PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Allan Hale (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Danial Assad (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Allan Hale had a look across the cage there at his opponent. He definitely means business

Hale
vs
Assad

201 cm
21
193 lbs
1 - 3 - 0

175 cm
18
192 lbs
1 - 3 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
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 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of New York, Allan Hale!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of New York, Danial Assad!
The judges for this bout are David Schapiro, Lou da Vinci and Alyssa Summers.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A slow jab from Assad misses its intended target.
Assad wants to clinch up but Hale keeps it at a distance.
Assad looks to throw the jab but Hale is out of range.
Assad dodges the punch combination from Hale.
Assad throws the left hand but Hale avoids the punch easily.
Hale throws a head kick that misses
and Assad counters with a left and a right that stings Hale.

Assad moves into the clinch.
Assad misses with a body punch.

Hale has Assad pressed up against the cage. He's trying to work for a single leg takedown. Hale pulls back from the cage and twists to the side, sending Assad tumbling to the mat - Hale dives into Assad's guard.
Assad wants to sweep but no luck.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hale throwing strikes from guard but Assad blocks nicely.
Hale trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Hale stopping the sweep attempt from Assad.
Assad is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Hale throwing strikes but missing.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Assad doesn't manage to clinch there - Hale circles away.
Hale tries to counter by clinching up but Assad breaks away and moves out of range.
Danial Assad seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Assad misses with a body shot.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Hale swats away the attempt to clinch by Assad.
Assad tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Hale manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Assad throws a lazy right hand but Hale sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Assad throws a combination that misses

and Hale counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Assad wants to get back to his feet but Hale passes into half guard.

Assad wants to get back to full guard but Hale has passed into side control.

Hale tries for a kimura but Assad is defending well.
Hale tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Hale is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Assad knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Hale blocks the strikes from Assad.
Hale misses with an attempted head punch from side control.
Assad is trying to improve his 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.
Assad defending against the ground and pound.
Assad is trying to get back to half guard.

The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Hale is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Assad knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Assad 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.
Hale really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Assad defending against the ground and pound.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Assad is looking to regain half guard here but Hale keeps moving and retains side control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Allan Hale dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Assad tries to clinch there but Hale circles away.
Hale tries to counter by clinching up but Assad breaks away and moves out of range.

Hale closes the distance and clinches.
A head punch on the inside from Assad fails to land.
Assad can't break the clinch.
Assad stalling in the clinch but Hale improves position.
Assad gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Hale.
Assad can't find room to land a body shot as Hale controls the action.
A frustrated look appears on Assad's face as he tries to break the clinch.

Hale manages to pull guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hale has control of Assad's left arm, preventing Assad from doing any damage.
Assad trying to control but Hale is working from the bottom.
Allan Hale overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Assad throws a big right hand that misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Hale looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Hale trying to control the position.
Hale is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Assad can do to turn this around?
Assad postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Hale is on top in guard.

Hale will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Assad wants to sweep but no luck.
Assad avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Hale stopping the sweep attempt from Assad.

Hale gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
Assad tries to score a power double leg takedown but Hale sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Assad somewhat.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hale keeps the fight on the outside.
Assad tries to clinch

and Hale counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Hale.
Assad is looking to stand back up... there's a bit of a scramble and Hale dives into side control.

Hale working the ground and pound but Assad is defending the strikes.
Hale misses with the ground and pound.
Assad can't do much from the bottom here.
Assad tries to buck Hale off but Hale is having none of it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Assad tries to control the position but he's not in luck - Hale easily slips into full mount!
Assad bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!
Hale has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Hale throwing rabbit punches from the bottom - showing the judges that he's keeping busy.
Assad postures up.
Hale is really struggling to control Assad but he's trying to hold on to the position.
Assad trying to control the position from guard on top but Hale is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Hale throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Assad won't allow Hale to sweep him here.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Hale throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.
Hale throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.
Assad postures up in Hale's guard and throws a big left but Hale blocks it.
Assad trying to control but Hale is working from the bottom.
Assad with a flurry of punches that miss.
Hale looking to control.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Assad postures up in Hale's guard and throws a big left but Hale blocks it.
Assad working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Hale striking off his back but it's not causing Assad any problems.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Assad misses with a combination

and Hale holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Assad lands a shot to the body.
Assad throws a punch but it's blocked by Hale.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Allan Hale dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Assad tries to close the distance and clinch up but Hale swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Hale keeps the fight on the outside.
Assad gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Hale holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Assad trying to stall but Hale improves his position.

Hale manages to break the clinch.
Assad tries to clinch but Hale moves out of range.
Assad has his takedown stuffed

and Hale counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Hale.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Hale jumps guard and drags Assad to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Hale controls Assad momentarily but Assad frees himself.

Hale is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Assad defends well.
Hale is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Assad throwing strikes from guard but Hale blocks nicely.
Hale lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Assad trying to keep a closed guard but Hale is proving a slippery customer.
Hale landing with the ground and pound.

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.
Assad is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Hale missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

Hale stands up from guard. Let's bang!
Assad throws a wild combination but nothing lands.

Hale darts in and clinches Assad up against the cage.

Hale manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.

Hale working for a triangle but Assad defends it easily.

Hale looking for a guillotine here but Assad defends easily.
Assad really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Hale. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hale is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Hale controlling Assad's posture.

Assad avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Assad trying to control the position from guard on top but Hale is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Assad controlling from the top position.
Assad lands a couple of decent looking shots.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Hale working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Assad.

Hale had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Assad defends it easily.
Assad loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Hale controls Assad momentarily but Assad frees himself.

Hale has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Assad can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Danial Assad has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Assad missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Assad tries to free his leg and advance position but Hale is retaining full guard.
Hale looking for a sweep. Not yet Hale, not yet.
Assad loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Allan Hale is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Hale utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

And that's the end of the fight!
Allan Hale showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Hale, 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 David Schapiro scores the fight 30:27
Judge Lou da Vinci scores the fight 30:27
Judge Alyssa Summers scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Allan Hale!