PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between faisal ali (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Matthew Robinson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Robinson has chosen Tempz - Next Hype as his entrance music. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

ali
vs
Robinson

190 cm
25
185 lbs
2 - 3 - 0

180 cm
19
204 lbs
1 - 3 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Granite chin

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 3 - 0, fighting out of London, faisal ali!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of London, Matthew Robinson!
The judges for this bout are William Gold, Colin Fotheringham and Daniel Bishop.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
ali shoots in for a takedown but Robinson shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
ali swats away the attempt to clinch by Robinson.
Robinson stuffs the takedown.
Nice sprawl there from Robinson as ali shoots in.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for faisal ali. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Robinson tries to clinch up.
Robinson bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
ali swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.

Robinson drives through and clinches with ali against the cage.
A short right from Robinson.
Robinson lands a damaging elbow.

It looks like faisal ali has been cut.
Nice elbow from Robinson.

ali is trying to trip Robinson. He has hold of a leg but Robinson is hopping around, keeping his balance for the moment. ali persists though and gets the takedown into guard.
ali controlling from the top position.
Robinson wants to stand and escape but ali is having none of it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
ali seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
ali trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
ali controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Robinson is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst ali is controlling him.
ali tries to free his leg and advance position but Robinson is retaining full guard.
Robinson keeping moving, preventing ali from controlling successfully.

That's two 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.
Robinson is looking to stand up but ali isn't so interested in that idea.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Robinson closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
No luck with that takedown attempt from ali.
ali is breathing heavily.
Robinson wants to clinch up but ali keeps it at a distance.

Robinson drives through and clinches with ali against the cage.
ali takes a knee right on the jaw!
ali has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Robinson with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Robinson takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Robinson prevents a takedown attempt there.
Robinson landing knees to the head.
Robinson is pressed up against the cage. ali has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Robinson down to the mat. Robinson avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Robinson lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.

Robinson closes the distance and clinches.
Robinson with a knee to the head.
A shot in the inside from Robinson.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Robinson lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
ali takes a knee right on the jaw!
Knees to the body from Robinson.
ali takes a knee to the side of the body.
Robinson misses with a knee to the head.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Robinson creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Robinson landing knees to the head.
Robinson with a knee to the head.
ali goes for a takedown in the clinch but Robinson prevents it.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
ali takes a knee right on the jaw!
Robinson prevents a takedown attempt there.
Robinson utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Robinson connects with a knee to the head.
ali on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

ali turns his hips and lands a very nice judo throw into side control!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Robinson seems a little lost for a moment, as ali dominates the positioning.
Robinson is pushing ali's head away, looking to escape. ali manages to hold on to the position though.
ali just content to control the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
ali wants to control but Robinson is keeping him busy.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Robinson can do anything to dispel that myth.
ali is really struggling to control Robinson but he's trying to hold on to the position.
Robinson pushes ali away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, ali gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.
ali laying and praying for a moment but Robinson takes advantage and regains half guard.
ali content to control rather than advance.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Matthew Robinson dominated that round.
The cut man is working on faisal ali's cut.
That's time! ali's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Robinson tries to close the distance and clinch but ali swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
ali has a takedown stuffed.

Robinson has managed to clinch.
ali drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Robinson gets underhooks to prevent ali's takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for faisal ali. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Robinson lands a good knee to the midsection. ali won't want to take too many of those.
Robinson unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Robinson scores a nice knee to the body.
Robinson gets through ali's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Robinson landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Robinson crunches a lovely knee into ali's ribcage.
Stalling in the clinch from Robinson.
Knees in the clinch landing for Robinson.
Robinson landing knees to the head.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Robinson will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning ali up against the cage.
Robinson scores with a knee to the head.
Robinson lands a nice shot to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Robinson landing knees to the head.
ali jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Robinson walks away with a smile on his face. ali gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
ali misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Robinson tries to clinch but ali is having none of it.

Robinson closes the distance and clinches.
Robinson putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has ali in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
ali wants a takedown but no success here.
Matthew Robinson seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Knees in the clinch landing for Robinson.
A short right from Robinson on the inside.
Robinson scores with a knee to the head.

ali lands a nice trip takedown into half guard.
ali prevents Robinson from standing back up.
ali is controlling the pace.
ali looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Robinson wants to get back to his feet.
ali sitting and controlling from the half guard.
ali seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Robinson does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
ali slows the pace down in half guard.
Robinson wants to get back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
ali keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
ali wants to take a breather but Robinson is having none of it.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of faisal ali.
Robinson fails with an attempt to clinch.
ali shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Robinson sprawls well. Robinson wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. ali gets slowly back to his feet.
Robinson throws a quick head kick that skims the top of ali's head.
Robinson fails in his attempt to clinch.
Robinson fails with an attempt to clinch.

Robinson has closed the distance and engaged ali in a clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A right hand to the body from Robinson.
Robinson connects with a knee to the head.
Robinson tries to land a knee to the head but ali blocks with his arms.
ali tries for a takedown. No joy.
The referee is keeping an eye on Robinson - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Robinson is pressed up against the cage. ali has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Robinson down to the mat. Robinson avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Robinson stuffs the takedown.
Robinson scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
ali stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Robinson.
ali looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Robinson is fending him off so far but ali persists. Nope, Robinson circles away and we're back to standing.
Robinson is looking to clinch.
Robinson tries to close the distance and clinch up but ali swats him away and circles back towards the center.
ali swats away the attempt to clinch by Robinson.
ali shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Robinson pinned against the cage. Robinson gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Robinson doesn't manage to clinch there - ali circles away.
Robinson tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but ali paws at him with a jab and circles away.

Robinson forces ali back against the cage and clinches.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Matthew Robinson showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on faisal ali's cut.
That's time! ali's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

No luck for ali with that takedown attempt.
ali shoots in and drives through. Robinson sprawls well.

Robinson darts in and clinches ali up against the cage.
Robinson lands an uppercut.
Robinson using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Robinson landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Robinson stalling.
ali is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Robinson pulls him back up using the underhooks.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for faisal ali. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Robinson lands a knee to the head.
Robinson has ali pressed against the cage.
Robinson lands a knee to the head.
Robinson using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Robinson is pressed up against the cage. ali has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Robinson down to the mat. Robinson avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
faisal ali seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Robinson is looking to clinch but ali is avoiding it.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Robinson slaps away a takedown attempt from ali, before circling back to the center of the mat.

Robinson gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Robinson connects with a knee to the head.

ali has double underhooks and is working for a body lock takedown. He's got it. The fighters land in half guard but Robinson regains guard immediately.
ali controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Robinson pushes ali off and gets back to his feet.
Robinson tries to clinch up.
Robinson tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but ali paws at him with a jab and circles away.
ali shoots in for a takedown but Robinson shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
ali shoots in but Robinson avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Robinson paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
ali avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
ali takes one on the button.
Robinson tries to clinch up.
ali connects with a looping right hand.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Robinson is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Robinson connects with a good right hand that stumbles ali. ali circles away out of range and recomposes himself.

Robinson has taken the fight to the clinch.
Robinson using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Robinson with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Robinson is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
ali goes for a takedown in the clinch but Robinson prevents it.
Robinson lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
ali is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Robinson gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Robinson has ali pressed against the cage.
faisal ali has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Robinson looking to throw knees to the head but ali is blocking nicely.
ali tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Robinson just stands there and leans against the cage.
ali is trying to drag Robinson to the mat but Robinson just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
ali has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Robinson is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Robinson lands a knee to the body.
Robinson with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
ali jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Robinson walks away with a smile on his face. ali gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

ali shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Robinson's guard.
ali looking to sit in guard and control but Robinson gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Robinson wants to stand up, so he's looking to wriggle free of ali's closed guard. He's half up but ali has locked on to an arm! Uh oh! ali pivots and extends the arm, Robinson falls face first to the mat and taps??... does he?? YES! He's tapping! Excellent counter grappling there by ali! Well done that man!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:32 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). faisal ali!