PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Arslan Rashid (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Altin Patriot (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). I don't know about you partner, but I'm pumped for this one!

Rashid
vs
Patriot

170 cm
23
135 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

164 cm
25
136 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
KO power

Decent wrestler
Brawler
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Arslan Rashid!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Altin Patriot!
The judges for this bout are David Hoff, Michael Johnstone and Winston Alpacca.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rashid lands a front kick.

Rashid forces Patriot back against the cage and clinches.

Rashid breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Rashid scores with a leg kick.
Patriot tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Rashid defends well and Patriot ends up having to push Rashid into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Patriot looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Patriot has his takedown stuffed

and Rashid counters with a crisp one two that drops Patriot! Rashid thinks about following him to the mat for a moment but instead steps back and waves Patriot to his feet! Patriot is in big trouble!

Patriot is rocked!
Patriot takes a nasty kick to the mid section... That should keep him thinking. Does he try and block and risk a head kick landing?
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Rashid looks to land a combination but Patriot avoids it well.

Rashid moves into the clinch.
Patriot has Rashid pushed against the cage.

Patriot breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Rashid looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Patriot is fending him off so far but Rashid persists. Nope, Patriot circles away and we're back to standing.
Patriot wants to counter with a clinch but Rashid pushes him away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Patriot shoots in but no luck this time.
Arslan Rashid has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Altin Patriot.
Patriot takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Rashid fails in his attempt to clinch.
Patriot is looking for the big counter here.

Patriot closes the distance and pushes Rashid back into the cage.
Rashid tries to work over Patriot's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Patriot is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Rashid to keep the fight standing.
Patriot looks winded!
Rashid wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Patriot lands a right hand that snaps the head of Rashid backwards.
Rashid scores with an uppercut up the middle.

Patriot escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Rashid moves into the clinch.
Rashid lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Patriot backwards.
Rashid is trying to push Patriot away but Patriot has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Rashid breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Patriot has tried to improve his agility in the runup to this fight.
Rashid throws a nice looking combination but Patriot bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Patriot wants to counter the offense by Rashid and move into the clinch position.

Rashid has taken the fight to the clinch.
A frustrated look appears on Rashid's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Patriot stalling against the cage.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Rashid misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Rashid gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.

Patriot manages to pull guard.
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.
Patriot keeping moving, preventing Rashid from controlling successfully.
Rashid trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

Rashid thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rashid trying to stand up but can't free himself from Patriot's guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Rashid wants to control from the top but Patriot keeps moving.
Rashid working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Rashid trying to control but Patriot is working from the bottom.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.

Rashid stands and steps away. Patriot gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Rashid fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Rashid misses with a series of wild punches.

Patriot takes the fight into the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rashid tries to land knees in the clinch but Patriot avoids the damage to the body.

Rashid breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

Patriot rushes Rashid and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

Patriot breaks from the clinch.
Patriot shoots in but no luck this time.
Rashid goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.

Patriot darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Rashid wants to control but Patriot is keeping busy and won't allow it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Arslan Rashid dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Rashid misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Patriot tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Rashid defends well and Patriot ends up having to push Rashid into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Patriot avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Some wild striking there from Rashid.

Patriot instigates a clinch.
Patriot is trying to pull guard but Rashid turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Patriot just misses with a elbow thrown towards Rashid's brow.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Patriot tries to pull guard but Rashid holds him up against the cage and eventually Patriot drops back down to his feet.
Arslan Rashid has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Altin Patriot.
Rashid is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Patriot pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Patriot stalling against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rashid wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.

Patriot breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Rashid fails with an attempt to clinch.
Patriot looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Rashid is fending him off so far but Patriot persists. Nope, Rashid circles away and we're back to standing.
Patriot is breathing heavily.
A head kick misses from Rashid.
Patriot wants to counter the offense by Rashid and move into the clinch position.
Rashid fails with an attempt to clinch.
Patriot tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
Rashid tries to bum rush Patriot with a series of wild strikes but Patriot uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Patriot shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.

Patriot shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.

Rashid has managed to escape just enough to sneak back to his feet but Patriot is on him like a limpet, forcing Rashid back against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Rashid manages to break the clinch.
Arslan Rashid is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Patriot stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Patriot wants it to stay on the feet.
Rashid feints and then cracks Patriot's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Patriot down.
Patriot misses with a low kick.
A nice leg kick lands there from Rashid.
Rashid dives in for a single leg takedown but Patriot sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Patriot slips a jab and a cross from Rashid.
Patriot fails with a takedown attempt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Rashid has closed the distance and engaged Patriot in a clinch.
Rashid wants to get back to striking at distance but Patriot won't allow it.
Rashid wants to get back to striking at distance but Patriot won't allow it.

Rashid manages to break the clinch.
Patriot has a takedown stuffed.
Rashid misses with a double jab.
Rashid throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Patriot tries to counter with a clinch but Rashid shakes him off and moves away.
Patriot avoids the head kick by Rashid.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Rashid.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Rashid gets caught flat footed, as Patriot shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Rashid working a defensive guard here.

Rashid working for submissions but it's allowed Patriot to get to half guard.
Rashid tries to regain full guard. Instead though, Patriot has advanced to mount. Uh oh.
Rashid reaches up to try and control the position but Patriot seems to have an arm triangle now! Uh oh! Rashid rolls and tries to escape and now Patriot has his back!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Arslan Rashid dominated that second 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. This is the final round!

Rashid misses with a head kick.
Arslan Rashid is winning the standup battle so far.
Patriot walks forward, straight into a front kick from Rashid.
Rashid ducks under a wild hook from Patriot.
Rashid throws a nice looking combination but Patriot bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.

Patriot moves into the clinch.
Rashid can't break the clinch.
Patriot blocking some punches.

Rashid breaks the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Patriot is trying hard to land a takedown here. Rashid sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Rashid is looking to slow Patriot down with leg kicks.
Patriot has a takedown stuffed.
Patriot takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Rashid instigates a clinch.
Rashid is trying to break the clinch but Patriot has him pressed against the cage.
Patriot leaning against his opponent.
Patriot jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Rashid walks away with a smile on his face. Patriot gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Arslan Rashid has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Altin Patriot.
Rashid throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Patriot's head.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Patriot.
Patriot looks to score with a jab to the body but Rashid is just out of range.
Rashid explodes with a nice body kick and back out of range. Nice work.

Rashid fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Patriot, pushing him back against the cage.
Rashid is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Patriot can do to turn this around?
A shot in the inside from Rashid.
Arslan Rashid has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Patriot fails to pull the fight into his guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Patriot keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Rashid's efforts to push away.
A short left from Rashid.

Rashid breaks from the clinch.
Rashid misses with a two punch combination.
Patriot looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Patriot is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Rashid.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Rashid tries to close the distance and clinch but Patriot swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Rashid throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Patriot.
Rashid plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Rashid scores with a head kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Patriot takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.
Rashid is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Rashid, right into the meat.

Patriot has Rashid up against the cage in a clinch.
Patriot is trying to pull guard but Rashid has him pressed against the cage.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Patriot.
Patriot effectively controlling the action here.

Patriot breaks from the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rashid connects with a high kick.
Rashid throws a body kick that digs right into the meat.
Rashid throws a series of punches but Patriot moves out of range.
Patriot steps in looking to clinch after the strikes miss from Rashid.
Rashid throws a head kick that looked like it stung.
Patriot blocks a head kick by Rashid.
Patriot takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
This has been an exciting period of action!

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

Rashid makes some distance and scrambles quickly back to his feet. Nice work!

And that's the end of the fight!
Arslan Rashid showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Rashid, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 David Hoff scores the fight 30:26
Judge Michael Johnstone scores the fight 30:27
Judge Winston Alpacca scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Arslan Rashid!