PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Imanali Gadisov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Darren Kissel (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Kissel comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Coal Chamber - Loco kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! Darren Kissel has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Gadisov
vs
Kissel

176 cm
20
163 lbs
4 - 2 - 0

183 cm
21
163 lbs
6 - 3 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Cuts easily

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Imanali Gadisov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 3 - 0, fighting out of New York, Darren Kissel!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Blasius, Saam Ante and Radbod Blank.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kissel lunges at Gadisov with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Gadisov's hand.
Gadisov throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Kissel's waist but Kissel gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Gadisov off to one side.
Gadisov fails to land the takedown.
Despite the aggression on Kissel's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.
Gadisov takes one to the side of the head.

Gadisov looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Gadisov missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Kissel is refusing to be controlled, as Gadisov sits in half guard.
Gadisov prevents Kissel from improving his position.
Gadisov missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kissel manages to get to full guard.
Kissel looking for a sweep. Not yet Kissel, not yet.
Gadisov being controlled here momentarily.
Gadisov seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Gadisov chips away with some ground and pound.

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.
Gadisov postures up in Kissel's guard and throws a big left but Kissel blocks it.
Kissel utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

Kissel looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Kissel really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Gadisov. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Gadisov working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Kissel can do anything to dispel that myth.
Gadisov throwing strikes from guard but Kissel blocks nicely.
Gadisov trying to control but Kissel is working from the bottom.
Kissel looking to hit a scissor sweep but Gadisov is one step ahead there.
Kissel utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gadisov throwing strikes from guard but Kissel blocks nicely.
Kissel is trying to keep Gadisov in close.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Imanali Gadisov seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Gadisov slips a jab and a cross from Kissel.
Gadisov definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.

Gadisov shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Kissel is not content to let Gadisov control the position.
Gadisov not doing much here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gadisov prevents Kissel from improving his position.
Kissel is trying to maintain the position but Gadisov is very close to passing his half guard.
Kissel is looking to improve his position.
Kissel wants to stand back up but Gadisov manages to pass into side control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Kissel is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Gadisov is controlling him well.
Gadisov creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Kissel sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Imanali Gadisov will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

A telegraphed takedown attempt from Gadisov is defended easily by Kissel.

Gadisov looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Gadisov landing some decent shots from guard.
Kissel is trying to control the position from the bottom.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gadisov slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kissel wants to stand but Gadisov is controlling the position.
Gadisov landing some decent shots from guard.
Gadisov stands up over Kissel, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Gadisov working some strikes from top position.
Gadisov throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Kissel is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gadisov working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Kissel wants to stand up but Gadisov is controlling him.
Kissel is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.
Gadisov throwing strikes from guard but Kissel blocks nicely.
Gadisov distracts Kissel with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Gadisov won't allow Kissel to sweep him here.
Gadisov landing some decent shots from guard.
Gadisov working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gadisov wants to control from the top but Kissel keeps moving.
Kissel is trying to keep Gadisov in close.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Kissel misses with a wild combination.
Darren Kissel is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Kissel throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Gadisov shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Kissel pinned against the cage. Kissel gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Kissel will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kissel swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Kissel fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Gadisov shoots in looking for a takedown. Kissel tries to sprawl out of it but Gadisov keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Kissel manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Imanali Gadisov. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Gadisov fails with the takedown
and Kissel counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Kissel swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Kissel throws a right and a left that both miss.
Kissel has been working on his striking defense in training and it's paying off as Gadisov is landing a low percentage of strikes.
Kissel tries to close the distance and clinch but Gadisov swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Darren Kissel will probably get the nod - 10:9.
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!

Gadisov shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Gadisov showed some decent athleticism there.
Gadisov thows a huge punch but Kissel dodges it nicely.
Kissel tries to roll over but Gadisov keeps him under control.
Kissel is trying to stand.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kissel wants to control but Gadisov is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Kissel on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Gadisov not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Gadisov is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kissel works his way to full guard. Good work.
Kissel is pulling down on Gadisov's head. It's preventing any offense from Gadisov, at least for the moment.
Kissel is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Kissel preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Gadisov postures up in Kissel's guard and throws a big left but Kissel blocks it.
Gadisov stops Kissel from standing up.

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.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Gadisov swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Kissel lands a jab to Gadisov's midsection.
Gadisov looks for a takedown but Kissel sprawls well.
Kissel keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Despite the aggression on Kissel's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.
Kissel ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
A left and a right from Kissel both land. Nice combination.
Kissel connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Gadisov's hands.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Gadisov.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Imanali Gadisov. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Gadisov fails with a takedown attempt from distance.

Gadisov dives in and scores a takedown into Kissel's guard.
Kissel is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Gadisov wants to control from the top but Kissel keeps moving.
Kissel looking to control.
Gadisov trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gadisov postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Kissel preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Kissel trying to keep a closed guard but Gadisov is proving a slippery customer.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Gadisov gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Gadisov fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Kissel is clearly trying to counter these attacks from Gadisov with a body shot.
Kissel lands a jab to Gadisov's midsection.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Kissel closes the distance and clinches.

And that's the end of the fight!
Darren Kissel comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Kissel has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Daniel Blasius scores the fight 28:29
Judge Saam Ante scores the fight 28:29
Judge Radbod Blank scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Darren Kissel!
An out of breath Darren Kissel thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.