PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Sebastian Case (ranked 22892 p4p, 0 weight class) and Abdelkader Ya Bouralem (ranked 4630 p4p, 0 weight class). Sebastian Case has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Case
vs
Ya Bouralem

162 cm
25
177 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

187 cm
24
184 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Very confident

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Sebastian Case!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Abdelkader Ya Bouralem!
The judges for this bout are William Peck, Elvis Blanc and Alec Ball.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ya Bouralem tries to close the distance and clinch up but Case swats him away and circles back towards the center.

Case drives through and clinches with Ya Bouralem against the cage.
Case throws a punch but it's blocked by Ya Bouralem.

Case's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

Case moves into the clinch successfully.
Case leaning his opponent against the cage.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Case as Ya Bouralem tries to tie him up.
Ya Bouralem looking to slow down the pace here.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Case misses with some punches.

Case pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Case pulls out of a head kick attempt.

Case closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Case tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Ya Bouralem blocks an uppercut.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Ya Bouralem.

Ya Bouralem's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
A bit of stalling here from Case.
Case misses with a hook from the clinch.

Ya Bouralem manages to break the clinch.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Case is looking to break free of the clinch but Ya Bouralem has double underhooks.
Case dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Case working aggressively here.
Case stalling against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ya Bouralem is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Case gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Ya Bouralem fails to pull guard.
A head punch on the inside from Case fails to land.
Case is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Case wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Ya Bouralem has him pressed against the cage.

Ya Bouralem manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Ya Bouralem looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Ya Bouralem is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Case might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Case engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.

Ya Bouralem working for a triangle but Case defends it easily.
Ya Bouralem wants to control but instead he gets his guard passed and Case is now in half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Case is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Ya Bouralem tries to get to full guard but Case has control of the leg.
Ya Bouralem trying to control but Case postures up.
Still in half guard, Case seems content to control.
Case seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Ya Bouralem for as long as he can get away with.
Case slips a nice elbow through Ya Bouralem's hands, connecting with Ya Bouralem's forehead.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Ground and pound from Case.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Ya Bouralem taking some punishment here, with Case in his half guard.
Case sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Ya Bouralem defending well though.
Case is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Ya Bouralem has hold of Case's hands but Case slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Case prevents Ya Bouralem from improving his position.
Case 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.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Ground and pound from Case.
Case lands strikes from half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sebastian Case dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Ya Bouralem misses with a takedown attempt

and Case holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Case misses with some punches.
Ya Bouralem blocking some punches.

Case's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

Ya Bouralem changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Case looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Case gets back to half guard.
Ya Bouralem works his way into full mount!
Case avoids a series of strikes thrown by Ya Bouralem.
Case 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.
Ya Bouralem scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Ya Bouralem trying to control but Case is having none of it.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Case is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ya Bouralem won't let Case get back to his feet... He wants to keep the fight where it is for now.
Case is desperately trying to improve his position but Ya Bouralem has a good base and remains in mount.
Case is working hard here to advance position.
Ya Bouralem wants to control the pace but Case is squirming around nicely.
Ya Bouralem works his way to his opponent's back.

Case preventing the rear naked choke attempt from Ya Bouralem.
Case trying to control the position but Ya Bouralem manages to sink in the hooks.
Case tries to escape the position - he's now mounted. Is that better or worse? Hard to tell!
Ya Bouralem prevents Case from getting the reversal.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ya Bouralem tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Case reaches up to try and control the position but Ya Bouralem seems to have an arm triangle now! Uh oh! Case rolls and tries to escape and now Ya Bouralem has his back!
Ya Bouralem controlling well, preventing Case from escaping the position.
Good control from Ya Bouralem.
Case looking to control the position.

Ya Bouralem is persistently looking for the submission but Case is defending it well.
Case trying to control the action but Ya Bouralem just sinks the hooks in.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ya Bouralem looking to hold on to the position here but Case rolls and ends up regaining guard.
Case has Ya Bouralem pulled in close to control his posture.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Case is on top in guard.

Case wants to control from the top but Ya Bouralem keeps moving.
Case throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Case connects with a couple of short punches.
Ya Bouralem working a defensive guard here.
Case landing with the ground and pound.
Ya Bouralem looking to control.
Ya Bouralem keeping moving, preventing Case from controlling successfully.
Ya Bouralem striking off his back but it's not causing Case any problems.
Ya Bouralem pulls Case in close to prevent any damage.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Case trying to control the position from guard on top but Ya Bouralem is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Ya Bouralem looking to hit a scissor sweep but Case is one step ahead there.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Abdelkader Ya Bouralem will probably get the nod - 10:9.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. 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.

Ya Bouralem closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Case is not in a great position here, taking some shots.

Ya Bouralem tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Case regains half guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Case is staying active underneath Ya Bouralem, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Case is trying to control but can't.
Case wants to get back to his feet.
Case is staying active underneath Ya Bouralem, who seems content to just control the action from this position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ya Bouralem keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Case wants to control but Ya Bouralem is keeping busy.
Case moves into full guard.
Case working a defensive guard here.
Case looking to hit a scissor sweep but Ya Bouralem is one step ahead there.

The fighters are working up against the cage. Case manages to wriggle his way back to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched against the cage.

Ya Bouralem gets double underhooks and manages to take the fight to the ground.

Case looking for subs off his back but Ya Bouralem has passed one foot through into half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Case is looking for a sweep. Ya Bouralem is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Case really is a fat lump.

Case is defending against the submission attempts here by Ya Bouralem.
Ya Bouralem controlling the action here.
Case on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ya Bouralem tries to stand but his arm is trapped.
Case makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Case.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Case holds on and takes a little breather.
Ya Bouralem wants to stand but Case is controlling his posture from full guard.
Ya Bouralem looking to pass the guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Case looking for a sweep. Not yet Case, not yet.
Case looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Ya Bouralem trying to control the position from guard on top but Case is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Case takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.

It looks like Sebastian Case has been cut.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Ya Bouralem shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Case as he jumps to the side.
It looked like Case was looking amped, ready to throw a big counter but didn't commit.

And that's the end of the fight!
Abdelkader Ya Bouralem comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Ya Bouralem 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 William Peck scores the fight 28:29
Judge Elvis Blanc scores the fight 28:29
Judge Alec Ball scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Abdelkader Ya Bouralem!