PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Michael Welsh (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Akhmad ShugaR (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). ShugaR has chosen Dagestan as his entrance music. The fight MMA fans around the world have waited their entire lives for!

Welsh
vs
ShugaR

180 cm
27
186 lbs
6 - 4 - 0

184 cm
21
192 lbs
9 - 2 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Very strong

Powerful takedowns
Decent boxing
Good gas tank

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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 6 - 4 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Michael Welsh!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 2 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Akhmad ShugaR!
The judges for this bout are Dmitry Maklakov, Sergei Dronov and Viktor Lagutenko.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Welsh scores with a punch to the head.
Welsh rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but ShugaR moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Welsh tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but ShugaR was well out of range. Poor timing from Welsh.
Nice takedown defense from Welsh. No joy for ShugaR on that attempt.
ShugaR tries to bum rush Welsh with a series of wild strikes but Welsh uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
ShugaR throws a series of punches but Welsh moves out of range.
ShugaR shoots for a double leg takedown but Welsh sprawls well. He's pushed ShugaR's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Nice takedown defense from Welsh. No joy for ShugaR on that attempt.
Michael Welsh has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Akhmad ShugaR.
ShugaR looks for a takedown but Welsh sprawls well.
Sloppy strikes from Welsh. Those never looked like landing.
ShugaR slaps away a takedown attempt from Welsh, before circling back to the center of the mat.
A bone on bone clash there as Welsh blocks the leg kick.
ShugaR catches Welsh with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Welsh will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Welsh ducks under a wild hook from ShugaR.
Welsh swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Welsh closes the distance and lands a one-two.
ShugaR loads up on a big right hand but Welsh slips the punch.

ShugaR shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Welsh's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
ShugaR controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
ShugaR trying to control but Welsh is working from the bottom.
Welsh wants to stand and escape but ShugaR is having none of it.
Welsh being controlled here, momentarily.

Akhmad ShugaR has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
ShugaR jabs away that one connects to the head of his opponent.
A punch combination from Welsh misses.

Welsh gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows ShugaR to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Welsh is looking to stand back up... there's a bit of a scramble and ShugaR dives into side control.
Welsh is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but ShugaR has just dragged him back down to the mat.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!
ShugaR controlling the position.
Welsh wants to get back to his feet but ShugaR drags him back down.
ShugaR moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.
Welsh is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but ShugaR has just dragged him back down to the mat.
ShugaR staying calm.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
ShugaR landing strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
ShugaR moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
ShugaR's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Akhmad ShugaR was stalling too much, according to the referee.
ShugaR ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Welsh moves away.
Welsh has a takedown stuffed.
Welsh shoots for a double leg takedown but ShugaR sprawls well. He's pushed Welsh's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.

Welsh bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
ShugaR is trying to get back to half guard.
ShugaR sneaks back into half guard.
ShugaR trying to hold on to Welsh's head to control him but Welsh postures up.
Welsh tries to stand but can't do so whilst ShugaR controls his leg.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Welsh trying desperately to get back to his feet here but he's not having any joy at all. He's going to tire himself out if he's not careful.
Welsh is thwarting ShugaR's attempts to control the position.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

Welsh decides to stand up and try his luck on the feet.
ShugaR lands a jab to the head.
ShugaR keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Akhmad ShugaR dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

ShugaR looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Welsh looks for a takedown but ShugaR sprawls well.
Welsh takes a swing at ShugaR's ribcage but misses.
Welsh moves out of range of the body kick from ShugaR.
A punch combination from Welsh misses.
ShugaR swings away with a leg kick that misses.

ShugaR scores a takedown into full mount!
ShugaR controlling the position easily from mount.
Let's hope that ShugaR 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.
ShugaR landing strikes, looking to finish!
Welsh tries to buck ShugaR off but he can't manage it.
ShugaR tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Akhmad ShugaR.
Welsh just misses with a punch to the body.
ShugaR misses with a takedown attempt - Welsh sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Welsh throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck ShugaR on the side of the head.
Nice sprawl there from Welsh as ShugaR shoots in.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
ShugaR misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Welsh.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Welsh!
ShugaR keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
ShugaR steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Welsh.
ShugaR dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!

ShugaR throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Welsh was covering up waiting for the punch and ShugaR finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Welsh wants to stand up but ShugaR is controlling him.
ShugaR working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Welsh's head.
Welsh is wriggling around but ShugaR manages to pass to half guard.
ShugaR controlling the pace.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
ShugaR tries to pass to full mount but Welsh defends it.

Welsh has one foot on ShugaR's thigh - he pushes off and manages to get back to his feet.
A shot to the liver by ShugaR. Beautiful body shot.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Welsh tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but ShugaR swivels and escapes.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Michael Welsh. That's going to take a lot out of him.
No luck for ShugaR with that takedown attempt.
ShugaR tests Welsh's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Welsh checks a leg kick.
Welsh uses good head movement to avoid the hook from ShugaR.
ShugaR lands a leg kick that knocks Welsh off balance momentarily.
ShugaR gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Welsh.

Excellent takedown into side control there by ShugaR.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Welsh is letting ShugaR control him for a moment.
Welsh is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, ShugaR asserts his dominance and retains side control.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
ShugaR remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Akhmad ShugaR was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Welsh throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Akhmad ShugaR showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

ShugaR uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Welsh throws a hook to the side of ShugaR's head but ShugaR sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
ShugaR takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.

ShugaR gets the takedown into side control.
ShugaR moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.
Akhmad ShugaR has got the better of the ground game so far.
Welsh wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
The referee asks ShugaR politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. ShugaR prefers to stall for the moment though.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Welsh is looking to work his way out of this bad position but ShugaR is controlling him well.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
ShugaR taking a breather here.

That's one minute gone in the round.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Akhmad ShugaR hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
No joy there for Welsh, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Nice uppercut there from ShugaR.
ShugaR drops Welsh with a huge uppercut! Welsh drops to the floor like a sack of potatoes. ShugaR is raining down punches and the ref stops the fight! This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:41 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Akhmad ShugaR!
A relieved looking Akhmad ShugaR thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.