PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Azar Qasi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Damien Redman (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Qasi comes to the cage accompanied by For Whom The Bell Tolls. The crowd seem to be enjoying Redman's choice of entrance music: Put Your Lights On . Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Qasi
vs
Redman

180 cm
27
166 lbs
17 - 8 - 1

174 cm
28
162 lbs
20 - 14 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Revolution Clothing
Bullet Proof System

Sully's Bar & Grill

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 17 - 8 - 1, fighting out of New York, Azar Qasi!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 20 - 14 - 0, fighting out of London, Damien Redman!
The judges for this bout are Jonathan Paton, Steve Montenegro and Chad Campbell.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Qasi throws a jab when Redman was well out of range.
Qasi scores with a jab to the body.
Redman throws the left hand but Qasi avoids the punch easily.
Qasi throws an off balance right hand

and Redman counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Redman.
Redman pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Qasi misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Redman misses with an elbow strike.
Redman lands an elbow inside.
A head punch on the inside from Qasi fails to land.
Qasi looking for a takedown.
Qasi has a couple of punches blocked by Redman.
Redman can't find room to land a body shot as Qasi controls the action.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Redman pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Redman throws an elbow but it misses.
Redman throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Qasi misses with a hook from the clinch.
Redman throws an elbow that misses.
Qasi misses with some punches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A right hand to the body from Qasi.
A body shot lands from Qasi.
Qasi misses with a hook from the clinch.
Qasi throws a punch but it's blocked by Redman.
Qasi tries to score a body lock takedown but Redman shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Qasi doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
We've been hearing reports that Qasi has been drilling takedowns in recent sessions so let's see if that has an impact on the result of this fight.
Qasi lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Qasi has Redman pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Redman manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Azar Qasi. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Redman pushes off an throws an elbow but Qasi leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Qasi creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Redman comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Redman prevents a body shot from Qasi.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Qasi.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Redman.
Qasi swings wildly with an uppercut but Redman uses good head movement to avoid it.
Qasi has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Redman after a bit of a struggle.
Qasi goes for a takedown in the clinch but Redman prevents it.
With the fighters up against the cage, Redman throws an elbow but misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Qasi pushes Redman back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Qasi lands a shoulder strike.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Redman dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Qasi softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Qasi scores with a nice hook to the head.
Redman looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Qasi throws a punch but it's blocked by Redman.
Qasi can't find room to land a body shot as Redman controls the action.
Qasi is working Redman over against the cage.
Qasi throws a punch but it's blocked by Redman.

Qasi breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Qasi looks to land a left hand but Redman moved out of range nicely.
Nice defenses there by Redman.
Redman looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Redman keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Redman moves out of range as Qasi strikes.
Qasi misses with a wild body shot.
Qasi sets himself, and Redman steps forward looking for the clinch! Qasi avoids it this time.
A lazy left from Redman finds it's target.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A big left from Qasi misses.
Redman tries a quick counter leg kick but Qasi is wise to it.
Qasi takes a swing at Redman's ribcage but misses.
Redman throws a head kick but Qasi moves out of range.
Qasi ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Qasi punishes Redman's body with a nice straight punch.
Qasi ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Redman moves away.
Qasi throws a head kick that Redman semi-blocks.
Qasi throws a leg kick but Redman sees it coming and moves out of range.
Redman tries to counter by closing the distance.
A decent looking cross lands there for Qasi.
Qasi wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Qasi throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Redman stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Redman keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Redman darts in and clinches Qasi up against the cage.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Redman blocks an uppercut.
Qasi takes an elbow to the forehead.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Redman.
Redman misses with an elbow over the top.

Qasi breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Qasi misses the shot to the body.

Qasi clinches with his opponent.
Redman trying to stall but Qasi improves his position.
Qasi doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Redman throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Redman blocking some punches.
Qasi can't find room to land a body shot as Redman controls the action.
Qasi tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Redman gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Qasi avoids the elbow strike from Redman, against the cage.
Qasi goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Qasi throws a punch but it's blocked by Redman.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Azar Qasi dominated that round.
That's time! Qasi's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Qasi forces Redman back against the cage and clinches.
Redman pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Redman blocks a body shot from Qasi.
Qasi has a couple of punches blocked by Redman.
Redman blocks a body shot from Qasi.
Redman just leaning against Qasi, taking a breather.
Redman lands an elbow inside that Qasi shrugs off.
Redman looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Redman throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Qasi blocks the elbow strike.
Azar Qasi has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Qasi avoids a wild elbow strike from Redman.
Qasi lands a right hand that snaps the head of Redman backwards.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Redman just misses with a elbow thrown towards Qasi's brow.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Redman lands an elbow inside.
Qasi avoids a wild elbow strike from Redman.
Qasi is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Redman can do to turn this around?
Redman blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Qasi blocks an elbow strike from Redman.

Qasi pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Qasi is looking to wear down Redman with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Redman attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Qasi throws a body punch but Redman moves out of range.
Redman tries to counter by closing the distance.
Qasi listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Qasi dives in for a single leg takedown but Redman sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Redman wants to counter with a clinch but Qasi pushes him away.

Qasi fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Redman, pushing him back against the cage.
Redman is stalling here.
Redman lands a damaging elbow.
Qasi fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Qasi misses with a hook from the clinch.
Qasi cracks Redman with a nice body shot.
Redman blocking some punches.
Redman lands a damaging elbow.
Qasi swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Redman throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Qasi misses with the head strike.
Redman lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Qasi goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Qasi misses with a hook from the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Qasi misses with a body punch.
Redman pushes off an throws an elbow but Qasi leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Qasi swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Redman pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Qasi blocks the elbow strike.
Redman blocks an uppercut.
Redman throws an elbow that misses.
Qasi misses with a short punch on the inside.
Qasi blocks an elbow strike.
Redman throws an elbow that misses.
Qasi tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Qasi pushes Redman back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Qasi misses with a hook from the clinch.
Redman lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
A short right from Qasi on the inside.
Qasi misses with a hook from the clinch.
Redman looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Qasi lands a nice shot to the body.
Qasi avoids a wild elbow strike from Redman.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Redman misses with a hook to the ribs.
With the fighters up against the cage, Redman throws an elbow but misses.
Redman lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Qasi or not.
Redman trying to control the position but instead, Qasi has worked for underhooks and has pushed Redman into the cage.
Redman pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Qasi wants a takedown but no success here.
Redman lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Qasi blocks an elbow strike.
Qasi swings away with an uppercut that misses.
A head punch on the inside from Qasi fails to land.
Redman misses with an elbow strike.
Redman blocking some punches.
Qasi lands a shoulder strike.
Redman is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Redman blocks a body shot from Qasi.
Redman prevents a body shot from Qasi.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Qasi blocks the elbow strike.
Qasi dodges an elbow strike from Redman.
Qasi misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Qasi struggles to land a body shot inside as Redman controls his hands.
Qasi misses with a hook from the clinch.
A shot in the inside from Qasi.
Redman misses with an elbow over the top.
Redman looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Redman stalling against the cage.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Redman.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Qasi.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Qasi lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
With the fighters up against the cage, Redman throws an elbow but misses.
Redman throws an elbow but it's blocked.

Qasi breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Azar Qasi is winning the standup battle so far.
Qasi misses with a looping right.
Redman is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
Qasi lands a jab to the head.
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 Azar Qasi will probably get the nod.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Qasi's corner calls for a 1-2. Qasi obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Qasi lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.

Redman has closed the distance and engaged Qasi in a clinch.
Redman throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Qasi tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Redman's elbow.
Redman wants to stall.
Redman gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Redman is trying to maintain a safe position but Qasi gets an underhook and turns Redman into the cage.
Qasi blocks the elbow strike.
Qasi doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Qasi scores with a shot to the side of Redman's head.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Redman throws an elbow that misses.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Qasi.
Redman is looking to control Qasi's arms but Qasi gets an underhook and turns him. Now Redman has his back to the cage.
Redman lands an elbow just above Qasi 's eye.
Qasi throws a head punch that misses.
Redman throws an elbow that misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Qasi tries a body shot but Redman blocks it.
Qasi doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Qasi dodges an elbow strike from Redman.
Redman lands an elbow inside that Qasi shrugs off.
Qasi blocks the elbow strike.
Qasi tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Redman's elbow.
Qasi misses with a body punch.
A short right from Qasi on the inside.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Qasi swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Qasi is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Redman gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Redman lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Redman tries to throw a body punch but Qasi avoids it by throwing Redman back against the cage.
Qasi tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Redman's elbow.
Redman prevents a body shot from Qasi.
Qasi throws a head punch that misses.
Redman throws an elbow that misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Qasi tries to throw a body punch but Redman avoids it by throwing Qasi back against the cage.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Redman just misses with a elbow thrown towards Qasi's brow.
Redman throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Redman creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Redman misses with an elbow over the top.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Qasi.
Redman throws an elbow that misses.
Qasi lands a body punch.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Qasi avoids the elbow strike from Redman, against the cage.
Redman is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Qasi is keeping busy.
Qasi is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Redman pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Qasi working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Redman lands an elbow just above Qasi 's eye.
Qasi lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Redman throws an elbow but it's blocked.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Redman.
Qasi tries a body shot but Redman blocks it.
Damien Redman has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Qasi tries a body shot but Redman blocks it.
Redman tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Qasi is trying to break the clinch but Redman is controlling him.
Redman lands a nice elbow.
Qasi scores with a shot to the side of Redman's head.
With the fighters up against the cage, Redman throws an elbow but misses.
Qasi tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Redman's elbow.
With the fighters up against the cage, Redman throws an elbow but misses.
Redman is stalling here.
Redman lands a damaging elbow.
Qasi can't get the takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Azar Qasi. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Qasi avoids the elbow strike from Redman, against the cage.

Qasi has picked Redman up - he's going for a ride! Qasi dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard.
Redman is staying active underneath Qasi, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Qasi tries to pass to full mount but Redman defends it.
Redman is trying to stand up here but Qasi is controlling him well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Redman with the active half guard here but Qasi passes nicely into side control.
Redman is looking to reverse the position.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Qasi is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Redman is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.

Qasi is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Redman knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Redman prevents Qasi from improving position.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Damien Redman.
I think Qasi 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 Jonathan Paton scores the fight 29:28
Judge Steve Montenegro scores the fight 28:29
Judge Chad Campbell scores the fight 30:28

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Azar Qasi!
Our winner, Azar Qasi, made sure he spent some time buttering up the crowd during his post fight interview, which will no doubt bring him a few more fans.