PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Johan Dahlberg (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Adam Khaliev (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Khaliev comes into a darkened arena with his song building. T-Wayne - Nasty Freestyle kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Dahlberg
vs
Khaliev

186 cm
26
212 lbs
7 - 8 - 0

178 cm
25
205 lbs
7 - 5 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Olympic wrestler
World class boxer
Granite chin

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 7 - 8 - 0, fighting out of New York, Johan Dahlberg!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Adam Khaliev!
The judges for this bout are Russell Pearce, Lou da Vinci and Chad Campbell.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Dahlberg tries to keep at a distance but Khaliev has taken the fight into the clinch.
Dahlberg has a couple of punches blocked by Khaliev.
Khaliev fails to pull guard.
A head punch on the inside from Dahlberg fails to land.

Khaliev breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Khaliev wants to land a leg kick but Dahlberg is out of range.
Dahlberg misses with an uppercut.
Khaliev fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Dahlberg checks it well.
Khaliev sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.

Khaliev rushes Dahlberg and presses him up against the cage.
Dahlberg dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Khaliev tries to pull guard but Dahlberg forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Dahlberg swings wildly with an uppercut but Khaliev uses good head movement to avoid it.
A head punch on the inside from Khaliev fails to land.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Dahlberg breaks the clinch.
Dahlberg chopping away at his opponent's legs.
A telegraphed right hand from Dahlberg misses the target.
Dahlberg connects with an inside leg kick.
Khaliev on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Dahlberg throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Khaliev on the side of the head.
Khaliev throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Dahlberg.
Dahlberg throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Dahlberg avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Khaliev misses with a series of wild punches.
Dahlberg looks to score with a jab to the body but Khaliev is just out of range.
Khaliev scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Khaliev misses with a low kick.
Khaliev avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Dahlberg throws an overhand right that lands on Khaliev's shoulder, as Khaliev tries to avoid the shot.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A big left from Dahlberg misses.
Dahlberg throws a jab when Khaliev was well out of range.
Dahlberg tries to clinch but Khaliev moves out of range.
Khaliev wants to clinch.
It looked like Dahlberg wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Khaliev cracks Dahlberg with an open hand slap.
Khaliev tries to clinch but Dahlberg moves out of range.
Dahlberg smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Khaliev throws a looping overhand right but Dahlberg ducks down to avoid it.
Khaliev avoids the body shot from Dahlberg.
Adam Khaliev seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Khaliev connects with a body shot.
Dahlberg drops his hands momentarily and Khaliev takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.

Khaliev fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Dahlberg sprawls well initially but Khaliev persists and gets the takedown into half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Khaliev is looking for a kimura here.

Khaliev is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Dahlberg defends it well.
The fighters are battling for position here. Dahlberg manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Dahlberg looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Khaliev controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Khaliev prevents Dahlberg from getting back to his feet.
Khaliev stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Dahlberg swivels though and keeps the full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Khaliev trying to control the position from guard on top but Dahlberg is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Dahlberg wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Dahlberg keeping moving, preventing Khaliev from controlling successfully.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Dahlberg looking to hit a scissor sweep but Khaliev is one step ahead there.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Johan Dahlberg is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Khaliev misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Khaliev slips under a jab.

Khaliev drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Khaliev trying to control the action but Dahlberg is working from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Adam Khaliev will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Dahlberg has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Khaliev.
Dahlberg loads up on a big right hand but Khaliev slips the punch.
Khaliev throws a nice outside leg kick.
Khaliev throws a hook to the side of Dahlberg's head but Dahlberg sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.

Khaliev clinches up with Dahlberg and pushes him back against the cage.
Khaliev blocks an uppercut.
Khaliev has been looking to improve his clinch game in recent weeks. Dahlberg seems to have the measure of him in the clinch so far, so let's see if Khaliev can turn it around.

Dahlberg manages to break the clinch.
Dahlberg lands a nice hook to Khaliev's body. Khaliev takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Khaliev.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Dahlberg scores with a nice strike.
Dahlberg misses with a wild body shot.
Dahlberg getting the better of the striking in that exchange.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dahlberg misses with a wild combination.
Dahlberg throws a hook but Khaliev blocks it.
Dahlberg uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Khaliev.
Khaliev throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Dahlberg sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Dahlberg lands a nice looking body shot.
Some bone on bone action there as Khaliev checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Despite the aggression on Khaliev's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.
Dahlberg dips to his left and cracks Khaliev with an uppercut!
Adam Khaliev is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Khaliev feints and as Dahlberg raises his hands in defense, Khaliev changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Khaliev stands and throws Dahlberg's legs to the side, diving into side control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Dahlberg can't do much from the bottom here.
Dahlberg tries to buck Khaliev off but Khaliev is having none of it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dahlberg is trying to control Khaliev's posture but Khaliev avoids it.
Khaliev is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.
Dahlberg is not content to let Khaliev control the position.

Khaliev goes for an armbar here - this could be all over! But no, Dahlberg has escaped beautifully and is now on top in side control! Oh, that's unlucky for Khaliev but great work by Dahlberg.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
You can see the frustration on Khaliev's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Khaliev tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Dahlberg wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Khaliev can't do much from the bottom here.
Khaliev tries to improve position but can't.
Adam Khaliev has got the better of the ground game so far.

Dahlberg stands up.
Dahlberg pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
And Khaliev responds with a good body kick, but Dahlberg manages to step out the way in time.
Dahlberg throws a leg kick but Khaliev checks it.
Dahlberg is looking to land body kicks.

Dahlberg rushes Khaliev and presses him up against the cage.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Dahlberg creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Khaliev wants to stall.
Dahlberg gets underhooks to prevent Khaliev's takedown attempt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Dahlberg takes a shot to the head.
Dahlberg struggles to land a body shot inside as Khaliev controls his hands.
Khaliev is pushing Dahlberg up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Dahlberg misses with a hook to the ribs.

Khaliev pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
A slapping leg kick lands for Dahlberg.
Khaliev looks for the body kick but Dahlberg saw that one coming.
Dahlberg walks into a stiff left hand from Khaliev.
A left lands for Dahlberg.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Khaliev tries to bum rush Dahlberg with a series of wild strikes but Dahlberg uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Dahlberg lands a two punch combo.

It looks like Adam Khaliev has been cut.
Khaliev connects with a good right hand that stumbles Dahlberg. Dahlberg circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Johan Dahlberg dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Adam Khaliev's cut.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. This is the final round!

Khaliev has managed to clinch.
Khaliev throws a punch but it's blocked by Dahlberg.
Khaliev keeps control of Dahlberg as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.

Khaliev pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Khaliev throws a head kick but Dahlberg moves out of range.

Dahlberg has managed to clinch.

Khaliev breaks from the clinch.
Khaliev misses with a hook. Dahlberg ducked under it nicely.
Dahlberg misses with a body shot.
Dahlberg needs to keep his hands up - Khaliev had a free shot at his head there.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Khaliev uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Dahlberg has time to react.
Dahlberg misses with a body shot.
Dahlberg cracks Khaliev with an open hand slap.
Dahlberg slips under a jab.
Dahlberg connects with a single shot there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dahlberg bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Dahlberg fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Khaliev has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Khaliev looks to throw the jab but Dahlberg is out of range.
Dahlberg swung with a counter punch to the body but it didn't connect.
Khaliev throws a leg kick which misses Dahlberg's front leg but catches the back leg as Dahlberg tries to avoid it.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Dahlberg checks a leg kick.
Nice sprawl there from Dahlberg as Khaliev shoots in.
Khaliev throws a hook but Dahlberg blocks it.
Dahlberg was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Khaliev closes the distance and clinches up with Dahlberg, looking for a takedown. Khaliev pushes Dahlberg against the cage but Dahlberg circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Khaliev tries to clinch up.
Dahlberg's corner calls for a 1-2. Dahlberg obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Dahlberg checks a low kick from Khaliev.
Khaliev fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Dahlberg on the side of the head.
Dahlberg swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Dahlberg lands a body shot.
Khaliev jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Khaliev walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Khaliev tries to close the distance and clinch but Dahlberg swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Nice uppercut lands for Dahlberg. That snapped Khaliev's head back.
Dahlberg throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
A head kick by Khaliev misses
and Dahlberg counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Khaliev takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Khaliev closes the distance and clinches.
Khaliev blocks an uppercut.
Dahlberg tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Khaliev's elbow.
Dahlberg fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Dahlberg wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
A head punch on the inside from Dahlberg fails to land.

Khaliev escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Dahlberg misses with a body shot.
Khaliev looks like he wants to counter punch here.
A jab lands there for Dahlberg.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dahlberg avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Johan Dahlberg is winning the standup battle so far.
Khaliev throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Dahlberg tests Khaliev's chin there with a solid looking shot.

Khaliev is rocked!
Dahlberg cracks Khaliev with a left hook right on the temple and Khaliev goes down! He's out! Referee! Stop the fight! Dahlberg lands a few more punches before the dopey ref steps in - hopefully Khaliev is OK!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:18 of round 3, we have a winner by way of KO (Punch). Johan Dahlberg!