PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Rahkim Abdullah (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Vann Knight (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rahkim Abdullah has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Abdullah
vs
Knight

190 cm
30
149 lbs
14 - 11 - 0

185 cm
33
184 lbs
15 - 8 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Irish Collar & Elbow Nutrition and Laundry

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 14 - 11 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Rahkim Abdullah!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 15 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Vann Knight!
The judges for this bout are Tarja Halkonen, Johanna Lukiainen and Matti Vanhoillinen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Knight scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Abdullah takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Knight throws a leg kick but Abdullah sees it coming and moves out of range.
Knight throws a chopping leg kick but Abdullah manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Knight swats away the attempt to clinch by Abdullah.
Abdullah looks to land a combination but Knight avoids it well.
Knight attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Abdullah really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Knight keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Abdullah.

Abdullah drives through with a takedown into Knight's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Abdullah lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Knight is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Knight has Abdullah pulled in close to control his posture.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Abdullah controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Knight is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Abdullah slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Knight bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Abdullah's guard.

Knight stands and steps away. Abdullah gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Abdullah tries to close the distance and clinch but Knight swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Abdullah wants to slow Knight down by chopping away at his legs.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Knight scores with a hook to the body. Abdullah takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Knight throws a head kick but Abdullah moves out of range.
Knight checks a low kick from Abdullah.
Abdullah seems to be moving with more speed, compared to his last bout. He must have been working on that in the gym.
Knight throws a right and a left that both miss.
Abdullah drops down looking for a counter takedown but Knight sprawls and moves away.
Vann Knight seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Abdullah takes a swing at Knight's ribcage but misses.
A countering left hand to the body from Knight misses.
Abdullah goes for a double leg but Knight avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Knight continues to drive forward.
Knight flicks out a counter leg kick but Abdullah steps away.
Vann Knight is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
A solid leg kick lands there for Knight.
A leg kick checked by Abdullah.
Nice takedown defense from Knight. No joy for Abdullah on that attempt.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Abdullah.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rahkim Abdullah. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Abdullah feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Knights jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Abdullah misses with a right hand
and Knight counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Knight dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Abdullah. That did some damage!
Abdullah avoids the body shot from Knight.
Abdullah throws a right hand that Knight ducks under and follows up with a left that Knight also avoids with ease.
Abdullah tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Knight manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Abdullah checks a leg kick.
Knight throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Abdullah uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Knight.
Knight throws a shot from downtown. Abdullah moves away and avoids it.
Abdullah digs a good body shot into Knight's ribs.
Knight walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Abdullah checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Abdullah looks for a takedown but Knight sprawls well.
Knight feints a counter leg kick.
Abdullah takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Abdullah avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
A shot to the body from Abdullah misses
letting Knight counter with a right hand.
Knight connects with a crisp jab.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Abdullah misses with a leg kick.
Knight is looking for the big counter here.
Abdullah shoots in looking for a takedown but Knight manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Abdullah's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
The fighters circle momentarily. Knight darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Abdullah takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Abdullah has his takedown stuffed
and Knight counters with a nice uppercut.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Vann Knight dominated that round.
That's time! Abdullah's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Knight showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Abdullah.
Knight doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Knight dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Abdullah. That did some damage!
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Knight.
Abdullah misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
A chopping leg kick lands by Knight.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Abdullah misses the shot to the body.
Abdullah bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Abdullah drops down looking for a counter takedown but Knight sprawls and moves away.
Rahkim Abdullah is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Knight lands a nice leg kick that just misses Abdullah's sensitive parts.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Abdullah has his takedown stuffed
and Knight counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Abdullah connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Abdullah fails in his attempt to clinch.

Abdullah clinches up with Knight and pushes him back against the cage.
Knight has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

Knight breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Vann Knight seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Knight throws a chopping leg kick but Abdullah manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
The fighters circle momentarily. Knight darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Knight throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Abdullah wants to clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nice defenses there by Abdullah.
Knight throws a series of strikes that have Abdullah backpedaling.
Abdullah on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Knight looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Knight dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Abdullah. That did some damage!
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Knight lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Abdullah has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Abdullah and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Abdullah doesn't manage to clinch there - Knight circles away.
Knight tries to score with a low kick but Abdullah moves his leg out of the way.
Abdullah attempts a counter takedown but Knight avoids it well and moves away.
A leg kick checked by Knight.
Good work by Abdullah as he checks the leg kick.
Abdullah moves out of range of the strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Abdullah misses with an uppercut
and Knight counters with a stiff right hand.
Abdullah throws a hard body shot but it just misses.

Abdullah shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Abdullah showed some decent athleticism there.

Knight kicks off Abdullah and gets to his feet.
Abdullah is looking to wear down Knight with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Abdullah swinging wildly here.
Knight counters with a body kick.
Knight dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Abdullah. That did some damage!
Knight keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Abdullah has managed to clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Abdullah changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Knight fights it off and pushes away nicely.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rahkim Abdullah. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Knight throws a push kick but Abdullah slaps the foot to one side.
Knight throws a head kick that misses.
Knight listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Knight lands a nice shot to the body.
Knight throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Abdullah's head.
Knight throws a front kick aimed at Abdullah's knee but Abdullah avoids it well.
A decent looking body kick lands there for Knight.
Knight throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Abdullah half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.
Knight slips under a jab from Abdullah.
Knight comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Vann Knight showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Knight throws a lazy right hand but Abdullah sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Abdullah fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Abdullah throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Knight stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
A low kick from Abdullah misses
and Knight counters with a leg kick.
Abdullah tries to close the distance and clinch but Knight swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Knight throws a mid kick that lands with a slap.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Abdullah tries to clinch there but Knight circles away.
Abdullah misses with a hook. Knight ducked under it nicely.
Knight looks like he wants to counter punch here.
A clash of legs there as Abdullah blocks the low kick.
Abdullah keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Knight.
Abdullah changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Abdullah shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Knight's guard.
Abdullah wants to control from the top but Knight keeps moving.
Knight controlling Abdullah's posture.
Abdullah stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Knight swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Abdullah is looking to pass into half guard but Knight pushes him away with his feet and jumps on top - now Knight is in guard.

Abdullah is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Knight must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

Knight gets to his feet. Abdullah looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Knight throws a nice outside leg kick.

Abdullah drives through and clinches with Knight against the cage.

Knight breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Knight shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Abdullah tries to clinch up.
Knight throws out a counter right but Abdullah avoids it with no problem.
Knight blocks a low kick nicely.
Abdullah misses with a wild combination.
Knight misses with a wild combination.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Abdullah looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Abdullah shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Knight but Knight pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Knight only half commits to the counter leg kick.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rahkim Abdullah. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Abdullah will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Knight throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Abdullah changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Knight keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Abdullah throws a series of punches but Knight avoids them all with ease.
The fight stays on the outside here - Abdullah looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Abdullah throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Knight feints a counter leg kick.
Knight throws a hook but Abdullah blocks it.
Knight throws a leg kick but Abdullah checks it.
Abdullah half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.
Rahkim Abdullah has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Abdullah moves out of range as Knight strikes.
Knight lands a jab to the head.
Knight throws a leg kick which misses Abdullah's front leg but catches the back leg as Abdullah tries to avoid it.
Abdullah takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Abdullah fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Abdullah throws an off balance right hand
letting Knight counter with a right hand.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
A chopping leg kick lands by Knight.
That kick from Knight tenderised Abdullah's leg. Abdullah is trying to keep his angry face on.

And that's the end of the fight!
Vann Knight comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Knight winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 27:30
Judge Johanna Lukiainen scores the fight 27:30
Judge Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Vann Knight!
After the fight, Vann Knight was humble in paying tribute to his opponent but made it clear he wants to go on to bigger and better things. It seemed to go down well with the crowd who cheered him loudly.