PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Azar Qasi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and De Bruyne (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Qasi comes to the cage accompanied by For Whom The Bell Tolls. Bruyne has chosen Busta Rhymes - Other Side Of The Road as his entrance music. Both fighter's entrance songs getting the crowd jumping here.

Qasi
vs
Bruyne

180 cm
23
166 lbs
12 - 4 - 0

175 cm
24
164 lbs
14 - 2 - 1

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Bullet Proof System

Bullet Proof System
MayheM sportswear

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 12 - 4 - 0, fighting out of New York, Azar Qasi!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 14 - 2 - 1, fighting out of New York, De Bruyne!
The judges for this bout are Trevor Gratis, Ian Loll and Steve Smith.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Qasi looks to land a combination but Bruyne avoids it well.
Qasi throws a right hand that Bruyne ducks under and follows up with a left that Bruyne also avoids with ease.
Qasi on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Qasi throws a right and a left that both miss.
Azar Qasi seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Bruyne's jab looks to have found its range, popping Qasi under the eye.
Bruyne tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Bruyne tries a head kick but it misses.
Bruyne tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Qasi paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Bruyne keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
A punch combination from Qasi misses.
Bruyne now looks to counter with a shot at the body.
Bruyne connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Qasi's hands.
Nice shot lands for Bruyne.
Bruyne misses with a lunging right hand
and Qasi counters with a nice uppercut.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Qasi clinches with his opponent.
Bruyne blocking some punches.
Bruyne tries to work over Qasi's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Qasi misses with a body punch.
Qasi working aggressively here.
Qasi works on Bruyne's body with a couple of short punches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Qasi lands with a left to the head.
Bruyne lands a right hand.
Bruyne gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Qasi.
Bruyne misses with a punch to the body.
Bruyne blocks an uppercut.
Qasi goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Bruyne makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Bruyne lands a hook to the side of the head.
Bruyne throws a punch but it's blocked by Qasi.
Bruyne is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Bruyne stops a takedown attempt from Qasi.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Azar Qasi. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Bruyne lands a body punch.
Qasi lands a nice uppercut.
Qasi is working for takedown but Bruyne is calmly controlling the position for now.
Bruyne lands an uppercut.
Qasi wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Bruyne has him pressed against the cage.
Bruyne lands a hook that snaps the head of Qasi backwards.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Bruyne blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Bruyne works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Qasi misses with a body punch.
Bruyne tries to work over Qasi's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
I was talking to Qasi's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.
Bruyne lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Qasi.
A right hook to the body lands for Bruyne.
Bruyne doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Bruyne tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Qasi throws a head punch that misses.
Bruyne misses with a punch to the body.
Qasi prevents a body shot from Bruyne.
Bruyne lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Bruyne blocking some punches.

Bruyne breaks the clinch.
A looping hook to the body misses from Qasi. Bruyne does a little dance to reset his feet.
Qasi throws a predictable looking body shot
and Bruyne counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Qasi shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Bruyne defends it nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bruyne lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Bruyne throws a big shot that misses.
Qasi scores with a nice strike.
Qasi lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Qasi works the jab nicely.
Bruyne throws a head kick that misses.
A clash of legs there as Qasi blocks the low kick.
Qasi moves forwards but Bruyne connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Bruyne ducks under a wild hook from Qasi.
Bruyne lands a lovely overhand right.
Qasi throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Bruyne sees it coming and avoids it easily.

Qasi shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Bruyne manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Qasi passes easily into side control. Nice work.

Qasi working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Qasi tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Qasi has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Bruyne controls the position for a moment.

Qasi swings around for an armbar but Bruyne sees it coming a mile off and turns beautifully into Qasi's guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Qasi throws his legs up looking for a submission but Bruyne uses it to pass to side control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

The fighters circling - Qasi throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Bruyne chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Qasi misses with a two punch combination.
Qasi fails with a takedown attempt.
Qasi is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Bruyne.
A jab from Bruyne does it's job there.
Qasi gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Bruyne.
Qasi throws a body punch but Bruyne moves out of range.
A looping hook to the body misses from Qasi. Bruyne does a little dance to reset his feet.
A head kick misses from Bruyne.
Bruyne has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Qasi connects with a nice looking jab.
Qasi misses with a straight left.
Bruyne thumps Qasi with a low kick.
Qasi blocks a jab.
Qasi throws a series of punches but Bruyne avoids them all with ease.
A little jabbing left from Bruyne on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
A big right from Qasi misses.
Bruyne slips under a jab from Qasi.
Qasi shoots in but Bruyne avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Bruyne swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bruyne throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Qasi will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Bruyne takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Bruyne displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Qasi throws out the jab.
Bruyne thuds a mid kick into his opponent's body. That will wear on Qasi if he has to take too many more of those.
Qasi throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Bruyne sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Bruyne throws a head kick but Qasi moves out of range.
Qasi was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Qasi throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Bruyne.
Qasi falls off balance throwing a combination
and Bruyne counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Qasi swings widly with a right hand
and Bruyne counters with a straight right hand.
Bruyne scores with a decent looking hook.
Qasi steps to his left, right into the path of a big body kick from Bruyne. That one must have hurt.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Qasi moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Qasi gets a double leg takedown into Bruyne's guard.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Bruyne seems keen to control Qasi's posture.
Let's hope that Bruyne has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
Bruyne keeping moving, preventing Qasi from controlling successfully.
Qasi is fighting to break Bruyne's control of his arms but Bruyne is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Qasi pushing down on Bruyne's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Qasi wants to work for an arm triangle but Bruyne is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.

Bruyne is defending against the submission attempts here by Qasi.
Bruyne has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Qasi is working away from the top position though.

Qasi is working for an americana but Bruyne has been sneaky and has managed to get back to half guard, whilst Qasi was thinking about the submission.
Qasi looking to pass the guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.

Qasi drops back looking for a leg! Bruyne is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Bruyne manages to kick Qasi off! Qasi jumps back into Bruyne's guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Bruyne seems keen to control Qasi's posture.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Bruyne's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Bruyne cracks a nice hook into Qasi's ribs.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but De Bruyne will probably get the nod - 10:9.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Qasi tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Bruyne was well out of range. Poor timing from Qasi.
Bruyne throws a sloppy head kick
and Qasi counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Nice straight punches there by Bruyne. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Bruyne.
Azar Qasi is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Qasi throws a poor cross that misses
and Bruyne counters with a straight right hand.
Bruyne pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
A solid leg kick lands there for Bruyne.
Qasi just misses with a punch to the body.
Bruyne thows a left - swing and a miss!
Qasi throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Qasi lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Bruyne circles away quickly and effectively.
A lazy left from Bruyne finds it's target.
Qasi connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Qasi shoots in for a takedown but Bruyne shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Bruyne shapes to counter with a head kick.
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!
Qasi connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Bruyne throws a body kick that misses.

Qasi closes the distance and pushes Bruyne back into the cage.
Bruyne blocking some punches.
A head punch on the inside from Bruyne fails to land.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Qasi misses with a hook from the clinch.
Bruyne lands a left hand that snaps the head of Qasi backwards.
A right hand to the body from Bruyne.
Nice body punch from Bruyne - that landed with a thud.
Qasi tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Bruyne lands with a short head shot on the inside.
A nice right hand lands inside from Bruyne.
Qasi working aggressively here.
Bruyne digs a right hand into Qasi's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Qasi's gas tank.
Bruyne misses with a hook to the ribs.
Bruyne scores with a shot to the side of Qasi's head.
Bruyne lands an uppercut.
Bruyne lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Qasi.
Bruyne lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Qasi backwards.
Qasi misses with some punches.
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!
A short left from Bruyne.
Qasi takes a shot to the head.
Azar Qasi has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bruyne lands a body punch.
Bruyne tries a body shot but Qasi blocks it.
Qasi tries to work over Bruyne's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Bruyne scores with a shot to the side of Qasi's head.
Qasi misses with a short punch on the inside.
Bruyne blocks an uppercut.
De Bruyne seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Bruyne tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Qasi working aggressively here.
Bruyne throws a head punch that misses.
Qasi lands with a right to the head.
Bruyne blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Bruyne lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Bruyne lands a body shot in the clinch.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

Qasi breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Qasi missing with a left hand there. Bruyne was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Bruyne steps in looking to counter with the mid kick but it doesn't connect.
Bruyne dodges the punch combination from Qasi.
Bruyne ducks right into an uppercut from Qasi.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bruyne moves out of range of the strikes.
Qasi moves out of range of the body kick.
Qasi fails with the takedown
and Bruyne counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Bruyne throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Qasi defending well as Bruyne loads up on a big left hand.
Qasi walks into a stiff left hand from Bruyne.

Bruyne gets tackled into the cage by Qasi. Qasi maintains the clinch.
Bruyne blocks an uppercut.
Qasi misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Bruyne blocks an uppercut.
Bruyne lands a hook that snaps the head of Qasi backwards.
Bruyne tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Bruyne lands a nice uppercut.
Qasi misses with a hook from the clinch.
Bruyne works on Qasi's body with a couple of short punches.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Bruyne.
Bruyne goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Bruyne blocking some punches.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Bruyne struggles to land a body shot inside as Qasi controls his hands.
Bruyne lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Qasi.
Qasi takes a shot to the head.
Bruyne prevents the takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Azar Qasi. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Qasi tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Bruyne lands a body punch.
Bruyne lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Bruyne tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Bruyne lands a hook that snaps the head of Qasi backwards.
Qasi lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Bruyne doesn't land with the attempted body shot.

Qasi has hold of one of Bruyne's legs. Bruyne is fighting the takedown attempt but Qasi gets the trip and lands the takedown into guard.
Qasi pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Bruyne is keeping the position for now.
Qasi throwing strikes but missing.

And that's the end of the fight!
De Bruyne comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Bruyne winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Trevor Gratis scores the fight 27:30
Judge Ian Loll scores the fight 27:30
Judge Steve Smith scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... De Bruyne!