PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Rahkim Abdullah (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Melekh David (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rahkim Abdullah had real problems making weight for this fight. After initially coming in at 146.7lbs, he had two hours to make the official fight weight. He made it but it will have taken a lot out of him to cut those extra few pounds. Rahkim Abdullah has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Abdullah
vs
David

190 cm
26
161 lbs
12 - 7 - 0

170 cm
35
159 lbs
25 - 17 - 1

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Cardio machine

Olympic wrestler
Lethal high kicks
Good gas tank

Bad Man Clothing (Nothing Over $40)

Perkele!
SP Ultimate Nutrition

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 12 - 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 25 - 17 - 1, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Melekh David!
The judges for this bout are Micheangelo Fripello, Josh West and Ryoma Takatsuka.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Abdullah is defended easily by David.
Abdullah misses with a hook
and David counters with an inside leg kick.
David throws a leg kick that misses.
David connects with a good right hand that stumbles Abdullah. Abdullah circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
David connects with a solid leg kick.
David tries to close the distance and clinch up but Abdullah swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Abdullah fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Rahkim Abdullah seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
David fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Abdullah looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Abdullah misses with a series of wild punches.
Abdullah moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
We can't be sure of the tactics at this early stage but we have heard that David has been working on his takedowns a lot in the buildup to the fight and we can only assume he's going to look to take this to the mat.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A bone on bone clash there as Abdullah blocks the leg kick.
Abdullah thuds his right hand into David's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
David scoring well with a low kick there.
David dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Abdullah. That did some damage!

Abdullah shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
David is looking to improve his position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Abdullah seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
David is pressing down on Abdullah's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Abdullah trying to control the position from guard on top but David is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
David being controlled here, momentarily.
Abdullah has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now David is on top in guard.

David controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Abdullah can't keep his opponent in guard - David advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Abdullah is not content to let David control the position.

David is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Abdullah defends it well.

David is working for a submission of some sort.
David throwing shots but Abdullah is blocking nicely.

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.
David is just content to waste time from the top position. Abdullah takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.
Abdullah preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
David with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
David stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Abdullah swivels though and keeps the full guard.
David throws a strike but Abdullah rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Abdullah will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

David has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Abdullah can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Abdullah preventing the sweep.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Melekh David dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Abdullah decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Abdullah prevents David from improving his position.
Abdullah content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.

David looking for subs from the bottom but Abdullah mounts him!
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
David is looking to get to half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
David sneaks a leg back under and regains half guard and is working straight away to try and get back to guard. He hasn't managed just yet though.
Still in half guard, Abdullah seems content to control.

David actively working from the bottom here.
Abdullah trying to control the action but David is working from the bottom.
David regains full guard. Nicely done.
Abdullah tries to free his leg and advance position but David is retaining full guard.
David trying to keep a closed guard but Abdullah is proving a slippery customer.

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.
Abdullah stopping the sweep attempt from David.
Abdullah trying to control the position from guard on top but David is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
David keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.

Abdullah throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. David was covering up waiting for the punch and Abdullah finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Abdullah is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Abdullah won't allow David to sweep him here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Abdullah lands a couple of elbows.
David keeping moving, preventing Abdullah from controlling successfully.
David trying to keep a closed guard but Abdullah is proving a slippery customer.
David wants to sweep but no luck.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Abdullah controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Rahkim Abdullah is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Abdullah misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.

Abdullah fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging David to the ground. Abdullah is now in David's guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Abdullah sitting in guard, not really doing much.

David working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Abdullah doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Abdullah manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
David wants to sweep but no luck.
Abdullah trying to control but David is working from the bottom.
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.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

David working for a triangle but Abdullah defends it easily.
David bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Abdullah's guard.

And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Abdullah swings for the body but David moves out of range.

Abdullah shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Abdullah showed some decent athleticism there.
David tries to get to full guard but Abdullah has control of the leg.
David works his way to full guard. Good work.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Abdullah preventing the sweep.
David looking to control but Abdullah passes into half guard.
David is looking for a sweep. Abdullah is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Well, if Abdullah is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
David makes his way to full guard. A much better position for David.
Abdullah passes David's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Abdullah working David over with strikes.
David is looking for a sweep. Abdullah is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Abdullah trying to control from half guard but David is working away.
David is positioning himself well to prevent Abdullah advancing to mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
David is looking to control Abdullah's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can David avoid being mounted?
Abdullah is keen to just control but David is a slippery customer.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
David is looking for a sweep. Abdullah is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Abdullah controlling the pace.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Abdullah drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Abdullah throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Abdullah avoids the head kick by David.
Abdullah scores with a decent looking hook.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Abdullah shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says David as he avoids it easily.
David changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.
A jab from Abdullah misses.
Abdullah tries for a takedown but David circles away easily

and David counters with a shoot takedown. Abdullah fights it but they end up in guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
David in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Abdullah seems to have improved his submission grappling technique since last time we saw him. Let's see if he can pull off a submission.
David throws an elbow that misses. Abdullah uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in David's guard. Nice move by Abdullah!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
David looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Abdullah in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Abdullah trying to control but David is working from the bottom.
Abdullah showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Rahkim Abdullah overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
David not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Rahkim Abdullah.
I think Abdullah has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Micheangelo Fripello scores the fight 29:28
Judge Josh West scores the fight 29:28
Judge Ryoma Takatsuka scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Rahkim Abdullah!
Rahkim Abdullah took his opportunity to call for a title shot in his post fight interview.