PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Edgy Brah (ranked 713 p4p, 36 weight class) and Anton Strålman (ranked 1861 p4p, 102 weight class). Brah comes into the arena with Dropped by Smoke Serpent blaring out of the sound system. Strålman is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: Three Kings. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Brah
vs
Strålman

173 cm
24
141 lbs
11 - 5 - 0

172 cm
25
140 lbs
12 - 7 - 1

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Fast

Freebok (85% Laundry)

Urban Fighter

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 11 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Edgy Brah!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 7 - 1, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Anton Strålman!
The judges for this bout are Aleksei Zolotukhin, Dmitry Maklakov and Illya Tyunina.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Strålman throws a body kick, spinning off balance
and Brah counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.

Brah gets a takedown into half guard.
Strålman avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Brah.
Brah is trying to control. Strålman wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Strålman is positioning himself well to prevent Brah advancing to mount.
Strålman trying to hold on to Brah's head to control him but Brah postures up.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Strålman keeping control of the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Strålman trying to control here but he's found himself mounted! Oh no!
Brah unloading with bombs!
Strålman is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Strålman tries to lock up and control but Brah gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Brah is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Strålman avoids a series of strikes thrown by Brah.

Brah is going oldschool here, as he tries to force Strålman to tap using a forearm choke. This isn't 1993 though, so Strålman shrugs it off.
Brah working the ground and pound effectively.
Brah has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Strålman avoids a series of strikes thrown by Brah.
Strålman keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Brah looking to control but Strålman is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Brah controlling the position easily from mount.
Strålman tries to lock up and control but Brah gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Brah can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Strålman is looking to escape.
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!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Brah cracks Strålman with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Brah controlling from the full mount.
Brah unloading with bombs!
Brah with a couple of short strikes.
Brah trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Strålman is in all sorts of trouble here.
The referee warns Strålman that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Brah is looking to secure an arm. He's managed it! He's pivoting for an armbar - that looks tight! But Strålman has managed to get out of it and now he's in a dominant position. Nice work from Strålman!

Brah is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Strålman is aware though and is defending well.

Brah looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Brah looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Strålman must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

Brah working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Strålman doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Strålman manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.

Brah has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Strålman can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Strålman sitting in guard, not really doing much.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Edgy Brah dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Brah lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Strålman tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Brah was well out of range. Poor timing from Strålman.
Strålman avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Brah shoots in for a takedown but Strålman shows good takedown defense.
A big right from Brah misses.
Brah throws a body shot but no joy.
Strålman takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Brah looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Strålman thuds his right hand into Brah's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Brah misses with a straight right.
Anton Strålman seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Strålman moves away from the strike by Brah.
Nice shot lands for Strålman.
Brah rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Strålman moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Strålman lands with a shot to the body.
Strålman motions for Brah to come forward. Strålman throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Strålman lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
Strålman blocks a head kick by Brah.
Strålman misses with a hook
and Brah counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Strålman misses with a body shot.
Strålman thuds a left hand into Brah's body.
Strålman staying out of range there.
Strålman on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Brah is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Strålman can do to turn this around?
Brah misses with an uppercut
and Strålman counters with an inside leg kick.
Brah tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Strålman defends well and Brah ends up having to push Strålman into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Strålman fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Brah manages to avoid it.
Brah swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Strålman's coach down at Cozad MMA Rio was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on Strålman's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.
Brah slips under a jab from Strålman.
Brah throws a big counter combination but Strålman scrambles out of danger and avoids any damage.
Brah throws a hook but Strålman avoids it easily.
Brah misses with a hook. Strålman ducked under it nicely.
Strålman throws out a counter right but Brah avoids it with no problem.
Brah throws a body punch but Strålman moves out of range.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Strålman! But no joy.
Strålman connects with an inside leg kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
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!
Strålman fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Brah manages to avoid it.

Brah gets a double leg takedown into Strålman's guard.
Strålman pulls Brah in close to his closed guard and prevents Brah from doing any damage or advancing position.
Brah wants to control from the top but Strålman keeps moving.
Strålman not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Strålman can't keep his opponent in guard - Brah advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Strålman slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Brah wants to control from the top but Strålman keeps moving.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Strålman can't keep his opponent in guard - Brah advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Brah trying to control from half guard but Strålman is working away.
Brah looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Brah is working for a submission of some sort.
Strålman moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Brah looking to pass the guard.
Strålman preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Brah passes Strålman's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Ground and pound from Brah.
Edgy Brah overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Brah thows a huge punch but Strålman dodges it nicely.

Strålman pushes Brah off and gets back to his feet.
Brah clobbers Strålman with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Strålman jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Strålman pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
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 Edgy Brah will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! 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.

Strålman lands a jab to Brah's midsection.
Strålman swings for the body but Brah moves out of range.
It looked like Brah wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Brah uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Strålman.
Brah was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Strålman connects with a high kick.
Brah throws a jab but it's blocked by Strålman.
Brah avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Strålman swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Strålman fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Brah looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Strålman misses with a looping right.
A chopping leg kick lands by Strålman.
Strålman misses with a lunging right hand
and Brah counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Brah lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Strålman misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Brah.
Brah fails with a takedown attempt.
A nice leg kick lands there from Strålman.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Brah tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Strålman counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Brah has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Brah there as he acknowledges the shot.
Strålman throws a poor cross that misses
and Brah connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Strålman's jab looks to have found its range, popping Brah under the eye.
Brah uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Strålman.
Strålman pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Brah takes a body punch but keeps moving.
A good leg kick by Strålman.
Brah is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
Brah misses with a body punch
and Strålman makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Brah loads up on a big right hand but Strålman slips the punch.
Strålman takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Brah tries a head kick but it misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Brah chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Strålman can pounce on him.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Strålman misses with a looping right.
Strålman moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Strålman misses with a hook to the body
and Brah counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Strålman blocks the body kick.
Strålman uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Brah has time to react.
Brah fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Strålman checks it well.
Strålman moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Brah has a takedown stuffed.
Strålman lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Brah at a distance.
Brah scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Strålman throws a sloppy head kick
and Brah counters with a lovely straight right hand!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Brah smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Strålman fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Brah manages to avoid it.
Strålman throws an overhand right that lands on Brah's shoulder, as Brah tries to avoid the shot.
A lazy left from Brah finds it's target.
Strålman avoids a kick to the body.
Nice uppercut lands for Strålman. That snapped Brah's head back.
Brah misses with a left hand
and Strålman counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Brah throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Strålman throws a low kick but Brah avoids it.
Anton Strålman is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

Brah shoots in and gets a takedown into Strålman's guard.
Brah tries to free his leg and advance position but Strålman is retaining full guard.
Brah is looking to work some ground and pound but Strålman has wrist control.
Brah not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Brah trying to control but Strålman is working from the bottom.
Anton Strålman has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Brah preventing the sweep.
Strålman wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
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!
Brah wants to control from the top but Strålman keeps moving.

Strålman has an active guard here but Brah has managed to pass into half guard.
Edgy Brah is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Brah is taking a breather. Strålman says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.

And that's the end of the fight!
Anton Strålman comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Brah 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 Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight 29:28
Judge Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 29:28
Judge Illya Tyunina scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Edgy Brah!
Jumping up and down and very excited, Edgy Brah waved his t-shirt featuring Freebok (85% Laundry)'s logo in front of the cameras.