes a swing at Salwa's ribcage but misses.
Salwa dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Keller. That did some damage!
Keller looks to throw the jab but Salwa is out of range.
Salwa ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Salwa throws a hook but Keller avoids it easily.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Both fighters circling a little - Salwa finishes the exchange with a kick to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Keller dodges the punch combination from Salwa.
Keller throws a combination that misses
and Salwa makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Salwa explodes with a nice body kick and back out of range. Nice work.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Salwa scores with a push kick.
Keller takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
A solid leg kick lands there for Salwa.
Salwa misses with a body kick.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Salwa lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Salwa misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Keller.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gabriel Salwa showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
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.

Salwa lands a glancing blow to the side of Keller's head.
Keller looks to land a right hand but Salwa moved out of range.
Salwa lands a nice looking kick to the body. Keller takes a step back to recover.
Salwa listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Keller keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Salwa.
Keller has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Salwa.
Salwa will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Salwa throws a head kick that misses
and Salwa takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Salwa avoids a lazy jab quite easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Keller misses with a hook. Salwa ducked under it nicely.
Keller misses with a looping left.
Keller is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Salwa dips to his left and cracks Keller with an uppercut!
Salwa moves out of range of the strikes.
Keller throws a hook but Salwa avoids it easily.
Keller connects with a looping right hand.
Salwa scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
A low kick from Salwa misses
and Keller counters with a right hand to the body.
The crowd cheers as Salwa lands an impressive looking overhand right. Keller doesn't seem phased though.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Keller has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Salwa.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Keller is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Salwa.
A chopping leg kick lands by Salwa.
Keller tried to score with a low kick but Salwa checks it.
Salwa throws a series of strikes that have Keller backpedaling.
Salwa fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Keller on the side of the head.
Salwa tries to work over Keller's front leg with a kick but Keller checks it.
Salwa connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Keller is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Salwa.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Salwa ducks under a wild hook from Keller.
Salwa misses with a wild combination.
Salwa cracks Keller with a good jab.
Keller throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Salwa connects with a good right hand that stumbles Keller. Keller circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
Salwa swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Salwa cracks the inside of Keller's front leg.
Salwa thumps Keller with a low kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Salwa throws a body punch but Keller moves out of range.
Salwa defending well as Keller loads up on a big left hand.
A lazy body kick from Salwa
and Keller cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Salwa throws a left and a right that both miss
enabling Keller to counter with a crisp jab.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Keller.
A lazy left from Salwa finds it's target.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Salwa staying out of range there.
Keller uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Salwa.
Salwa works the jab nicely.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gabriel Salwa really dominated that round.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Salwa fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Keller manages to avoid it.
Keller changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Salwa scores with a nice right hand.
Keller throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Salwa scoring well with a low kick there.
Keller avoids the head kick by Salwa.
Salwa just misses with a punch to the body.
Keller throws an off balance right hand
and Salwa connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Keller swings and misses with a hook to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Salwa throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Salwa throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
A bone on bone clash there as Keller blocks the leg kick.
Keller looks to land a right hand but Salwa moved out of range.
Salwa swings for the body but Keller moves out of range.
Salwa fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Keller.
Keller throws an overhand right that lands on Salwa's shoulder, as Salwa tries to avoid the shot.
Salwa moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
Keller misses with an uppercut
and Salwa counters with a nice uppercut.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Salwa digs a good hook to Keller's body.
Keller throws a jab when Salwa was well out of range.
Keller scores with a nice right hand.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
A swing and a miss from Salwa.
Salwa ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Keller moves away.
Keller moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Jab from Salwa.
Salwa attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Salwa throws a low kick, looking for Keller's leg but Keller calmly moves out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Keller shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
A leg kick checked by Keller.
Salwa throws the left hand but Keller avoids the punch easily.
Salwa tries to land a leg kick but Keller saw it coming and moves away.
Keller misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Salwa.
Keller throws a lazy uppercut
and Salwa counters with a stiff right hand.
Salwa lands with a good body shot.
Salwa lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Salwa scores with a jab. Keller acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
A head kick misses from Salwa.
Salwa misses with a jab, cross combination.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Salwa throws a leg kick but Keller moved away.
Salwa misses with a straight right.
Keller lands a nice looking body shot.
Keller lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Salwa at a distance.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Keller throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Salwa counters with an outside leg kick.
A good leg kick by Salwa.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gabriel Salwa dominated that fourth round.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Keller connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Salwa misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Keller.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Keller.
Salwa throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Salwa throws a half hearted mid kick.
Keller throws a low kick, looking for Salwa's leg but Salwa calmly moves out of range.
Salwa misses with a leg kick.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Keller checks a leg kick.
Salwa buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Salwa throws a combination that misses
and Keller counters with a nice uppercut.
Keller throws a leg kick but Salwa sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Keller uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Salwa.
Keller scores with a crisp jab that stopped Salwa in his tracks.
Salwa misses with a wild body shot.
Salwa throws a lazy right hand but Keller sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Salwa throws a half hearted mid kick.
Salwa walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Keller scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Keller checks a leg kick.
Keller wants to land a leg kick but Salwa is out of range.
This has been an exciting period of action!
A left lands for Keller.
Salwa throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Keller checks a leg kick.
Keller looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Keller throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Salwa makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Salwa bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Keller's head backwards.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Salwa, right into the meat.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Keller fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Salwa has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Keller throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Salwa counters with a nice kick to the body.
Salwa fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Keller looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Salwa fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Keller manages to avoid it.
Salwa throws a shot to the body.
Virgil Keller has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
A head kick misses from Keller.
Salwa tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Salwa misses with an uppercut.
Salwa walks into a stiff left hand from Keller.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Salwa walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Keller checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Keller misses with a body shot
and Salwa counters with a big head kick but Keller shrugs it off.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Keller tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Salwa was well out of range. Poor timing from Keller.
Keller throws an overhand right that drops Salwa like a sack of potatoes! Keller dives in to finish the fight with more strikes and this one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:32 of round 5, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Virgil Keller!
Virgil Keller retains his middleweight title!
During a confident post fight interview, Virgil Keller thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.