PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Haywood Badger (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). al-Baghdadi has chosen Till I Collapse - Eminem Feat. Nate Dogg as his entrance music. The atmosphere really building for this one as we go over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Badger
vs
Bakr al-Baghdadi

161 cm
26
134 lbs
6 - 0 - 0

178 cm
24
141 lbs
10 - 4 - 0

Good wrestling
Lethal high kicks
Granite chin

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Valhalla Fight Wear

Valhalla Fight Wear
SP Ultimate Nutrition

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the bantamweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Haywood Badger!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 10 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi!
The judges for this bout are Chris Downing, Frank Dennis and Cecil Peabody.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
al-Baghdadi swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Badger thuds his right hand into al-Baghdadi's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Badger thumps al-Baghdadi with a low kick.
al-Baghdadi slips a jab from Badger.
Badger throws a lazy right hand but al-Baghdadi sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
al-Baghdadi connects with a high kick.
al-Baghdadi displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Badger throws out the jab.
al-Baghdadi misses with the body kick
and Badger counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Badger swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and al-Baghdadi holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
A short uppercut from al-Baghdadi.
al-Baghdadi works on Badger's body with a couple of short punches.
A short left from al-Baghdadi.
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!
Badger can't break the clinch.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Badger.
al-Baghdadi lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
al-Baghdadi leaning his opponent against the cage.

al-Baghdadi breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Badger lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Badger uses good head movement to avoid the hook from al-Baghdadi.
al-Baghdadi is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
al-Baghdadi wants to clinch up but Badger keeps it at a distance.
al-Baghdadi works the jab nicely.
That kick from Badger tenderised al-Baghdadi's leg. al-Baghdadi is trying to keep his angry face on.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Badger.
al-Baghdadi is looking to chop away at Badger's legs.
Badger swings and misses with a hook to the body.
al-Baghdadi keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Nice sprawl there from al-Baghdadi as Badger shoots in.
Badger misses with a body shot.
A telegraphed right hand from Badger misses the target.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
al-Baghdadi waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Badger.
Badger misses with a looping right.
al-Baghdadi checks a low kick from Badger.
Badger throws a combination that misses
letting al-Baghdadi counter with a right hand.
Badger fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Haywood Badger. That's going to take a lot out of him.
al-Baghdadi ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Badger moves away.
al-Baghdadi wants to clinch.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
al-Baghdadi moves in looking to clinch but Badger pushes him off.
Badger throws a combination but it was largely blocked by al-Baghdadi.
al-Baghdadi tries to clinch up.
al-Baghdadi checks a leg kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
al-Baghdadi takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.

al-Baghdadi closes the distance and clinches.
al-Baghdadi misses with the head strike.
Badger prevents a body shot from al-Baghdadi.
al-Baghdadi misses with a body punch.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for al-Baghdadi.
al-Baghdadi pushes Badger back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
al-Baghdadi swings wildly with an uppercut but Badger uses good head movement to avoid it.
Badger fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Badger tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
al-Baghdadi working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.

al-Baghdadi breaks from the clinch.
al-Baghdadi connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Badger tries to land a leg kick but al-Baghdadi saw it coming and moves away.
al-Baghdadi thuds his right hand into Badger's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Badger lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
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!
Badger lands with a thumping leg kick.
al-Baghdadi moves out of range of the body kick.
al-Baghdadi has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Badger walks into a straight right hand from al-Baghdadi.
Badger misses with an uppercut
and al-Baghdadi counters with a straight right hand.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Badger.
Thud! ouch! good body kick from Badger - that will leave a mark!
An inside leg kick from Badger misses.
al-Baghdadi scores with a kick to the body.
Badger looks to score with a jab to the body but al-Baghdadi is just out of range.
Haywood Badger seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
al-Baghdadi feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Badger's calf.
Badger on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by al-Baghdadi. al-Baghdadi obviously looking to wear him down.
Badger throws a lazy body kick
and al-Baghdadi counters with a right hand to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

al-Baghdadi scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
al-Baghdadi tries to close the distance and clinch but Badger swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Badger takes a swing at al-Baghdadi's ribcage but misses.
Badger digs a good body shot into al-Baghdadi's ribs.

Badger feints and as al-Baghdadi raises his hands in defense, Badger changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Badger controlling from the top position.
Badger preventing the sweep.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
al-Baghdadi is wriggling around but Badger manages to pass to half guard.
Badger throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
al-Baghdadi wants to get back to full guard but Badger has passed into side control.
Badger slows the pace down.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
al-Baghdadi tries to improve position but can't.
Badger trying to control the action but al-Baghdadi is working from the bottom.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
al-Baghdadi managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Badger.

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.
al-Baghdadi tries to control the position but he's not in luck - Badger easily slips into full mount!

Badger is working on an americana here. Ooh, that looks pretty nasty! Nope, al-Baghdadi has managed to escape the submission attempt.
Badger trying to control but al-Baghdadi is having none of it.
Badger connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
al-Baghdadi felt the need to train up his defensive grappling in the buildup to the fight. Presumably he was expecting to be in a difficult position like this, so let's see if he can get out of it.
Badger looking to finish with strikes here!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Badger lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Badger throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Badger cracks al-Baghdadi with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Badger with a couple of short strikes.
Haywood Badger overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Badger takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Badger prevents al-Baghdadi from getting the reversal.
Badger wants to control the pace but al-Baghdadi is squirming around nicely.
al-Baghdadi in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Badger can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as al-Baghdadi is looking to escape.
al-Baghdadi tries to hold on but Badger pushes him away.
Badger is trying to control here but al-Baghdadi has managed to regain half guard.
Badger looks to land a strike but al-Baghdadi avoids it nicely and regains full guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Badger landing some decent shots from guard.
Badger trying to control but al-Baghdadi is working from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Haywood Badger dominated that second round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

al-Baghdadi moves into the clinch successfully.
al-Baghdadi is pressed up against the cage. Badger has hold of a leg and is looking to drag al-Baghdadi down to the mat. al-Baghdadi avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
al-Baghdadi lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
al-Baghdadi tries to clinch but Badger is having none of it.
al-Baghdadi ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Badger moves away.
Badger with a nice cross.
Badger swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by al-Baghdadi.
Good leg kick by Badger there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
al-Baghdadi tries to clinch there but Badger circles away.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Badger bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
al-Baghdadi staying out of range there.
al-Baghdadi blocks the body kick.
Badger tries to land a leg kick but al-Baghdadi saw it coming and moves away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
al-Baghdadi scores with a hook.
Badger lands a lovely overhand right.
al-Baghdadi is looking to score with low kicks.
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Badger pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Badger connects with an inside leg kick.
al-Baghdadi is looking to land body kicks.
Badger misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from al-Baghdadi.
A head kick by Badger misses

and al-Baghdadi counters by moving into the clinch.
al-Baghdadi lands with a left to the head.
al-Baghdadi swings wildly with an uppercut but Badger uses good head movement to avoid it.
al-Baghdadi misses with a short punch on the inside.
al-Baghdadi lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
al-Baghdadi lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
al-Baghdadi's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
al-Baghdadi misses with some punches.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
al-Baghdadi struggles to land a body shot inside as Badger controls his hands.
al-Baghdadi misses with some punches.
Badger stalling in the clinch but al-Baghdadi improves position.
al-Baghdadi blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Badger has al-Baghdadi pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. al-Baghdadi manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
al-Baghdadi misses with a hook to the ribs.
Badger misses with some punches.
al-Baghdadi lands with a left to the head.
The referee calls for al-Baghdadi to work.
Badger's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Badger lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Badger lands a right hand.
A short uppercut from al-Baghdadi.
al-Baghdadi looking to slow down the pace here.

al-Baghdadi pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Badger throws a jab but it's blocked by al-Baghdadi.
Badger tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
al-Baghdadi lands a slapping body shot.
al-Baghdadi misses the jab.
al-Baghdadi doesn't manage to clinch there - Badger circles away.
Badger wants to land a leg kick but al-Baghdadi is out of range.
al-Baghdadi is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.
al-Baghdadi misses with a few strikes there.
Badger has a takedown stuffed.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Haywood Badger. That's going to take a lot out of him.
al-Baghdadi misses with a looping right.
al-Baghdadi misses with a hook.
al-Baghdadi looks to land a body kick but Badger moved away.
Haywood Badger is winning the standup battle so far.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Badger connects with a leg kick. al-Baghdadi looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Badger chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before al-Baghdadi can pounce on him.
al-Baghdadi wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
al-Baghdadi lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Badger tries to land a leg kick but al-Baghdadi saw it coming and moves away.
Badger looks to land a right hand but al-Baghdadi moved out of range.

Badger rushes al-Baghdadi and presses him up against the cage.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
A short right hand to the side of the head by al-Baghdadi.
Badger is trying to pull guard but al-Baghdadi turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.

Badger breaks from the clinch.
Badger throws a big shot that misses.
al-Baghdadi scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Horrible takedown attempt by Badger or perhaps it was just good defense by al-Baghdadi, which made it look bad.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi really dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

That kick from al-Baghdadi tenderised Badger's leg. Badger is trying to keep his angry face on.
al-Baghdadi moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
al-Baghdadi throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Badger has a takedown stuffed.
Badger misses with a leg kick.
al-Baghdadi works the jab nicely.
al-Baghdadi moves out of range of the body kick from Badger.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Badger moves out of range of the strikes.
Badger misses with a straight left.
Badger lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Badger misses with a leg kick
and al-Baghdadi counters with a nice low kick that buckles Badger's knee momentarily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
al-Baghdadi cracks Badger with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
al-Baghdadi fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Badger manages to avoid it.

Badger is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in al-Baghdadi's half guard.
Badger controlling the action here.
al-Baghdadi makes his way to full guard. A much better position for al-Baghdadi.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Badger content to stall in guard here.
Badger might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
al-Baghdadi wants to sweep here but Badger controlling him for the moment.
Badger throwing strikes but missing.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Badger trying to control but al-Baghdadi is working from the bottom.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
al-Baghdadi misses with a kick to the body

and Badger counters with a takedown into side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
al-Baghdadi manages to get back to half guard.
al-Baghdadi tries to roll over but Badger keeps him under control.
Badger wants to control but al-Baghdadi is keeping him busy.
Badger trying to control from al-Baghdadi's half guard. al-Baghdadi has other ideas though and has regained full guard.
Badger working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
al-Baghdadi wants to sweep here but Badger controlling him for the moment.
Badger wants to control from the top but al-Baghdadi keeps moving.

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.
Badger trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Badger controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Badger turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Badger motions for al-Baghdadi to come forward. Badger throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Badger misses with a kick to the body.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

al-Baghdadi moves into the clinch.
al-Baghdadi lands a right hand.
al-Baghdadi is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close fourth round but I would say that Haywood Badger will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Badger gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.

Badger closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
al-Baghdadi avoiding damage.
al-Baghdadi digs a right hand underneath Badger's ribcage. Badger let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Badger lands with a short shot to the head.
A body shot lands from al-Baghdadi.
Still in the clinch, al-Baghdadi scores with a nice short uppercut.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Badger wants to take the fight to the mat but al-Baghdadi manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
A nice right hand lands inside from al-Baghdadi.
al-Baghdadi is pressed up against the cage. Badger has hold of a leg and is looking to drag al-Baghdadi down to the mat. al-Baghdadi avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
al-Baghdadi with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
al-Baghdadi uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Badger.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Badger throws a nice looking combination but al-Baghdadi bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Badger takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
al-Baghdadi misses with a body shot.
al-Baghdadi is looking to clinch but Badger is avoiding it.
Badger loads up on a big right hand but al-Baghdadi slips the punch.
al-Baghdadi lands an overhand right.
al-Baghdadi slips a jab from Badger.
Badger throws a leg kick that is checked
and al-Baghdadi counters with a nice uppercut.
Badger throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
al-Baghdadi moves out of range of the leg kick from Badger.
Badger misses with a low kick.
al-Baghdadi tries to close the distance and clinch but Badger swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Badger tries to work over al-Baghdadi's front leg with a kick but al-Baghdadi checks it.
Nice defenses there by Badger.
al-Baghdadi throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Badger throws a chopping leg kick but al-Baghdadi manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Badger slips a straight right by al-Baghdadi.
Badger misses with a leg kick
and al-Baghdadi counters with a low kick, right behind Badger 's knee.
Badger connects with a body shot that sends al-Baghdadi's belly button to the back.
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!
al-Baghdadi lands a kick to the ribs of his opponent. Nice work there - in and out in a flash.
al-Baghdadi fails in his attempt to clinch.
al-Baghdadi misses with a low kick.
Badger throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Nice sprawl there from al-Baghdadi as Badger shoots in.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Haywood Badger. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
al-Baghdadi fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
al-Baghdadi fails with an attempt to clinch.
al-Baghdadi pulls out of a head kick attempt.
al-Baghdadi throws a low kick but Badger moves out of range easily.
Some bone on bone action there as al-Baghdadi checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.

Badger shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Badger is looking to work some ground and pound but al-Baghdadi has wrist control.
al-Baghdadi looking to hit a scissor sweep but Badger is one step ahead there.
Badger looking to sit in guard and control but al-Baghdadi gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
al-Baghdadi in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

Badger working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. al-Baghdadi doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. al-Baghdadi manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.

Badger is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and al-Baghdadi defends well.
al-Baghdadi in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
al-Baghdadi scoring with punches to the head and body.

And that's the end of the fight!
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think al-Baghdadi 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 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 47:48
Judge Frank Dennis scores the fight 47:48
Judge Cecil Peabody scores the fight 46:49

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi!
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is the new bantamweight champion!
An out of breath Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.