PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between abbas ali (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Max Powers (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). ali comes to the cage accompanied by fff. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

ali
vs
Powers

186 cm
22
170 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

180 cm
18
180 lbs
1 - 5 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Granite chin

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Heavy handed

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, abbas ali!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Max Powers!
The judges for this bout are Steve Smith, Elvis Blanc and Trevor Gratis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

ali forces Powers back against the cage and clinches.

ali gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, Powers regains guard.
ali thows a big elbow that misses.
ali throws a strike but Powers rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Powers gets to his feet - ali follows without any prompting.
Powers fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Powers scores to the head and body with a nice combination!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Powers slaps away a takedown attempt from ali, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Powers throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Some wild striking there from Powers.
ali uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Powers.
Powers throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
ali slips a jab and a cross from Powers.
ali steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Powers.
ali showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Powers.

Powers tries to keep at a distance but ali has taken the fight into the clinch.
ali lands an elbow that stopped Powers in his tracks for a moment.

It looks like Max Powers has been cut.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.

ali pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Powers throws a series of punches but ali moves out of range.
Powers defends well against a solid takedown attempt from ali.
Max Powers is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

ali drives through and clinches with Powers against the cage.
Powers is trying to break the clinch but ali has him pressed against the cage.

ali breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Powers misses with the combination.
Powers looks gassed!
Powers throws a right hand that ali ducks under and follows up with a left that ali also avoids with ease.
A combination from Powers does no damage.
Powers throws a shot from downtown. ali moves away and avoids it.
ali ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
The fighters circling - Powers throws out the jab but it was never going to land.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
ali is trying hard to land a takedown here. Powers sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for abbas ali. That's going to take a lot out of him.
No luck with that takedown attempt from ali.

ali drives through and clinches with Powers against the cage.

ali breaks the clinch.
Powers moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
Powers misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Powers throws a right and a left that ali avoids nicely.

ali takes the fight into the clinch.

ali breaks the clinch.

ali darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
ali has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
ali is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!

ali is going olschool here, as he tries to force Powers to tap using a forearm choke. This isn't 1993 though, so Powers shrugs it off.
Powers really doesn't want to stay on the ground with ali. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
ali trying to control but he's not successful this time.

ali goes for an armbar but Powers turns quickly into his guard - lovely anticipation from Powers.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that abbas ali will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Max Powers's cut.
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.

ali takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
ali uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Powers.

ali moves into the clinch successfully.

ali jumps into guard, dragging Powers to the mat.
Powers must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
ali is looking to stand back up but Powers counters by passing into half guard. Oops... bit sloppy there by ali.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
ali is trying to stand up here but Powers is controlling him well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
ali has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Powers is working away from the top position though.
Powers wants to stand up but ali has a hold of him and won't allow it.
Powers stops ali from getting back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
ali tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.

Powers decides he's had enough of the ground and stands up.
Powers throws the left hand but ali avoids the punch easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Powers misses with the combination.
ali tries for a takedown but Powers sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
ali walks into a straight right hand from Powers.
ali steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Powers.
Powers throws a right and a left that both miss.
ali doesn't manage to clinch there - Powers circles away.
Powers lands a nice shot that snaps ali's head back.
Powers fails to land with a series of punches.
Powers connects with a looping right hand.
Powers throws a series of punches but ali avoids them all with ease.

ali closes the distance and pushes Powers back into the cage.
ali manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Powers tries to break free but ali pushes him back against the cage.
Powers wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but ali has him pressed against the cage.
ali goes for a takedown attempt but Powers pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Powers throws a series of punches but ali avoids them all with ease.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
ali shoots in for a takedown but Powers shows good takedown defense.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for abbas ali. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Powers cracks ali with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Max Powers showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Max Powers's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

ali shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Powers might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
Powers throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Powers tries to bum rush ali with a series of wild strikes but ali uses good footwork to avoid the assault.

ali scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.

ali stands up.
abbas ali is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Powers throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
ali fails with an attempt to clinch.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Powers looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.

ali closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
ali wants to control but Powers is keeping him busy.

That's one minute gone in the round.
ali thows a huge punch but Powers dodges it nicely.
ali perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.

ali decides to return to a standing position.
ali walks into a straight right hand from Powers.
No joy there for Powers, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
ali doesn't manage to clinch there - Powers circles away.
Powers throws a nice looking combination but ali bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
ali keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Powers.

ali clinches up against the cage.
Powers wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Powers is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.

ali escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Powers looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.

ali shoots in and bounces Powers off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.

ali gets to his feet. Powers looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!
Powers throws an uppercut from half a mile away. ali sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Powers misses with a jab, cross combination.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
ali shoots for a takedown but Powers saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
ali takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Powers throws a series of punches but ali avoids them all with ease.
Powers looks to land a combination but ali avoids it well.
Powers throws a series of punches but ali avoids them all with ease.

ali darts in and clinches Powers up against the cage.
ali lands with a light punch inside.
Powers is looking to break free of the clinch but ali has double underhooks.
Powers has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
ali makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
A nice right hand lands inside from ali.
ali works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.

ali works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.
Powers wants to get back to his feet but he's too absorbed in his own little project and ali manages to pass to side control.

ali stands up from half guard.
ali tries to close the distance and clinch up but Powers swats him away and circles back towards the center.

And that's the end of the fight!
abbas ali showed his dominance in that final round.
I think ali has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Steve Smith scores the fight 29:28
Judge Elvis Blanc scores the fight 29:28
Judge Trevor Gratis scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by split decision... abbas ali!