PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Abduwali Hassan (ranked 1470 p4p, 1799 weight class) and James Dalton (ranked 131 p4p, 151 weight class). Abduwali Hassan has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Hassan
vs
Dalton

170 cm
36
154
28 - 19 - 1

175 cm
24
152
9 - 7 - 1

Good wrestling
Lethal high kicks
KO power

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 28 - 19 - 1, fighting out of Montreal, Abduwali Hassan!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 7 - 1, fighting out of Sydney, James Dalton!
The judges for this bout are Josh West, Ryoma Takatsuka and Colin Fray.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nice defenses there by Dalton.
Dalton staying out of range there.
Hassan throws a sloppy head kick and Dalton moves out of range easily.
Hassan throws a head kick but Dalton moves out of range.

Hassan instigates a clinch.
We can't be sure of the tactics at this early stage but we have heard that Dalton has been working on his takedowns a lot in the buildup to the fight and we can only assume he's going to look to take this to the mat.
Dalton on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
A head punch on the inside from Hassan fails to land.
Hassan throws an elbow but it misses.
Dalton is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Hassan is defending well.
Dalton wants a takedown.
Still in the clinch, Hassan scores with a nice short uppercut.
Dalton wants to take the fight to the mat but Hassan manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
Abduwali Hassan has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of James Dalton.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hassan fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Hassan prevents the takedown attempt.
Dalton is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Hassan gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Dalton drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Hassan throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Daltons head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dalton goes for a takedown attempt but Hassan pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Dalton staying out of range there.
Dalton feints the counter takedown.
Dalton misses with a takedown attempt - Hassan sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Hassan throws a body shot but no joy.
Dalton with the counter takedown but Hassan avoids it easily.
Hassan bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Dalton's head backwards.

It looks like James Dalton has been cut.
Dalton moves in looking to clinch but Hassan pushes him off.
Abduwali Hassan is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Nice defenses there by Dalton.
Hassan throws a jab but it's blocked by Dalton.
Dalton tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
Dalton closes this distance looking for a takedown but Hassan circles away.
Hassan swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
A head kick misses from Hassan.
Dalton ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.

Dalton shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Dalton showed some decent athleticism there.
Dalton is looking to advance position but Hassan won't allow it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hassan pushes Dalton off looking to stand but Dalton dives back in and keeps control.

Dalton looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.

Dalton seems to be looking for submissions.
Dalton wants to free his trapped foot but Hassan is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Dalton stops Hassan from getting back to his feet.
Dalton wants to control but Hassan is keeping him busy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hassan is trying to stand back up but Dalton is controlling him
Dalton trying to pass the guard but Hassan defending well.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Dalton frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Hassan wants to try and get back to his feet.
Hassan stops Dalton from taking his back. Still, being mounted isn't any better.
Dalton takes Hassan's back.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Dalton is persistently looking for the submission but Hassan is defending it well.

Hassan fending off the submission attempt from Dalton.
Dalton tries to keep control of the position but Hassan is staying busy.

Dalton is looking for the choke from the back position but Hassan is controlling his hands well.

Dalton is persistently looking for the submission but Hassan is defending it well.

Hassan preventing the rear naked choke attempt from Dalton.
Hassan wants to get back to his feet.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Abduwali Hassan will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on James Dalton'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.

Hassan throws a jab when Dalton was well out of range.
Dalton shoots in for a takedown but Hassan shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.

Dalton drives through with a takedown into Hassan's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Dalton pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Hassan is keeping the position for now.
Dalton prevents Hassan from getting back to his feet.
Dalton pushing down on Hassan's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.

Dalton wants to work for an arm triangle but Hassan is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Hassan is trying to stand.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Dalton is pressing down on Hassan's thigh, looking to free his foot. Hassan is holding on for now.

Dalton is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dalton trying to mount his opponent but Hassan defends it.

Hassan kicks off Dalton and gets to his feet.
Dalton avoids the body shot from Hassan.
Hassan throws a big shot that misses.

Dalton shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Hassan is looking to stand up but Dalton isn't so interested in that idea.
Dalton pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Hassan is keeping the position for now.

Hassan is scooting his butt against the cage and has managed to get back to his feet. Dalton presses him back against the cage, presumably looking to take the fight back to the mat.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hassan looking to throw knees to the head but Dalton is blocking nicely.
Dalton takes a knee to the side of the body.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Dalton on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Hassan.
Hassan stops a takedown attempt from Dalton.
Hassan working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Dalton is trying to drag Hassan to the mat but Hassan just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Abduwali Hassan has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of James Dalton.
Hassan pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Dalton is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Hassan is defending well.
Dalton is looking to take this one to the mat.
Hassan taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Dalton blocks an uppercut.
Dalton changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Hassan fights it off and pushes away nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dalton slips a jab from Hassan.
Hassan jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Dalton tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
Hassan is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Dalton can do to turn this around?
Dalton doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Hassan looks to land a left hand but Dalton moved out of range nicely.
Hassan works Dalton's body with a nice hook.
Hassan misses with a straight left.
Hassan lands with a hook. Dalton tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Hassan connects with an inside leg kick.
Hassan stuffs the takedown attempt from Dalton. Dalton gets slowly back to his feet.
Dalton shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Dalton fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Hassan avoids it really well and circles away.
Dalton moves out of range of the leg kick from Hassan.
Dalton feints the counter takedown.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Dalton changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Hassan tries to avoid it but Dalton manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Hassan to the ground. Hassan escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Hassan connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Abduwali Hassan is winning the standup battle so far.
Dalton fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Dalton closes this distance looking for a takedown but Hassan circles away.
Dalton blocks a jab.
Dalton moves out of range as Hassan strikes.
Hassan connects with an inside leg kick.
Hassan throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Nice sprawl there from Hassan as Dalton shoots in.
No luck for Dalton with that takedown attempt.
Hassan scores with a jab. Dalton acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Abduwali Hassan seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Hassan misses with an uppercut.
Hassan misses with a straight right.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Abduwali Hassan dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on James Dalton's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

The fighters circling - Hassan throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Dalton displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Hassan throws out the jab.
Dalton with the counter takedown but Hassan avoids it easily.
Hassan circles away from the clinch attempt.

Hassan gets a clinch.
Dalton's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Hassan lands an uppercut.

Dalton is rocked!
Dalton blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Dalton is still on wobbly legs! Can Hassan finish him?
Dalton blocking some punches.
Hassan pulls back and lands a big elbow that stuns Dalton! Hassan unloads with more strikes and Dalton sinks to his knees! This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:33 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Abduwali Hassan!
Abduwali Hassan made sure to mention his sponsor, Stoner's Killer Apparel in his post fight interview.