PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Tanom Jaa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Aleksandar Ibrahimovic (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Jaa comes to the cage accompanied by Advanced Training! from the movie Kick Boxer!. Ibrahimovic has chosen Mind Heist as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Jaa
vs
Ibrahimovic

172 cm
27
155 lbs
14 - 3 - 0

190 cm
22
167 lbs
4 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent MT
Very strong

BJJ Brown Belt
Dangerous knees
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the lightweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 14 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Tanom Jaa!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Aleksandar Ibrahimovic!
The judges for this bout are George Francis, Chris Downing and Alan Glass.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A good leg kick by Ibrahimovic.
Jaa walks into a stiff left hand from Ibrahimovic.
Jaa tries a low kick but Ibrahimovic avoids it.
Jaa defending well as Ibrahimovic loads up on a big left hand.
Ibrahimovic tries to score with a low kick but Jaa moves his leg out of the way.
Jaa ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Jaa takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Jaa will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Ibrahimovic is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Jaa misses with a takedown
and Ibrahimovic counters with a right hand to the body.
Ibrahimovic throws a head kick that looked like it stung.
Jaa walks into a straight right hand from Ibrahimovic.
Both fighters are looking to counter, which isn't making for the most exciting fight in the world.

Ibrahimovic gets caught napping as Jaa dives in and scores a takedown. Ibrahimovic manages to retain guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Jaa stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Ibrahimovic swivels though and keeps the full guard.

Ibrahimovic kicks Jaa off and gets to his feet.
Jaa shoots in but Ibrahimovic avoids the takedown attempt easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Tanom Jaa. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Jaa misses with a low kick.
Ibrahimovic scores with a punch to the head.
Ibrahimovic defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Jaa.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ibrahimovic lands with a straight right. Jaa didn't see that one coming.
Ibrahimovic is looking to chop away at Jaa's legs.
Ibrahimovic throws a good cross that connects.
No luck for Jaa with that takedown attempt.
A low kick from Ibrahimovic misses
and Jaa counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Jaa walks into a jab.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Jaa connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Horrible takedown by Jaa or perhaps it was just good defense by Ibrahimovic which made him look bad.
Jaa shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Ibrahimovic as he avoids it easily.
Jaa changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Ibrahimovic tries to avoid it but Jaa manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Ibrahimovic to the ground. Ibrahimovic escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Jaa shoots in looking for a takedown. Ibrahimovic tries to sprawl out of it but Jaa keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Ibrahimovic manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Jaa looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Ibrahimovic is fending him off so far but Jaa persists. Nope, Ibrahimovic circles away and we're back to standing.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Jaa shoots for a takedown but Ibrahimovic saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Tanom Jaa. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Nice shot by Ibrahimovic.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ibrahimovic waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Jaa.
Ibrahimovic lands a body shot.
Ibrahimovic with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Aleksandar Ibrahimovic is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Ibrahimovic lands a slapping body shot.
Jaa gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Ibrahimovic connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Jaa moves away from the strike by Ibrahimovic.
Ibrahimovic looks to land a left hand but Jaa moved out of range nicely.
Jaa takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Jaa doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Ibrahimovic counters with a stiff right hand.
Ibrahimovic swings for the body but Jaa moves out of range.
Ibrahimovic has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ibrahimovic lands with a right hand.
Jaa fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Jaa dives in and grabs Ibrahimovic's left leg, looking for a takedown. Ibrahimovic pushes down on Jaa's head and hops out.
Jaa takes one to the chin there.
Ibrahimovic misses with a low kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Jaa throws a head kick that misses
and Ibrahimovic counters with a stiff right hand.
Jaa moves away from the strike by Ibrahimovic.
Jaa walks into a stiff left hand from Ibrahimovic.
Ibrahimovic scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Jaa doesn't seem bothered though.
Ibrahimovic misses with a wild combination.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Aleksandar Ibrahimovic showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Jaa on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Ibrahimovic shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Jaa misses with a head kick.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ibrahimovic throws a head kick that misses.
Ibrahimovic lands a nice looking body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ibrahimovic just misses with a punch to the body.
Jaa lands a nice shot that snaps Ibrahimovic's head back.
A head kick misses from Jaa.
Ibrahimovic uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Jaa has time to react.
Jaa moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Ibrahimovic wants to land a leg kick but Jaa is out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ibrahimovic misses with a kick to the body

and Jaa counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Jaa not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Jaa wants to control but Ibrahimovic is keeping him busy.
Jaa trying to advance position but Ibrahimovic counters by regaining guard.
Ibrahimovic avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Ibrahimovic managing to control the position.
Jaa trying to control but Ibrahimovic is working from the bottom.
Jaa thows a big elbow that misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Jaa is looking to work some ground and pound but Ibrahimovic has wrist control.
Jaa in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Jaa trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Jaa with a flurry of punches that miss.
Jaa's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Ibrahimovic preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Jaa trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Ibrahimovic keeping moving, preventing Jaa from controlling successfully.
Jaa throwing strikes but missing.
Jaa wants to pass the guard but Ibrahimovic is keeping the 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.
Jaa sitting in guard, not really doing much.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Jaa trying to control the position from guard on top but Ibrahimovic is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Jaa misses with a takedown attempt - Ibrahimovic sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Jaa has a nice red mark on his side after a thudding body kick by Ibrahimovic.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but Tanom Jaa did the better work so I'd imagine he'll take it.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Ibrahimovic stuffs the takedown attempt from Jaa. Jaa gets slowly back to his feet.
Jaa fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Ibrahimovic checks it well.
Ibrahimovic misses the shot to the body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ibrahimovic thows a leg kick but Jaa checks it
and Jaa counters with a head kick.
Ibrahimovic lands a nice hook to Jaa's body. Jaa takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ibrahimovic scores with a body shot.

Jaa shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.
Jaa breaks from Ibrahimovic's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Jaa looking to control and managing it successfully.
Ibrahimovic holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Jaa tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Ibrahimovic regains half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Ibrahimovic manages to escape and get back to his feet!
Jaa displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Ibrahimovic throws out the jab.
Jaa misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Ibrahimovic avoids the body shot from Jaa.
A slapping leg kick lands for Ibrahimovic.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Jaa drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Jaa is defended easily by Ibrahimovic.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Tanom Jaa. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Ibrahimovic misses with a lunging right hand

and Jaa counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Ibrahimovic keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Jaa lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Jaa throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Ibrahimovic won't allow Jaa to pass to mount.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Jaa throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Jaa looks to land a strike but Ibrahimovic avoids it nicely and regains full guard.
Jaa with a flurry of punches that miss.
Jaa wants to pass the guard but Ibrahimovic is keeping the position.
Tanom Jaa overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Jaa trying to control the position from guard on top but Ibrahimovic is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Jaa throwing strikes but missing.
Jaa working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Jaa throws a big right hand that misses.
Jaa stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Ibrahimovic swivels though and keeps the full guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tanom Jaa had his way with Aleksandar Ibrahimovic in that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

A momentary lapse in concentration from Ibrahimovic enables Jaa to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Ibrahimovic manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Ibrahimovic is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Jaa might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Jaa with a flurry of punches that miss.
Jaa tries to free his leg and advance position but Ibrahimovic is retaining full guard.
Jaa trying to control but Ibrahimovic is working from the bottom.
Jaa is looking to work some ground and pound but Ibrahimovic has wrist control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Jaa stopping the sweep attempt from Ibrahimovic.
Jaa in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Jaa has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Jaa wants to control from the top but Ibrahimovic keeps moving.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Jaa postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Jaa lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Ibrahimovic has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Ibrahimovic and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Ibrahimovic displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Jaa.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Ibrahimovic throws a body kick despite being completely out of range
and Jaa counters with a nice leg kick.
Ibrahimovic swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Jaa counters with a leg kick.
Jaa shoots in for a takedown but Ibrahimovic shows good takedown defense.
Ibrahimovic throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Jaa throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Ibrahimovic is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Jaa tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Ibrahimovic swivels and escapes.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Tanom Jaa. That's going to take a lot out of him.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Jaa.
Ibrahimovic connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Ibrahimovic throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
An inside leg kick lands from Jaa.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Ibrahimovic swings for the body but Jaa moves out of range.
Ibrahimovic takes a swing at Jaa's ribcage but misses.
Jaa slips a jab from Ibrahimovic.
Jaa throws a hook to the side of Ibrahimovic's head but Ibrahimovic sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Ibrahimovic thows a leg kick but Jaa checks it

and Jaa counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Jaa.

And that's the end of the fight!
Tanom Jaa showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Jaa 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 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge George Francis scores the fight 48:47
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 47:48
Judge Alan Glass scores the fight 46:48

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Aleksandar Ibrahimovic!
Aleksandar Ibrahimovic is the new lightweight champion!