PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight kickboxing rules bout between Baak Siko (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ebrahim Azhari (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Azhari has chosen Jedi Mind Tricks - Blood in Blood out as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Well, the cameraman is lingering on a pretty young lady for a bit too long there. Keep your eyes on the prize buddy or you'll miss the fighter intros!

Siko
vs
Azhari

170 cm
42
165 lbs
19 - 7 - 0

171 cm
37
159 lbs
27 - 19 - 2

World class boxer
Insanely flexible

World class MT
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the lightweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 19 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Baak Siko!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 27 - 19 - 2, fighting out of Amsterdam, Ebrahim Azhari!
The judges for this bout are Patrick Alders, Nard Betker and Radbod Blank.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Siko swings for the body but Azhari moves out of range.
A telegraphed right hand from Siko misses the target.
A big right from Siko misses.
Azhari takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Siko takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Siko digs a good hook to Azhari's body.
Donk. Siko catches Azhari right on the button with a cross.
Siko walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Azhari lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.

It looks like Baak Siko has been cut.
Siko swings widly with a right hand
and Azhari counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Azhari throws a good cross that connects.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Siko sizes up Azhari with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Azhari chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Siko can pounce on him.
Siko with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Siko keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Siko wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
Azhari scores with a nice right hand.
Azhari looks to land a left hand but Siko moved out of range nicely.
Azhari avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Azhari takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
Siko staying out of range there.
Siko misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Azhari.
Azhari throws a leg kick but Siko moved away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Azhari misses the jab.
Siko takes one to the side of the head.
Siko checks a low kick from Azhari.
Azhari avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Siko wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Siko connects with a looping right hand.

Siko closes the distance and pushes Azhari back into the ropes.
Siko blocks an elbow strike from Azhari.
Azhari missing with knees to the body.
Siko crunches a lovely knee into Azhari's ribcage.
Siko misses with a knee to the head.
Siko lands a nice elbow.
A shot in the inside from Siko.
Siko gets through Azhari's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Siko tries to land knees in the clinch but Azhari avoids the damage to the body.
Siko softening up his opponent with strikes, against the ropes.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Siko.
Azhari lands a shoulder strike.
With the fighters up against the ropes, Azhari throws an elbow but misses.
Siko looks to throw an elbow but misses.
I was talking to Siko's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.
Siko scores with a shot to the side of Azhari's head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Azhari struggles to land a body shot inside as Siko controls his hands.
Azhari scores with a shot to the side of Siko's head.
Azhari scores with a hook to the body.
We've been informed that Azhari has been sparring a lot of Muay Thai in the buildup to this fight so let's see if that has an impact on the result.
Azhari putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Siko in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Azhari lands a right hand.
Siko is breathing heavily.
Azhari working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Siko putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Azhari in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Nice body punch from Azhari.
Azhari lands a shot to the body.
Azhari softening up his opponent with strikes, against the ropes.
Azhari lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Azhari is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Siko is defending well for now.
Azhari lands a left hand.
Azhari trying to land knees to the body.

Azhari pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Azhari attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Siko moves away from the strike by Azhari.
Siko takes one to the chin there.
Siko wants to clinch up but Azhari keeps it at a distance.
Siko uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Azhari.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Siko looks to land a left hand but Azhari moved out of range nicely.
Siko tries to work over Azhari's front leg with a kick but Azhari checks it.
Azhari is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
Siko throws a looping overhand right but Azhari ducks down to avoid it.
Siko throws a body kick that misses.
A slow jab from Azhari misses its intended target.
Siko fails with an attempt to clinch.
Siko dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Azhari misses with a looping left.
Azhari connects with a good right hand that stumbles Siko. Siko circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
Azhari feints and then cracks Siko's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Siko down.
Azhari swats away the attempt to clinch by Siko.
And Azhari responds with a good body kick, but Siko manages to step out the way in time.
Siko throws a head kick that misses.
Siko doesn't manage to clinch there - Azhari circles away.
A shot to the liver by Siko. Beautiful body shot.
Azhari drops his hands momentarily and Siko takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Azhari fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Siko manages to avoid it.
Siko pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
A looping hook to the body misses from Siko. Azhari does a little dance to reset his feet.
Azhari is landing a lot of head punches in this opening round! Siko had better start moving his head a bit unless he wants his face to turn into pâté.
Azhari takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
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!
Azhari feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Siko's calf.
Siko moves in looking to clinch but Azhari pushes him off.
A chopping leg kick lands by Azhari.
Azhari misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Siko.
Siko doesn't manage to clinch there - Azhari circles away.
Azhari is looking to slow Siko down with leg kicks.
Siko throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Azhari walks into a left hand.
Siko misses with a hook.
Azhari lets it all go there with a big combo counter but none of the punches connected.
Siko tries to clinch up against the ropes, rushing in to close the distance. Azhari manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Siko connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Siko misses with a body shot.
Azhari works the jab nicely.
Siko misses with an uppercut. Azhari saw that one coming.
Siko lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Siko ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Azhari moves away.
Siko chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Azhari can pounce on him.
Good standup being displayed there by Azhari as he connects with a hook.
Siko wants to clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Ebrahim Azhari will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Baak Siko's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

A solid leg kick lands there for Azhari.
Siko pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Siko lands an overhand right.
Siko throws a leg kick which misses Azhari's front leg but catches the back leg as Azhari tries to avoid it.
Siko tries a head kick but it misses.
Siko throws a feint and then finishes with a kick to the body.
An inside leg kick from Azhari misses.
A head kick misses from Siko.
Siko displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Azhari throws out the jab.
Azhari throws a solid leg kick but Siko takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Azhari.
Siko tried to counter with a leg kick but Azhari avoided it.
Siko cracks Azhari with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Azhari throws a chopping leg kick but Siko manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Siko scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Baak Siko seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Azhari just misses with a punch to the body.
Azhari comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Azhari throws out a leg kick but Siko moves out of range and Azhari only half commits.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Siko checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Siko fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Azhari manages to avoid it.
Azhari ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Siko on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Siko bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Azhari's head backwards.
Siko wants to clinch.
Azhari jabs Siko to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Siko misses with a wild body shot.
Siko scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Azhari doesn't seem bothered though.
Siko throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Siko ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Siko swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Siko is looking to clinch but Azhari is avoiding it.
Siko throws a body kick despite being completely out of range
and Azhari counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Azhari pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Siko throws a looping overhand right but Azhari ducks down to avoid it.
Siko keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Azhari.
Siko jabs Azhari to the body, keeping him at a distance.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Azhari stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Siko tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Siko chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Azhari avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Siko tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Azhari was well out of range. Poor timing from Siko.
Siko scores with a head kick. Azhari tried to block it but didn't get his arm up in time.
Siko throws an overhand right that lands on Azhari's shoulder, as Azhari tries to avoid the shot.
Azhari dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Siko wants to clinch.
Azhari misses with a leg kick.
Azhari swats away the attempt to clinch by Siko.
Siko misses with a body punch
and Azhari counters with a left and a right that stings Siko.
Siko throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
A leg kick checked by Azhari.
Azhari swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Siko pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Siko is looking to chop away at Azhari's legs.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Siko lands with a right hand.
Azhari throws a shot from downtown. Siko moves away and avoids it.
Azhari throws a leg kick which misses Siko's front leg but catches the back leg as Siko tries to avoid it.
Azhari scoring well with a low kick there.
Siko slips a jab from Azhari.
Siko misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Azhari.
Siko throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Azhari misses with a leg kick.
An attempted straight right counter from Siko misses the target.
Siko lands a jab.
A left lands for Azhari.
Azhari connects with a leg kick. Siko looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Azhari blocks a head kick by Siko.
Siko throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Azhari tries a quick counter leg kick but Siko is wise to it.

Siko forces Azhari back against the ropes and clinches.
Siko has a couple of punches blocked by Azhari.
Siko tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
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!
Siko pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the ropes.
Azhari doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Siko lands an elbow just above Azhari 's eye.

It looks like Ebrahim Azhari has been cut.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Siko pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the ropes.
A short right from Azhari on the inside.
Siko throws a knee to the head but misses.
Azhari lands a knee to the body.
Azhari lands a good knee to the midsection. Siko won't want to take too many of those.
Azhari lands a nice elbow from the clinch.

Azhari breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Azhari fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Siko has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Azhari takes a head kick and keeps coming.
Azhari swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Siko.

Baak Siko's cut is getting worse.
Azhari misses with a straight right.
It looked like Siko wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Siko tries to clinch up against the ropes, rushing in to close the distance. Azhari manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Azhari with a nice cross.
Azhari throws an overhand right that lands on Siko's shoulder, as Siko tries to avoid the shot.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Siko on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Siko keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Siko keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Azhari.
Ebrahim Azhari seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Siko misses with a straight left.
Azhari lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ebrahim Azhari showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Siko is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Azhari throws a low kick but Siko avoids it.
Siko is looking to clinch but Azhari is avoiding it.
Azhari fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Azhari slips a straight right by Siko.
Siko with a nice cross.
Azhari lands with a hook. Siko tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Siko with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Azhari to score with a decent uppercut.
Azhari takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Siko has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Azhari.
Siko dips down and scores with a jab to the body.

Siko has taken the fight to the clinch.
Azhari avoiding damage as Siko throws knees to the body.
Azhari lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Azhari takes an elbow to the temple.
Siko trying to land knees to the body.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Siko misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Azhari.
A left hand lands to the body for Azhari.
Azhari blocks an uppercut.

That's one minute gone in the round.
With the two fighters working up against the ropes, Siko just misses with a elbow thrown towards Azhari's brow.
Siko with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Azhari unloads a knee to the mid-section.
A short body shot lands from Azhari as the two fighters clinch.
Azhari tries to work over Siko's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
A nice right hand lands inside from Azhari.

Baak Siko's cut is bleeding quite badly. He's got to try and protect it.
Azhari lands a hook to the side of the head.
Azhari lands a right hand that snaps the head of Siko backwards.

Siko is rocked!
Ebrahim Azhari seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Azhari lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Siko backwards.
Oh Siko is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Azhari lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
A nice left hand lands by Azhari.
Siko is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Siko creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Azhari creates a bit of space for himself and unleashed what can only be described as a tiger uppercut, straight out of Street Fighter! Siko crashes to the mat! Can he make it back to his feet in time? 3,4,5,6... it doesn't look like he's going to make it! Siko face plants back to the mat and the referee calls off the fight! Azhari takes it with a brutal technical knockout!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:43 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Punch). Ebrahim Azhari!
Ebrahim Azhari is the new lightweight champion!
Our winner, Ebrahim Azhari, made sure he spent some time buttering up the crowd during his post fight interview, which will no doubt bring him a few more fans.