PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Moustafa Kamal (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Abdul Haq (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Abdul Haq will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Kamal
vs
Haq

185 cm
23
182 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

174 cm
25
180 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Basic striking
Granite chin

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

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 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Moustafa Kamal!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Abdul Haq!
The judges for this bout are Bart Greer, Winston Alpacca and Michael Johnstone.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kamal dives in for a single leg takedown but Haq sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Kamal looks exhausted already! Oh dear, he should have come in in better shape than this!
Haq lands a nice uppercut.
Haq has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Kamal blocks the elbow strike.
Kamal prevents Haq from breaking the clinch.
Haq blocks an uppercut.
Haq softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Haq is trying to break the clinch but Kamal is controlling him.
Haq lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Haq lands with a right to the head.
Haq avoiding damage as Kamal throws knees to the body.
Haq wants to break the clinch but can't.
Kamal is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Haq is defending well.
Haq is trying to break the clinch but Kamal has him pressed against the cage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Haq escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Haq getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Haq scores with a one two! Kamal had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
Haq has been working on his striking defense in training and it's paying off as Kamal is landing a low percentage of strikes.
Haq pivots, looking for a leg kick but Kamal is out of range and Haq settles back down.
Kamal's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Haq connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Kamal scrambles back to his feet.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

The fight moves into the clinch position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Haq throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Kamal looking for a takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Moustafa Kamal. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Haq lands a left hand.
Haq scores with a shot to the side of Kamal's head.
Haq softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Haq looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Kamal has Haq pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Haq manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Haq is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Haq lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Haq is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Haq drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Kamal gets the underhooks and prevents it.
A nice left hand lands by Haq.
Haq scores with a nice hook to the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Haq lands a right hand that snaps the head of Kamal backwards.
Haq tries to break the clinch but Kamal is controlling the position.
Haq digs a right hand into Kamal's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Kamal's gas tank.
A short left from Haq.

Kamal escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Haq fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Good work by Kamal as he checks the leg kick.
Haq thuds his right hand into Kamal's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Haq throws out a powerful jab.
Haq throws a leg kick which misses Kamal's front leg but catches the back leg as Kamal tries to avoid it.
Kamal fails in his attempt to clinch.
Haq tries to close the distance and clinch up but Kamal swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Haq connects with a jab.
Kamal takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
Haq digs a good hook to Kamal's body.
Haq fails in his attempt to clinch.
Abdul Haq seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kamal takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
Haq thuds his right hand into Kamal's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Kamal shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Haq sprawls well. Haq wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Kamal gets slowly back to his feet.
Haq lands a jab.
Haq throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Kamal walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Haq goes for a double leg but Kamal avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Kamal continues to drive forward.
Kamal goes for a takedown attempt but Haq pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.

Haq has taken the fight to the clinch.
Haq blocks a punch to the side of the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kamal keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Haq's efforts to push away.

Haq breaks the clinch.
Haq fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Kamal checks it well.
Kamal wants to clinch up but Haq keeps it at a distance.
Haq keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Haq shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Kamal pinned against the cage. Kamal gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Donk. Haq catches Kamal right on the button with a cross.
No joy there for Kamal, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Haq tries to close the distance and clinch but Kamal swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Haq fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Kamal closes this distance looking for a takedown but Haq circles away.

Haq rushes Kamal and presses him up against the cage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Abdul Haq dominated that round.
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.

Kamal is looking to clinch.
Haq works over Kamal's head and body with a nice combination.
Haq connects with the punch.
Haq fails with an attempt to clinch.

Haq shoots in and bounces Kamal off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Kamal has control of Haq's left arm, preventing Haq from doing any damage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Haq trying to control the position from guard on top but Kamal is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kamal trying to keep a closed guard but Haq is proving a slippery customer.
Kamal wants to stand and escape but Haq is having none of it.
Kamal striking off his back but it's not causing Haq any problems.
Haq slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.

Kamal has managed to wall walk up one of the corner posts to get back to his feet. Haq is pushing him up against the cage, looking to control the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kamal wants a takedown but no success here.
A nice left hand lands by Haq.
Haq wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Kamal has him pressed against the cage.
Haq lands a shoulder strike.

Haq breaks from the clinch.
Haq lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Kamal backs up against the cage.
Kamal gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Haq's corner calls for a 1-2. Haq obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Kamal tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Haq defends well and Kamal ends up having to push Haq into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.

Haq manages to pull guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Kamal accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Kamal accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Haq avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Kamal loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Haq really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Kamal. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Kamal throwing strikes from guard but Haq blocks nicely.
Kamal scoring with some ground and pound.
Haq avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Haq defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Kamal.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Moustafa Kamal. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Kamal misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Kamal walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Haq has taken the fight to the clinch.
Kamal has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Haq is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.

Haq pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Kamal's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Haq connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Kamal scrambles back to his feet.
Nice sprawl there from Haq as Kamal shoots in.
Haq is trying hard to land a takedown here. Kamal sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Haq shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Kamal as he jumps to the side.
Kamal shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Haq pinned against the cage. Haq gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Kamal closes this distance looking for a takedown but Haq circles away.
Haq lands with a nice combination. Kamal backs away looking to recover.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Haq moves out of range as Kamal throws a body kick.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Abdul Haq showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

A lazy left from Haq finds it's target.
Haq fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Kamal checks it well.
Kamal moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.

Haq darts in and clinches Kamal up against the cage.
Kamal taking a breather.

Haq manages to break the clinch.
Haq fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Kamal takes one on the button.
Moustafa Kamal is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Haq looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Kamal!
Kamal holds on to Haq's head and controls the position momentarily.
You can see the frustration on Kamal's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kamal holding on.

Kamal bucks up and manages to escape back to his feet!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Haq slaps away a takedown attempt from Kamal, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Haq lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Kamal moves forwards but Haq connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Haq moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
Haq scores with a jab.
Nice uppercut there from Haq.
Kamal displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Haq.
Kamal goes for a double leg but Haq avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Haq continues to drive forward.

Kamal has dropped down and is working for a takedown. Haq is trying to keep an underhook but Kamal manages to get the takedown into half guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Kamal is looking to take a break and control but Haq is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
We've been hearing good reports from Kamal's training camp. Apparently he has been rolling around with some good quality BJJ practitioners and has been sharpening his skills. Let's see if that has an impact on the fight today.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Haq can do anything to dispel that myth.

Kamal is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Haq is staying active underneath Kamal, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Haq avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Kamal.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Kamal prevents Haq from standing back up.
Kamal not landing any meaningful shots this time.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Kamal closes the distance and clinches up with Haq, looking for a takedown. Kamal pushes Haq against the cage but Haq circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Moustafa Kamal. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Kamal moves forwards but Haq connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Abdul Haq is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Kamal looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Haq connects with a nice looking jab.
Moustafa Kamal has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Kamal pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Haq lands the left hand.
Kamal shoots in but Haq avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Abdul Haq seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Haq with a nice cross.
Kamal shoots in but Haq avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Haq connects with a looping right hand.

And that's the end of the fight!
Abdul Haq comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Haq 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 Bart Greer scores the fight 26:30
Judge Winston Alpacca scores the fight 27:30
Judge Michael Johnstone scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Abdul Haq!