PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Daniel Wagner (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mahmud Pehlivan (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Wagner comes to the cage accompanied by Lose Yourself. Mahmud Pehlivan has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Wagner
vs
Pehlivan

183 cm
19
155 lbs
2 - 3 - 0

185 cm
19
150 lbs
0 - 0 - 1

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Good in bed

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Daniel Wagner!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 1, fighting out of Hilo, Mahmud Pehlivan!
The judges for this bout are Micheangelo Fripello, Paul Gruel and Roger Salmon.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A cross from Pehlivan lands.
Wagner throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.

Pehlivan closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Wagner can't get the takedown.
Wagner is trying to pull guard but Pehlivan turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Pehlivan looking to stall.
Pehlivan jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Wagner walks away with a smile on his face. Pehlivan gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Pehlivan throws a left and a right that both miss
and Wagner counters with a nice low kick that buckles Pehlivan's knee momentarily.
Pehlivan fails with the takedown
and Wagner counters with a slapping leg kick.

Wagner has taken the fight to the clinch.
Pehlivan misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Wagner tries to pull guard but Pehlivan holds him up against the cage and eventually Wagner drops back down to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Daniel Wagner. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Pehlivan stops a takedown attempt from Wagner.
We've been hearing reports that Wagner has been drilling takedowns in recent sessions so let's see if that has an impact on the result of this fight.
Pehlivan is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.

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

That's one minute gone in the round.
Wagner throws a body punch but Pehlivan moves out of range.
Wagner stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Wagner wants it to stay on the feet.
Wagner throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Sloppy strikes from Pehlivan. Those never looked like landing.
Pehlivan dives in and grabs Wagner's left leg, looking for a takedown. Wagner pushes down on Pehlivan's head and hops out.
Pehlivan dodges the punch combination from Wagner.

Pehlivan gets caught napping as Wagner dives in and scores a takedown. Pehlivan manages to retain guard.
Pehlivan looks winded!
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.

Wagner drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Wagner jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Wagner throwing strikes from guard but Pehlivan blocks nicely.
Wagner pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Pehlivan is keeping the position for now.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Wagner throwing strikes from guard but Pehlivan blocks nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wagner trying to control the position from guard on top but Pehlivan is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Wagner sitting in guard here, content to control.
Wagner missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Wagner controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

The ref stands the fighters back up. Daniel Wagner wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Pehlivan displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Wagner.
Pehlivan swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Wagner lands a head kick!
Wagner throws a head kick but Pehlivan moves out of range.
Pehlivan is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Wagner.
A left and a right from Wagner both land. Nice combination.
Pehlivan tries to clinch
and Wagner counters with a head kick that wobbles Pehlivan - left then right he sways and one more bomb from Wagner sends him down. This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:25 of round 1, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Daniel Wagner!
Daniel Wagner seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.