PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Khalid Magomedov (ranked 2526 p4p, 2041 weight class) and Little Late (ranked 340 p4p, 285 weight class). Magomedov's ring entrance music is that housewives' favourite, SABINA feat. Timaro - Dagestan . This should be a great matchup!

Magomedov
vs
Late

178 cm
26
183
3 - 2 - 0

189 cm
35
181
11 - 18 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Solid boxing
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Khalid Magomedov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 18 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Little Late!
The judges for this bout are Aafke Stam, Nard Betker and Daniel Blasius.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Late throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Magomedov tries to counter with a takedown but Late is quick to defend against it.
Some wild striking there from Late.
Magomedov half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.
Magomedov blocks a head kick by Late.
Magomedov appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
Late throws a leg kick

and Magomedov counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Magomedov.
Late is wriggling around but Magomedov manages to pass to half guard.

Magomedov working Late over with strikes.
Ground and pound from Magomedov.
Magomedov not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Late tries to regain full guard. Instead though, Magomedov has advanced to mount. Uh oh.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Late really wants to buck Magomedov off and get back to his feet.
Magomedov takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
We've been hearing that Magomedov has been drilling a lot of ground and pound in training, so let's see if he get the finish.
Late is flailing around like a fish out of water, trying to land strikes.
Late is trying desperately to improve position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

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.
Magomedov controlling the pace for now.
Late is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Late tries to hold on but Magomedov pushes him away.
Magomedov prevents Late from getting the reversal.
Late is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Magomedov landing strikes from the mount and Late is in trouble!
Magomedov 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.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Magomedov lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Late hang on?
Magomedov takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Late tries to hold on but Magomedov pushes him away.
Magomedov controlling the pace for now.
Late is desperately trying to get back to half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Late tries to hold on but Magomedov postures up.
Magomedov lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Late is really trying hard to get back to his feet.
Magomedov landing punches.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Magomedov avoids the attempt from Late to control.

Late somehow manages to escape the mount and get back to his feet!
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Khalid Magomedov dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Late scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Late lands a really nice looking cross but Magomedov seems unphased.
Late is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Magomedov.
Magomedov tries to counter with a takedown but Late is quick to defend against it.
Magomedov keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Late.
Late shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Magomedov counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Magomedov sitting and controlling from the half guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Magomedov wants to control but Late is keeping him busy.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Magomedov prevents Late from improving his position.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Magomedov lands a nice short elbow.
Late is looking to get full guard. It looks like he might be successful but at the last minute Magomedov jumps into side control!
Magomedov working the ground and pound from side control.
Magomedov has control of an arm but Late manages to advance to Magomedov's back!
Late trying to secure his dominant position for a moment - making sure Magomedov doesn't escape.
Late is hanging on to Magomedov's back as he tries to escape.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Late biding his time, controlling Magomedov.
Magomedov prevents Late from getting a body triangle.
Magomedov might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Magomedov can't escape the position.
Magomedov is keeping busy.
Magomedov tries to escape the position - he's now mounted. Is that better or worse? Hard to tell!
Magomedov is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Late can do to turn this around?
Late trying to control but Magomedov is having none of it.
Late prevents Magomedov from getting the reversal.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Magomedov is squirming around, avoiding Late's attempts to control the action.
Late landing shots from mount.
Late controlling the position easily from mount.
Magomedov is desperately trying to improve his position but Late has a good base and remains in mount.
Late trying to control but Magomedov is having none of it.

Late stands up from the dominant position, so we're back on the feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Late fails with an attempt to clinch.
Magomedov tries to counter with a takedown but Late is quick to defend against it.
Late misses with a double jab

and Magomedov counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Magomedov is standing up over Late. Late looks to escape but Magomedov dives into side control.

Magomedov works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
The referee asks Magomedov politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Magomedov prefers to stall for the moment though.
Late tries to get back to his feet but has found himself mounted instead. Damn, that's gotta suck.
Magomedov pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Little Late will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare each other down, ready to get back to the action. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Late misses with a lunging right hand

and Magomedov decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Late's guard.
Late trying to keep a closed guard but Magomedov is proving a slippery customer.
Magomedov lands a couple of digs.
Magomedov trying to control but Late is working from the bottom.
Khalid Magomedov overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Magomedov tries to free his leg and advance position but Late is retaining full guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Magomedov working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Magomedov lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Magomedov postures up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Magomedov chips away with some ground and pound.
Late has control of Magomedov's left arm, preventing Magomedov from doing any damage.
Magomedov sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Late is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Magomedov lands a couple of elbows.

That's two 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.
Magomedov postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Late tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Magomedov is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Late trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Magomedov bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Late throws a lazy right hand but Magomedov sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Late misses with the body kick

and Magomedov counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Late!
Late tries to wriggle free to get back to his feet but he's given up his back! Oops.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Magomedov lands a couple of good shots to his opponent's body and a final shot to the head. Good little attack there by Magomedov.
Magomedov controlling the position well here. Late rolled but Magomedov kept the hooks locked in and stayed in the dominant position.
Magomedov tries to keep control of the position but Late is staying busy.
Late is trying to remain composed but Magomedov is hammering down strikes to the side of his head.
I really don't envy Late right now.
Magomedov really has the hooks in deep now - there seems like no escape for Late.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Magomedov punishes Late with strikes from the back mount.
Late wants to get back to his feet.
Late is really stuck here.
Magomedov lands a punch that was close to the back of the head but the ref thinks it's OK.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Magomedov looking for the choke from the back.
Magomedov lands with a hammerfist to the side of Late's head.

And that's the end of the fight!
Khalid Magomedov showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Magomedov has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Aafke Stam scores the fight 29:28
Judge Nard Betker scores the fight 30:27
Judge Daniel Blasius scores the fight 30:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Khalid Magomedov!
Khalid Magomedov seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.
Little Late spoke after the fight, saying 'Duh?!'.