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PBP Commentary |
Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Joel de la Cruz (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Karim Chamakh (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chamakh is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: Linda Sundblad - To All My Girls. There are an array of beautiful celebrities at ringside tonight! I wonder if any of them paid for their tickets.
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| 187 cm
19
203 lbs
4 - 1 - 0 |
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168 cm
18
185 lbs
6 - 0 - 0 |
Powerful takedowns
Basic striking
Very quick |
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Good wrestler
Counter striker
Solid chin |
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Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the middleweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of
4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Joel de la Cruz!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of
6 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Karim Chamakh!
The judges for this bout are Ivan Kurochkin, Sergei Dronov and Fedor Mirinova.
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Chamakh closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. de la Cruz did well to prevent Chamakh getting side control.
Chamakh is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Chamakh prevents de la Cruz from improving his position.
de la Cruz makes his way to full guard. A much better position for de la Cruz.
de la Cruz not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Chamakh pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. de la Cruz is keeping the position for now.
That's one minute gone in the round.
de la Cruz throws his legs up looking for a submission but Chamakh uses it to pass to side control.
Chamakh tries to advance to mount but can't.
The referee asks Chamakh politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Chamakh prefers to stall for the moment though.
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.
de la Cruz is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Chamakh is controlling him well.
de la Cruz can't do much from the bottom here.
de la Cruz gives up the full mount - oops, sloppy defensive grappling there!
de la Cruz sneaks a leg back under and regains half guard and is working straight away to try and get back to guard. He hasn't managed just yet though.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Chamakh prevents de la Cruz from improving his position.
de la Cruz looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
de la Cruz looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
de la Cruz is trying to maintain the position but Chamakh is very close to passing his half guard.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Chamakh trying to control the pace.
de la Cruz is trying to control but Chamakh manages to pass to mount!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
Karim Chamakh dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.
de la Cruz misses with a takedown attempt
and Chamakh counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
de la Cruz wants to get back to full guard.
Chamakh with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
de la Cruz is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Chamakh's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Chamakh's back!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
de la Cruz really has the hooks in deep now - there seems like no escape for Chamakh.
Chamakh just trying to survive but de la Cruz is wriggling into a better position, looking to finish.
That's one minute gone in the round.
de la Cruz controlling well, preventing Chamakh from escaping the position.
de la Cruz looking for the choke but no joy.
Chamakh tries to escape the position - he's now mounted. Is that better or worse? Hard to tell!
de la Cruz trying to control but Chamakh is having none of it.
Chamakh wants to hold on but de la Cruz pushes him away.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
de la Cruz goes for an armbar but he's not got it… Chamakh turns into him and now he's in de la Cruz's guard.
de la Cruz is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Chamakh is aware though and is defending well.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
de la Cruz wants to sweep here but Chamakh controlling him for the moment.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Chamakh slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
de la Cruz working for a triangle but Chamakh defends it easily.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
de la Cruz is trying to hold Chamakh in close to prevent damage but Chamakh has managed to pass into half guard.
Chamakh controlling the pace.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
de la Cruz tries to roll over but Chamakh keeps him under control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
Karim Chamakh showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!
de la Cruz gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Chamakh to score an easy takedown into full guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Chamakh advances to half guard.
de la Cruz has guillotine here! It looks pretty tight! Could this be all over! No, Chamakh escapes and passes into side control at the same time. Nice work there by Chamakh!
de la Cruz tries to control the position but he's not in luck - Chamakh easily slips into full mount!
That's one minute gone in the round.
de la Cruz is looking to get to half guard.
Chamakh tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
de la Cruz is looking to get to half guard.
de la Cruz tries to lock up and control but Chamakh gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Chamakh takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
de la Cruz is looking to get to half guard.
Chamakh controlling from the full mount.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
de la Cruz tries to hold on but Chamakh pushes him away.
Chamakh is dominating on the ground here - he's now on his opponent's back, looking to sink in the hooks. de la Cruz is in real trouble.
Chamakh has the hooks sunk in and you can see the will to fight slowly draining out of de la Cruz's body.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
de la Cruz is defending well here and trying to improve his position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
Karim Chamakh really dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.
de la Cruz misses with a takedown attempt
and Chamakh counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in de la Cruz's guard now.
Chamakh must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
de la Cruz is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
de la Cruz looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
de la Cruz working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Chamakh doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Chamakh manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Chamakh wants to pass the guard but de la Cruz is keeping the position.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Chamakh is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
de la Cruz will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
de la Cruz being controlled here, momentarily.
de la Cruz looking for a sweep. Not yet de la Cruz, not yet.
That's two 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.
Chamakh sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
de la Cruz with a lazy takedown attempt
and Chamakh counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for de la Cruz!
Chamakh tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
de la Cruz is trying to escape the mount but Chamakh keeps good control and instead manages to take de la Cruz's back.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
de la Cruz is trying to break free.
de la Cruz trying to control the hands but Chamakh breaks the grip.
Chamakh slows the pace down here. Having a little breather whilst he's in a dominant position, looking to rest and regain some energy, ready to go for the finish.
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.
de la Cruz trying to control the hands but Chamakh breaks the grip.
Chamakh controlling the position well here. de la Cruz rolled but Chamakh kept the hooks locked in and stayed in the dominant position.
de la Cruz breaks Chamakh's hooks off and manages to turn into his guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
Karim Chamakh dominated that fourth round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!
Chamakh gets the takedown into side control.
de la Cruz is trying to work for a sweep but Chamakh has mounted him!
Chamakh content just to control the position here.
de la Cruz really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
That's one minute gone in the round.
de la Cruz is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Chamakh controlling the position easily from mount.
de la Cruz wants to control but Chamakh is having none of it.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Chamakh controlling from the full mount.
de la Cruz is trying to escape the mount.
Karim Chamakh is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Chamakh wants to take de la Cruz's back but he can't do it this time.
de la Cruz tries to get back to half guard but can't.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
de la Cruz regains half guard.
de la Cruz looking for submissions off his back.
Both of our modern day gladiators look out of it here - an gruelling 5 rounds of action taking it's toll on them, no doubt.
Still in half guard, Chamakh seems content to control.
And that's the end of the fight!
Karim Chamakh comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Chamakh has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.
Ladies and gentlemen, after 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Ivan Kurochkin scores the fight 45:50
Judge Sergei Dronov scores the fight 45:50
Judge Fedor Mirinova scores the fight 45:50
In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Karim Chamakh! Karim Chamakh retains his middleweight title!
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| S |
C
A |
G |
S |
C
B |
G |
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S |
C |
G |
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energy
A | B |
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hype
A | B |
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pop
A | B |
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mgr
A | B |
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FIGHT
RATING
26% |
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