PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Tobias Linderoth (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Vadim Kharghai (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Kharghai is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: EMINEM - ASS LIKE THAT & MOCKINBIRD LIVE . Vadim Kharghai has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Tobias Linderoth's chin.

Linderoth
vs
Kharghai

183 cm
27
197 lbs
13 - 7 - 0

182 cm
21
195 lbs
5 - 1 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Solid boxing
Very strong

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Powerful

Frank`s TASTE

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 13 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Tobias Linderoth!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Vadim Kharghai!
The judges for this bout are , and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Linderoth keeps the fight on the outside.
Linderoth cracks Kharghai with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Kharghai tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Linderoth was well out of range. Poor timing from Kharghai.
Linderoth lunges at Kharghai with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Kharghai's hand.
Linderoth dips to his left and cracks Kharghai with an uppercut!
Linderoth is trying hard to land a takedown here. Kharghai sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Kharghai with a lazy takedown attempt

and Linderoth counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Linderoth.

Linderoth drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Linderoth jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Kharghai tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Linderoth wants to control from the top but Kharghai keeps moving.
Kharghai pulls Linderoth in close to prevent any damage.
Kharghai preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Linderoth works over Kharghai with some ground and pound from guard.
Linderoth 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.

Linderoth is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Linderoth stopping the sweep attempt from Kharghai.
Kharghai controlling Linderoth's posture.
Linderoth tries to free his leg and advance position but Kharghai is retaining full guard.
Kharghai keeping moving, preventing Linderoth from controlling successfully.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Linderoth postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Kharghai wants to sweep here but Linderoth controlling him for the moment.
Linderoth wants to pass the guard but Kharghai is keeping the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.

Kharghai has closed the distance and engaged Linderoth in a clinch.
Linderoth letting Kharghai take a breather here.
Kharghai utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Linderoth is looking to break free of the clinch but Kharghai has double underhooks.

Kharghai breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Linderoth looks to throw the jab but Kharghai is out of range.
Linderoth throws a predictable looking body shot
and Kharghai counters with a nice body shot.
Kharghai darts in trying to clinch
and Linderoth counters with a left and a right that stings Kharghai.
Linderoth fails with a takedown attempt from distance.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kharghai misses with a few strikes there.

Kharghai closes the distance and clinches.
Kharghai wants to stall.
Kharghai struggles to land a body shot inside as Linderoth controls his hands.

Linderoth escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Kharghai takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Linderoth tries to bum rush Kharghai with a series of wild strikes but Kharghai uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Kharghai wants to clinch
and Linderoth cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

Kharghai gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.

Linderoth thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Linderoth throws and elbow that misses. Kharghai uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Linderoth's guard. Nice move by Kharghai!

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Linderoth is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Kharghai wants to get up but he can't break Linderoth's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Linderoth has his hands on Kharghai's head, controlling the position.
Linderoth 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.

Kharghai gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
Linderoth takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Linderoth misses with a takedown
and Kharghai counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Kharghai misses the body punch
and Linderoth counters with a stiff right hand.
Kharghai swings and misses with a shot to the body
enabling Linderoth to counter with a crisp jab.
Linderoth tries to land a leg kick but Kharghai saw it coming and moves away.
Kharghai on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Linderoth swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Kharghai counters with a right hand to the body.
Kharghai throws a right hand that Linderoth ducks under and follows up with a left that Linderoth also avoids with ease.
Kharghai slips under a jab.
Kharghai looks for the body kick but Linderoth saw that one coming.
Vadim Kharghai is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Kharghai tries to clinch up but Linderoth circles away and keeps his distance.
Kharghai slips a jab from Linderoth.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Linderoth throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Kharghai shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Linderoth sprawls well. Linderoth wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Kharghai gets slowly back to his feet.
Linderoth is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
Kharghai throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Linderoth counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Kharghai throws out a loose jab but Linderoth uses good head movement to avoid it.
Kharghai throws out a powerful jab.
Kharghai throws a series of punches but Linderoth moves out of range.
Kharghai throws a shot from downtown. Linderoth moves away and avoids it.
Kharghai avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Kharghai lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Linderoth circles away quickly and effectively.
Linderoth displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Kharghai throws out the jab.
Kharghai darts in trying to clinch
and Linderoth counters with a stiff right hand.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Kharghai misses the shot to the body.
Linderoth looks to throw the jab but Kharghai is out of range.
Kharghai looks to clinch
and Linderoth makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Kharghai closes the distance but Linderoth moves to the side

and Linderoth counters with a takedown into side control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Linderoth landing strikes.
Linderoth throws an elbow but Kharghai slips to the side and avoids it well.
You can see the frustration on Kharghai's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Kharghai managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Linderoth.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kharghai wants to get back to his feet.
Linderoth trying to control the position but Kharghai is working away.
Kharghai is looking for a sweep.
Kharghai manages to get back to half guard.

Linderoth seems to be looking for submissions.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Kharghai throws a predictable looking body shot
and Linderoth connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Kharghai takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Linderoth rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Kharghai moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Kharghai falls off balance throwing a combination
and Linderoth counters with a left and a right that stings Kharghai.
Kharghai is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Linderoth rather than just go for the knockout.
Kharghai checks the leg kick nicely there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Linderoth thows a body shot but no joy.
Kharghai fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Kharghai misses with a body shot.
Linderoth scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Kharghai takes a swing at Linderoth's ribcage but misses.
Linderoth defending well as Kharghai loads up on a big left hand.
Kharghai tries to clinch but Linderoth moves out of range.
Kharghai moves in looking to clinch but Linderoth pushes him off.
Linderoth throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Linderoth connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Kharghai's hands.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tobias Linderoth dominated that second round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Linderoth feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Kharghai utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Kharghai is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Linderoth is not content to let Kharghai control the position.
Linderoth works his way to full guard. Good work.
Kharghai trying to control the position from guard on top but Linderoth is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Kharghai wants to stand but Linderoth has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Kharghai controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kharghai connects with a couple of short punches.
Linderoth keeping moving, preventing Kharghai from controlling successfully.
Kharghai trying to stand up but can't free himself from Linderoth's guard.

Linderoth has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Kharghai can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Linderoth keeping moving, preventing Kharghai from controlling successfully.

Kharghai stands and steps away. Linderoth gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Linderoth waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Kharghai.
Linderoth with a poor takedown

and Kharghai counters with a nice double leg into side control. Linderoth won't be happy with that.
Kharghai is chipping away with strikes.
Linderoth tries to buck Kharghai off but Kharghai is having none of it.
Kharghai wants to stand but Linderoth is controlling his arm.
Kharghai landing a few strikes.
Linderoth sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
Linderoth wants to improve his position but Kharghai is controlling well.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Kharghai not doing much here.
Kharghai wants to stand up but Linderoth has a hold of him and won't allow it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kharghai is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Linderoth is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Linderoth is looking to control Kharghai's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Linderoth avoid being mounted?
Tobias Linderoth is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Tobias Linderoth overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Kharghai scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Linderoth slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.

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.
Kharghai throwing strikes but missing.
Kharghai stopping the sweep attempt from Linderoth.
Kharghai wants to control from the top but Linderoth keeps moving.
Vadim Kharghai has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Kharghai postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.

And that's the end of the fight!
Vadim Kharghai comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Linderoth 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 Andi Peters scores the fight 29:28
Judge Gordon Ramsey scores the fight 29:28
Judge Frank Skinner scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Tobias Linderoth!