PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Sorry Boutdat (ranked 4559 p4p, 4265 weight class) and Akhtar Assad (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Boutdat
vs
Assad

168 cm
25
162
0 - 0 - 0

182 cm
21
166
2 - 3 - 0

Good wrestling
Counter fighter
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Prefers standup

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 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Sorry Boutdat!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 3 - 0, fighting out of New York, Akhtar Assad!
The judges for this bout are Roosa Järviläinen, Matti Vanhoillinen and Marco Blurström.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Assad throws a left and a right that both miss

and Boutdat decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Assad's guard.
Boutdat is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Boutdat postures up in Assad's guard and throws a big left but Assad blocks it.
Boutdat lands a couple of digs.
Boutdat is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Boutdat throwing strikes but missing.
Boutdat throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Assad works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Boutdat controls from within his opponent's guard.
Boutdat has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Boutdat is looking to work some ground and pound but Assad has wrist control.
Boutdat preventing the sweep.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters, thinking about a standup.
Assad avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Boutdat postures up.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Assad waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Boutdat.
Boutdat feinted with a counter takedown.
Akhtar Assad is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Assad misses with a double jab.
Assad missing with a left hand there. Boutdat was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.

That's two 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.

Assad gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Boutdat to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Assad is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Boutdat stays in close to Assad's body and controls the position.
Boutdat loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Assad can do anything to dispel that myth.
Assad trying to control the position here.
Boutdat throwing strikes from guard but Assad blocks nicely.
Boutdat 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 three minutes gone in the round.
Assad looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Boutdat with a nice head shot there.
Boutdat throwing strikes from guard but Assad blocks nicely.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Assad holds on and takes a little breather.
Boutdat's corner is telling him to maintain position.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Boutdat accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Assad throws a right and a left that both miss.
Assad's coach down at Cozad MMA New York was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on Assad's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.
Assad misses with a right hand

so Boutdat counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Assad not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Boutdat keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Assad's head.
Boutdat is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Boutdat pushing down on Assad's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Boutdat throwing shots but Assad is blocking nicely.
Boutdat is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Assad really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Boutdat. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Sorry Boutdat dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Boutdat defending well as Assad loads up on a big left hand.
Assad's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Assad duly obliges.
Assad moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
Boutdat is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Assad can do to turn this around?
Boutdat fails with the takedown.
Assad connects with a nice looking jab.
Assad scoring well with a low kick there.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Boutdat uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Assad.
Assad throws a leg kick

and Boutdat counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Assad wants to stand back up but Boutdat manages to pass into side control.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Assad wants to control but Boutdat postures up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Boutdat controlling from side mount.
Assad is looking to regain half guard here but Boutdat keeps moving and retains side control.
Boutdat tries to score with some ground and pound. Assad controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.
Boutdat working the head with strikes.
Boutdat is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Assad is trying to improve his position.
Boutdat lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Assad parries the strikes from Boutdat easily there. Boutdat is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Assad to escape.
An elbow from Boutdat crashes against the mat.
The referee asks Boutdat politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Boutdat prefers to stall for the moment though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Assad can't do much from the bottom here.
Boutdat postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Boutdat scores with a couple of short elbows.
Boutdat connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Assad some visible discomfort.
Boutdat taking a breather here.
Boutdat in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Boutdat remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.
Assad is trying to improve his position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Boutdat just content to control the position.
Assad regains half guard, as Boutdat was trying to land strikes.
Assad trying to hold on to Boutdat's head to control him but Boutdat postures up.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Boutdat missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Sorry Boutdat will probably get the nod.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. And we move into the final round!

Assad throws a right and a left that both miss.
The fighters circling - Assad throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Sorry Boutdat is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Assad swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Assad throws a series of punches but Boutdat avoids them all with ease.
Assad swings for the body but Boutdat moves out of range.
Boutdat is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Assad.
Assad throws a right hand that Boutdat ducks under and follows up with a left that Boutdat also avoids with ease.
Assad throws a right and a left that both miss.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Assad scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Assad digs a good hook to Boutdat's body.
Assad throws a poor cross that misses

and Boutdat counters with a single leg into guard. Assad didn't expect that.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Boutdat passes Assad's right leg, so he's now in half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Still in half guard, Boutdat seems content to control.
Assad blocking the ground and pound attempt from Boutdat.
Boutdat seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Boutdat thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Assad's head.
Boutdat looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Boutdat throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Sorry Boutdat is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Boutdat controlling the action here.
Assad wants to control but Boutdat is keeping busy.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Assad lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Boutdat circles away quickly and effectively.
Assad wants to land a leg kick but Boutdat is out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Boutdat shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Boutdat controlling the action here.
Boutdat's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Assad trying to control but Boutdat postures up.
Boutdat controlling the action here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Akhtar Assad has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Assad throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

and Boutdat counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Boutdat seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Boutdat stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Assad swivels though and keeps the full guard.

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 Sorry Boutdat.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Boutdat, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Roosa Järviläinen scores the fight 30:27
Judge Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 30:27
Judge Marco Blurström scores the fight 29:29

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Sorry Boutdat!