PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Haile Selassie (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ghazala Hussein (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Selassie comes to the cage accompanied by .... Hussein has chosen Enae Volare Mezzo as his entrance music. Buckle up people - heeeeeeeeeere we go!

Selassie
vs
Hussein

172 cm
22
155 lbs
7 - 2 - 0

179 cm
29
157 lbs
18 - 8 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Very quick

BJJ Brown Belt
Excellent boxer
Powerful

FULL METAL GEAR
FULL METAL GEAR

Conviction

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 7 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Haile Selassie!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 18 - 8 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Ghazala Hussein!
The judges for this bout are Sergei Dronov, Konstantin Menshow and Ivan Kurochkin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Selassie shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Hussein defends it nicely.
Hussein throws a hook but Selassie avoids it easily.
Hussein throws a leg kick that is checked

and Selassie counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Hussein trying to control the position.
Hussein working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Selassie.
Hussein pulls Selassie in close to prevent any damage.
Selassie controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hussein tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Hussein bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Selassie's guard.
Hussein wants to pass the guard but Selassie is keeping the position.
Selassie looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Hussein trying to control but Selassie is working from the bottom.

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.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Selassie doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Hussein counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Hussein lands with a hook. Selassie tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Hussein throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Selassie scores with a nice right hand.
Selassie shoots in and drives through. Hussein sprawls well.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Haile Selassie. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Nice uppercut there from Hussein.

Selassie decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hussein is trying to get back to full guard.
Selassie performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Hussein trying to hold on to Selassie's head to control him but Selassie postures up.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Selassie in particular looking to stall.
Selassie seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Hussein for as long as he can get away with.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Haile Selassie wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Selassie misses with a takedown
and Hussein counters with a right hand to the body.
Hussein throws a big shot that misses.
Hussein throws a body punch but Selassie moves out of range.
Selassie with a lazy takedown attempt
and Hussein counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Hussein throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Selassie sees it coming and avoids it easily.
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 Haile Selassie will probably get the nod.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Hussein misses with a series of wild punches.

Selassie shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Hussein is trying to defend but Selassie finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Selassie thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Hussein's head.
Selassie wants to take a breather but Hussein is having none of it.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Hussein gets full guard.
Selassie stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Hussein swivels though and keeps the full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Selassie postures up.
Selassie is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Selassie stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Hussein swivels though and keeps the full guard.

The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Selassie avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Hussein looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Selassie throwing strikes but missing.
Hussein is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Selassie pushes Hussein off looking to stand but Hussein dives back in and keeps control.
Hussein is pressing down on Selassie's thigh, looking to free his foot. Selassie is holding on for now.
Selassie avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Hussein.
Hussein throwing shots but Selassie is blocking nicely.
Selassie works his way to full guard. Good work.
Hussein throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Selassie works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hussein is stalling in the full guard.
Selassie looking to hit a scissor sweep but Hussein is one step ahead there.
Hussein sitting in guard here, content to control.
Hussein throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Selassie works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Selassie bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Hussein's guard.
Hussein looking for a sweep. Not yet Hussein, not yet.

That's four 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.
Selassie postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Selassie is stalling in the full guard.
Hussein controls Selassie momentarily but Selassie frees himself.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Selassie throws a strike but Hussein rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Selassie is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Haile Selassie dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Selassie shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Hussein defends it nicely.
Selassie shoots in and drives through. Hussein sprawls well.
Hussein misses with a right hand

so Selassie counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Hussein being controlled here, momentarily.
Selassie trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hussein wants to sweep here but Selassie controlling him for the moment.
Selassie trying to control the position from guard on top but Hussein is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Hussein working a defensive guard here.
Hussein keeping full guard, as Selassie tries to pass.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Selassie moves away from the strike by Hussein.
Ghazala Hussein has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Haile Selassie is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

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.
Hussein misses with an uppercut

and Selassie counters with a takedown into side control.
Selassie content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.
Hussein is trying to get back to his feet.
Selassie is pausing for a moment. What's he doing? It looks like he's clearing his nose. Oh dude! He's shot a load of snot all down Hussein's shoulder. That is not cool.
Selassie has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Haile Selassie has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Selassie throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Hussein's waist but Hussein gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Selassie off to one side.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Haile Selassie. That's going to take a lot out of him.
No luck for Selassie with that takedown attempt.
Hussein scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hussein lands a jab to the head.
Selassie avoids the body shot from Hussein.

Selassie scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Hussein wants to control but Selassie is keeping busy.
Hussein is not content to let Selassie control the position.
Selassie seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.

And that's the end of the fight!
Haile Selassie showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Selassie, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Sergei Dronov scores the fight 30:27
Judge Konstantin Menshow scores the fight 30:27
Judge Ivan Kurochkin scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Haile Selassie!