PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between James Toney (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Milad Yakubi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Toney comes to the cage accompanied by Wicked. Yakubi has chosen Panjabi MC Feat. Jay Z - Beware as his entrance music. Both fighters really staring each other down here, as Milad Yakubi enters the cage!

Toney
vs
Yakubi

179 cm
23
220 lbs
9 - 2 - 0

177 cm
23
222 lbs
6 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

BJJ Brown Belt
Counter striker
Good gas tank

Brute

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the light heavyweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 9 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, James Toney!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Milad Yakubi!
The judges for this bout are Joseph Jones, Jonathan Paton and Reed Andrews.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Toney has taken the fight to the clinch.
Yakubi is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Toney is keeping busy.
The referee is keeping an eye on Toney - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Toney works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Toney misses with a punch on the inside.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Toney tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Yakubi's elbow.
Yakubi blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Yakubi prevents a body shot from Toney.
Toney misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Toney presses Yakubi against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Yakubi looking to slow down the pace here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Yakubi creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Toney misses with a punch to the body.
Toney avoids a wild elbow strike from Yakubi.
Yakubi misses with a hook from the clinch.
A head punch on the inside from Toney fails to land.
Toney tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
A shot in the inside from Toney.
Toney tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
The referee is keeping an eye on Toney - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Yakubi tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Toney just stands there and leans against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Toney just leaning against Yakubi, taking a breather.
Toney misses with the head strike.
Yakubi blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Yakubi is looking to take this one to the mat.
Toney throws a punch but it's blocked by Yakubi.
Toney avoiding damage as Yakubi throws knees to the body.
Toney misses with a punch to the body.
Yakubi blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Toney tries to work over Yakubi's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Toney stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Yakubi takes a shot to the head.
Toney tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Toney tries a body shot but Yakubi blocks it.
Toney scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Toney slowing the pace effectively.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Toney.
The referee calls for Toney to work.
Yakubi tries a knee to the head but he's missed.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Toney tries a body shot but Yakubi blocks it.
Toney blocks an elbow strike from Yakubi.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Toney has Yakubi pushed against the cage.
Toney throws a head punch that misses.
Toney swings wildly with an uppercut but Yakubi uses good head movement to avoid it.
Yakubi blocking some punches.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Toney misses with a hook from the clinch.
Toney doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Toney stalling.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

James Toney dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Toney throws a lazy uppercut

and Yakubi counters with a single leg into guard. Toney didn't expect that.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Toney looking for a sweep. Not yet Toney, not yet.
Yakubi is fighting to break Toney's control of his arms but Toney is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Yakubi stops Toney from standing up.
Toney preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Yakubi trying to pass the guard. He's being very persistent here but Toney manages to land a sweep and now he's on top!
Toney pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Yakubi is keeping the position for now.
Yakubi wants to sweep but no luck.

Yakubi escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Toney gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
This has been an exciting period of action!
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Yakubi looking to hit a scissor sweep but Toney is one step ahead there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Toney passes Yakubi's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Toney scoring with strikes to the body and head.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Toney trying to pass the guard but Yakubi defending well.
Yakubi tries to roll over but Toney keeps him under control.
Yakubi is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Yakubi wants to control but Toney is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Toney lands with a punch from half guard.
Toney keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up because James Toney just wasn't active enough.
Yakubi shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Toney counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Toney.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Yakubi blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Yakubi blocks an uppercut.
Yakubi blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Yakubi blocks an uppercut.
Toney struggles to land a body shot inside as Yakubi controls his hands.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Toney misses with a punch on the inside.
Yakubi blocks an uppercut.
Yakubi trying to control the position but instead, Toney has worked for underhooks and has pushed Yakubi into the cage.
Toney displaying some good clinch control by pressing Yakubi up against the cage.
Yakubi throws an elbow but it misses.
Toney tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Yakubi's elbow.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Toney.
Toney misses with a body punch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A bit of stalling here from Toney.
A head punch on the inside from Toney fails to land.
Toney lands a right hand.
James Toney has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Yakubi trying to control the position but instead, Toney has worked for underhooks and has pushed Yakubi into the cage.
Toney misses with the head strike.
Toney misses with a punch to the body.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Yakubi has a couple of punches blocked by Toney.
Toney avoiding damage.

Yakubi ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Yakubi no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

James Toney dominated that second 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.

Toney looks to score with a jab to the body but Yakubi is just out of range.
Yakubi shoots in but Toney avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Toney lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.

It looks like Milad Yakubi has been cut.

Toney lands a left and a right that send Yakubi crashing to the mat, dazed. Toney thinks about following him to the mat but decides to wave him back up to his feet!

Yakubi is rocked!
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!
Toney getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Yakubi is still on wobbly legs! Can Toney finish him?

Yakubi tries to keep at a distance but Toney has taken the fight into the clinch.
Toney goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Yakubi.
Toney is leaning against Yakubi and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Toney throws a head punch that misses.
Yakubi seems to have recovered his senses.
Toney misses with a punch on the inside.
Toney working aggressively here.
Yakubi blocks a punch to the side of the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A short body shot lands from Toney as the two fighters clinch.
Toney lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Toney misses with some punches.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Yakubi just misses with a elbow thrown towards Toney's brow.
Toney lands a hook to the side of the head.

Yakubi pulls guard successfully.
Yakubi working a defensive guard here.

Yakubi has his foot on Toney's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Toney works his way back into a safe position though.
Toney working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Toney slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Toney cracks Yakubi with a big elbow.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Yakubi is trying to get back to half guard.
Toney is staying tight to Yakubi's torso, preventing him from escaping.
Toney'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.
Yakubi tries to improve position but can't.
Toney controlling from side mount.
James Toney overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

We're going to have a standup here because James Toney wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Toney works Yakubi's body with a nice hook.
Yakubi gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Toney lands a glancing blow to the side of Yakubi's head.
Toney connects with a good right hand that stumbles Yakubi. Yakubi circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
Yakubi shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Toney pinned against the cage. Toney gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Toney is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Yakubi can do to turn this around?

Toney rushes Yakubi and presses him up against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Toney tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
A right hand to the body from Toney.
Toney stalling against the cage.
Toney misses with a punch to the body.
Yakubi blocking some punches.
Toney lands a nice uppercut.
Yakubi blocking some punches.
Yakubi blocks a body shot from Toney.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Toney misses with a hook to the ribs.
Toney is pushing Yakubi up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

James Toney clearly takes that round.
The cut man is working on Milad Yakubi's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Yakubi shoots in for a takedown but Toney shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Yakubi's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Toney connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Yakubi scrambles back to his feet.
Toney connects with a crisp jab.
Toney misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Yakubi gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Toney counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Toney misses with a kick to the body.

Yakubi drives through and clinches with Toney against the cage.
Toney swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Toney holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Toney misses with a hook to the ribs.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Toney tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Toney slowing the pace effectively.
Yakubi blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Toney lands a hook to the side of the head.
Toney misses with a punch on the inside.
Yakubi tries to land knees in the clinch but Toney avoids the damage to the body.
Yakubi is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Toney is keeping busy.
Yakubi dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Toney stalling against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Yakubi blocks a body shot from Toney.
Toney lands a shot to the body.
Yakubi missing with knees to the body.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Toney takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Toney scores with an uppercut up the middle.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Toney.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
A hook to the body from Toney.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Toney lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Yakubi backwards.
Toney controlling the action here for a moment.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Toney creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Toney misses with a hook to the ribs.
Toney misses with a punch to the body.
Yakubi goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Toney throws a head punch that misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A right hook to the body lands for Toney.
Yakubi prevents a body shot from Toney.
Toney tries to throw a body punch but Yakubi avoids it by throwing Toney back against the cage.
Toney stalling the fight.
A short uppercut from Toney.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Toney tries to work over Yakubi's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Toney goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Toney tries to throw a body punch but Yakubi avoids it by throwing Toney back against the cage.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Toney lands a nice uppercut.
Toney misses with a punch to the body.
Toney struggles to land a body shot inside as Yakubi controls his hands.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

James Toney had his way with Milad Yakubi in that round.
The cut man is working on Milad Yakubi's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. 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.

Toney misses with a wild body shot.
Yakubi uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Toney.
Yakubi with a lazy takedown attempt
and Toney counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Toney throws a series of punches but Yakubi moves out of range.
Toney ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
James Toney is winning the standup battle so far.
Yakubi shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Toney connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.

Toney lands a big right hand that sends Yakubi crashing to the mat! Toney stays standing though and waves Yakubi back to his feet!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Toney throws a jab but it's blocked by Yakubi.
Toney fakes a right and follows up with a big left that drops Yakubi to one knee - oooooh, he's wobbly! Yakubi looks to clinch but Toney throws him off and pummels him into the canvas! Yakubi taps out under the strikes! The fight is over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:49 of round 5, we have a winner by way of Submission (Strikes). James Toney!
James Toney is the new light heavyweight champion!
A victorious James Toney thanked his army of followers in his post fight interview, telling people to make sure they follow him on Twitter.