PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Mehdi Kanaani (ranked 3471 p4p, 23485 weight class) and Amarillo Brillo (ranked 395 p4p, 587 weight class). Kanaani comes to the cage accompanied by Dr. Dre ft. Snoop Dogg - Nuthin' But A G Thang. Man, I cannot wait for this one!

Kanaani
vs
Brillo

170 cm
34
170
24 - 22 - 0

173 cm
27
172
7 - 17 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
World class boxer
Good chin

BJJ Brown Belt
Excellent boxer
Fast

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 24 - 22 - 0, fighting out of New York, Mehdi Kanaani!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 17 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Amarillo Brillo!
The judges for this bout are Dillan Fox, Alec Ball and Robert Douchet.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Brillo ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Kanaani moves away.
Kanaani half committed to a counter leg kick.
Kanaani fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Brillo checks it well.
Kanaani throws a series of punches but Brillo moves out of range.
Brillo is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Kanaani looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Kanaani works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Brillo misses with a straight right.
Kanaani throws a solid leg kick but Brillo takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Kanaani.

Kanaani shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Brillo is controlling Kanaani's posture.
Kanaani cracks Brillo with a solid left hand.
Brillo looking to hit a scissor sweep but Kanaani is one step ahead there.
Kanaani has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Kanaani throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Kanaani postures up in Brillo's guard and throws a big left but Brillo blocks it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Brillo utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Brillo is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Brillo thows a huge punch but Kanaani dodges it nicely.

Brillo is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Kanaani controlling the position for now.
Kanaani is trying to stand.
Kanaani knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Brillo on the ground.
Brillo missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Kanaani taking some punishment here, with Brillo in his half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Brillo is keen to just control but Kanaani is a slippery customer.
Brillo missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Kanaani is looking to improve his position.
Brillo has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Kanaani moves into full guard.
Brillo postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Kanaani holds on and takes a little breather.
Kanaani keeping moving, preventing Brillo from controlling successfully.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Brillo postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Brillo content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Brillo postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Brillo working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Kanaani's head.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Brillo accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Kanaani looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Brillo trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Kanaani wants to sweep here but Brillo controlling him for the moment.
Brillo throwing strikes from guard but Kanaani blocks nicely.
Brillo stops Kanaani from standing up.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Brillo working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Kanaani seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Brillo has done a lot of speed work in the buildup to this fight.
Brillo throws a right hand that misses
and Kanaani cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Brillo checks the leg kick nicely there.
The fighters circling - Kanaani throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Brillo looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Kanaani fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Brillo looks to clinch
and Kanaani counters with a one-two to the body.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Kanaani throws a series of punches but Brillo avoids them all with ease.
Brillo is clearly looking to counter with head kicks.
Kanaani does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Kanaani misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Brillo.
Brillo looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Some wild striking there from Kanaani.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Mehdi Kanaani dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Kanaani misses with a looping right.
Brillo tries to counter by closing the distance.
Brillo shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Kanaani pinned against the cage. Kanaani gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Brillo rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
letting Kanaani counter with a right hand.
Kanaani throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Kanaani waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Brillo.
Kanaani misses with an uppercut. Brillo saw that one coming.
Brillo takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Brillo ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Kanaani moves away.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kanaani moves out of range as Brillo strikes.
Kanaani connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Kanaani throws a hook but Brillo avoids it easily.

Brillo gets the takedown into side control.
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!
Brillo cracks Kanaani with an elbow. That is naaassty.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Brillo working away.
Brillo landing strikes.
Brillo trying to control the action but Kanaani is working from the bottom.
Both fighters take a look at the clock.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Kanaani pushes Brillo away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Brillo gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.
You can see the frustration on Kanaani's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.

Kanaani throws Brillo to one side and escapes!
Kanaani jabs Brillo right on the nose. Brillo blinks but takes it well.
Kanaani looks to score with a jab to the body but Brillo is just out of range.
Mehdi Kanaani is winning the standup battle so far.
Kanaani tries a low kick but Brillo avoids it.
Kanaani connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Brillo misses with a straight right.

Brillo rushes Kanaani and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Kanaani blocking some punches.
Brillo drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Brillo wants a takedown.
Mehdi Kanaani has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Amarillo Brillo.
Kanaani tries to stall but Brillo uses the opportunity to gain a better position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kanaani is trying to stall.
Brillo creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.

Kanaani pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
A jab from Kanaani misses.
Brillo tries to move into range but Kanaani moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Kanaani fails to land with a series of punches.
Brillo fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Brillo darts in looking for a takedown but Kanaani gets double underhooks and turns Brillo into the cage.
A big right from Kanaani misses.

Kanaani throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Brillo was covering up waiting for the punch and Kanaani finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Kanaani trying to control but Brillo is working from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kanaani stands up over Brillo, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Kanaani is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Brillo looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Brillo bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Kanaani's guard.

The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Kanaani looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Brillo throws a big right hand that misses.
Brillo with a flurry of punches that miss.
Brillo throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Kanaani works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Kanaani bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Brillo's guard.

And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Mehdi Kanaani dominated that second round.
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. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Brillo rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Kanaani cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Brillo wants to clinch.
Brillo misses with a two punch combination.
Brillo looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Kanaani is fending him off so far but Brillo persists. Nope, Kanaani circles away and we're back to standing.
Kanaani connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Brillo shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Kanaani as he avoids it easily.
A jab from Kanaani does it's job there.
Brillo blocks a jab.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Brillo gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Kanaani counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Mehdi Kanaani has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Amarillo Brillo.
Kanaani darts in and lands a big hook, right on the button! Brillo's legs crumble underneath him as he falls to the canvas! The ref tackles Kanaani before he gets to land any more shots to his stricken foe.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:56 of round 3, we have a winner by way of KO (Punch). Mehdi Kanaani!
A victorious Mehdi Kanaani thanked his army of followers in his post fight interview, telling people to make sure they follow him on Twitter.