PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight kickboxing rules bout between Arlind Abazaj (ranked 5429 p4p, 448 weight class) and Garvan O Griofa (ranked 4450 p4p, 417 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Abazaj
vs
O Griofa

189 cm
18
190 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

175 cm
20
182 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

Excellent MT
Granite chin

Decent boxing
Good gas tank

RESISTANCE

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Arlind Abazaj!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Garvan O Griofa!
The judges for this bout are Luis Engracia, Alexandre Firmino and Emerson Jorge.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Abazaj showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from O Griofa.
O Griofa fails to land with a series of punches.
Abazaj misses with a kick to the body.
O Griofa moves out of range of the body kick from Abazaj.
O Griofa throws a right hand that Abazaj ducks under and follows up with a left that Abazaj also avoids with ease.

O Griofa moves into range and clinches up with Abazaj.
O Griofa gets through Abazaj's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Abazaj misses with a hook to the ribs.
Abazaj blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Nice body punch from O Griofa.
Abazaj wants to break the clinch but can't.
Abazaj managing to block the knees to the body from O Griofa.
Abazaj has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.
Abazaj managing to block the knees to the body from O Griofa.
O Griofa tries to land knees in the clinch but Abazaj avoids the damage to the body.
O Griofa comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.

It looks like Arlind Abazaj has been cut.
Abazaj misses with a hook from the clinch.
Abazaj is trying to break free.
Abazaj struggles to land a body shot inside as O Griofa controls his hands.
O Griofa works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.

That's one minute gone in the round.
O Griofa misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Abazaj.
O Griofa tries to land knees in the clinch but Abazaj avoids the damage to the body.
Abazaj wants to break free but O Griofa has control.
O Griofa utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Abazaj misses with a hook from the clinch.
O Griofa lands a nice knee to the body.
Abazaj on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
O Griofa can't find room to land a body shot as Abazaj controls the action.
O Griofa tries to land knees in the clinch but Abazaj avoids the damage to the body.
Abazaj tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Abazaj can't break the clinch.
O Griofa landing knees to the body.
Abazaj is breathing heavily.
O Griofa lands with a short punch from the clinch.
O Griofa missing with knees to the body.
O Griofa is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
O Griofa is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Abazaj is defending well for now.
Abazaj blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
O Griofa unloads a knee to the mid-section.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
O Griofa lands with a short shot to the head.
Abazaj takes a knee to the side of the body.
O Griofa putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Abazaj in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
O Griofa misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Abazaj.
A short body shot lands from O Griofa as the two fighters clinch.
Knees to the body from O Griofa.
O Griofa missing with knees to the body.
O Griofa tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Abazaj avoids it.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. O Griofa obliges.
O Griofa lands a nice knee to the body.
O Griofa throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Abazajs head.
O Griofa lands a nice elbow.
O Griofa trying to land knees to the body.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Abazaj tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
A short uppercut from O Griofa.
Abazaj wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but O Griofa has him pressed against the ropes.
Abazaj blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Garvan O Griofa dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Arlind Abazaj's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

O Griofa lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
A low kick from Abazaj misses
and O Griofa counters with a nice uppercut.
Abazaj blocks the body kick.
Abazaj misses with a leg kick.
As Abazaj backs off O Griofa throws a huge counter combo but Abazaj manages to avoid it all.

O Griofa instigates a clinch.
O Griofa pushes off an throws an elbow but Abazaj leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the ropes.
Abazaj on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
A body shot lands from O Griofa.
A body shot lands from O Griofa.
Nice body punch from O Griofa.
O Griofa lands a damaging elbow.
Abazaj managing to block the knees to the body from O Griofa.
O Griofa is working Abazaj over against the ropes.
O Griofa working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Garvan O Griofa seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
A body shot lands from O Griofa.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Abazaj on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Abazaj takes a knee right on the jaw!
O Griofa utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
O Griofa lands a nice knee to the body.
O Griofa is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Abazaj is defending well for now.
Abazaj blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
O Griofa lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Abazaj or not.
O Griofa is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Abazaj is defending well for now.
O Griofa presses Abazaj against the ropes and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
O Griofa scores a nice knee to the body.
O Griofa presses Abazaj against the ropes and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
O Griofa lands a nice elbow.

Arlind Abazaj's cut is getting worse.
O Griofa is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Abazaj is defending well for now.
A head punch on the inside from Abazaj fails to land.
O Griofa lands a damaging elbow.
O Griofa tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Abazaj avoids it.
O Griofa looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
O Griofa is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
O Griofa is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Abazaj is defending well for now.
Abazaj avoiding damage as O Griofa throws knees to the body.
This has been an exciting period of action!
O Griofa creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Abazaj's defenses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
O Griofa is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
O Griofa landing some nice looking knees to the body.
O Griofa tries to land knees in the clinch but Abazaj avoids the damage to the body.
O Griofa is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Abazaj is defending well for now.
O Griofa throws a knee to the head but misses.
O Griofa missing with knees to the body.
Abazaj throws a punch but it's blocked by O Griofa.
O Griofa is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Abazaj is defending well for now.
O Griofa lands a body punch in the clinch.
O Griofa misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Abazaj.
O Griofa missing with knees to the body.
Abazaj misses with a hook to the ribs.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Abazaj struggles to land a body shot inside as O Griofa controls his hands.
O Griofa unloads a knee to the mid-section. Abazaj lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
O Griofa utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
O Griofa trying to land knees to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Garvan O Griofa showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Arlind Abazaj's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

O Griofa throws a nice looking combination but Abazaj bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
O Griofa takes a swing at Abazaj's ribcage but misses.
It looked like Abazaj was trying to counter with a body shot coming off that last attack from O Griofa.
O Griofa has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
O Griofa misses with a jab, cross combination.
Arlind Abazaj seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Abazaj keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Sloppy strikes from O Griofa. Those never looked like landing.
Abazaj throws a body kick that misses.
O Griofa throws a head kick but Abazaj moves out of range.

O Griofa closes the distance and pushes Abazaj back into the ropes.
A left hand lands to the body for O Griofa.
O Griofa landing knees to the body.
Abazaj on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
O Griofa landing some nice looking knees to the body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
O Griofa digs a right hand into Abazaj's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Abazaj's gas tank.
O Griofa misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Abazaj.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
O Griofa trying to land knees to the body.
O Griofa pushes Abazaj back against the ropes and lands a hook to the side of the head.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
O Griofa lands a nice elbow from the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
O Griofa trying to land knees to the body.
Abazaj blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Abazaj misses with a short punch on the inside.
Abazaj is trying to force a seperation but O Griofa has the dominant position.
O Griofa lands a hook that snaps the head of Abazaj backwards.
Abazaj managing to block the knees to the body from O Griofa.
O Griofa blocking some punches.
O Griofa trying to land knees to the body.
A frustrated look appears on Abazaj's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Abazaj is trying to force a seperation but O Griofa has the dominant position.
Abazaj on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
O Griofa missing with knees to the body.
Abazaj lands on the inside with an uppercut.
O Griofa is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Abazaj is defending well for now.
Abazaj on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
O Griofa blocks an uppercut.
Abazaj wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
O Griofa lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
O Griofa tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Abazaj avoids it.
O Griofa landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Abazaj on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. O Griofa obliges.
O Griofa landing knees to the body.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
O Griofa using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Knees in the clinch landing for O Griofa.
A knee to the head by O Griofa.
O Griofa missing with knees to the body.
Abazaj working aggressively here.
Abazaj tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
O Griofa misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Abazaj.
O Griofa landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Arlind Abazaj has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Garvan O Griofa is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
With the fighters clinched against the ropes, Abazaj creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
O Griofa lands a good knee to the midsection. Abazaj won't want to take too many of those.

And that's the end of the fight!
Garvan O Griofa comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well O Griofa has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Luis Engracia scores the fight 25:30
Judge Alexandre Firmino scores the fight 25:30
Judge Emerson Jorge scores the fight 25:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Garvan O Griofa!