PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Ethan Black (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Yannick Bahati (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Black's ring entrance music is that housewives' favourite, Beat It by Michael Jackson. We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Black
vs
Bahati

183 cm
19
185 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

188 cm
19
185 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Good kicks
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Ethan Black!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Yannick Bahati!
The judges for this bout are James Ackerman, Sam Margolis and James Atkins.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Black throws a head kick that half lands.

Bahati is rocked!
Bahati fails with an attempt to clinch.
Bahati is still on wobbly legs! Can Black finish him?
Bahati shoots in but no luck this time.
Bahati seems to have recovered his senses.

Black moves into range and clinches up with Bahati.
Bahati is stalling here.
Bahati tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Bahati taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Black wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.

Bahati pulls guard.
Bahati is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Bahati is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Black is controlling him.
Black with a flurry of punches that miss.
Black has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Black controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

Bahati is working an open guard so Black takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
A head kick misses from Black.
The fight stays on the outside here - Black looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Black moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
Black has a takedown stuffed.
Black lands a head kick. Bahati smiles back at him and beckons him forward.
Bahati gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Black connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Ethan Black has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Yannick Bahati.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bahati looks to clinch
and Black counters with a straight punch to the midsection.

Black drives through and clinches with Bahati against the cage.

Bahati breaks from the clinch.
Black tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Bahati paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Bahati looks for a takedown but Black sprawls well.
Bahati misses with a takedown attempt

and Black counters by moving into the clinch.
Bahati looks gassed!
Bahati throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Black wants to break the clinch but can't.
Bahati trying to stall but Black improves his position.
Bahati misses with a hook to the ribs.
Bahati jumps guard but Black stands there with Bahati around his waist. Bahati gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Black taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Bahati fails to pull guard.
Black stalling against the cage.
The crowd are getting pretty annoyed with Black for his constant stalling in the clinch and are voicing their displeasure.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bahati is trying to stall.
Black has Bahati pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Bahati manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Black misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Bahati.

Black breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Black tries to clinch up

and Bahati holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Bahati avoiding damage.
Bahati doesn't land with the attempted body shot.

Black escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Bahati takes the fight into the clinch.

Black breaks the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bahati shoots in for a takedown but Black shows good takedown defense.
Bahati tries to clinch there but Black circles away.
Bahati throws a lazy head kick
and Black counters with a flying knee. Nice.
A slapping leg kick lands for Black.
Bahati blocks a head kick by Black.
Black throws a right and a left that Bahati avoids nicely.
Bahati takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.

Bahati drives through and clinches with Black against the cage.

Black breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Black displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.

Bahati closes the distance and clinches.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Black wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Bahati has him pressed against the cage.
Bahati tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Bahati tries for a takedown. No joy.
Bahati tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Black just stands there and leans against the cage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ethan Black dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Bahati misses with a takedown attempt

and Black holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
A body shot lands from Black.

Black breaks the clinch.
Black throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Bahati's head.
Black throws a body punch but Bahati moves out of range.
Black throws a sloppy head kick and Bahati moves out of range easily.
Ethan Black is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Black, right into the meat.

Black shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Bahati is trying to keep Black in close.

Bahati had isolated an arm as going for an omaplata. Black is defending the submission well but is in a very vulnerable position. Bahati Is leaning forward trying to finish the omaplata but decides to abandon it, and take Black's back instead.
Bahati is breathing heavily.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Bahati throwing sloppy strikes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Black rolls and manages to get back to half guard. Nicely done.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Bahati trying to pass the guard but Black defending well.
Black is controlling Bahati's trapped leg to prevent Bahati from advancing to side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Bahati is keen to just control but Black is a slippery customer.
The fighters are battling for position here. Black manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Black is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Bahati is controlling him.
Bahati wants to control from the top but Black keeps moving.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Black has his feet on Bahati's hips. He pushes off and gets to his feet. Nice work.
Black thuds a left hand into Bahati's body.
Black lands with a slapping head kick.

Bahati takes the fight into the clinch.
Black misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Bahati.

Bahati manages to break the clinch.

Bahati scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Bahati content to control rather than advance.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Black is striking from the bottom but he's now found himself mounted! Oh dear - not enough focus on defense there.
Black really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Bahati controlling from mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ethan Black dominated that second round.
That's time! Black's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Black throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Black swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Bahati counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Bahati.
Bahati trying to control but Black is working from the bottom.
Bahati stays in close to Black's body and controls the position.
Black tries to land a sweep but no joy.

Bahati postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Black is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Bahati, into his guard.
Bahati takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bahati is trying to keep Black in close.

Black gets to his feet - Bahati follows without any prompting.
Black darts in trying to clinch
and Bahati counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
No joy there for Bahati, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Black lands a head kick. Bahati smiles back at him and beckons him forward.
Black lands with a kick to the temple. Bahati shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"

Black drives through and clinches with Bahati against the cage.
Bahati tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Black smiles and moves away.
Black misses with a few strikes there.
Ethan Black seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A thudding body kick lands there by Black!
Black is looking to clinch.
Black throws a sloppy head kick
and Bahati counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Bahati misses with the body kick
enabling Black to counter with a crisp jab.
Black throws a lazy head kick
and Bahati counters with a three punch combo that has Black backing up. Black nods at Bahati to acknowledge the strikes.
Black misses with a head kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bahati moves out of range as Black strikes.
Bahati fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
No joy there for Bahati, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Black closes the distance looking to clinch

and Bahati counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Black wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Bahati is trying to break the clinch but Black has him pressed against the cage.
Bahati is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Black pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Ethan Black has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Yannick Bahati.
Bahati is looking to break free of the clinch but Black has double underhooks.

Black breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Ethan Black is winning the standup battle so far.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Black tries to stall but Bahati uses the opportunity to gain a better 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.

Black manages to break the clinch.
Black explodes with a nice body kick and back out of range. Nice work.
Black chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Black throws a nice head kick!
Black throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Bahati's head.
Black with a lazy takedown attempt

and Bahati moves into the clinch.
Bahati wants a takedown.
Black will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Bahati up against the cage.

Black escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Bahati fails to land with a series of punches.

Black clinches.
Yannick Bahati has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Bahati tries a knee to the head but Black blocks it.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Ethan Black.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Black, 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 James Ackerman scores the fight 30:27
Judge Sam Margolis scores the fight 30:28
Judge James Atkins scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ethan Black!