PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Khalid Albabba (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and John Shelby (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Albabba
vs
Shelby

181 cm
25
195 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

180 cm
24
190 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

Good wrestling
Counter fighter
Very quick

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Solid chin

BlackStar Athletics
Australian Xtreme Elite Supplements 160Q

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Khalid Albabba!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, John Shelby!
The judges for this bout are Bruno Hogan, Winston Howard and Donatello Bradman.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Albabba gets a double leg takedown into Shelby's guard.
Shelby is trying to keep Albabba in close.
Shelby keeping moving, preventing Albabba from controlling successfully.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Shelby is on top in guard.

Albabba has Shelby pulled in close to control his posture.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Albabba manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Shelby manages to get himself to full guard.

Albabba looking to sit in guard and control but Shelby gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shelby working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Albabba preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Albabba wants to sweep here but Shelby controlling him for the moment.
Shelby postures up in Albabba's guard and throws a big left but Albabba blocks it.
Shelby advances to half guard.
Shelby trying to mount his opponent but Albabba defends it.
Shelby wants to control but Albabba is keeping him busy.

That's two 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.
Albabba blocking the ground and pound attempt from Shelby.
Albabba is trying to maintain the position but Shelby is very close to passing his half guard.
Albabba is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Shelby sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Albabba defending well though.
Albabba is trying to control but can't.
Shelby throws a strike but Albabba avoids it easily and moves to full guard.
Albabba is trying to control the position but Shelby postures up.
Albabba looks to be in better condition than last time we saw him fight. Obviously he's been working hard on his cardio.
Albabba knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Shelby on the ground.
Albabba is pulling down on Shelby's head. It's preventing any offense from Shelby, at least for the moment.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Albabba uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Shelby.
Albabba appears to be looking for a counter takedown.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Albabba has a takedown stuffed.
Shelby takes a swing at Albabba's ribcage but misses.
Albabba drops down looking for a counter takedown but Shelby sprawls and moves away.
Albabba looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Shelby is fending him off so far but Albabba persists. Nope, Shelby circles away and we're back to standing.
Shelby throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Albabba stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Shelby wants to land a leg kick but Albabba is out of range.
An inside leg kick lands from Shelby.
The fight stays on the outside here - Shelby looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

Albabba looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Shelby has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Albabba throws a big elbow that misses.
Albabba wants to control from the top but Shelby keeps moving.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Shelby manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Albabba manages to get himself to full guard.

The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Shelby wants to control from the top but Albabba keeps moving.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Shelby accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John Shelby dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Albabba manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Shelby on his heels. He'll look to pass Shelby's guard now, I'm sure.
Albabba working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Albabba stopping the sweep attempt from Shelby.
Shelby keeping full guard, as Albabba tries to pass.
Shelby keeping moving, preventing Albabba from controlling successfully.
Albabba throws a big right hand that misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Albabba stands and throws Shelby's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Albabba trying to control the action but Shelby is working from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Albabba works to advance to full mount. Shelby defends for a few seconds but eventually he succumbs.
Albabba looking to control and managing it successfully.
Albabba is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Albabba cracks Shelby with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Shelby holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Albabba tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Khalid Albabba overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Shelby wants to hold on but Albabba pushes him away.
Albabba is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Shelby can do to turn this around?
Albabba unloads with some shots from mount but Shelby bucks and avoids them well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Albabba unloading with bombs!
Albabba looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Albabba breaks from Shelby's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Albabba with shots to the head and body - Shelby looks very uncomfortable down there.
Albabba with a couple of short strikes.
Shelby tries to lock up and control but Albabba gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Albabba punching from mount but Shelby doing a good job of avoiding damage.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Albabba fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Shelby is squirming around, avoiding Albabba's attempts to control the action.
Albabba is in the full mount, landing strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Albabba trying to control but Shelby is having none of it.
Albabba content just to control the position here.
Albabba trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Albabba scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Albabba in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Albabba scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Shelby?

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Albabba is going oldschool here, as he tries to force Shelby to tap using a forearm choke. This isn't 1993 though, so Shelby shrugs it off.
Albabba misses with a head shot.
Albabba connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Albabba can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Shelby is looking to escape.
Shelby manages to regain half guard. Good work.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Albabba trying to control from half guard but Shelby is working away.
Albabba sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Shelby defending well though.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Khalid Albabba 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. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Albabba misses with a series of wild punches.
Albabba moves out of range of the body kick.
Albabba feinted with a counter takedown.
Albabba avoids a kick to the body.
Albabba half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.
Albabba throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Shelby throws a leg kick which misses Albabba's front leg but catches the back leg as Albabba tries to avoid it.
Shelby looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Shelby connects with an inside leg kick.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Shelby swings away with a body shot that misses

and Albabba counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Shelby!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Shelby is trying to get back to half guard.
Albabba wants to lay and pray for a moment but Shelby keeps working.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A lull in the action here.
Albabba working the head and body with strikes.
Albabba wants to lay and pray for a moment but Shelby keeps working.
Albabba looks up at the clock and then as Shelby takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Albabba smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!
You can see the frustration on Shelby's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Shelby defending against the ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Shelby is letting Albabba control him for a moment.
Albabba advances to full mount.
Albabba lands a heavy elbow.
Albabba working Shelby over with strikes here.
Shelby tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Albabba unloads with some shots from mount but Shelby bucks and avoids them well.
Albabba lands a nice shot to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Albabba trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Shelby is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
Albabba can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Shelby is looking to escape.
Albabba throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Shelby because Albabba loaded up on that one.
Albabba with a couple of short strikes.
Albabba connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Albabba tries to control but Shelby wriggling away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Albabba connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Albabba looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Albabba controlling the pace for now.
Shelby is looking to get back to his feet - it's going to be hard from this position.
Albabba landing strikes from the mount.
Albabba controlling the position easily from mount.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Albabba looking to finish Shelby with some ground and pound. This is bad for Shelby!

And that's the end of the fight!
Khalid Albabba showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Albabba 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 Bruno Hogan scores the fight 29:27
Judge Winston Howard scores the fight 29:27
Judge Donatello Bradman scores the fight 29:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Khalid Albabba!