PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Hu Rah (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Sammy Salammi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Rah might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Flogging Molly - Devil's Dance Floor. 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.

Rah
vs
Salammi

190 cm
25
220 lbs
9 - 3 - 0

180 cm
28
213 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
KO power

Good wrestler
Dangerous knees
Good gas tank

Red Light Clothing ► Amsterdam!

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 9 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Hu Rah!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Sammy Salammi!
The judges for this bout are Paulsen Ambrosius, Paul Aken and Albert Achterberg.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rah misses with a hook to the body

and Salammi holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Rah is trying to break free.
Salammi scores with a shoulder strike.
Salammi with a knee to the head.

It looks like Hu Rah has been cut.
Salammi presses Rah against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.

Salammi pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
A decent looking body kick lands there for Salammi.
Salammi fails with an attempt to clinch.
Rah throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Salammi counters with a straight right hand.
Rah misses with an uppercut

and Salammi counters by moving into the clinch.

Rah gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, Salammi regains guard.
Salammi trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.
Rah wants to control from the top but Salammi keeps moving.

Rah thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Rah preventing the sweep.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Salammi wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Salammi is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Rah is controlling him.
Salammi seems keen to control Rah's posture.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Salammi wants to sweep here but Rah controlling him for the moment.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Rah postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Salammi keeping moving, preventing Rah from controlling successfully.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Rah throws a right hand that misses
and Salammi counters with an outside leg kick.
Rah throws a left and a right that both miss

and Salammi counters by clinching up.
Rah is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Salammi utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.

Salammi breaks the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rah tries for a takedown but Salammi circles away easily

and Salammi moves into the clinch.
A knee to the head by Salammi.

Salammi breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Rah throws a right hand that misses

and Salammi holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.

Salammi manages to break the clinch.

Salammi gets a clinch.
Salammi is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Rah is defending well for now.
Rah wants a takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Hu Rah. That's going to take a lot out of him.
A right hand to the body from Salammi.
Rah is breathing heavily.
Salammi with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Rah is trying to break free.
Salammi scores with a shot to the side of Rah's head.
Salammi lands with a left to the head.
Salammi stalling against the cage.
Salammi scores with a knee to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Salammi unloads a knee to the mid-section. Rah lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Salammi lands a good knee to the midsection. Rah won't want to take too many of those.
Salammi lands a nice knee to the body.

Salammi manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.

Rah postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Salammi is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Rah, into his guard.
Rah is trying to hold Salammi in close to prevent damage but Salammi has managed to pass into half guard.
Salammi not doing much here.
Rah avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Salammi.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Salammi is looking to take a break and control but Rah is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Salammi controlling the action here.
Let's hope that Salammi has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Salammi trying to control from half guard but Rah is working away.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Sammy Salammi was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Rah swats away the attempt to clinch by Salammi.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sammy Salammi dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Hu Rah'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.

Rah with a poor takedown
and Salammi counters with a head kick. That will keep Rah thinking before he tries any more sloppy attacks!
Rah shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Salammi counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Rah!
Rah can't escape the position.
Salammi misses with a head shot.
Rah is working to get back to half guard.
The referee warns Rah that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Salammi tries to control but Rah wriggling away.
Salammi cracks Rah with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Salammi tries to control but Rah wriggling away.

Salammi goes for an armbar but he's fallen flat on his backside there and now Rah is on top in guard.
Salammi tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Salammi wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Salammi wants to sweep here but Rah controlling him for the moment.
Salammi trying to keep a closed guard but Rah is proving a slippery customer.

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.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Salammi has a closed guard, preventing Rah from standing up.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Sammy Salammi.
Salammi fails with the takedown

and Rah counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Rah.
Rah tries to break the clinch but Salammi is controlling the position.
Rah wants to get back to striking at distance but Salammi won't allow it.
Salammi scores with a knee to the head.

Hu Rah's cut is bleeding quite badly. He's got to try and protect it.
Knees in the clinch landing for Salammi.
Rah avoiding damage as Salammi throws knees to the body.

Rah breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
A jab from Rah misses.
Rah lands with a good body shot.
Hu Rah seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Rah throws a body kick the misses

and Salammi counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Salammi lands with a punch from half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Salammi wants to lay and pray for a moment but Rah keeps working.
Rah avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Salammi.
Salammi is looking to pass Rah's guard but actually Rah recovers to full guard.
Rah not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Rah can't keep his opponent in guard - Salammi advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Rah is staying active underneath Salammi, who seems content to just control the action from this position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.

Salammi decides to stand up and try his luck on the feet.

Salammi rushes Rah and presses him up against the cage.
Salammi tries to land knees in the clinch but Rah avoids the damage to the body.
Rah misses with a hook from the clinch.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Salammi.
Salammi tries a knee to the head but Rah blocks it.
Rah is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Salammi gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Hu Rah. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Salammi is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Salammi trying to land knees to the body.
Knees to the body from Salammi.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Salammi escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Rah gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Salammi counters by moving into the clinch.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Salammi breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

Salammi drives through with a takedown into guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Salammi doesn't manage to clinch there - Rah circles away.
Salammi tries to clinch up but Rah circles away and keeps his distance.

Rah clinches up against the cage.
Rah takes a knee right on the jaw!
Salammi is looking to control Rah's arms but Rah gets an underhook and turns him. Now Salammi has his back to the cage.
Salammi landing knees to the body.
Salammi with a knee to the head.
Rah has Salammi pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Salammi manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Salammi landing knees to the body.

Salammi tightens his grip and picks Rah up, before dumping him to the ground. Rah manages to land in guard.

Rah working for submissions but it's allowed Salammi to get to half guard.
Rah avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Salammi.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Salammi is looking to take a break and control but Rah is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Salammi is looking to stall here but Rah recovers full guard.
Salammi keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Rah's head.
Rah is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Salammi is doing well to control the position and prevent Rah from advancing to side control.
Salammi is looking for a sweep. Rah is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

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.
Salammi slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Rah throws and elbow that misses. Salammi uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Rah's guard. Nice move by Salammi!
Salammi trying to control but Rah is working from the bottom.
Salammi looking to pass the guard.
Salammi trying to control but Rah is working from the bottom.
Salammi passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Sammy Salammi has got the better of the ground game so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Salammi tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Salammi has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Salammi trying to control the action but Rah is working from the bottom.
Sammy Salammi is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Rah struggling a bit here.
Rah tries to improve position 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.
Salammi looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Rah is avoiding damage well.
Rah tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Salammi is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Rah will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.
Rah is looking to slip a leg under and get half guard but Salammi is one step ahead and moves to full mount!
Salammi controlling the pace for now.
Rah is wriggling around trying to escape.

And that's the end of the fight!
Sammy Salammi comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Salammi 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 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Paulsen Ambrosius scores the fight 27:30
Judge Paul Aken scores the fight 27:30
Judge Albert Achterberg scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Sammy Salammi!