PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Lowell Lamb (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rasheed Mutambo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Lamb
vs
Mutambo

153 cm
18
193 lbs
2 - 3 - 1

201 cm
18
187 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Experienced

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Determined

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 2 - 3 - 1, fighting out of St Petersburg, Lowell Lamb!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Rasheed Mutambo!
The judges for this bout are Aleksandr Martynov, Valeri Chadov and Ivan Kurochkin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Mutambo clinches up with Lamb and pushes him back against the cage.
Mutambo tries to pull guard but Lamb forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Lamb can't break the clinch.
Lamb tries to break free but Mutambo pushes him back against the cage.
Lamb tries a body shot but Mutambo blocks it.
Lamb tries to pull guard but Mutambo holds him up against the cage and eventually Lamb drops back down to his feet.

Mutambo pulls guard successfully.
Lamb throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Mutambo is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Lamb defends well.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Lamb accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mutambo not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Lamb could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Lamb trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Lamb throws a big right hand that misses.
Mutambo is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Lamb is controlling him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mutambo not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Lamb slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Lamb creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Mutambo sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
Mutambo is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Mutambo can do anything to dispel that myth.
Lamb throws a strike aimed at the side of Mutambo's head but Mutambo avoids it well.
Mutambo tries to improve position but can't.
Mutambo is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Lamb working the head and body with strikes.
Mutambo being controlled for a moment.
Mutambo is not content to let Lamb control the position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lamb tries to score with some ground and pound. Mutambo controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
Mutambo tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Lamb 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.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Mutambo wants to get back to his feet but Lamb drags him back down.
Mutambo tries to control but Lamb manages to take his back.
Mutambo trying to control the position but Lamb manages to sink in the hooks.
Lamb landing with strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lamb lands a punch that was close to the back of the head but the ref thinks it's OK.
Lamb lands a punch to the side of the head from the back.
Mutambo looks winded!
Lamb is landing with strikes. Mutambo can't take much more of this.
Mutambo trying to control the hands but Lamb won't let him.
Lamb throwing strikes from the back - he gets a warning from the referee for striking the back of the head but all these shots are hurting Mutambo!
Lamb throws a big right hand but he misses and hits the mat. Ouch.
Lamb scores with some strikes to the side of the head there. Good, points scoring shots.
Lamb connects with a big shot to the side of Mutambo's head.
The crowd hopeful of a finish here - Lamb's supporters are on their feet, screaming for him to go for the rear naked choke.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lamb scores with punches from the back.
Mutambo covering up well and avoiding damage.
Lamb scores with strikes from the back.
Mutambo tries to escape but Lamb has the hooks in and won't let him break free.
Mutambo is covering up but some of the strikes from Lamb are getting through and doing damage.
Mutambo really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Lamb. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Lamb scores with a nice shot to the head of his opponent. Mutambo is looking for a way out.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Mutambo is trying to get back to his feet but Lamb has full control of the position and if anything, Mutambo has just worked his way into a worse spot.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Lowell Lamb dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Mutambo tries a head kick but it misses.
Mutambo has his takedown stuffed
and Lamb counters with a straight right hand.
Mutambo misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Lamb looks to land a right hand but Mutambo moved out of range.
Lamb throws a wild body kick that Mutambo sees coming a mile off.
Mutambo lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Mutambo.
Mutambo shoots in for a double leg but Lamb sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mutambo misses with an uppercut.
Lamb fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Mutambo is breathing heavily.
Mutambo doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Lamb counters with a straight right hand.
Lowell Lamb has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Rasheed Mutambo.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mutambo keeps the fight on the outside.
Lamb wants to clinch up but Mutambo keeps it at a distance.

Mutambo gets tackled into the cage by Lamb. Lamb maintains the clinch.

Lamb escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Lowell Lamb is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Mutambo throws a body punch but Lamb moves out of range.

Lamb manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Mutambo on his heels. He'll look to pass Mutambo's guard now, I'm sure.
Lamb is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Lamb postures up in Mutambo's guard and throws a big left but Mutambo blocks it.
Mutambo is trying to control the position but Lamb postures up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lamb trying to control the position from guard on top but Mutambo is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Lowell Lamb overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Lamb stays in close to Mutambo's body and controls the position.
Lamb wants to control from the top but Mutambo keeps moving.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
The fighters circling - Lamb throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Lamb darts in and out, connecting with a jab.

Lamb drives through with a takedown into Mutambo's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lamb loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Mutambo preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Mutambo is trying to control the position but Lamb postures up.
Lamb 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.
Lamb scoring with some ground and pound.
Mutambo being controlled here, momentarily.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Mutambo misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Nice body kick there by Lamb.
Lamb doesn't manage to clinch there - Mutambo circles away.
Lamb moves in looking to clinch but Mutambo pushes him off.
Mutambo with a poor takedown

and Lamb counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Lamb.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Mutambo prevents Lamb from breaking the clinch.
Mutambo prevents Lamb from breaking the clinch.
Lamb is looking to break free of the clinch but Mutambo has double underhooks.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Lowell Lamb dominated that second round.
That's time! Lamb's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. And we move into the final round!

Mutambo misses with a two punch combination.
Lamb wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
Lamb tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Mutambo is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Rasheed Mutambo seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Lamb circles away from the clinch attempt.
Mutambo lands a head kick!

It looks like Lowell Lamb has been cut.
Mutambo ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Lamb looks for the body kick but Mutambo saw that one coming.
Lamb tries to clinch but Mutambo is having none of it.
Mutambo fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Lamb avoids it really well and circles away.
Mutambo takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mutambo swats away the attempt to clinch by Lamb.
Lamb doesn't manage to clinch there - Mutambo circles away.

Lamb gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Lamb wants to break free but Mutambo has control.
Mutambo is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Lamb tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.

Lamb jumps guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lamb keeping moving, preventing Mutambo from controlling successfully.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Lamb is on top in guard.

Mutambo trying to keep a closed guard but Lamb is proving a slippery customer.
Mutambo keeping moving, preventing Lamb from controlling successfully.
Mutambo trying to keep a closed guard but Lamb is proving a slippery customer.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lamb scoring with punches to the head and body.
Mutambo is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Lamb stands up over Mutambo, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Lamb wants to control from the top but Mutambo keeps moving.
Lamb engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Lamb trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

Lamb shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Lamb was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mutambo is looking for a sweep.
You can see the frustration on Mutambo's face as Lamb controls the position.
Lamb trying to control the position but Mutambo is working away.
Mutambo is letting Lamb control him for a moment.
Lamb working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Lamb wants to control but Mutambo is keeping him busy.
Lamb misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.

And that's the end of the fight!
Lowell Lamb showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Lamb 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 Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight 30:27
Judge Valeri Chadov scores the fight 30:27
Judge Ivan Kurochkin scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Lowell Lamb!