PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Rahkim Abdullah (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Leo Bruce (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Bruce comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Migos-Y.R.H kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Abdullah
vs
Bruce

190 cm
26
168 lbs
11 - 7 - 0

189 cm
24
161 lbs
4 - 5 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Cardio machine

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
Determined

Bad Man Clothing (Nothing Over $40)

GREEN!160

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 11 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Rahkim Abdullah!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Leo Bruce!
The judges for this bout are , Frank Antenori and Don Winkell.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Bruce drops his hands momentarily and Abdullah takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.

Abdullah fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Bruce sprawls well initially but Abdullah persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Still in half guard, Abdullah seems content to control.
Abdullah has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
This is a sustained period of stalling by Abdullah.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bruce looks like he's trying to stand up.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Abdullah missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Bruce keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Bruce drops down looking to force a counter takedown but Abdullah defends it well.
Abdullah misses with a takedown attempt - Bruce sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Bruce drops down looking to force a counter takedown but Abdullah defends it well.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Abdullah.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bruce is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Abdullah asserts his dominance and retains side control.
The strikes coming from Abdullah are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
The ground and pound from Abdullah seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.
Abdullah works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
Abdullah prevents Bruce from escaping the position.
Abdullah is staying tight to Bruce's torso, preventing him from escaping.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Abdullah seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Bruce for as long as he can get away with.
Bruce is trying to get back to his feet.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Abdullah dives in for a single leg takedown but Bruce sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Bruce drops down looking to force a counter takedown but Abdullah defends it well.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rahkim Abdullah. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Bruce displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Abdullah.

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.
Abdullah lands a body shot.
Bruce takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.

Abdullah drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Abdullah postures up in Bruce's guard and throws a big left but Bruce blocks it.
Abdullah showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Bruce is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Abdullah is controlling him.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rahkim Abdullah dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Abdullah tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Bruce was well out of range. Poor timing from Abdullah.

Abdullah bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Abdullah taking a breather here.
Abdullah landing strikes.
Abdullah tries to score with some ground and pound. Bruce controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
Abdullah really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Abdullah working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
Abdullah cracks Bruce with a big right hand but Bruce just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Bruce seems a little lost for a moment, as Abdullah dominates the positioning.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Abdullah continues to stall.
Abdullah lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Bruce down.
Abdullah slows the pace down.
Rahkim Abdullah overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Bruce wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
Abdullah controlling the position from side mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Bruce is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Abdullah is controlling him well.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Abdullah working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.

Abdullah closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Abdullah controlling the action here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Abdullah's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Abdullah is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Bruce can do to turn this around?
Bruce looks like he's trying to stand up.
Abdullah 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.
Abdullah sitting and controlling from the half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Abdullah shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Bruce as he avoids it easily.
Bruce tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Abdullah fails to land the takedown.
Abdullah fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Bruce avoids it really well and circles away.
Bruce with the counter takedown but Abdullah avoids it easily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rahkim Abdullah dominated that second round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Nice takedown defense from Bruce. No joy for Abdullah on that attempt.
Bruce tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.

Abdullah drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Abdullah controlling the position from side mount.
Abdullah continues to hold on tight.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Abdullah 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.
Abdullah is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Bruce will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Abdullah moves into full mount!
Abdullah sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Abdullah looking to ground and pound but Bruce is blocking nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Abdullah controlling the position easily from mount.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Abdullah looking to ground and pound but Bruce is blocking nicely.
Abdullah landing strikes from the mount.
Abdullah controlling the pace for now.
Abdullah won't let Bruce get back to his feet... He wants to keep the fight where it is for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Abdullah controlling from the full mount.
Leo Bruce has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Abdullah working the ground and pound effectively.
Rahkim Abdullah is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Abdullah controlling the position easily from mount.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

And that's the end of the fight!
Rahkim Abdullah showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Abdullah 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 Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 30:26
Judge Frank Antenori scores the fight 30:26
Judge Don Winkell scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rahkim Abdullah!
Rahkim Abdullah got down on his knees post fight and begged the management for a title shot. 'Please, I want that title shot so bad! Give it to me!'
Leo Bruce was interviewed post fight and said 'got out skilled but it was a great match.'.