PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Karim Bashorov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Richard Hickock (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Bashorov comes to the cage accompanied by Hangar 18. Hickock comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Why can't we be friends kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! Both fighters will be looking to make this an exciting fight for the fans, I'm sure!

Bashorov
vs
Hickock

190 cm
29
194 lbs
11 - 4 - 0

182 cm
37
193 lbs
35 - 21 - 3

BJJ Red Belt
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Mohito Fightwear
GREEN!160

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 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Karim Bashorov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 35 - 21 - 3, fighting out of Los Angeles, Richard Hickock!
The judges for this bout are Yukihiro Shimada, Shigeki Fujiwara and Yuuki Gou.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Bashorov with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Bashorov throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Bashorov bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Hickock's head.
Hickock cracks Bashorov with a good jab.
Hickock takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Bashorov lands with a hook. Hickock tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Hickock misses with a double jab
and Bashorov counters with a nice uppercut.
Hickock just misses with a punch to the body.
Hickock tries to clinch up but Bashorov circles away and keeps his distance.
Hickock misses with a series of wild punches.
Bashorov appears to be looking for a big counter.
Bashorov uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Hickock.
Hickock lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Bashorov at a distance.
Hickock's coach down at Bruize Brothaz was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on Hickock's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Hickock throws a leg kick that misses.
Bashorov looks to land a left hand but Hickock moved out of range nicely.
Bashorov has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Hickock.
Hickock misses with a straight right.
Bashorov works Hickock's body with a nice hook.
Hickock misses with a body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hickock wants to clinch
letting Bashorov counter with a right hand.
Hickock misses with a straight left.
Hickock darts in trying to clinch
and Bashorov counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Bashorov moves out of range as Hickock throws a body kick.
Bashorov throws a body shot but no joy.
Bashorov lands a jab to Hickock's midsection.
Hickock swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Hickock staying out of range there.
And Hickock responds with a good body kick, but Bashorov manages to step out the way in time.
Bashorov keeps the fight on the outside.
The crowd cheers as Bashorov lands an impressive looking overhand right. Hickock doesn't seem phased though.
Hickock has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Hickock misses with a lunging right hand
and Bashorov counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Bashorov misses with a looping right.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Hickock fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Bashorov on the side of the head.
Bashorov shoots in for a double leg but Hickock sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hickock missing with a left hand there. Bashorov was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Bashorov throws a series of punches but Hickock moves out of range.
Hickock lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Richard Hickock is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Bashorov throws a shot from downtown. Hickock moves away and avoids it.
Bashorov lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Hickock throws a right hand that misses

and Bashorov decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Hickock's guard.
Bashorov working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Hickock working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Bashorov.
Bashorov postures up.
Bashorov is looking to work some ground and pound but Hickock has wrist control.
Bashorov in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Bashorov looking to pass the guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hickock preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Bashorov looking to sit in guard and control but Hickock gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Hickock passes into half guard.
Hickock prevents Bashorov from improving his position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bashorov moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.

The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Bashorov looking for a guillotine here but Hickock defends easily.

Hickock stands and steps away. Bashorov gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Hickock looks to land a left hand but Bashorov moved out of range nicely.
Bashorov lands with an overhand left.
Bashorov moves out of range as Hickock strikes.
Bashorov throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Hickock throws the left hand but Bashorov avoids the punch easily.
Bashorov swung with a counter punch to the body but it didn't connect.
Hickock takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Karim Bashorov dominated that 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.

An inside leg kick from Hickock misses.
Hickock throws a left and a right that both miss
and Bashorov counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Bashorov throws an overhand right that lands on Hickock's shoulder, as Hickock tries to avoid the shot.
Bashorov will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Hickock misses with a left hand
letting Bashorov counter with a right hand.
Bashorov slips a jab from Hickock.
It looks like Bashorov has been trying to sharpen up his punching technique, as it looks crisper than last time we saw him.
Hickock uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Bashorov.
Bashorov uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Hickock.
Hickock will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.

Bashorov shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Hickock trying to control here.
Hickock is trying to stand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hickock is looking for a sweep. Bashorov is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Hickock trying to control here.
Hickock is trying to get back to full guard.
Bashorov throwing shots but Hickock is blocking nicely.

Bashorov seems to be looking for submissions.
Bashorov has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Bashorov trying to control from Hickock's half guard. Hickock has other ideas though and has regained full guard.
Bashorov preventing the sweep.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Bashorov cracks Hickock with a solid left hand.
Hickock trying to control the position.
Bashorov working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Bashorov stays in close to Hickock's body and controls the position.
Bashorov in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Hickock not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Hickock avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Karim Bashorov overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Bashorov landing some decent shots from guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bashorov missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Hickock is pulling down on Bashorov's head to control his posture.
Bashorov is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Hickock can do to turn this around?
Bashorov throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Hickock works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Bashorov throws a hook but Hickock blocks it.

Bashorov decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Bashorov working Hickock over with strikes.
Hickock blocking the ground and pound attempt from Bashorov.
Hickock regains full guard. Nicely done.
Bashorov in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Bashorov working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bashorov throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Hickock works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Bashorov throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Bashorov throws a big elbow that misses.
Bashorov with a flurry of punches that miss.
Bashorov postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Bashorov sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Hickock's guard.
Bashorov missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Hickock trying to hold on to Bashorov's head to control him but Bashorov postures up.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Hickock wants to improve his position but Bashorov is controlling well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Karim Bashorov dominated that second round.
That's time! Bashorov's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Bashorov walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
A looping hook to the body misses from Hickock. Bashorov does a little dance to reset his feet.
Bashorov half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.
Hickock looks to throw the jab but Bashorov is out of range.
Nice sprawl there from Hickock as Bashorov shoots in.
Bashorov fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Hickock on the side of the head.
Bashorov uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Hickock.
Hickock throws a lazy right hand but Bashorov sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
An attempted straight right counter from Bashorov misses the target.
Bashorov uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Hickock.
Hickock waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Bashorov.
Hickock takes a jab right on the kisser.
Hickock misses with a few strikes there.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Bashorov slips under a jab from Hickock.
Hickock digs a good hook to Bashorov's body.
The crowd cheers as Bashorov lands an impressive looking overhand right. Hickock doesn't seem phased though.
Hickock shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Hickock scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bashorov shoots for a double leg takedown but Hickock sprawls well. He's pushed Bashorov's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Hickock drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Bashorov fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Bashorov backing away here, and Hickock unleashes a leg kick that just misses.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Karim Bashorov. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Hickock misses with a two punch combination.
The fighters circling - Hickock throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Sloppy strikes from Hickock. Those never looked like landing.
Hickock takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Bashorov bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Hickock's head.
Nice uppercut there from Bashorov.
Bashorov moves away from the strike by Hickock.
Bashorov avoids the body shot from Hickock.
The fighters circling - Hickock throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Hickock takes a swing at Bashorov's ribcage but misses.
Hickock on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Hickock throws a jab when Bashorov was well out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bashorov tries for a takedown but Hickock sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Bashorov swings away with a body shot that misses
and Hickock counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Bashorov lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Hickock circles away quickly and effectively.
Hickock throws the left hand but Bashorov avoids the punch easily.
Bashorov was looking to counter that last move with a shot to the body but he didn't commit.
Hickock moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Bashorov looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Bashorov shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Hickock sprawls well. Hickock wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Bashorov gets slowly back to his feet.
Hickock misses with a kick to the body.
Hickock displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Bashorov throws out the jab.
Bashorov tries to score a power double leg takedown but Hickock sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Bashorov somewhat.
Hickock tries to bum rush Bashorov with a series of wild strikes but Bashorov uses good footwork to avoid the assault.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hickock moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Hickock lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.

Hickock gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Hickock misses with a short punch on the inside.

Bashorov has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Hickock uses from the top position.
Bashorov controls Hickock momentarily but Hickock frees himself.
Richard Hickock has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Bashorov wants to sweep but no luck.

Bashorov working for submissions but it's allowed Hickock to get to half guard.
Hickock sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Bashorov defending well though.
Bashorov manages to get to full guard.
Karim Bashorov is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hickock stands up over Bashorov, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Hickock throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Bashorov works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Bashorov tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Bashorov is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Bashorov seems keen to control Hickock's posture.
Bashorov controls Hickock momentarily but Hickock frees himself.

And that's the end of the fight!
Richard Hickock comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Bashorov 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 Yukihiro Shimada scores the fight 29:28
Judge Shigeki Fujiwara scores the fight 29:28
Judge Yuuki Gou scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Karim Bashorov!
A very excited looking Karim Bashorov 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.