PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Mehmet Muhammad (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Brad Opie (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd giving both fighters a great reception on their way into the arena. That's good to see.

Muhammad
vs
Opie

188 cm
27
185 lbs
11 - 2 - 1

180 cm
26
192 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
Counter fighter
Cardio machine

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
Likes musicals

Highland Clothing

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 11 - 2 - 1, fighting out of The Island, Mehmet Muhammad!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Brad Opie!
The judges for this bout are Sandra Marshall, Michael Johnstone and Santiago Holmes.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Opie takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Muhammad lands a lovely overhand right.
Muhammad throws out a powerful jab.
Muhammad uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.

Muhammad moves into range and clinches up with Opie.
Opie digs a right hand underneath Muhammad's ribcage. Muhammad let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Muhammad gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Opie.
Opie wants to take the fight to the mat but Muhammad manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
Muhammad lands a shoulder strike.

Muhammad turns his back and goes for a hip toss. It's a bit messy but it gets the job done and Muhammad manages to end up in side control.
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Opie tries to escape but Muhammad is in control.
Opie being controlled for a moment.
Muhammad has knee on belly and moves into mount.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Muhammad controlling his opponent.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Muhammad looks like he's working for a submission but he's not found anything just yet.
Muhammad dominating with strikes here.
Opie is trying desperately to improve position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Muhammad lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Muhammad sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Opie stops Muhammad from taking his back. Still, being mounted isn't any better.
Opie tries to reverse the position but Muhammad maintains control.
Muhammad wants to take Opie's back here but Opie is holding on to an arm, himself looking to escape.
Muhammad working Opie over with strikes here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Opie is looking to improve his position but Muhammad isn't that keen on the idea.
Opie is really trying hard to get back to his feet.
Opie is in all sorts of trouble here.
Muhammad controlling the pace for now.

Muhammad is in full mount, looking to secure a guillotine but Opie is surviving well by controlling Muhammad's body position as best he can.

That's four 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.
Muhammad cracks Opie with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Opie keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Muhammad sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Muhammad lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Opie hang on?

Muhammad has control of Opie's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and Opie regains control of the situation pretty easily.

Muhammad working to secure an arm triangle but it's not happening for him just yet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Muhammad lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.

Muhammad looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Opie!

Opie throws his opponent off and manages to get back to his feet! Nicely done!
Muhammad scores with a nice right hand.
Opie takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Opie walks into a stiff left hand from Muhammad.
Opie fails miserably with a takedown attempt.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Muhammad closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Opie did well to prevent Muhammad getting side control.
Opie scrambles, trying to get to his feet, but Muhammad manages to mount him!
Muhammad tries to control but Opie wriggling away.
Opie trying desperately to get to his feet.
Opie tries to reverse the position but Muhammad maintains control.
Opie is not a happy chappy… he wants out of there.
Opie tries to improve his position but instead Muhammad has taken his back!
Opie rolls, trying to escape but Muhammad keeps control of the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Muhammad is working really hard to secure the rear naked choke. Opie defends successfully for a significant amount of time. Both fighters are looking very determined.
Opie is trying to get back to his feet but he's not managed it yet.

Muhammad has his hand under the chin of his opponent looking for the choke. He's nearly got it! This one could be all over! But no, Opie has freed his hand and lives to survive another… well, another couple of seconds at least!
Opie is trying to stand back up.
Mehmet Muhammad overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Opie fending off the submission attempt from Muhammad.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Muhammad working for the choke.

Opie manages to get to his feet, escaping the difficult position.
Muhammad connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Opie's hands.
Muhammad catches Opie with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Opie shoots in for a double leg but Muhammad sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Brad Opie seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Muhammad defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Opie.
Muhammad drops down looking for a counter takedown but Opie sprawls and moves away.
Mehmet Muhammad has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Brad Opie.
Muhammad moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Muhammad thuds his right hand into Opie's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Muhammad defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Opie.
Opie is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Muhammad fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Opie sprawls well initially but Muhammad persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Opie tries to kick Muhammad off in order to stand up. Muhammad Avoids the leg push though and dives into side control.
Muhammad trying to control the position but Opie is working away.

Muhammad looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mehmet Muhammad 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. This is the final round!

Muhammad shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Muhammad trying to mount his opponent but Opie defends it.
Muhammad stops Opie from getting back to his feet.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Muhammad looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Opie tries to kick Muhammad off but Muhammad keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Muhammad is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Opie can do to turn this around?
Muhammad wants to control but Opie is keeping him busy.
Muhammad prevents Opie from standing back up.
We've been hearing that Muhammad has been drilling a lot of ground and pound in training, so let's see if he get the finish.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Muhammad trying to control the pace.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Opie gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Mehmet Muhammad is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two 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.
Opie takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.

Muhammad scores with a takedown into Opie's guard.
Muhammad won't allow Opie to get back to his feet.
Muhammad is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Opie looking to control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Muhammad pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Opie is keeping the position for now.
Muhammad engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Opie looking for a sweep. Not yet Opie, not yet.
Opie is looking to stand up but Muhammad isn't so interested in that idea.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Opie fails with the takedown
enabling Muhammad to counter with a crisp jab.
Opie shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Muhammad pinned against the cage. Muhammad gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Brad Opie is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

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.
Muhammad paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.

Muhammad shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Opie is trying to defend but Muhammad finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Opie is trying to escape back to his feet but Muhammad uses the scramble to pass into side control.
Brad Opie 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!
Muhammad is staying tight to Opie's torso, preventing him from escaping.

And that's the end of the fight!
Mehmet Muhammad showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Muhammad 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 Sandra Marshall scores the fight for Mehmet Muhammad!
Judge Michael Johnstone scores the fight for Mehmet Muhammad!
Judge Santiago Holmes scores the fight for Mehmet Muhammad!

Mehmet Muhammad wins by unanimous decision!
A very excited looking Mehmet Muhammad made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.