PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Hendrix Cabrera (ranked 3056 p4p, 2518 weight class) and Mucak Shanikov (ranked 415 p4p, 351 weight class). Hendrix Cabrera could well score a knockout today. He has the power to get to Mucak Shanikov's chin.

Cabrera
vs
Shanikov

185 cm
21
185
3 - 1 - 0

185 cm
21
192
3 - 3 - 0

Good wrestling
Lethal high kicks
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
World class MT
Powerful

FF Gear

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 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Hendrix Cabrera!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 3 - 0, fighting out of New York, Mucak Shanikov!
The judges for this bout are Tarja Halkonen, Arvi Lind and Matti Vanhoillinen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Cabrera lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Cabrera misses with a looping left.
Cabrera ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Shanikov moves away.
Shanikov moves out of range of the strikes.
Cabrera misses with an uppercut.
Cabrera misses with an uppercut. Shanikov saw that one coming.
A low kick from Cabrera misses
and Shanikov counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.

It looks like Hendrix Cabrera has been cut.
Cabrera looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.

Cabrera closes the distance and clinches.
Shanikov fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Cabrera lands an uppercut.
Cabrera scores with a shot to the side of Shanikov's head.
A head punch on the inside from Cabrera fails to land.
Shanikov tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Cabrera smiles and moves away.
Jab, jab by Cabrera - just one landing.
Cabrera dips to his left and cracks Shanikov with an uppercut!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Cabrera just misses with a punch to the body.
Cabrera uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cabrera ducks under a wild hook from Shanikov.
Cabrera looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Cabrera tries to clinch there but Shanikov circles away.
A little jabbing left from Shanikov on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Cabrera slips a straight right by Shanikov.
Cabrera looks to throw the jab but Shanikov is out of range.
Cabrera throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Shanikov walks into a jab.
Shanikov tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Cabrera was well out of range. Poor timing from Shanikov.
Hendrix Cabrera seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Shanikov throws a hook to the side of Cabrera's head but Cabrera sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
The fight stays on the outside here - Cabrera looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Shanikov throws a lazy body kick
and Cabrera counters with a right hand to the body.
Shanikov throws a lazy right hand but Cabrera sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.

Cabrera rushes Shanikov and presses him up against the cage.
Cabrera works on Shanikov's body with a couple of short punches.

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

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A head kick misses from Shanikov.
Shanikov misses with a leg kick.

Cabrera moves into the clinch.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Cabrera lands a body shot.

Shanikov has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Cabrera uses from the top position.

Shanikov is looking for a triangle here but Cabrera uses the submission attempt to pass into side control.
Cabrera just content to control the position.
Shanikov tries to improve position but can't.
Shanikov is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Cabrera off and has taken his back!

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Cabrera defends a rear naked choke attempt by controlling one of Shanikov's arms.
Cabrera turns into Shanikov and is now in his guard.
Cabrera showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Shanikov can't keep his opponent in guard - Cabrera advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Cabrera keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Shanikov wants to get back to full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Shanikov actively working from the bottom here.
Shanikov gets full guard.

Cabrera got a little sloppy there for a moment and Shanikov has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Cabrera has managed to get both his arms back between Shanikov's legs - danger averted.

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

Shanikov looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Cabrera passes into side control.
Cabrera is pausing for a moment. What's he doing? It looks like he's clearing his nose. Oh dude! He's shot a load of snot all down Shanikov's shoulder. That is not cool.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Hendrix Cabrera dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Hendrix Cabrera's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Cabrera chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Good work by Shanikov as he checks the leg kick.
Cabrera keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Cabrera changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Cabrera with a jab.
Shanikov tries a head kick but it misses.
Shanikov misses with a body kick.
Cabrera fires out a quick counter leg kick but Shanikov just manages to avoid it.
Cabrera is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Shanikov can do to turn this around?
Shanikov moves out of range of the strikes.
Cabrera lands a jab to the nose.
Shanikov chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Cabrera can pounce on him.
Cabrera scores with a sloppy right hand. Shanikov should have avoided that one.
Cabrera lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.

Cabrera clinches up with Shanikov and pushes him back against the cage.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Cabrera lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Cabrera lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Shanikov backwards.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Cabrera.
Shanikov tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Cabrera smiles and moves away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cabrera blocks a leg kick.
A head kick misses from Shanikov.
Shanikov ducks under a wild hook from Cabrera.
Cabrera fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Shanikov.
Shanikov on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Cabrera. Cabrera obviously looking to wear him down.
Cabrera takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Cabrera lands an overhand right.
Cabrera lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Hendrix Cabrera is winning the standup battle so far.
Shanikov throws a head kick that half lands.
Cabrera is looking to clinch but Shanikov is avoiding it.
A swing and a miss from Cabrera.
Cabrera ducks under a wild hook from Shanikov.
Cabrera jabs at Shanikov's body.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Cabrera misses with a body shot.
Shanikov throws a big counter head kick but Cabrera avoids it with no problem.
Shanikov throws the left hand but Cabrera avoids the punch easily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shanikov ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Shanikov throws a hook but Cabrera avoids it easily.

Cabrera has managed to clinch.
Cabrera swings wildly with an uppercut but Shanikov uses good head movement to avoid it.
Shanikov misses with a body punch.
Shanikov prevents a body shot from Cabrera.
Shanikov misses with some punches.
Shanikov tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Shanikov blocking some punches.
Shanikov tries to pull guard but Cabrera forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Hendrix Cabrera has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Mucak Shanikov.
Shanikov blocks a couple of punches on the inside.

Shanikov pulls guard.
Shanikov can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Cabrera controls the pace.
Cabrera pushing down on Shanikov's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Cabrera perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Shanikov looking for submissions from an awkward position here.

Shanikov looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Shanikov is trying to maintain the position but Cabrera is very close to passing his half guard.
Cabrera keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Cabrera seems to have lost interest with the ground game and is thinking about standing back up.
Hendrix Cabrera overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Cabrera is thwarting Shanikov's attempts to control the position.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Shanikov throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
A shot to the liver by Cabrera. Beautiful body shot.
Shanikov has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Cabrera.
Cabrera misses with an uppercut. Shanikov saw that one coming.
Cabrera lands a really nice looking cross but Shanikov seems unphased.
Cabrera tries to clinch but Shanikov moves out of range.
Shanikov swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
A jab lands there for Cabrera.
Cabrera tries a low kick but Shanikov avoids it.
Cabrera connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Shanikov pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Shanikov walks into a jab.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Hendrix Cabrera dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Hendrix Cabrera's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Cabrera with a nice calf kick.
Shanikov misses with a hook. Cabrera ducked under it nicely.
Shanikov 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.
Cabrera lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.

Cabrera instigates a clinch.
Hendrix Cabrera has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Shanikov is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Cabrera to keep the fight standing.
Shanikov fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Cabrera lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Shanikov.
Cabrera misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Cabrera swings wildly with an uppercut but Shanikov uses good head movement to avoid it.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Cabrera.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A nice left hand lands by Cabrera.

Shanikov is rocked!
Nice body punch from Cabrera - that landed with a thud.
Shanikov is still on wobbly legs! Can Cabrera finish him?
A right hook to the body lands for Cabrera.
Cabrera pushes Shanikov back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Shanikov's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Cabrera has not gone for a single takedown so far in this fight, which seems like a very strange tactic when you consider that he has the superior wrestling and BJJ.
Cabrera throws a big uppercut that drops Shanikov! More strikes from Cabrera and the referee jumps in to stop the fight! Shanikov lies dazed against the cage as Cabrera celebrates with his cornermen!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:57 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Hendrix Cabrera!
Hendrix Cabrera bigged himself up after the win. The crowd seemed to love it.