PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Karri Vahti (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Karim Chamakh (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd seem to be enjoying Chamakh's choice of entrance music: Immortal - Unearthly Kingdom. Karri Vahti has a significant reach advantage - let's see if he can make it count.

Vahti
vs
Chamakh

180 cm
26
182 lbs
15 - 3 - 1

168 cm
26
160 lbs
22 - 7 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

Brute
Perkele!

Black Hand Fight Gear & Laundry
Reaper Combatwear

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 15 - 3 - 1, fighting out of St Petersburg, Karri Vahti!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 22 - 7 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Karim Chamakh!
The judges for this bout are Aleksandr Martynov, Aleksei Zolotukhin and Illya Tyunina.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Chamakh uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Vahti.

Vahti gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Chamakh loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Vahti will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Vahti trying to keep a closed guard but Chamakh is proving a slippery customer.
Chamakh throws an elbow that misses. Vahti uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Chamakh's guard. Nice move by Vahti!
Chamakh looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Chamakh has a closed guard, preventing Vahti from standing up.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
Chamakh is trying to control the position from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vahti has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Chamakh is proving hard to escape from.

Vahti gets to his feet. Chamakh looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!
Vahti throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Chamakh on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Vahti. Vahti obviously looking to wear him down.
Vahti misses with a hook to the body

and Chamakh counters with a shoot takedown. Vahti fights it but they end up in guard.
Vahti avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Chamakh is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Vahti manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Vahti can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Chamakh is looking to escape.
Chamakh has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Vahti tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Vahti stands up from the dominant position, so we're back on the feet.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Vahti.
Chamakh shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Vahti as he avoids it easily.
Vahti throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Chamakh.
Vahti throws a low kick, looking for Chamakh's leg but Chamakh calmly moves out of range.
Karri Vahti is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Vahti misses with a combination

so Chamakh counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Chamakh accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Chamakh trying to control the position from guard on top but Vahti is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Chamakh landing some decent shots from guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Chamakh sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Vahti's guard.
Vahti wants to improve his position but Chamakh is controlling well.
Chamakh thows a huge punch but Vahti dodges it nicely.
Chamakh thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Vahti's head.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Vahti keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Vahti desperately trying to maintain half guard.
Chamakh looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Vahti with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Karim Chamakh dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Vahti throws a poor cross that misses

and Chamakh counters with a single leg into guard. Vahti didn't expect that.
Chamakh loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Vahti is pulling down on Chamakh's head. It's preventing any offense from Chamakh, at least for the moment.
Chamakh looking to sit in guard and control but Vahti gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Chamakh has a closed guard, preventing Vahti from standing up.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Vahti stands and steps away. Chamakh gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
A low kick from Vahti misses

and Chamakh counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Vahti's guard now.
Vahti avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Chamakh throws a big elbow that misses.
Vahti preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Chamakh with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Karim Chamakh has got the better of the ground game so far.
Chamakh postures up in Vahti's guard and throws a big left but Vahti blocks it.
Chamakh controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Chamakh postures up and lands a big shot to Vahti's brow.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Chamakh throwing strikes from guard but Vahti blocks nicely.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Chamakh accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Chamakh wants to pass the guard but Vahti is keeping the position.
Chamakh trying to control but Vahti is working from the bottom.
Vahti bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Chamakh's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Vahti stands up from Chamakh's guard - Vahti perhaps looking for a knockout.
Vahti lands with a thumping leg kick.
Chamakh moves forwards but Vahti connects with a nice, crisp jab.

It looks like Karim Chamakh has been cut.
Vahti misses with a body shot.
Vahti throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Chamakh slips under a jab from Vahti.
Vahti throws a jab when Chamakh was well out of range.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Chamakh.
No joy there for Vahti, who threw a few shots but didn't land.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Vahti ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Chamakh moves away.
The fight stays on the outside here - Vahti looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Vahti lands with a kick to the temple. Chamakh shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Vahti bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.
Vahti swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Chamakh closes this distance looking for a takedown but Vahti circles away.
Vahti misses with an uppercut. Chamakh saw that one coming.
Chamakh checks the leg kick.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Chamakh dives in and scores a takedown into Vahti's guard.
Vahti is trying to keep Chamakh in close.
Vahti looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Karri Vahti will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Karim Chamakh's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the ring so we can get back down to business. And we move into the final round!

Chamakh takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.
Vahti swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Vahti dips to his left and cracks Chamakh with an uppercut!
Chamakh takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Chamakh takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Vahti turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Vahti attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Vahti will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Vahti looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Chamakh fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Vahti scores with a jab.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vahti thuds a left hand into Chamakh's body.
Vahti misses with a looping left.
Vahti scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Vahti wants to clinch up but Chamakh keeps it at a distance.
Chamakh fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Vahti misses with a telegraphed body shot

and Chamakh counters with a single leg into guard. Vahti didn't expect that.
Vahti keeping moving, preventing Chamakh from controlling successfully.
Chamakh throws a big elbow that misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Vahti utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Chamakh wants to control from the top but Vahti keeps moving.
Chamakh is looking to advance position but Vahti has hit a scissor sweep - now he's on top in mount!
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Chamakh tries to lock up and control but Vahti gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Vahti wants to get back to his feet but Chamakh is holding on tight.
Vahti wants to control the pace but Chamakh is squirming around nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vahti wants to get back to his feet but Chamakh is holding on tight.
Chamakh has worked his way to half guard, taking advantage of Vahti's lack of action.

Vahti postures up and decides to stand up, from the half guard. The ref calls for Chamakh to stand up.
Vahti loads up on a big right hand but Chamakh slips the punch.
Vahti throws a leg kick

and Chamakh counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Vahti!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Chamakh wants to control the pace but Vahti is squirming around nicely.
Vahti is working to get back to half guard.
A nice elbow there by Chamakh.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Chamakh lands a big shot there that rocks Vahti but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Chamakh fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Chamakh with a couple of short strikes.
Chamakh trying to control but Vahti is having none of it.
Chamakh cracks Vahti with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.

And that's the end of the fight!
Karim Chamakh comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Chamakh 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 Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight for Karim Chamakh!
Judge Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight for Karim Chamakh!
Judge Illya Tyunina scores the fight for Karim Chamakh!

Karim Chamakh wins by unanimous decision!