PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Cullen Castrello (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). al-Baghdadi comes to the cage accompanied by Till I Collapse - Eminem Feat. Nate Dogg. I can't wait for this one - let's get the fighter introductions out of the way and get this one started!

Bakr al-Baghdadi
vs
Castrello

178 cm
33
155 lbs
24 - 18 - 1

185 cm
30
156 lbs
19 - 7 - 3

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

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 24 - 18 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 19 - 7 - 3, fighting out of New York, Cullen Castrello!
The judges for this bout are , Timothy Bukovac and Don Winkell.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
al-Baghdadi feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Castrellos jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
al-Baghdadi fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Castrello checks it well.
al-Baghdadi throws a sloppy head kick and Castrello moves out of range easily.
Castrello avoids the head kick by al-Baghdadi.
al-Baghdadi throws a shot from downtown. Castrello moves away and avoids it.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from al-Baghdadi is defended easily by Castrello.
al-Baghdadi looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Castrello swings and misses with a hook to the body.
al-Baghdadi avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Nice body kick from al-Baghdadi.
A big right from Castrello misses.
al-Baghdadi goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
al-Baghdadi backing away here, and Castrello unleashes a leg kick that just misses.
al-Baghdadi avoids the head kick by Castrello.
Castrello just misses with a punch to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
al-Baghdadi bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Castrello's head.
al-Baghdadi catches Castrello with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Cullen Castrello is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
al-Baghdadi throws a body punch but Castrello moves out of range.
al-Baghdadi throws a series of punches but Castrello avoids them all with ease.
al-Baghdadi slips under a jab.
A big right from Castrello misses.
Castrello misses with a straight right.
We've been informed that Castrello 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.
Castrello ducks right into an uppercut from al-Baghdadi.
Castrello tries to land a leg kick but al-Baghdadi saw it coming and moves away.
al-Baghdadi turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
al-Baghdadi chopping away at his opponent's legs.
A punch combination from Castrello misses.
Castrello doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
An inside leg kick lands from Castrello.
al-Baghdadi is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Castrello.
Castrello scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. al-Baghdadi doesn't seem bothered though.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
al-Baghdadi throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
A combination from Castrello does no damage.
al-Baghdadi takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
al-Baghdadi keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
al-Baghdadi checks the leg kick nicely there.
al-Baghdadi checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
al-Baghdadi is looking to clinch but Castrello is avoiding it.
Castrello scores with a kick to the body.
al-Baghdadi connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Castrello dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on al-Baghdadi. That did some damage!
al-Baghdadi has a nice red mark on his side after a thudding body kick by Castrello.
al-Baghdadi tries a head kick but it misses.
al-Baghdadi scores with the left hand. Castrello knows he should have avoided that one.
al-Baghdadi avoids the body shot from Castrello.
al-Baghdadi swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Castrello counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps al-Baghdadi thinking.
Castrello throws a hard body shot but it just misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Castrello misses the jab.
Castrello moves away from the strike by al-Baghdadi.
al-Baghdadi moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Castrello listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
al-Baghdadi needs to keep his hands up - Castrello had a free shot at his head there.
al-Baghdadi just misses with a punch to the body.
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
al-Baghdadi throws a body kick that misses.
al-Baghdadi tries a head kick but it misses.
A low kick from Castrello misses

and al-Baghdadi counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Castrello throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Castrello is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Castrello misses with an elbow over the top.
al-Baghdadi blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
al-Baghdadi is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Castrello pulls him back up using the underhooks.
A short right from Castrello on the inside.
A head punch on the inside from al-Baghdadi fails to land.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Castrello throws a blind hook that connects with the side of al-Baghdadis head.

al-Baghdadi is rocked!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
al-Baghdadi throws a head punch that misses.
Oh al-Baghdadi is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Castrello lands a body shot in the clinch.
Castrello lands an uppercut in the clinch that drops al-Baghdadi to his knees! Castrello keeps firing more shots against his stricken opponent and the referee jumps in to save him!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:20 of round 1, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Cullen Castrello!
After winning the bout, Cullen Castrello thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.