PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Nick Maqsood (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Sean Gallagher (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Maqsood
vs
Gallagher

182 cm
25
165 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

165 cm
23
163 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Good knees
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Solid chin

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Nick Maqsood!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Sean Gallagher!
The judges for this bout are Roger Salmon, Colin Fray and Jeff Smith.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gallagher fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Gallagher closes this distance looking for a takedown but Maqsood circles away.
Maqsood shoots in but Gallagher avoids the takedown attempt easily.

Maqsood closes the distance and clinches.
Gallagher is trying to pull guard but Maqsood turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Nick Maqsood has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Sean Gallagher.
Maqsood lands a knee to the head.
Maqsood misses with a knee to the head.
Gallagher blocks the elbow strike.
Gallagher fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Maqsood with an attempt at a knee that misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Maqsood lands a knee to the body.
Maqsood scores a nice knee to the body.
Maqsood scores a nice knee to the body.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Maqsood takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Gallagher on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Maqsood tries a knee to the head but Gallagher blocks it.
Maqsood connects with a nasty looking knee right to Gallagher's face.
Maqsood throws a punch but it's blocked by Gallagher.
Maqsood is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Gallagher is defending well for now.

Gallagher manages to pull guard.
Maqsood throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Maqsood is looking to work some ground and pound but Gallagher has wrist control.
Maqsood throwing strikes from guard but Gallagher blocks nicely.

Maqsood avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Maqsood knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Gallagher on the ground.

Gallagher working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Maqsood doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Maqsood manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Maqsood is looking to pass into half guard but Gallagher pushes him away with his feet and jumps on top - now Gallagher is in guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Maqsood 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.
Maqsood will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Gallagher stays in close to Maqsood's body and controls the position.
Maqsood looking to control but Gallagher passes into half guard.
Maqsood tries to roll over but Gallagher keeps him under control.
Gallagher takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Maqsood wants to control but Gallagher is keeping busy.
Gallagher trying to control the pace.
Gallagher is stalling here. Maqsood is in no mood to hang around though. He's locked up a kimura from the bottom! Gallagher seems to be keeping calm but he's forced to roll out of the hold and Maqsood has ended up in side control on the top. Nice work.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Maqsood goes for an armbar! This could be all over! Wait, no, Gallagher rolls with the submission and now he's on top in Maqsood's guard! Nice work there by Gallagher!
Maqsood wants to stand up but Gallagher is controlling him.
Maqsood working a defensive guard here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Gallagher accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

Gallagher stands up from guard. Let's bang!
Maqsood tries to clinch but Gallagher is having none of it.
Maqsood throws a head kick that half lands.
Gallagher throws a wild body kick that Maqsood sees coming a mile off.
Maqsood tries to close the distance and clinch up but Gallagher swats him away and circles back towards the center.

Maqsood forces Gallagher back against the cage and clinches.
Maqsood landing knees to the head.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Maqsood is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Gallagher is defending well for now.
Good body shot from Gallagher.

Maqsood breaks from the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nick Maqsood 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.

Maqsood has closed the distance and engaged Gallagher in a clinch.

Gallagher gets control of Maqsood's arms and successfully pulls guard. Gallagher will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Gallagher pulls Maqsood in to control the position.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Maqsood accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Gallagher avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Gallagher managing to control the position.
Maqsood postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Maqsood working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Maqsood looking to sit in guard and control but Gallagher gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Maqsood is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Gallagher can do to turn this around?
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gallagher is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Maqsood wants to stand up but Gallagher is controlling him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Maqsood is looking to stand back up... there's a bit of a scramble and Gallagher dives into side control.

Gallagher wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Maqsood, who protects the arm well.
Gallagher misses with an attempted head punch from side control.
Sean Gallagher has got the better of the ground game so far.
Maqsood is pushing Gallagher's head away, looking to escape. Gallagher manages to hold on to the position though.
Maqsood tries to bench press Gallagher off him but Gallagher keeps the position.

Gallagher working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Maqsood tries to get back to his feet but has found himself mounted instead. Damn, that's gotta suck.
Gallagher throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Maqsood is trying desperately to improve position.
Gallagher sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gallagher lands a heavy elbow.

Gallagher jumps to the side looking to secure the arm triangle…. Ooooh, that looks tight… Maqsood is gargling but he's managed to escape! Nice work there by Maqsood and Gallagher has given up the dominant position trying to land that submission.
Maqsood is trying to escape the position but Gallagher is controlling the position.

Gallagher decides to stand back up.
Maqsood plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gallagher circles away from the clinch attempt
and Gallagher counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Nick Maqsood is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Maqsood tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Gallagher paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Gallagher tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Maqsood defends well and Gallagher ends up having to push Maqsood into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Maqsood throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Gallagher.

Maqsood clinches.
Gallagher takes a knee to the side of the body.
Maqsood tries to land a knee to the head but Gallagher blocks with his arms.
Gallagher goes for a takedown attempt but Maqsood pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.

Maqsood rushes Gallagher and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Maqsood tries to stall but Gallagher uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Gallagher tries to pull guard but Maqsood forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Sean Gallagher will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

A head kick misses from Maqsood.
Gallagher tries to clinch there but Maqsood circles away.
Maqsood tries to clinch
and Gallagher counters with a right hand to the body.
Maqsood tries to clinch but Gallagher moves away
and Gallagher counters with a straight right hand.
Gallagher scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Maqsood doesn't seem bothered though.
Maqsood is looking to clinch.
A head kick misses from Gallagher.
Maqsood is looking to clinch.

Maqsood clinches up against the cage.
Gallagher throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Maqsood blocks it with crossed arms.
Gallagher goes for a takedown attempt but Maqsood pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Maqsood throws a head kick that Gallagher semi-blocks.
Gallagher avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Gallagher misses with a kick to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Maqsood throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Gallagher.
Gallagher stuffs the takedown.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Maqsood wants to clinch but Gallagher slips to the side
and Gallagher counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Decent striking displayed by Gallagher there.
Gallagher swats away the attempt to clinch by Maqsood.
Maqsood takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Maqsood throws a lazy head kick
and Gallagher counters with a three punch combo that has Maqsood backing up. Maqsood nods at Gallagher to acknowledge the strikes.
Maqsood tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Maqsood is looking to clinch but Gallagher is avoiding it.
Gallagher shoots in for a double leg but Maqsood sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Gallagher shoots in for a takedown but Maqsood shows good takedown defense.
Nick Maqsood has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Sean Gallagher.
Maqsood tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Gallagher manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Maqsood tries to clinch but Gallagher moves out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Maqsood shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Gallagher as he jumps to the side.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Gallagher shoots in but no luck this time.
Gallagher is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Maqsood rather than just go for the knockout.
Maqsood looks to clinch
and Gallagher counters with a series of strikes. Maqsood will be more careful next time no doubt.
Maqsood wants to clinch.
Maqsood gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Maqsood lands a high kick!
Maqsood is looking to take this fight into the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Maqsood clinches.
Maqsood with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Nick Maqsood has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Gallagher has Maqsood pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Maqsood manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Gallagher jumps guard but Maqsood turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Maqsood connects with a knee to the head.
Knees in the clinch landing for Maqsood.
Maqsood has Gallagher pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Gallagher manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Gallagher jumps guard but Maqsood stands there with Gallagher around his waist. Gallagher gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Maqsood tries to land a knee to the head but Gallagher blocks with his arms.

Maqsood escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Gallagher dives in for a single leg takedown but Maqsood sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Gallagher fails with the takedown.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Maqsood connects with a high kick.

Maqsood has closed the distance and engaged Gallagher in a clinch.
A knee to the head by Maqsood.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Maqsood has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Gallagher avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Gallagher wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Maqsood has him pressed against the cage.
Knees in the clinch landing for Maqsood.

Gallagher drags the fight down to the ground.
Maqsood throws a strike but Gallagher rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Gallagher is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Gallagher postures up in Maqsood's guard and throws a big left but Maqsood blocks it.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Sean Gallagher.
I think Gallagher 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 Roger Salmon scores the fight for Nick Maqsood!
Judge Colin Fray scores the fight for Nick Maqsood!
Judge Jeff Smith scores the fight for Nick Maqsood!

Nick Maqsood wins by unanimous decision!
A pretty intense looking Nick Maqsood took the opportunity post-fight to ask for a shot at the title.