PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Mamed Khalidov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rafal Wallace (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Khalidov might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Mamed - CoreMoon. Wallace has chosen Sandaless - Wojownik as his entrance music. Both fighters really staring each other down here, as Rafal Wallace enters the ring!

Khalidov
vs
Wallace

182 cm
31
195 lbs
7 - 10 - 0

183 cm
28
200 lbs
9 - 15 - 0

Good takedowns
Counter fighter
Experienced

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 10 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Mamed Khalidov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 15 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Rafal Wallace!
The judges for this bout are Shirou Masuda, Shigeki Sano and Hirohito Nitta.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Khalidov shoots in and bounces Wallace off the ropes to secure the takedown into guard.
Khalidov trying to control the position from guard on top but Wallace is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Khalidov is really struggling to control Wallace but he's trying to hold on to the position.
Khalidov is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Wallace is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Wallace not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Khalidov trying to control the position from guard on top but Wallace is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Wallace can't keep his opponent in guard - Khalidov advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Khalidov looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Khalidov is working hard here to advance position.
Khalidov prevents Wallace from improving his position.
Khalidov controlling the action here.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Khalidov tries for a takedown but Wallace sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.

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.
Khalidov shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Wallace pinned against the ropes. Wallace gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Khalidov shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Wallace as he avoids it easily.
Wallace tries to counter with a clinch but Khalidov shakes him off and moves away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mamed Khalidov. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Khalidov shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Wallace pinned against the ropes. Wallace gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Khalidov slips a straight right by Wallace.
Khalidov drops down looking for a counter takedown but Wallace sprawls and moves away.

Wallace rushes Khalidov and pushes him back against the ropes in a clinch.
Khalidov blocks a body shot from Wallace.
Khalidov looks to throw an elbow but misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Wallace is looking to control Khalidov's arms but Khalidov gets an underhook and turns him. Now Wallace has his back to the ropes.
Khalidov works on Wallace's body with a couple of short punches.
Khalidov lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the ropes.
Wallace wants to get back to striking at distance but Khalidov won't allow it.
A right hook to the body lands for Khalidov.
Khalidov throws an elbow but it's blocked.
A hook to the body from Khalidov.
Wallace is looking to break free of the clinch but Khalidov has double underhooks.
A battle for position here, against the ropes.
Wallace looking to slow down the pace here.
Khalidov lands a nice shot to the body.
A shot in the inside from Khalidov.
Khalidov stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wallace looking to stall.
Wallace throws a punch but it's blocked by Khalidov.
Khalidov lands with a right to the head.
Khalidov lands a nice shot to the body.
Wallace is trying to break the clinch but Khalidov is controlling him.
Khalidov tries for a takedown but Wallace manages to get underhooks.
Khalidov lands a left hand.
Wallace misses with a punch on the inside.
Khalidov tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Wallace avoids the elbow strike from Khalidov, against the ropes.
Wallace is trying to break free.
Wallace is looking to control Khalidov's arms but Khalidov gets an underhook and turns him. Now Wallace has his back to the ropes.
Wallace blocks an elbow strike.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Wallace throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Wallace tries to grapple but his opponent circles

so Khalidov counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Khalidov trying to control the position from guard on top but Wallace is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Wallace working a defensive guard but Khalidov passes into half guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Wallace has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Khalidov is working away from the top position though.
Khalidov tries to pass to full mount but Wallace defends it.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Wallace trying to control but Khalidov postures up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Khalidov trying to mount his opponent but Wallace defends it.
Khalidov stalling.
Khalidov is looking to advance position but Wallace won't allow it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Khalidov is trying to control. Wallace wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Khalidov shoots in for a takedown but Wallace shows good takedown defense.
Khalidov shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Wallace pinned against the ropes. Wallace gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Khalidov.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mamed Khalidov. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Khalidov throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Wallace's waist but Wallace gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Khalidov off to one side.
No luck for Khalidov with that takedown attempt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Khalidov slips a jab and a cross from Wallace.
Khalidov feinted with a counter takedown.
Wallace scores with a jab. Khalidov acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Rafal Wallace is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Wallace moves in looking to clinch but Khalidov pushes him off.
Khalidov tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Wallace defends well and Khalidov ends up having to push Wallace into the ropes where they will battle it out in the clinch.

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

Khalidov is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.

Wallace looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wallace is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Khalidov wants to pass the guard but Wallace is defending well.

Khalidov wants to work for an arm triangle but Wallace is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Khalidov is working for a submission of some sort.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mamed Khalidov dominated that second 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. This is the final round!

Khalidov shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Wallace as he jumps to the side.
Khalidov looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Wallace is fending him off so far but Khalidov persists. Nope, Wallace circles away and we're back to standing.
Wallace defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Khalidov.
It seemed like Wallace was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mamed Khalidov. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Khalidov fails with a takedown attempt.
Wallace fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Khalidov manages to avoid it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Wallace gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Khalidov to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Khalidov wants to control from the top but Wallace keeps moving.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Khalidov slips nicely into half guard.
Wallace trying to keep hold of his opponent's head but Khalidov manages to pass to mount!
Khalidov fails to move to back control.
Khalidov controlling from the full mount.

Khalidov jumps to side control looking for an arm triangle but Wallace manages to avoid the submission attempt.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wallace can't do much from the bottom here.
Wallace tries to buck Khalidov off but Khalidov is having none of it.
Khalidov trying to control the position but Wallace is working away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Wallace trying to control but Khalidov flips him over like a cheap hooker and has his back!
Wallace trying to control but he's just got himself in more trouble.
Khalidov is controlling his opponent, waiting for an opportunity to finish.
A lull in the action here.
Mamed Khalidov is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Wallace wants to escape the position.
Wallace trying to control but he's just got himself in more trouble.
What can Wallace do to escape this position? He's going to have to figure it out pretty quick if he wants to stay in the fight!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wallace is in bad spot here.
Khalidov is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Wallace can do to turn this around?
Khalidov trying to secure his dominant position for a moment - making sure Wallace doesn't escape.
Rafal Wallace has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Wallace is really stuck here.

And that's the end of the fight!
Mamed Khalidov showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Khalidov, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Shirou Masuda scores the fight 30:27
Judge Shigeki Sano scores the fight 30:27
Judge Hirohito Nitta scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Mamed Khalidov!
Mamed Khalidov was full of energy after the big win and talked about how he thinks he can do big things in this sport. The crowd were appreciative of his determination to succeed.
Rafal Wallace was interviewed post fight and said 'Never give up'.