PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Salman Shamkhalaev (ranked 3245 p4p, 0 weight class) and Gabriel Al Sulwi (ranked 7757 p4p, 0 weight class). Shamkhalaev comes to the cage accompanied by Alter Bridge - Ties That Bind. Gabriel Al Sulwi will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Shamkhalaev
vs
Al Sulwi

180 cm
25
165 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

175 cm
25
157 lbs
3 - 5 - 0

Good wrestling
Counter fighter
Very quick

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
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 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Salman Shamkhalaev!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 5 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Gabriel Al Sulwi!
The judges for this bout are Dmitry Maklakov, Sergei Dronov and Aleksei Zolotukhin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Shamkhalaev keeps the fight on the outside.
Gabriel Al Sulwi seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Al Sulwi tries to clinch but Shamkhalaev moves away

and Shamkhalaev counters with a nice double leg into side control. Al Sulwi won't be happy with that.
Shamkhalaev controlling the position from side mount.
Al Sulwi prevents Shamkhalaev from moving into mount.
Al Sulwi tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Shamkhalaev wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Shamkhalaev remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.
Shamkhalaev seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Al Sulwi for as long as he can get away with.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shamkhalaev works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
Shamkhalaev tries to move to mount but Al Sulwi blocks the move with his legs.

Shamkhalaev looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Al Sulwi is being controlled here.

Shamkhalaev tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Shamkhalaev has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Al Sulwi stops Shamkhalaev from passing to mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Al Sulwi takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
Shamkhalaev cracks Al Sulwi with a big right hand but Al Sulwi just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Shamkhalaev scores with a couple of short elbows.
Shamkhalaev advances nicely into full mount.
Al Sulwi is bucking up trying to escape but Shamkhalaev cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Al Sulwi manages to regain half guard. Good work.
Shamkhalaev not doing much here.

Shamkhalaev is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Shamkhalaev is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Still in half guard, Shamkhalaev seems content to control.
Shamkhalaev tries to pass the half guard into mount. Al Sulwi knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Shamkhalaev is looking to take a break and control but Al Sulwi is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Shamkhalaev has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Al Sulwi is refusing to be controlled, as Shamkhalaev sits in half guard.
Al Sulwi missing with punches from the bottom.
Al Sulwi is staying active underneath Shamkhalaev, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Shamkhalaev blocks the strikes from Al Sulwi.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Al Sulwi tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
As Al Sulwi tries to get set, Shamkhalaev tries to push him back and clinch up but Al Sulwi manages to avoid the attempt.
Al Sulwi throws a sloppy head kick and Shamkhalaev moves out of range easily.
Shamkhalaev tries to counter by moving into the clinch but Al Sulwi manages to circle out of the way.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Salman Shamkhalaev dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Shamkhalaev shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Al Sulwi as he avoids it easily.
Al Sulwi tries to land a leg kick but Shamkhalaev saw it coming and moves away.
Al Sulwi looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Al Sulwi fails with a takedown attempt.
Shamkhalaev drops down looking for a counter takedown but Al Sulwi sprawls and moves away.
Shamkhalaev doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Al Sulwi connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Shamkhalaev shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Al Sulwi napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Shamkhalaev taking a break here but Al Sulwi is having none of it and regains half guard.
Al Sulwi trying to hold on to Shamkhalaev's head to control him but Shamkhalaev postures up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Shamkhalaev is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Al Sulwi really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Shamkhalaev. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Shamkhalaev is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.

Shamkhalaev 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.

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.
Shamkhalaev passes to side control.
Al Sulwi wants to control but Shamkhalaev postures up.
Al Sulwi is working to avoid the ground and pound but Shamkhalaev connects with a decent elbow.
Shamkhalaev slips into full mount, dodging the strikes by Al Sulwi.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Al Sulwi tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Shamkhalaev is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Al Sulwi is looking to improve his position but Shamkhalaev isn't that keen on the idea.
Shamkhalaev lands with some strikes.
Shamkhalaev raining down shots from the mount!
Shamkhalaev lands with some strikes.

Shamkhalaev with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
Shamkhalaev 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.
Shamkhalaev working Al Sulwi over with strikes here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shamkhalaev sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Al Sulwi tries to lock up and control but Shamkhalaev gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Shamkhalaev looking to finish Al Sulwi with some ground and pound. This is bad for Al Sulwi!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Shamkhalaev landing shots from mount.
Al Sulwi is trying desperately to improve position.
Shamkhalaev controlling the pace for now.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Al Sulwi is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Salman Shamkhalaev dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

The fight stays on the outside here - Al Sulwi looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Shamkhalaev feinted with a counter takedown.
Al Sulwi with a poor takedown

and Shamkhalaev counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Shamkhalaev is controlling the pace.
Shamkhalaev is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Shamkhalaev takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Salman Shamkhalaev overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Al Sulwi is trying to maintain the position but Shamkhalaev is very close to passing his half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shamkhalaev takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Shamkhalaev lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Shamkhalaev is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Shamkhalaev frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Shamkhalaev breaks from Al Sulwi's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Shamkhalaev avoids the attempt from Al Sulwi to control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shamkhalaev trying to control but Al Sulwi is having none of it.
Al Sulwi is in all sorts of trouble here.
Shamkhalaev content just to control the position here.
A nice elbow there by Shamkhalaev.
Shamkhalaev breaks from Al Sulwi's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Shamkhalaev lands a big elbow.
Shamkhalaev looking to finish Al Sulwi with some ground and pound. This is bad for Al Sulwi!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Shamkhalaev is working for a guillotine from mount but Al Sulwi frees his head quite easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shamkhalaev with shots to the head and body - Al Sulwi looks very uncomfortable down there.
Shamkhalaev has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Al Sulwi's face.
Shamkhalaev landing strikes from the mount and Al Sulwi is in trouble!
Shamkhalaev connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Shamkhalaev punishing his opponent with strikes.
Shamkhalaev avoids the attempt from Al Sulwi to control.
Shamkhalaev is landing with some decent strikes but Al Sulwi is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.

Shamkhalaev wants to finish this one by submission but Al Sulwi is holding onto his waist, trying to prevent any attacks from Shamkhalaev.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shamkhalaev with good strikes from the mount here!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Shamkhalaev fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Shamkhalaev sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Shamkhalaev lands a couple of good shots and Al Sulwi has given up his back, trying to escape the position!
Salman Shamkhalaev is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Shamkhalaev scores with some strikes to the side of the head there. Good, points scoring shots.
Al Sulwi is very frustrated here, being controlled quite effectively by Shamkhalaev.
Gabriel Al Sulwi has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
You can see the frustration on Al Sulwi's face… He knows he is in trouble unless he improves his position sooner rather than later.

And that's the end of the fight!
Salman Shamkhalaev showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Shamkhalaev, 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 Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 30:26
Judge Sergei Dronov scores the fight 30:26
Judge Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Salman Shamkhalaev!
A relieved looking Salman Shamkhalaev thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.