PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Bashaad Al Hammad (ranked 21516 p4p, 226 weight class) and Phil Philips (ranked 4381 p4p, 133 weight class). There are an array of beautiful celebrities at ringside tonight! I wonder if any of them paid for their tickets.

Al Hammad
vs
Philips

179 cm
31
164 lbs
8 - 6 - 0

187 cm
25
212 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

Good takedowns
Basic striking
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Brawler
Tends to cut

Woodshins' Ship

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 8 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Bashaad Al Hammad!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Phil Philips!
The judges for this bout are Felipe Paraventi, Emerson Jorge and Thiago Cunha.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Philips shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Philips looking to pass the guard.

Al Hammad working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Philips doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Philips manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.

Philips avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Philips content to stall in guard here.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Al Hammad is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Philips loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Philips postures up.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Al Hammad throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Philips stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Al Hammad cracks Philips with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.

Philips darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Al Hammad trying to control here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Philips scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Philips throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Al Hammad is controlling Philips's trapped leg to prevent Philips from advancing to side control.
Philips working the head and body with strikes.
Philips throwing shots but Al Hammad is blocking nicely.
Philips not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Al Hammad trying to hold on to Philips's head to control him but Philips postures up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Philips 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.
Philips controlling the action here.
Al Hammad trying to hold on to Philips's head to control him but Philips postures up.
Al Hammad strikes from the bottom but Philips passes into mount!
Philips postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Al Hammad looks a forlorn figure.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Al Hammad wants to hold on but Philips pushes him away.
Al Hammad throwing hammer fists to the chest of Philips. What's that going to do exactly?
Al Hammad manages to regain half guard. Good work.
Philips is keen to just control but Al Hammad is a slippery customer.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Philips not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Al Hammad is staying active underneath Philips, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Philips lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Al Hammad tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Al Hammad lands a leg kick that knocks Philips off balance momentarily.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Philips.
Al Hammad wants to control but Philips postures up.
Al Hammad takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
The ground and pound from Philips seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.
Al Hammad can't do much from the bottom here.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Philips scores with punches from side control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Philips working the ground and pound but Al Hammad is defending the strikes.
Philips working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.
Al Hammad avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Philips.
Al Hammad on the wrong end of some ground and pound.

It looks like Bashaad Al Hammad has been cut.
Philips misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Al Hammad is looking to regain half guard here but Philips keeps moving and retains side control.
You can see the frustration on Al Hammad's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Philips throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Al Hammad tries to buck Philips off but Philips is having none of it.
Philips is putting a hurting on Al Hammad here, landing some big shots from side control.
Philips wants to lay and pray for a moment but Al Hammad keeps working.
Al Hammad tries to bench press Philips off him but Philips keeps the position.
Philips wants to control but Al Hammad is keeping him busy.
Philips working away.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Al Hammad with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Phil Philips is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Al Hammad will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Philips gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Al Hammad throws a body punch but Philips moves out of range.
Philips avoids the head kick by Al Hammad.
Philips shoots in looking for a takedown but Al Hammad manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Philips's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Al Hammad closes the distance and lands a one-two.

It looks like Phil Philips has been cut.
Al Hammad keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Al Hammad throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Al Hammad lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Philips circles away quickly and effectively.
Philips staying out of range there.
Al Hammad misses with a head kick.
Philips drops down looking to force a counter takedown but Al Hammad defends it well.
Al Hammad just misses with a punch to the body.

Philips shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Al Hammad napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Phil Philips has got the better of the ground game so far.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Check out the look on Philips's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Philips is working Al Hammad over with some ground and pound from side control.
Al Hammad managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Philips.
Philips in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Philips 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.
Philips trying to control the action but Al Hammad is working from the bottom.
Philips in side control, throwing shots but Al Hammad defends.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Phil Philips 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.
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!

Al Hammad keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.

Philips is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Al Hammad's half guard.
Al Hammad is trying to maintain the position but Philips is very close to passing his half guard.
Philips takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Philips has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Philips is thwarting Al Hammad's attempts to control the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Al Hammad tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.
Al Hammad has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Philips is working away from the top position though.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Philips is stalling here. Al Hammad is in no mood to hang around though. He's locked up a kimura from the bottom! Philips seems to be keeping calm but he's forced to roll out of the hold and Al Hammad has ended up in side control on the top. Nice work.
Philips is looking for a sweep.
Philips keeps trying to improve his position.
Al Hammad working the strikes but Philips uses the opportunity to regain half guard.

Philips is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Al Hammad pulls his head out easily.
Philips trying to control here.
Al Hammad content to control rather than advance.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Al Hammad missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Ground and pound from Al Hammad.
Philips wants to get back to full guard.
Al Hammad is thwarting Philips's attempts to control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Al Hammad's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Al Hammad duly obliges.
Al Hammad lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Philips moves forwards but Al Hammad connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Philips fails with the takedown.
A looping hook to the body misses from Al Hammad. Philips does a little dance to reset his feet.
Al Hammad fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Al Hammad misses with a wild body shot.
A combination from Al Hammad does no damage.
Al Hammad looking to land some kicks to the body here.
A swing and a miss from Al Hammad.
A big left from Al Hammad misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Philips shoots in looking for a takedown but Al Hammad manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Philips's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Bashaad Al Hammad has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Phil Philips.
Al Hammad loads up on a big right hand but Philips slips the punch.
Philips closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Philips looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Philips postures up.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Al Hammad preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Bashaad Al Hammad has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Phil Philips is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

Al Hammad escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Philips gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.

And that's the end of the fight!
Bashaad Al Hammad showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Philips has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Felipe Paraventi scores the fight 28:29
Judge Emerson Jorge scores the fight 28:29
Judge Thiago Cunha scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Phil Philips!