PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Fabian William (ranked 6259 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ibragim Magomedov (ranked 9156 p4p, 0 weight class). Ibragim Magomedov has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Fabian William's chin.

William
vs
Magomedov

175 cm
18
161 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

177 cm
19
155 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Fabian William!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Ibragim Magomedov!
The judges for this bout are Aleksandr Martynov, Vladimir Khabensky and Illya Tyunina.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Magomedov tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but William swivels and escapes.
Magomedov blocks a head kick by William.
William fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.

Magomedov gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Magomedov wants to get back to his feet but he's too absorbed in his own little project and William manages to pass to side control.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Magomedov is looking for a sweep. William is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
William working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Magomedov is looking to get back to full guard here but William has managed to pass to side control instead.
Magomedov is looking to reverse the position.
William controls the position from side control.
William tries to stand but Magomedov is controlling his head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Magomedov wants to get back to his feet but William is dominant here and he's now got Magomedov's back!
Good control from William.
William is working the ground and pound here and the referee is taking a close look at Magomedov. He must escape soon or this one will be stopped.
William controlling well, preventing Magomedov from escaping the position.
Magomedov trying to control the hands but William won't let him.
William punishes Magomedov with strikes from the back mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
William lands a punch to the side of the head from the back.
William looking to soften up his opponent with punches.
Magomedov covering up well under a barage of strikes.

William is working for the rear naked choke. He has one arm under the chin but Magomedov has hold of the other arm. A bit of a stalemate here.
William just keeping the dominant position. He can't wait too long though, otherwise the referee will stand them back up.
Magomedov manages to reverse the position and now he's in William's guard. Nice work there by Magomedov.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Magomedov tries to stand but William is controlling from the bottom.
William wants to get back to his feet but Magomedov is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Magomedov wants to get up but he can't break William's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Magomedov seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
William throws some sloppy strikes off his back.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Fabian William dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Magomedov stuffs the takedown attempt from William. William gets slowly back to his feet.

William shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Fabian William overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Magomedov wants to get back to his feet.
William has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

William is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Magomedov is just riding it out for now. William eventually gives up the hold.
William missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.

William decides to stand up and try his luck on the feet.
Magomedov throws a nice head kick!

It looks like Fabian William has been cut.
William pulls out of a head kick attempt.
William swings and misses with a hook to the body.
William gets cracked there but stands up to it.
William is looking to clinch but Magomedov is avoiding it.
William throws a sloppy head kick and Magomedov moves out of range easily.
Magomedov misses with a takedown attempt - William sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

William scores with a takedown into Magomedov's guard.
Magomedov utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Magomedov trying to keep a closed guard but William is proving a slippery customer.
Magomedov might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control William haven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.
Magomedov has momentary wrist control but William slips an elbow through the middle.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Magomedov is looking to stand up but William isn't so interested in that idea.
William wants to stand but Magomedov is controlling his posture from full guard.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
William landing some decent shots from guard.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Magomedov blocks a head kick by William.
William shoots in for a takedown but Magomedov shows good takedown defense.
Magomedov misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
William fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Fabian William. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
William throws a head kick but Magomedov moves out of range.
Magomedov fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but William avoids it really well and circles away.

Magomedov has managed to clinch.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Magomedov escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
William tries to score with a low kick but Magomedov moves his leg out of the way.
Magomedov tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
William stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and William wants it to stay on the feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Fabian William will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Fabian William's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

William dives in and grabs Magomedov's left leg, looking for a takedown. Magomedov pushes down on William's head and hops out.
Magomedov looks for the body kick but William saw that one coming.

William fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Magomedov sprawls well initially but William persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
William is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Magomedov can do to turn this around?

William looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Magomedov is pressing down on William's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Magomedov throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Magomedov can do anything to dispel that myth.
Magomedov is trying to control the position from the bottom.

Magomedov looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Magomedov takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Magomedov throwing strikes off his back to little effect.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
William postures up.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.

Magomedov takes the fight into the clinch.
William fails to pull the fight into his guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
William is trying to force a seperation but Magomedov has the dominant position.

Magomedov pulls guard effortlessly.
William wants to get up but he can't break Magomedov's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
William working some strikes from top position.
William in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
William scoring with some ground and pound.
Magomedov is trying to keep William in close.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
William working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Fabian William is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Magomedov instigates a clinch.
Magomedov is looking for a takedown up against the cage. William gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.

William manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Magomedov prevents William from getting back to his feet.
Magomedov wants to control from the top but William keeps moving.

William manages to wriggle out and sneak his way back up to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched up against the cage.

William has clasped his hands together around Magomedov's back... aaand, he's got a takedown into side control. Nicely done.
William working the ground and pound from side control.
William just content to control the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Magomedov wants to get back to his feet.
William working the ground and pound but Magomedov is defending the strikes.
William lands some shots froms side control.
William is looking to take a break and control but Magomedov is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
William is putting a hurting on Magomedov here, landing some big shots from side control.

And that's the end of the fight!
Fabian William showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for William, 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 Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight 30:27
Judge Vladimir Khabensky scores the fight 30:27
Judge Illya Tyunina scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Fabian William!