PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Brandon Martin (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Aleksandar Shalamanov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Shalamanov has chosen Imany - You will never know as his entrance music. Well, I have no idea who's going to take this one!

Martin
vs
Shalamanov

182 cm
21
198 lbs
5 - 3 - 0

186 cm
28
187 lbs
5 - 3 - 0

Good wrestling
Brawler
Granite chin

Good takedowns
Decent boxing
Determined

L.A. Elite Clothing Co

[CBK] LEGAL HIGHS « NAF↑ TRIPLE 160Q ®

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 5 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Brandon Martin!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Aleksandar Shalamanov!
The judges for this bout are Tatsuya Matsuyama, Ren Mimura and Shigeki Fujiwara.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Shalamanov manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Martin on his heels. He'll look to pass Martin's guard now, I'm sure.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Shalamanov accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Shalamanov stops Martin from standing up.
Martin looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Martin utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Shalamanov controls from within his opponent's guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Shalamanov drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Shalamanov jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Martin keeping moving, preventing Shalamanov from controlling successfully.

Shalamanov drops back looking for a leg! Martin is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Martin manages to kick Shalamanov off! Shalamanov jumps back into Martin's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shalamanov throwing strikes but missing.

Martin postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Shalamanov is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Martin, into his guard.
Martin is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shalamanov is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Martin scores with a couple of nice shots.

Martin is looking for a kimura but Shalamanov is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Martin to get the leverage.

Martin wants to work for an arm triangle but Shalamanov is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Shalamanov trying to control here.
Martin thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Shalamanov's head.
Shalamanov trying to control here.

Martin is looking for a kimura but Shalamanov is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Martin to get the leverage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Martin lands with a punch from half guard.

Martin is looking for a kimura here.
Shalamanov works his way to full guard. Good work.
Martin throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Martin throws a big right hand that misses.
Shalamanov is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Martin lands a couple of elbows.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Martin throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Martin working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Martin postures up in Shalamanov's guard and throws a big left but Shalamanov blocks it.
Martin has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Martin missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Shalamanov working a defensive guard here.
Martin throws a strike but Shalamanov rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Martin preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Brandon Martin dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Martin looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Shalamanov is fending him off so far but Martin persists. Nope, Shalamanov circles away and we're back to standing.
Martin shoots in looking for a takedown. Shalamanov tries to sprawl out of it but Martin keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Shalamanov manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Martin closes the distance and clinches up with Shalamanov, looking for a takedown. Martin pushes Shalamanov against the cage but Shalamanov circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Brandon Martin. That's going to take a lot out of him.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Martin.

Martin gets caught napping as Shalamanov dives in and scores a takedown. Martin manages to retain guard.
Brandon Martin overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Martin trying to control the position here.
Shalamanov distracts Martin with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shalamanov throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Martin works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Shalamanov postures up.
Shalamanov distracts Martin with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Shalamanov throwing strikes but missing.
Shalamanov throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

Shalamanov drops back for a leg but he's not going to get it - he lets go and Martin dives on top into guard.
Martin throws a big right hand that misses.
Shalamanov working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Martin.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Martin throws a big right hand that misses.
Martin throws a big elbow that misses.
Martin in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Shalamanov is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Martin is controlling him.
Martin throws a big right hand that misses.
Shalamanov wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Martin working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Martin is looking to work some ground and pound but Shalamanov has wrist control.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Martin connects with a couple of short punches.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shalamanov preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Shalamanov bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Martin's guard.
Martin trying to control the position.
Shalamanov working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Martin keeping moving, preventing Shalamanov from controlling successfully.
Shalamanov working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Shalamanov in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Shalamanov postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Martin is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Shalamanov, into his guard.
Martin postures up in Shalamanov's guard and throws a big left but Shalamanov blocks it.
Martin missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Martin with a flurry of punches that miss.
Martin landing some decent shots from guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Martin missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Martin working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Brandon Martin will probably get the nod.
That's time! Martin's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Martin shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Shalamanov as he jumps to the side.
Aleksandar Shalamanov is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Shalamanov shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Shalamanov missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Martin trying to control from the bottom.
Shalamanov thows a huge punch but Martin dodges it nicely.
Martin blocking the ground and pound attempt from Shalamanov.
Shalamanov missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

Shalamanov is working for a kimura but Martin is defending it quite comfortably.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Martin makes his way to full guard, as Shalamanov worked for a kimura.
Martin keeping moving, preventing Shalamanov from controlling successfully.
Shalamanov loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Martin wants to sweep but no luck.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shalamanov is looking to work some ground and pound but Martin has wrist control.
Shalamanov throwing strikes from guard but Martin blocks nicely.
Martin is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Martin throws some sloppy strikes off his back.
Shalamanov makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Martin utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Shalamanov trying to control the position from guard on top but Martin is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Shalamanov is looking to work some ground and pound but Martin has wrist control.
Martin on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Martin tries to get out of the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shalamanov missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Martin preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Shalamanov wants to control from the top but Martin keeps moving.
Shalamanov cracks Martin with a solid left hand.
Martin controlling Shalamanov's posture.
Martin keeping moving, preventing Shalamanov from controlling successfully.
Brandon Martin is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Shalamanov stopping the sweep attempt from Martin.
Shalamanov throws a strike but Martin rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Martin trying to control the position from guard on top but Shalamanov is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Shalamanov is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

And that's the end of the fight!
Aleksandar Shalamanov comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Martin 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 Tatsuya Matsuyama scores the fight 29:28
Judge Ren Mimura scores the fight 29:29
Judge Shigeki Fujiwara scores the fight 29:29

The fight is ruled a majority draw!