PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Faarooq Rahim (ranked 3137 p4p, 2746 weight class) and Tommy Chong Jr (ranked 330 p4p, 292 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Rahim
vs
Chong Jr

179 cm
26
172
3 - 4 - 0

185 cm
26
172
2 - 3 - 1

Good wrestling
Basic striking
KO power

BJJ Brown Belt
Basic striking
Powerful

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 3 - 4 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Faarooq Rahim!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 3 - 1, fighting out of The Island, Tommy Chong Jr!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Franklin, Santiago Holmes and David Hoff.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Chong Jr fails in his attempt to clinch.
Chong Jr moves in looking to clinch but Rahim pushes him off.

Rahim gets a takedown into half guard.
Chong Jr keeps control of the position for the meantime.
Chong Jr wants to get back to full guard.
Rahim working the head and body with strikes.
Chong Jr looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Chong Jr has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Rahim is working away from the top position though.
Chong Jr wants to get back to full guard but Rahim has passed into side control.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Chong Jr is trying to improve his position.
Rahim trying to control the position but Chong Jr is working away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rahim happy to just control the position for now.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Chong Jr is trying to control Rahim's posture but Rahim avoids it.
Chong Jr is looking for a sweep.
Rahim definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Chong Jr is working to avoid the ground and pound but Rahim connects with a decent elbow.
Rahim working the head with strikes.
Rahim moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.
Chong Jr is trying to get back to half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Chong Jr takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
Chong Jr is looking to reverse the position.
You can see the frustration on Chong Jr's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Rahim trying to control the position but Chong Jr is working away.
Chong Jr manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
Chong Jr is trying to control. Rahim wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Rahim is trying to get back to full guard.
Rahim keeping control of the leg, stopping his opponent passing to mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Chong Jr is working for a kimura here but Rahim manages to reverse the position and he's now in Chong Jr's guard.
Rahim trying to control the position from guard on top but Chong Jr is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Chong Jr is adopting a defensive guard.
Chong Jr keeping moving, preventing Rahim from controlling successfully.

Chong Jr is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Chong Jr tries to land a sweep but no joy.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Chong Jr controls Rahim momentarily but Rahim frees himself.
Rahim is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Chong Jr working a defensive guard here.
Rahim is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Rahim looking to sit in guard and control but Chong Jr gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Rahim is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Rahim has a butterfly guard looking to sweep but Chong Jr has passed into side control.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Faarooq Rahim dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

A jab from Chong Jr misses.
Chong Jr blocks a jab.
Chong Jr avoids a lazy jab quite easily.

Rahim drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Chong Jr is looking to reverse the position.
Chong Jr struggling a bit here.
Chong Jr regains half guard there - taking advantage of Rahim's attempt to lay and pray for a moment.
Rahim is thwarting Chong Jr's attempts to control the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rahim is keen to just control but Chong Jr is a slippery customer.
Chong Jr makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Chong Jr.
Chong Jr looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Chong Jr has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Chong Jr trying to control the position.
Chong Jr looking to hit a scissor sweep but Rahim is one step ahead there.
Rahim pushes down on Chong Jr's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Chong Jr wants to get back to full guard.
Rahim controlling the pace.
Chong Jr tries to get to full guard but Rahim has control of the leg.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Rahim is keen to just control but Chong Jr is a slippery customer.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Rahim landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Chong Jr keeping hold of Rahim's head, controlling as best he can.
Chong Jr moves into full guard.
Rahim trying to control the position from guard on top but Chong Jr is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Faarooq Rahim overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Rahim sitting in guard here, content to control.

Chong Jr looks to be working for a triangle here. Oh, it looks like he might have it! Rahim has picked Chong Jr up and slammed him! Chong Jr can't keep hold of the triangle and Rahim manages to pass to side control!
Chong Jr is looking to regain half guard here but Rahim keeps moving and retains side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rahim taking a breather here.
Chong Jr is not content to let Rahim control the position.
Chong Jr can't do much from the bottom here.
Chong Jr tries to get back to half guard but can't.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Rahim wants to lay and pray for a moment but Chong Jr keeps working.
Rahim content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.
Rahim tries to move into full mount but can't pass Chong Jr's legs.
Chong Jr is looking to reverse the position.
Rahim lands a few punches from side control.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Rahim creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
Chong Jr is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Chong Jr is trying to control Rahim's posture but Rahim avoids it.
Rahim knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Chong Jr on the ground.
Rahim is looking to take a break and control but Chong Jr is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Faarooq Rahim 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. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

A big right from Chong Jr misses.
Rahim attempts a counter takedown but Chong Jr avoids it well and moves away.
Tommy Chong Jr has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Chong Jr ducks under a wild hook from Rahim.
Chong Jr uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Rahim.
Chong Jr jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Rahim throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Chong Jr sees it coming and avoids it easily.

Rahim is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Chong Jr's half guard.
Chong Jr wants to improve his position but Rahim is controlling well.
Rahim perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Rahim is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Chong Jr can do to turn this around?
The fighters are battling for position here. Chong Jr manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rahim is stalling in the full guard.
Rahim stopping the sweep attempt from Chong Jr.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Chong Jr holds on and takes a little breather.
Chong Jr wants to sweep but no luck.
Chong Jr pulls Rahim in close to prevent any damage.
Rahim makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Chong Jr has momentary wrist control but Rahim slips an elbow through the middle.
Chong Jr is trying to keep Rahim in close.
Chong Jr keeping moving, preventing Rahim from controlling successfully.
Chong Jr manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Rahim manages to get himself to full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Chong Jr tries to free his leg and advance position but Rahim is retaining full guard.
Rahim is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Chong Jr is staying active underneath Rahim, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Chong Jr is controlling Rahim's trapped leg to prevent Rahim from advancing to side control.
Chong Jr is looking to improve his position.
Chong Jr won't allow Rahim to pass to mount.
Rahim passes to full mount!
Rahim lands a couple of good shots and Chong Jr has given up his back, trying to escape the position!
Rahim controlling the position well here. Chong Jr rolled but Rahim kept the hooks locked in and stayed in the dominant position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rahim is looking to control Chong Jr but Chong Jr is wriggling around and keeping busy.
Rahim is not going to allow Chong Jr to sit and survive in this position.
Rahim scores with some strikes to the side of the head there. Good, points scoring shots.
Chong Jr is defending well here and trying to improve his position.
Rahim not allowing Chong Jr to control his hands.
Rahim throwing strikes from the back - he gets a warning from the referee for striking the back of the head but all these shots are hurting Chong Jr!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rahim has good solid back control here.
Chong Jr tries to escape the position - he's now mounted. Is that better or worse? Hard to tell!
Chong Jr is desperately trying to improve his position but Rahim has a good base and remains in mount.
Chong Jr tries to hold on but Rahim pushes him away.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Chong Jr manages to regain half guard. Good work.
Rahim scoring with strikes to the body and head.

And that's the end of the fight!
Faarooq Rahim showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Rahim has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Daniel Franklin scores the fight 30:27
Judge Santiago Holmes scores the fight 30:27
Judge David Hoff scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Faarooq Rahim!