PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Ali Babanov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mahmud Magomedov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Ali Babanov had a look across the cage there at his opponent. He definitely means business

Babanov
vs
Magomedov

188 cm
25
197 lbs
4 - 0 - 0

188 cm
27
204 lbs
5 - 4 - 0

Decent wrestler
Counter fighter
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Solid chin

Sparta Fightware
The Big Kabosh

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Ali Babanov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 4 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Mahmud Magomedov!
The judges for this bout are Ben Zyskovitsi, Johanna Lukiainen and Marco Blurström.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Magomedov closes the distance and clinches up with Babanov, looking for a takedown. Magomedov pushes Babanov against the cage but Babanov circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.

Magomedov closes the distance and clinches.
Magomedov has had enough of the clinch but Babanov keeps him there for the moment.
Babanov has Magomedov pressed against the cage.

Magomedov breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Magomedov misses with a series of wild punches.
Magomedov misses with a few strikes there.
Magomedov looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Nice uppercut lands for Magomedov. That snapped Babanov's head back.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Magomedov closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Magomedov jumps guard but Babanov turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Ali Babanov has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Mahmud Magomedov.
Babanov tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Magomedov avoids it.
Babanov drops down looking for an ankle pick but Magomedov pulls his leg out and moves away.
Magomedov lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Babanov circles away quickly and effectively.

Magomedov closes the distance and pushes Babanov back into the cage.

Babanov lands a takedown into guard.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Babanov's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Babanov with a nice head shot there.
Babanov chips away with some ground and pound.
Babanov scoring with some ground and pound.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Babanov lands a couple of decent looking shots.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Babanov's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Babanov keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Magomedov's head.

Magomedov had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Babanov defends it easily.
Magomedov trying to control the position.

Magomedov has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Babanov off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.

Babanov tries to sprawl but Magomedov drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Magomedov looks winded!
Babanov tries to kick Magomedov off but Magomedov keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Babanov slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Magomedov in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Magomedov is looking to stand up but Babanov won't let him.
Babanov wants to stand up but Magomedov is controlling him.
Magomedov throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Babanov works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Magomedov must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Magomedov distracts Babanov with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Babanov wants to stand up but Magomedov is controlling him.

Babanov kicks Magomedov off and gets to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Magomedov moves into range and clinches up with Babanov.

Babanov's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Magomedov shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Babanov counters with a nice double leg into side control. Magomedov won't be happy with that.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
You can see the frustration on Magomedov's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Babanov scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Magomedov to see if he's OK.
Magomedov tries to improve position but can't.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Babanov working the body and head with strikes.
Babanov creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Magomedov shoots for a takedown but Babanov saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.

Babanov bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Babanov working the ground and pound.
Magomedov tries to get back to his feet but has found himself mounted instead. Damn, that's gotta suck.
Babanov lands a big shot there that rocks Magomedov but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Babanov landing strikes from the mount and Magomedov is in trouble!
Magomedov is bucking up trying to escape but Babanov cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Babanov lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Babanov landing shots from mount.
Babanov scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Magomedov?
Magomedov really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Babanov. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Babanov scoring with strikes but Magomedov is staying in there.
Ali Babanov overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Babanov looking to finish Magomedov with some ground and pound. This is bad for Magomedov!
Magomedov is trying desperately to improve position.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Babanov cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Magomedov is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Babanov is landing with some decent strikes but Magomedov is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Babanov fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Babanov lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Babanov fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
BOOM! Babanov connects with a massive shot to the dome!

Magomedov is rocked!
Magomedov is bucking up trying to escape but Babanov cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Magomedov is still in real trouble! Can Babanov finish him?
Babanov postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Magomedov looks a forlorn figure.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Babanov pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Babanov raining down shots from the mount!
Magomedov tries to lock up and control but Babanov gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Magomedov is in a horrible position here. Babanov smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Babanov looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Babanov raining down shots from the mount!
Babanov lands with some strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Babanov landing shots from mount.
Babanov is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Babanov unloads with some vicious shots from mount and Magomedov wants out - he looks towards the referee who steps in to save him! Babanov celebrates on the cage and the crowd goes wild!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:28 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Ali Babanov!
Ali Babanov decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.