PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Chike Obi (ranked 1639 p4p, 2822 weight class) and Ilya Kushnevich (ranked 209 p4p, 328 weight class). Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Obi
vs
Kushnevich

178 cm
24
158
3 - 1 - 0

179 cm
24
160
7 - 6 - 1

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Granite chin

Shadow-Battle Clothing

Conviction
Conquer

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 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Chike Obi!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 6 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Ilya Kushnevich!
The judges for this bout are Phil Schofield, James Glass and William Gold.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A telegraphed right hand from Obi misses the target.
Obi throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Kushnevich stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Obi throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Kushnevich sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Obi ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Kushnevich moves away.
Obi jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Obi ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Kushnevich moves away.
Kushnevich takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
A looping hook to the body misses from Kushnevich. Obi does a little dance to reset his feet.
Obi slaps away a takedown attempt from Kushnevich, before circling back to the center of the mat.

Kushnevich has Obi up against the cage in a clinch.
I was talking to Obi's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.

Kushnevich escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Obi enables Kushnevich to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Obi manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Kushnevich throws a sloppy strike and Obi has hooked up an armbar on the loose arm! He's turned and extended fully! Kushnevich is forced to tap! Great BJJ from Obi!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:58 of round 1, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Chike Obi!
During a confident post fight interview, Chike Obi thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.