PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Francesco Skrarez (ranked 717 p4p, 78 weight class) and Khabib Babakov (ranked 4154 p4p, 309 weight class). This should be fireworks!

Skrarez
vs
Babakov

165 cm
32
158 lbs
11 - 13 - 0

188 cm
24
155 lbs
9 - 6 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 11 - 13 - 0, fighting out of London, Francesco Skrarez!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Khabib Babakov!
The judges for this bout are Tarja Halkonen, Matti Vanhoillinen and Johanna Lukiainen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Babakov fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Skrarez looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Babakov scores with a nice strike.
Skrarez drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Babakov scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Skrarez doesn't seem bothered though.
Skrarez dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Babakov ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Skrarez has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.
Skrarez swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Babakov scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.

Skrarez gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Babakov lands a nice elbow.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Skrarez fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
A short left from Babakov.
Skrarez tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Skrarez lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Babakov pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Skrarez avoids a wild elbow strike from Babakov.
A nice left hand lands by Babakov.
Babakov lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Babakov scores with a shot to the side of Skrarez's head.
Skrarez creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Babakov's defenses.
Skrarez stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Skrarez takes an elbow to the forehead.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Babakov lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Babakov's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Skrarez misses with a body punch.
Babakov's coach down at LOD:SavageLandz Tokyo was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on Babakov's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.
Skrarez with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
A right hand to the body from Skrarez.
Skrarez misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Babakov.
Babakov lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Skrarez throws a head punch that misses.
Skrarez doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Babakov dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Babakov throws a punch but it's blocked by Skrarez.
Babakov misses with a short punch on the inside.
Babakov scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Babakov lands an elbow inside.
Skrarez throws a punch but it's blocked by Babakov.
Skrarez can't find room to land a body shot as Babakov controls the action.
Skrarez misses with an elbow strike.
Babakov misses with an elbow strike.
Skrarez avoids the elbow strike from Babakov, against the cage.
Babakov misses with the head strike.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Babakov gets through Skrarez's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
A nice left hand lands by Babakov.
Babakov is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Skrarez swings wildly with an uppercut but Babakov uses good head movement to avoid it.
Skrarez tries to work over Babakov's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Babakov lands an elbow just above Skrarez 's eye.
Babakov throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Skrarez misses with an elbow over the top.
Babakov lands with a light punch inside.
Skrarez tries a knee to the head but Babakov blocks it.
A short left from Babakov.
Babakov lands a shoulder strike.
The referee is keeping an eye on Babakov - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Babakov lands a damaging elbow.
Skrarez tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Babakov avoids it.
Babakov pushes Skrarez back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Babakov lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
With the fighters up against the cage, Babakov throws an elbow but misses.
Still in the clinch, Babakov scores with a nice short uppercut.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Babakov throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Babakov lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Babakov lands a shoulder strike.
Skrarez takes a shot to the head.
Skrarez is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Babakov is defending well for now.
Skrarez missing with knees to the body.
Babakov softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Nice elbow from Babakov.
Babakov lands a damaging elbow.
Babakov blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Skrarez putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Babakov in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Babakov scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Skrarez tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Babakov's elbow.
Skrarez trying to land knees to the body.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Skrarez takes an elbow to the forehead.
Skrarez swings wildly with an uppercut but Babakov uses good head movement to avoid it.
Babakov lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Skrarez blocking some punches.
Skrarez blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Skrarez.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Babakov misses with a short punch on the inside.
Babakov lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Skrarez scores with a shot to the side of Babakov's head.
Skrarez lands a nice shot to the body.
Babakov lands a left hand that snaps the head of Skrarez backwards.
Babakov misses with a punch on the inside.
Babakov swings wildly with an uppercut but Skrarez uses good head movement to avoid it.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Babakov creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Skrarez pushes Babakov back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Babakov blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Skrarez blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Babakov pushes off an throws an elbow but Skrarez leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Babakov misses with a short punch on the inside.
A head punch on the inside from Skrarez fails to land.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Babakov misses with a punch on the inside.
Babakov lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Babakov misses with the head strike.
Skrarez doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Babakov misses with a punch on the inside.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Khabib Babakov 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.

Skrarez tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Skrarez is looking to clinch but Babakov is avoiding it.
Babakov is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.
Skrarez is looking to clinch but Babakov is avoiding it.
Skrarez fails with an attempt to clinch.

Skrarez gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Skrarez misses with a hook from the clinch.
Skrarez takes an elbow to the temple.
Babakov lands a nice uppercut.
Babakov lands with a light punch inside.
Babakov throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Skrarezs head.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Khabib Babakov seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Skrarez creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Babakov's defenses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Skrarez presses Babakov against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Skrarez takes an elbow to the forehead.
Babakov blocks an uppercut.
Babakov throws a punch but it's blocked by Skrarez.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Skrarez tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Babakov's elbow.
Skrarez is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Babakov is defending well for now.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Babakov swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Babakov fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Skrarez.
Skrarez tries to throw a body punch but Babakov avoids it by throwing Skrarez back against the cage.
Babakov lands an elbow that stopped Skrarez in his tracks for a moment.
Skrarez blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Babakov scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Skrarez swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Skrarez takes a shot to the head.
A bit of stalling here from Babakov.
Skrarez takes an elbow to the temple.
Skrarez tries a body shot but Babakov blocks it.
Babakov blocks an elbow strike.
Babakov blocks an uppercut.
Skrarez doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Skrarez tries to throw a body punch but Babakov avoids it by throwing Skrarez back against the cage.
Babakov blocks an uppercut.
Babakov lands an elbow that stopped Skrarez in his tracks for a moment.
Babakov lands an uppercut.
Babakov lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
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!
Skrarez takes an elbow to the temple.
Babakov has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Babakov tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Skrarez lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Still in the clinch, Babakov scores with a nice short uppercut.
Skrarez tries to throw a body punch but Babakov avoids it by throwing Skrarez back against the cage.
A short right from Babakov.
Babakov lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Skrarez backwards.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Babakov creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Skrarez tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Babakov's elbow.
Skrarez landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Babakov lands with a left to the head.
Skrarez throws a head punch that misses.
Babakov blocks the elbow strike.
Skrarez misses with a knee to the head.
Skrarez looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Skrarez is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Skrarez misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Babakov misses with a short punch on the inside.
Babakov scores with a shoulder strike.
Skrarez is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Babakov is defending well for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Babakov working aggressively here.
Skrarez missing with knees to the body.
Babakov lands a nice elbow.
Skrarez tries to land a knee to the head but Babakov blocks with his arms.
Babakov lands an elbow inside.
Skrarez working aggressively here.
Babakov lands an uppercut.
Babakov lands a left hand.
Babakov has a couple of punches blocked by Skrarez.
Babakov lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Skrarez backwards.
Babakov lands an elbow just above Skrarez 's eye.
Skrarez blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Babakov misses with an elbow strike.
Skrarez avoids a wild elbow strike from Babakov.
Babakov lands a nice elbow.
Babakov lands with a right to the head.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Skrarez tries to throw a body punch but Babakov avoids it by throwing Skrarez back against the cage.
Babakov lands a damaging elbow.
Babakov lands a nice elbow.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A head punch on the inside from Babakov fails to land.
Skrarez tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Babakov blocks a body shot from Skrarez.
Skrarez digs a right hand underneath Babakov's ribcage. Babakov let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Babakov throws an elbow but it misses.
Skrarez can't find room to land a body shot as Babakov controls the action.
Skrarez tries a body shot but Babakov blocks it.
Skrarez tries to throw a body punch but Babakov avoids it by throwing Skrarez back against the cage.
Babakov blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Skrarez tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Babakov avoids it.
Babakov softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Babakov scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Skrarez takes a shot to the head.
A nice right hand lands inside from Babakov.
Skrarez goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Babakov working aggressively here.
Babakov lands a damaging elbow.
Babakov lands a right hand that snaps the head of Skrarez backwards.
Babakov scores with an uppercut up the middle.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Skrarez.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Khabib Babakov showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Back to the action! So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Babakov fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Skrarez on the side of the head.
Babakov with a nice cross.
Babakov throws a body shot but no joy.
Skrarez shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Skrarez takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Babakov fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Skrarez is looking to counter punch.
Babakov lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Skrarez tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Babakov manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
It seemed like Babakov was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Skrarez doesn't manage to clinch there - Babakov circles away.
Babakov bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Skrarez's head.
Skrarez tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Babakov paws at him with a jab and circles away.

Skrarez moves into the clinch.
Babakov lands with a right to the head.
Babakov throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Skrarez misses with a body punch.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Babakov creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Skrarez has a couple of punches blocked by Babakov.
Skrarez struggles to land a body shot inside as Babakov controls his hands.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Babakov lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Skrarez backwards.
Skrarez blocks an uppercut.
Skrarez tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Babakov avoids it.
Babakov makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Skrarez misses with a punch to the body.
Babakov swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Babakov lands a left hand.
Skrarez takes an elbow to the forehead.
Skrarez pushes Babakov back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Babakov working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Babakov misses with a punch on the inside.
Skrarez doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Babakov lands an elbow inside.
Skrarez takes an elbow to the temple.
Babakov lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Babakov working aggressively here.
Babakov lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Skrarez doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Babakov managing to block the knees to the body from Skrarez.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Babakov lands an elbow just above Skrarez 's eye.
A nice right hand lands inside from Babakov.
Skrarez trying to land knees to the body.
Skrarez misses with the head strike.
Babakov lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Skrarez misses with a short punch on the inside.
Babakov gets through Skrarez's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Stalling in the clinch from Babakov.
Babakov lands a damaging elbow.
Babakov slowing the pace effectively.
Skrarez lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Skrarez lands an uppercut.
Babakov lands a damaging elbow.
Skrarez tries a body shot but Babakov blocks it.
Skrarez goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Babakov creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Babakov softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Skrarez takes a shot to the head.
Babakov throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Babakov lands a nice elbow.

Skrarez is rocked!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Skrarez blocks an uppercut.
Skrarez misses with a short punch on the inside.
Babakov lands an elbow inside.
Babakov managing to block the knees to the body from Skrarez.
Skrarez doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Skrarez looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Babakov has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Babakov lands with a right to the head.
Skrarez misses with a hook from the clinch.
Babakov working aggressively here.
Babakov misses with the head strike.
Skrarez lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Babakov.
A short right from Skrarez on the inside.
Skrarez tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Skrarez tries a body shot but Babakov blocks it.
A short right from Babakov.
Babakov lands a damaging elbow.
Babakov blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Skrarez lands with a short shot to the head.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Babakov pushes Skrarez back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Babakov misses with the head strike.
Babakov lands a damaging elbow.
Babakov lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Oh Skrarez is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Skrarez misses with a punch to the body.
Babakov lands a hook that snaps the head of Skrarez backwards.
Babakov gets through Skrarez's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Skrarez tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Babakov avoids it.
Babakov comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Still in the clinch, Babakov scores with a nice short uppercut.
Babakov has Skrarez pressed against the cage. He pushes Skrarez back and as he springs towards him off the cage, Babakov throws a beautiful elbow that sends Skrarez crashing to the floor! Babakov piles on the pressure with more strikes! Skrarez is flailing away but he's not defending himself and the referee steps in to stop the fight!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:31 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Khabib Babakov!
An out of breath Khabib Babakov thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.