PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Ivan Curcic (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jusuf Al Bahares (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Curcic
vs
Al Bahares

225 cm
21
250 lbs
1 - 4 - 0

210 cm
18
275 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Good kicks
Experienced

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Tends to cut

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Ivan Curcic!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Jusuf Al Bahares!
The judges for this bout are Saam Ante, Nard Betker and Paulsen Ambrosius.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Curcic shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Curcic is trying to control the action in half guard but Al Bahares is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.

Al Bahares has guillotine here! It looks pretty tight! Could this be all over! No, Curcic escapes and passes into side control at the same time. Nice work there by Curcic!

Curcic decides to stand back up.
Curcic fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Al Bahares shoots and misses
and Curcic counters with a series of strikes. Al Bahares will be more careful next time no doubt.
Curcic defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Al Bahares.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Curcic tries for a takedown but Al Bahares circles away easily

and Al Bahares holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Curcic tries to score a body lock takedown but Al Bahares shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ivan Curcic. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Al Bahares working hard to break the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Al Bahares misses with the head strike.
Curcic wants a takedown.
Curcic is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Curcic lands an elbow inside that Al Bahares shrugs off.
Al Bahares drops down looking for an ankle pick but Curcic pulls his leg out and moves away.

Al Bahares gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Curcic is breathing heavily.
Al Bahares trying to control the position here.
Curcic trying to control but Al Bahares is working from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Curcic stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Al Bahares swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Curcic wants to control from the top but Al Bahares keeps moving.
Al Bahares wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Al Bahares wants to sweep here but Curcic controlling him for the moment.

Al Bahares throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Al Bahares pushes Curcic off and scrambles back to his feet.
A lazy body kick from Al Bahares

and Curcic counters with a nice double leg into side control. Al Bahares won't be happy with that.

Curcic tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Curcic has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Al Bahares is not content to let Curcic control the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Al Bahares is looking for a sweep.
Al Bahares really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Curcic. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Al Bahares is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Curcic wants to control but Al Bahares is keeping him busy.
Al Bahares wants to control but Curcic postures up.
Curcic really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Curcic tries for a kimura but Al Bahares is defending well.

Curcic decides to stand back up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ivan Curcic dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Curcic gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Al Bahares counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Curcic!
Curcic throwing punches from his back but nothing is landing.
Al Bahares cracks Curcic with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Curcic is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Curcic really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Curcic is in a horrible position here. Al Bahares smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Al Bahares avoids the attempt from Curcic to control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Al Bahares controlling from the full mount.
Al Bahares throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Al Bahares working Curcic over with strikes here.
Al Bahares looking to control and managing it successfully.
Curcic tries to hold on but Al Bahares pushes him away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Al Bahares controlling his opponent.
Curcic can't escape the position.

Al Bahares moves into side control, trying to work for a kimura. That looks painful! Will he finish!!?? No, Curcic has worked his arm free - good work by Curcic!

Al Bahares is trying to get an arm triangle but Curcic is defending well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Al Bahares wants to control but Curcic is keeping him busy.
Curcic being controlled for a moment.
Curcic can't do much from the bottom here.

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.
Curcic is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Al Bahares is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.

Al Bahares stands up and beckons Curcic to his feet.
Al Bahares wants to clinch but Curcic slips to the side

and Curcic counters by clinching up.

Curcic manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Curcic will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Curcic is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Al Bahares tries to free his leg and advance position but Curcic is retaining full guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jusuf Al Bahares showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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. This is the final round!

Curcic misses with a takedown

and Al Bahares counters with a shoot takedown. Curcic fights it but they end up in guard.
Al Bahares pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Curcic is keeping the position for now.
Curcic seems keen to control Al Bahares's posture.
Al Bahares controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Curcic manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Curcic is working on an americana here. Ooh, that looks pretty nasty! Nope, Al Bahares has managed to escape the submission attempt.
Curcic trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Curcic landing shots from mount.

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.
Al Bahares tries to hold on but Curcic postures up.
Curcic can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Al Bahares is looking to escape.
Al Bahares is trying to stand.
Curcic misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.
Al Bahares is working to get back to half guard.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Al Bahares can do anything to dispel that myth.
Curcic looking to control but Al Bahares is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Curcic is really struggling to control Al Bahares but he's trying to hold on to the position.
Al Bahares wants to hold on but Curcic pushes him away.
Curcic trying to control but Al Bahares is having none of it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Curcic tries to take Al Bahares's back but instead Al Bahares uses the opportunity to regain half guard.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Ivan Curcic.

Al Bahares closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Curcic to the mat! Curcic manages to get full guard.

Al Bahares postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Curcic is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Al Bahares, into his guard.
Al Bahares looking to hit a scissor sweep but Curcic is one step ahead there.

And that's the end of the fight!
Jusuf Al Bahares comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Al Bahares has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Saam Ante scores the fight 28:29
Judge Nard Betker scores the fight 28:29
Judge Paulsen Ambrosius scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Jusuf Al Bahares!