PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Rico Axelrod (ranked 2968 p4p, 24720 weight class) and Christian Caliman (ranked 364 p4p, 658 weight class). Rico Axelrod could well score a knockout today. He has the power to get to Christian Caliman's chin.

Axelrod
vs
Caliman

178 cm
19
155
3 - 4 - 0

178 cm
19
157
0 - 6 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Powerful

Vegan Gains

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 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Rico Axelrod!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Christian Caliman!
The judges for this bout are Jorge Garcia, Joseph Jones and Eddie Farnsworth.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Caliman goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Axelrod throws the left hand but Caliman avoids the punch easily.
Caliman looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Caliman looks to land a left hand but Axelrod moved out of range nicely.
Caliman ducks under a wild hook from Axelrod.
Axelrod connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Axelrod misses with a series of wild punches.
Axelrod lands a nice shot to the body.
Caliman throws a body punch but Axelrod moves out of range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Axelrod missing with a left hand there. Caliman was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Caliman misses with a left hand
and Axelrod counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Caliman swings for the body but Axelrod moves out of range.
Caliman misses with the body kick
and Axelrod counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Caliman throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Caliman on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Axelrod ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Caliman moves away.
Caliman doesn't fully commit to the body shot counter.
Caliman throws a chopping leg kick but Axelrod manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Axelrod takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Axelrod paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Axelrod takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Caliman misses with an uppercut
and Axelrod counters with a right hand to the body.
Axelrod ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Caliman moves away.
A looping hook to the body misses from Caliman. Axelrod does a little dance to reset his feet.
Nice straight punches there by Axelrod. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Axelrod.
Caliman on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Axelrod lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Axelrod tests Caliman's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Caliman's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Axelrod connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Caliman scrambles back to his feet.
Axelrod throws a lazy right hand but Caliman sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Caliman moves away from the strike by Axelrod.
Caliman avoids the body shot from Axelrod.
A punch combination from Axelrod misses.
Axelrod lands a leg kick that knocks Caliman off balance momentarily.
Axelrod scores with a jab. Caliman acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Caliman slips under a jab from Axelrod.
Axelrod throws an off balance right hand
and Caliman connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Axelrod is really peppering his opponent's head with punches.
Caliman throws a poor cross that misses
and Axelrod cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Axelrod looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Caliman ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Axelrod goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.

Caliman is rocked!
Caliman clobbers Axelrod with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Axelrod swings for the body but Caliman moves out of range.
Caliman swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
A low kick from Caliman misses
and Axelrod connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Caliman connects with a good right hand that stumbles Axelrod. Axelrod circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
A looping hook to the body misses from Caliman. Axelrod does a little dance to reset his feet.
Caliman throws a hook to the side of Axelrod's head but Axelrod sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
The fighters circling - Axelrod throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Caliman throws a leg kick
and Axelrod cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Caliman misses with a kick to the body
and Axelrod counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Caliman with a hook.
Axelrod gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Caliman gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Caliman waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Axelrod.
Axelrod takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Axelrod connects with an inside leg kick.
Caliman misses the body punch
and Axelrod counters with an outside leg kick.
A punch lands to the side of Caliman 's head but he takes it in his stride.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Caliman misses with an uppercut
and Axelrod cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Axelrod cracks Caliman with an open hand slap.
Caliman walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Axelrod checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
A little feinted left hand from Axelrod on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Rico Axelrod dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare each other down, ready to get back to the action.

Caliman misses with a body punch
and Axelrod counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Axelrod throws a low kick but it's checked well by Caliman.
Axelrod chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Axelrod scores with a jab. Caliman acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Caliman thows a leg kick but Axelrod checks it
letting Axelrod counter with a right hand.
Axelrod uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Caliman.
Axelrod bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Axelrod jabs Caliman right on the nose. Caliman blinks but takes it well.
Axelrod swings for the body but Caliman moves out of range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A punch lands to the side of Caliman 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Axelrod takes a swing at Caliman's ribcage but misses.
Caliman misses with a wild body shot.
Rico Axelrod is winning the standup battle so far.
Axelrod throws a looping overhand right but Caliman ducks down to avoid it.
Both these guys seem content to just stand up and trade with each other but Caliman might want to think about changing up his gameplan a bit because over the course of the fight, Axelrod has got the better of the exchanges.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Caliman throws a half hearted mid kick.
Axelrod throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Caliman throws a body punch but Axelrod moves out of range.
Axelrod lands a nice shot that snaps Caliman's head back.

It looks like Christian Caliman has been cut.
Axelrod misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Caliman.
Nice cross by Axelrod.
Caliman is still on wobbly legs! Can Axelrod finish him?
Caliman throws a leg kick but Axelrod sees it coming and checks it nicely.
A little feinted left hand from Axelrod on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Caliman seems to have recovered his senses.
Axelrod slips under a jab.
Caliman throws a jab but it's blocked by Axelrod.
Axelrod throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Caliman throws out a counter right but Axelrod avoids it with no problem.
Christian Caliman seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Axelrod ducks under a wild hook from Caliman.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Axelrod's corner calls for a 1-2. Axelrod obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.

Axelrod cracks Caliman with a big right hand that sends him crashing to the floor. Axelrod has the opportunity to follow him to the ground but instead he's beckoning Caliman to stand back up!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Axelrod blocks the body kick.
Axelrod throwing a counter right hand but Caliman manages to avoid it.
Axelrod cracks a nice hook into Caliman's ribs.
Axelrod connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Caliman throws the left hand but Axelrod avoids the punch easily.
Caliman tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Axelrod is able to avoid easily.
It looked like Axelrod wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Caliman moves out of range as Axelrod strikes.
A looping hook to the body misses from Caliman. Axelrod does a little dance to reset his feet.
Axelrod seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.
Axelrod misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Caliman.
Caliman lands a head shot.
Caliman takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Axelrod looks to land a right hand but Caliman moved out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Axelrod looks to land a right hand but Caliman moved out of range.
It seemed like Caliman was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Caliman misses with an uppercut. Axelrod saw that one coming.
Caliman fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Axelrod manages to avoid it.
Axelrod lands a nice shot that snaps Caliman's head back.
Axelrod uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Caliman.
Caliman slips under a jab.
Caliman takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
Caliman throws an off balance right hand

and Axelrod counters with a nice right hand that sends Caliman toppling to the canvas! Caliman scrambles and gets back to his feet - can Axelrod finish him?!
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Caliman checks a leg kick.
Caliman tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Axelrod tries to counter by clinching up but Caliman breaks away and moves out of range.
Caliman misses with a wild body shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Caliman attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Axelrod scores with a sloppy right hand. Caliman should have avoided that one.
Caliman swings for the body but Axelrod moves out of range.
Caliman staying out of range there.
Axelrod misses with a looping left.
Caliman pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Axelrod misses with an uppercut
enabling Caliman to counter with a crisp jab.
Caliman keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Axelrod.
Axelrod takes a swing at Caliman's ribcage but misses.
Caliman misses with a body shot
and Axelrod cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
A looping hook to the body misses from Caliman. Axelrod does a little dance to reset his feet.
Nice shot lands for Caliman.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Rico Axelrod dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Christian Caliman's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Axelrod moves away from the strike by Caliman.
Axelrod doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Caliman misses with a hook
and Axelrod counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Axelrod misses with a body shot.
Axelrod changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Caliman misses with an uppercut.

Axelrod feints and then winds up with a huge right hand that connects perfectly and sends Caliman sprawling to the canvas! Caliman rolls over backwards and springs off the cage and manages to regain his footing - how acrobatic! Oh, he's still wobbly - can Axelrod finish him?!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Axelrod avoids the body shot from Caliman.
Axelrod lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Caliman takes one on the button.
Caliman throws a poor cross that misses
and Axelrod scores with a counter punch that sends Caliman to the canvas! Axelrod smells blood - he's punishing Caliman with more strikes and the ref has stopped it! Caliman has no idea where he is - he's tackled the ref... oh dear, poor guy, the crowd is in hysterics!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:56 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Rico Axelrod!