PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Chitavake Cheetah (ranked 25139 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mamed Khalidov (ranked 5669 p4p, 0 weight class). Mamed Khalidov has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Cheetah
vs
Khalidov

167 cm
25
157 lbs
0 - 4 - 0

178 cm
25
155 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
KO power

Good wrestler
Brawler
Granite chin

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 0 - 4 - 0, fighting out of New York, Chitavake Cheetah!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Mamed Khalidov!
The judges for this bout are Franklyn Lucas, Russell Pearce and John Kavanagh.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Khalidov closes the distance and pushes Cheetah back into the cage.
Cheetah tries to pull guard but Khalidov won't allow it.
Cheetah has had enough of the clinch but Khalidov keeps him there for the moment.
Cheetah looking for a takedown.
Cheetah tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Khalidov smiles and moves away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Chitavake Cheetah. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Khalidov leaves Cheetah with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Cheetah misses with a kick to the body.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Cheetah.

Khalidov closes the distance and pushes Cheetah back into the cage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Khalidov is trying to trip Cheetah. He has hold of a leg but Cheetah is hopping around, keeping his balance for the moment. Khalidov persists though and gets the takedown into guard.
Khalidov controls from within his opponent's guard.
Cheetah has momentary wrist control but Khalidov slips an elbow through the middle.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Khalidov sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Cheetah's guard.
Cheetah on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Cheetah tries to get out of the position.
Khalidov is trying to get back to his feet now but his leg is trapped.
Cheetah wants to improve his position but Khalidov is controlling well.

Khalidov is looking for a kimura. It's pretty deep but Cheetah still has the half guard so he's probably OK. Oh, Cheetah has exploded into a beautiful escape there and after a quick scramble, he's ended up in side control on top! Nice work!
Khalidov sneaks back into half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Khalidov is holding on to half guard well.
Khalidov blocking the ground and pound attempt from Cheetah.
Cheetah is thwarting Khalidov's attempts to control the position.
Cheetah trying to control from Khalidov's half guard. Khalidov has other ideas though and has regained full guard.
Khalidov is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cheetah being controlled here momentarily.
Khalidov keeping moving, preventing Cheetah from controlling successfully.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Khalidov looking to hit a scissor sweep but Cheetah is one step ahead there.

Khalidov has his foot on Cheetah's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Cheetah works his way back into a safe position though.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

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.

Khalidov isolates an arm and boxes in a triangle. Cheetah stacks Khalidov on his neck as he steps over and passes to the side. He's now in a much more dominant position where he can look to do some serious damage. Nice move by Cheetah!
Khalidov stops Cheetah from passing to mount.
Khalidov is trying to improve his position.
Khalidov wants to control but Cheetah postures up.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Khalidov is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Cheetah is controlling him well.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Khalidov is looking for a sweep.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Khalidov shoots in but no luck this time.
Khalidov goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Cheetah is looking to clinch.
A head kick misses from Khalidov.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Cheetah enables Khalidov to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Cheetah manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Cheetah being controlled here, momentarily.
Khalidov working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Cheetah's head.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Khalidov wants to stand but Cheetah is controlling his posture from full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Khalidov trying to control the position from guard on top but Cheetah is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Khalidov trying to stand up but can't free himself from Cheetah's guard.
Cheetah wants to control but Khalidov passes easily into half guard.
Khalidov is keen to just control but Cheetah is a slippery customer.

Khalidov is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Khalidov moves into full mount! Cheetah won't be happy about that!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cheetah in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Khalidov looking to control and managing it successfully.
Khalidov lands a big elbow.
Cheetah might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Khalidov working away from the top, dropping strikes.

Khalidov looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
Khalidov cracks Cheetah with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Khalidov dominating with strikes here.
Khalidov working the ground and pound effectively.
Khalidov has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Khalidov trying to control but Cheetah is having none of it.

Khalidov jumps to the side looking to secure the arm triangle…. Ooooh, that looks tight… Cheetah is gargling but he's managed to escape! Nice work there by Cheetah and Khalidov has given up the dominant position trying to land that submission.
Khalidov wants to stand but Cheetah has his arm trapped.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Khalidov working the ground and pound from side control.
Khalidov works to advance to full mount. Cheetah defends for a few seconds but eventually he succumbs.
Khalidov looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Khalidov dominating with strikes here.
Cheetah tries to lock up and control but Khalidov gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Cheetah in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Khalidov tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
BOOM! Khalidov connects with a massive shot to the dome!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mamed Khalidov showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Khalidov moves into range and clinches up with Cheetah.

Khalidov has clasped his hands together around Cheetah's back... aaand, he's got a takedown into side control. Nicely done.
Cheetah is trying to improve his position.
Khalidov wants to lay and pray for a moment but Cheetah keeps working.
Cheetah wants to control but Khalidov postures up.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Khalidov trying to control the position but Cheetah is working away.

Khalidov thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Khalidov lands a few punches from side control.
Khalidov advances nicely into full mount.

Khalidov swings around for an armbar but it's a sloppy attempt and Cheetah is now in Khalidov's guard. A big mistake from Khalidov there, giving up the dominant position!
Khalidov is wriggling around but Cheetah manages to pass to half guard.
Khalidov trying to control here.
Khalidov moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Khalidov is trying to control the position but Cheetah postures up.
Cheetah stopping the sweep attempt from Khalidov.
Cheetah passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Khalidov is trying to control Cheetah's posture but Cheetah avoids it.
Cheetah trying to control the action but Khalidov is working from the bottom.
Khalidov gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cheetah stops Khalidov from getting back to his feet.

Cheetah is trying to work for a kimura but Khalidov is defending well.
Mamed Khalidov has got the better of the ground game so far.
Khalidov is doing well to avoid being mounted. He's controlling the position at the moment.

Cheetah seems to be looking for submissions.

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.
Khalidov holds on for dear life, maintaining half guard for now.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Cheetah is trying to control. Khalidov wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Cheetah shoots in looking for a takedown. Khalidov tries to sprawl out of it but Cheetah keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Khalidov manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Khalidov falls off balance throwing a combination
and Cheetah counters with a big head kick but Khalidov shrugs it off.

Khalidov darts in and clinches Cheetah up against the cage.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Cheetah is pressed up against the cage. Khalidov has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Cheetah down to the mat. Cheetah avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Cheetah changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Khalidov tries to avoid it but Cheetah manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Khalidov to the ground. Khalidov escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Chitavake Cheetah has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Mamed Khalidov is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Cheetah tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Khalidov was well out of range. Poor timing from Cheetah.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Chitavake Cheetah.
Well Khalidov has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Franklyn Lucas scores the fight 28:29
Judge Russell Pearce scores the fight 27:30
Judge John Kavanagh scores the fight 27:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Mamed Khalidov!