PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Joesph Ely (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rizal Farahin (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rizal Farahin has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Ely
vs
Farahin

176 cm
24
145 lbs
12 - 4 - 0

173 cm
25
143 lbs
9 - 4 - 0

Powerful takedowns
Good knees
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 12 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Joesph Ely!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Rizal Farahin!
The judges for this bout are Taro Takaoka, Yukihiro Yamamoto and Ren Mimura.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Ely closes the distance and pushes Farahin back into the ropes.
Farahin lands an elbow just above Ely 's eye.
Ely drops down looking for an ankle pick but Farahin pulls his leg out and moves away.
Ely is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Farahin.
Farahin misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Ely on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Ely throws a lazy head kick
and Farahin counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Ely is lucky that one didn't land flush.
The fighters circling - Ely throws out the jab but it was never going to land.

Ely looking to score a takedown here. Farahin is defending well but Ely drives through and ends up in Farahin's guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Ely drops back, looking for a kneebar! Farahin looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Farahin looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Farahin!
Ely wants to get back to his feet but Farahin drags him back down.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ely is looking for a sweep.
Ely is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.

Ely bucks up and manages to escape back to his feet!
We've been hearing reports that Ely has been drilling takedowns in recent sessions so let's see if that has an impact on the result of this fight.
Ely checks a low kick from Farahin.
Farahin tries to work over Ely's front leg with a kick but Ely checks it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Farahin tries to clinch up against the ropes, rushing in to close the distance. Ely manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.

Ely clinches up with Farahin and pushes him back against the ropes.
Ely goes for a takedown in the clinch but Farahin prevents it.
Farahin is pressed up against the ropes. Ely has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Farahin down to the mat. Farahin avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Joesph Ely. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Farahin throws a head kick that Ely semi-blocks.

It looks like Joesph Ely has been cut.
No joy there for Ely, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Ely.
Ely shoots for a double leg takedown but Farahin sprawls well. He's pushed Ely's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Farahin connects with a solid leg kick.
Ely changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Farahin tries to avoid it but Ely manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Farahin to the ground. Farahin escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.

Farahin clinches.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Farahin lands an elbow just above Ely 's eye.
Ely avoids a wild elbow strike from Farahin.
Farahin lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Farahin throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
A nice left hand lands by Farahin.
Farahin gets underhooks to prevent Ely's takedown attempt.
Ely is looking to control Farahin's arms but Farahin gets an underhook and turns him. Now Ely has his back to the ropes.
Ely takes an elbow to the temple.
Ely takes an elbow to the forehead.
Ely avoids the elbow strike from Farahin, against the ropes.
Ely avoiding damage as Farahin throws knees to the body.
Farahin creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Ely's defenses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ely is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Farahin pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Farahin lands a nice uppercut.
Ely's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Farahin throws a punch but it's blocked by Ely.
Ely's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!

Ely is rocked!
Ely managing to block the knees to the body from Farahin.
Oh Ely is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Ely blocks an elbow strike from Farahin.
Ely seems to have got his legs back now.
Farahin pushes off an throws an elbow but Ely leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the ropes.
Ely avoids the elbow strike from Farahin, against the ropes.
Farahin throws an elbow that misses.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Farahin is fighting off a takedown attempt but Ely is just too persistent for him and manages to trip Farahin to the mat. Farahin regains guard as soon as the fighters hit the mat.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Ely advances position into side control!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rizal Farahin dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Joesph Ely's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Ely shoots for a double leg takedown but Farahin sprawls well. He's pushed Ely's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Farahin jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Ely fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Farahin feints and then cracks Ely's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Ely down.
Ely with a lazy takedown attempt
and Farahin counters with a huge head kick that drops Ely! The ref dives in to stop the fight and the crowd goes wild!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:30 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Rizal Farahin!
Rizal Farahin managed to slip a mention for his sponsors, Fighters First Nutrition Amsterdam 160, into his post fight interview.