PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Israel Alvarado (ranked 24840 p4p, 3464 weight class) and Jacoby Pham (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Israel Alvarado has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Alvarado
vs
Pham

182 cm
20
175
1 - 0 - 0

191 cm
18
180
0 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Good kicks
Very confident

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Israel Alvarado!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Jacoby Pham!
The judges for this bout are Frank Antenori, Timothy Bukovac and Percy O'Donnell.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Alvarado misses with a takedown attempt
and Pham counters with a good, hard body kick but Alvarado shrugs it off.

Pham gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Alvarado controlling from the top position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Alvarado seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Pham for as long as he can get away with.

That's one minute gone in the round.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Alvarado misses with a takedown
and Pham counters with a head kick. That will keep Alvarado thinking before he tries any more sloppy attacks!
Alvarado fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Pham avoids it really well and circles away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Israel Alvarado. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Alvarado scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Alvarado looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Pham with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Alvarado is nestled in close to Pham, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Alvarado looks to be in better condition than last time we saw him fight. Obviously he's been working hard on his cardio.
Alvarado stalling.
Pham wants to improve his position but Alvarado is controlling well.
Pham on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Well, if Alvarado is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Alvarado working Pham over with strikes.
Alvarado seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Alvarado passes to full mount!
Alvarado controlling his opponent.
Alvarado cracks Pham with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Alvarado lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Alvarado content just to control the position here.
Alvarado's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Pham is in a horrible position here. Alvarado smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Alvarado controlling the position easily from mount.
Pham is trying to get to the cage to help him get back to his feet.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

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

Alvarado tries for a takedown but Pham circles away easily
and Pham counters with a nice low kick that buckles Alvarado's knee momentarily.
Alvarado is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Pham can do to turn this around?
Alvarado shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Pham but Pham pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Pham shapes to counter with a head kick.
Alvarado shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Pham sprawls well. Pham wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Alvarado gets slowly back to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Israel Alvarado. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Pham gets tackled into the cage by Alvarado. Alvarado maintains the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Alvarado wants a takedown but no success here.
Pham gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Alvarado.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Alvarado is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Pham is defending well.
Pham stops a takedown attempt from Alvarado.

Alvarado has clasped his hands together around Pham's back... aaand, he's got a takedown into side control. Nicely done.
Alvarado landing strikes.
Alvarado in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Alvarado advances nicely into full mount.
Pham is bucking up trying to escape but Alvarado cracks him with another couple of good strikes.

Pham is rocked!
Alvarado takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Alvarado with the ground and pound from mount.
Pham is still in real trouble! Can Alvarado finish him?
A big strike lands for Alvarado! That's really hurt Pham and he's turned his back - Alvarado keeps firing away and the ref dives in to stop the fight! Alvarado jumps to his feet to celebrate the victory!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:59 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Israel Alvarado!
A determined Israel Alvarado didn't want to dwell on this fight in his post fight interview. Instead he was more keen to state he wants a title shot. Let's see if he gets it!