PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Azar Qasi (ranked 898 p4p, 111 weight class) and Evgeni Elkemenchi (ranked 1472 p4p, 178 weight class). Qasi comes to the cage accompanied by For Whom The Bell Tolls. 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.

Qasi
vs
Elkemenchi

180 cm
36
166 lbs
31 - 14 - 1

172 cm
31
168 lbs
14 - 12 - 1

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Olympic wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Perkele!
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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 31 - 14 - 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 14 - 12 - 1, fighting out of New York, Evgeni Elkemenchi!
The judges for this bout are David Schapiro, Columbo Gatti and Jorge Garcia.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Qasi looks to land a left hand but Elkemenchi moved out of range nicely.
Qasi stuns Elkemenchi with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Decent striking displayed by Elkemenchi there.
Elkemenchi jabs at Qasi's body.
Elkemenchi throws a shot to the body.
Elkemenchi lands with a right hand.
Qasi shoots in for a double leg but Elkemenchi sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Qasi misses with a body shot.
Qasi slips a jab from Elkemenchi.
Elkemenchi moves out of range as Qasi throws a body kick.
Qasi keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Qasi went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
Qasi misses with a kick to the body
and Elkemenchi connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Elkemenchi throws a lazy uppercut
and Qasi counters with a left to the body.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Elkemenchi throws a leg kick but Qasi sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Qasi turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
A combination from Elkemenchi does no damage.
Elkemenchi misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Elkemenchi lands a glancing blow to the side of Qasi's head.
Qasi misses with a kick to the body.
Elkemenchi looks to land a left hand but Qasi moved out of range nicely.
A good leg kick by Elkemenchi.
Qasi with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Elkemenchi connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Qasi momentarily.
Elkemenchi swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
A chopping leg kick lands by Elkemenchi.
Elkemenchi misses with a hook. Qasi ducked under it nicely.
Elkemenchi misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Evgeni Elkemenchi seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Elkemenchi pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Elkemenchi wants to slow Qasi down by chopping away at his legs.
Elkemenchi dips to his left and cracks Qasi with an uppercut!
Qasi checks a leg kick.
A head kick from Qasi lands but Elkemenchi takes it in his stride.

It looks like Evgeni Elkemenchi has been cut.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Qasi looks to throw the jab but Elkemenchi is out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Elkemenchi lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Qasi lands the left hand.
Qasi walks into a left hand.
Qasi looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Elkemenchi throws a big shot that misses.
It looked like Qasi was trying to counter with a body shot coming off that last attack from Elkemenchi.
A swing and a miss from Elkemenchi.
Elkemenchi has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Qasi finds it's way round the side to connect with Elkemenchi's head.
Evgeni Elkemenchi is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Qasi keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Elkemenchi throws a sloppy head kick and Qasi moves out of range easily.
Qasi avoids the body shot from Elkemenchi.
Qasi misses with a looping left.
Elkemenchi takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Qasi looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Elkemenchi is fending him off so far but Qasi persists. Nope, Elkemenchi circles away and we're back to standing.
Qasi with a hook.
Elkemenchi throws a looping overhand right but Qasi ducks down to avoid it.
Qasi throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Elkemenchi ducks down and throws a hook to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Qasi scores with a kick to the midsection.
Elkemenchi scores with a jab to the jaw.
Elkemenchi pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Elkemenchi is landing a lot of head punches in this opening round! Qasi had better start moving his head a bit unless he wants his face to turn into pâté.
A left lands for Elkemenchi.
Elkemenchi has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Qasi finds it's way round the side to connect with Elkemenchi's head.
Qasi bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Elkemenchi throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Qasi misses with a hook.
Elkemenchi throws a head kick that misses.
Qasi lands with a cross.
Elkemenchi is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Qasi.
Elkemenchi lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Qasi scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Qasi scores with a jab to the head.
Elkemenchi with a nice cross.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Elkemenchi avoids the body shot from Qasi.
Elkemenchi misses with a hook
and Qasi counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Elkemenchi takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Qasi lunges at Elkemenchi with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Elkemenchi's hand.
Elkemenchi feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Qasi's calf.
Qasi fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Elkemenchi manages to avoid it.
Qasi throws a big shot that misses.
Elkemenchi takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Qasi throws a feint and then finishes with a kick to the body.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Elkemenchi.
Qasi lands the left hand.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Elkemenchi throws a shot from downtown. Qasi moves away and avoids it.
Elkemenchi scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Elkemenchi walks into a straight right hand from Qasi.
Qasi swings and misses with a hook to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Evgeni Elkemenchi will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Evgeni Elkemenchi's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Qasi thumps Elkemenchi with a low kick.
Elkemenchi is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Qasi.
Qasi connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Elkemenchi takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Qasi misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Elkemenchi cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Qasi checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Elkemenchi scores with a jab. Qasi acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Qasi throws the left hand but Elkemenchi avoids the punch easily.
Qasi jabs Elkemenchi right on the nose. Elkemenchi blinks but takes it well.
Elkemenchi throws a head kick that misses.
Qasi swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
An inside leg kick lands from Qasi.
Qasi lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Elkemenchi connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Qasi throws a head kick that misses.
Qasi attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Elkemenchi! But no joy.
A looping hook to the body misses from Elkemenchi. Qasi does a little dance to reset his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Qasi takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Elkemenchi thuds his right hand into Qasi's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Elkemenchi throws an overhand right that lands on Qasi's shoulder, as Qasi tries to avoid the shot.
Elkemenchi connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Qasi's hands.
A big left from Elkemenchi misses.
Elkemenchi takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Qasi lands a leg kick that knocks Elkemenchi off balance momentarily.
Qasi checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Elkemenchi throws an off balance right hand
and Qasi counters with a right hand to the body.
Elkemenchi misses with an uppercut.
Qasi scores with a leg kick.
Elkemenchi smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Decent striking displayed by Qasi there.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Qasi connects with a crisp jab.

Qasi closes the distance and clinches.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Qasi misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Qasi struggles to land a body shot inside as Elkemenchi controls his hands.
Elkemenchi wants to break the clinch but can't.
Elkemenchi wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Elkemenchi blocks an uppercut.

Elkemenchi pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Qasi fails with an attempt to clinch.
A jab from Qasi does it's job there.
Elkemenchi misses with an uppercut. Qasi saw that one coming.
Qasi scoring well with a low kick there.
Elkemenchi throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Qasi throws a sloppy head kick and Elkemenchi moves out of range easily.
Qasi throws a shot to the body.

Qasi looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.

Elkemenchi looking for submissions off his back.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Qasi wants to take a breather but Elkemenchi is having none of it.
Qasi is thwarting Elkemenchi's attempts to control the position.
Elkemenchi is refusing to be controlled, as Qasi sits in half guard.
Qasi is trying to advance to mount but he's lost his balance and Elkemenchi reverses the position - he's now on top in Qasi's guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Elkemenchi won't allow Qasi to sweep him here.
Elkemenchi not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Elkemenchi's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Elkemenchi trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Elkemenchi trying to control but Qasi is working from the bottom.
Elkemenchi throwing strikes from guard but Qasi blocks nicely.
Qasi is trying to control the position from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Azar Qasi dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Evgeni Elkemenchi's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! And we move into the final round!

Qasi bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Qasi throwing a counter right hand but Elkemenchi manages to avoid it.
Elkemenchi misses with a lunging right hand
and Qasi connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Qasi scores with a nice head shot.
A telegraphed right hand from Elkemenchi misses the target.
Elkemenchi lands a jab to the nose.
Elkemenchi connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Qasi's hands.
Qasi looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Qasi jabs Elkemenchi to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Qasi lands a really nice looking cross but Elkemenchi seems unphased.
Elkemenchi lands a nice leg kick that just misses Qasi's sensitive parts.
Qasi slips under a jab.
Elkemenchi misses with a series of wild punches.
Qasi looked to counter that last move with a leg kick but didn't pull the trigger.
Elkemenchi tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Qasi throws a shot to the body.
Elkemenchi thows a left - swing and a miss!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Elkemenchi bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Qasi's head backwards.
Elkemenchi misses with a body shot.
Qasi throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Nice uppercut there from Elkemenchi.
Qasi uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Elkemenchi throws a jab but it's blocked by Qasi.
Azar Qasi is winning the standup battle so far.
Elkemenchi misses with a left hand
and Qasi counters with a nice uppercut.
Elkemenchi misses with a straight right.
Elkemenchi throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Qasi throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Elkemenchi.
Qasi moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.

Elkemenchi is rocked!
Elkemenchi slips under a jab.
Elkemenchi loads up on a big right hand but Qasi slips the punch.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Qasi misses with a body punch
and Elkemenchi counters with a head kick. That will keep Qasi thinking before he tries any more sloppy attacks!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Qasi checks a low kick from Elkemenchi.
A counter left hand to the body from Qasi misses its target.
Elkemenchi misses with a hook. Qasi ducked under it nicely.
Qasi swung with a counter punch to the body but it didn't connect.

Qasi rushes Elkemenchi and presses him up against the cage.
Qasi working aggressively here.
Qasi lands a left hand that snaps the head of Elkemenchi backwards.
Qasi doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Qasi misses with some punches.
Elkemenchi tries for a takedown. No joy.
Qasi has a couple of punches blocked by Elkemenchi.
Elkemenchi blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Elkemenchi blocks a punch to the side of the head.

Elkemenchi breaks the clinch.
Elkemenchi swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Qasi is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Qasi throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Elkemenchi is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Qasi.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Qasi throws a lazy right hand but Elkemenchi sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
And Elkemenchi tries to counter it with a takedown but Qasi pushes his down on his head and steps out.
Qasi jabs Elkemenchi to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Qasi throws a head kick but Elkemenchi moves out of range.
Qasi moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Qasi looks to score with a jab to the body but Elkemenchi is just out of range.
Qasi looks to score with a jab to the body but Elkemenchi is just out of range.
Elkemenchi lands with a straight right. Qasi didn't see that one coming.
Elkemenchi looks to land a right hand but Qasi moved out of range.
Qasi fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Elkemenchi manages to avoid it.
Qasi stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Elkemenchi.
Qasi lands a jab to the head.
Elkemenchi throws the left hand but Qasi avoids the punch easily.
Elkemenchi tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Qasi was well out of range. Poor timing from Elkemenchi.
Elkemenchi swinging wildly here.
Qasi throwing a counter right hand but Elkemenchi manages to avoid it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Qasi connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Elkemenchi momentarily.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Qasi throws a low kick but Elkemenchi avoids it.
Elkemenchi comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Elkemenchi takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Qasi takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Elkemenchi tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Qasi is able to avoid easily.
Qasi misses the shot to the body.
Elkemenchi throws a poor cross that misses
and Qasi counters with a nice uppercut.
Elkemenchi is still on wobbly legs! Can Qasi finish him?
Elkemenchi misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Qasi misses with an uppercut. Elkemenchi saw that one coming.
Elkemenchi is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
Elkemenchi misses with a looping right.
Qasi connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Elkemenchi momentarily.
Elkemenchi's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Qasi connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Elkemenchi scrambles back to his feet.
Elkemenchi stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.

And that's the end of the fight!
Azar Qasi showed his dominance in that final round.
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 David Schapiro scores the fight 29:28
Judge Columbo Gatti scores the fight 29:28
Judge Jorge Garcia scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Azar Qasi!
During a confident post fight interview, Azar Qasi thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.