PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Maya Richer (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ahmad Firnanda Talha (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rumors backstage are that the fighters have been paid to keep it standing but we know that would never happen in MMA!

Richer
vs
Firnanda Talha

180 cm
19
150 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

175 cm
23
147 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Experienced

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Maya Richer!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Ahmad Firnanda Talha!
The judges for this bout are Dillan Fox, Ian Loll and Robert Douchet.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Richer moves in looking to clinch but Firnanda Talha pushes him off.
Firnanda Talha shoots in and drives through. Richer sprawls well.
Firnanda Talha with a poor takedown
and Richer counters with a series of strikes. Firnanda Talha will be more careful next time no doubt.
Richer defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Firnanda Talha.
Maya Richer has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ahmad Firnanda Talha.
Firnanda Talha shoots and misses
and Richer counters with a big head kick but Firnanda Talha shrugs it off.
Firnanda Talha misses with a takedown attempt - Richer sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.

Firnanda Talha shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Richer regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Firnanda Talha.
Firnanda Talha throwing strikes from guard but Richer blocks nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Firnanda Talha thows a big elbow that misses.
Richer preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Richer preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Richer controls Firnanda Talha momentarily but Firnanda Talha frees himself.
Firnanda Talha wants to control from the top but Richer keeps moving.
Richer is breathing heavily.
Firnanda Talha scoring with some ground and pound.
Richer keeping moving, preventing Firnanda Talha from controlling successfully.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Firnanda Talha trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Firnanda Talha controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

Firnanda Talha drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Firnanda Talha jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Firnanda Talha lands a couple of elbows.
Firnanda Talha throwing strikes but missing.
Firnanda Talha missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Richer wants to sweep but no luck.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Firnanda Talha slips nicely into half guard.

Firnanda Talha stands up from half guard... He's had enough of that ground malarky for the time being.
A looping hook to the body misses from Firnanda Talha. Richer does a little dance to reset his feet.
Firnanda Talha shoots for a double leg takedown but Richer sprawls well. He's pushed Firnanda Talha's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Firnanda Talha tries to close the distance and clinch up but Richer swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Firnanda Talha throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Firnanda Talha fails with an attempt to clinch.
Maya Richer is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

Firnanda Talha feints and as Richer raises his hands in defense, Firnanda Talha changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Firnanda Talha trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Firnanda Talha throws a big right hand that misses.
Firnanda Talha postures up and lands a big shot to Richer's brow.
Firnanda Talha trying to control but Richer is working from the bottom.
Richer is trying to control the position but Firnanda Talha postures up.
Firnanda Talha has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

Firnanda Talha drops back looking for a leg! Richer is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Richer manages to kick Firnanda Talha off! Firnanda Talha jumps back into Richer's guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Firnanda Talha loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Firnanda Talha will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Richer lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Firnanda Talha closes this distance looking for a takedown but Richer circles away.
Richer is looking to clinch.
Ahmad Firnanda Talha seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Firnanda Talha gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Richer counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Maya Richer has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ahmad Firnanda Talha.
A big left from Firnanda Talha misses.
Richer displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Firnanda Talha.

Firnanda Talha shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than Firnanda Talha was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Firnanda Talha misses with a head shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Firnanda Talha is in full mount, looking to secure a guillotine but Richer is surviving well by controlling Firnanda Talha's body position as best he can.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Firnanda Talha thowing shots but they're missing.
Richer wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Firnanda Talha.
Firnanda Talha avoids the attempt from Richer to control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The referee warns Richer that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Richer is bucking up trying to escape but Firnanda Talha cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Firnanda Talha jumps to the side looking to secure the arm triangle…. Ooooh, that looks tight… Richer is gargling but he's managed to escape! Nice work there by Richer and Firnanda Talha has given up the dominant position trying to land that submission.
Firnanda Talha wants to take a breather but Richer manages to regain guard - a lesson learnt for Firnanda Talha.
Richer is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Firnanda Talha loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Firnanda Talha is stalling in the full guard.
Firnanda Talha distracts Richer with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Firnanda Talha postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Firnanda Talha wants to control from the top but Richer keeps moving.

Firnanda Talha stands up and waves to Richer to follow him.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Firnanda Talha thows a body shot but no joy.
Firnanda Talha rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Richer moves out of range and avoids them all easily.

Firnanda Talha manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Richer on his heels. He'll look to pass Richer's guard now, I'm sure.
Firnanda Talha stopping the sweep attempt from Richer.
Richer knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Firnanda Talha on the ground.
Firnanda Talha trying to control the position from guard on top but Richer is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ahmad Firnanda Talha showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Richer leaves Firnanda Talha with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Firnanda Talha.
Richer is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Firnanda Talha tries for a takedown but Richer circles away easily
and Richer connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Maya Richer has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ahmad Firnanda Talha.
Firnanda Talha fails with the takedown.
Firnanda Talha shoots in and drives through. Richer sprawls well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Richer wants to clinch up but Firnanda Talha keeps it at a distance.
Firnanda Talha takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Firnanda Talha with a poor takedown
and Richer connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Firnanda Talha tries to score a power double leg takedown but Richer sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Firnanda Talha somewhat.
Richer keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Firnanda Talha circles away from the clinch attempt.
Firnanda Talha has his takedown stuffed
and Richer cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Richer fails in his attempt to clinch.
Richer wants to clinch up but Firnanda Talha keeps it at a distance.
Firnanda Talha throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Richer's waist but Richer gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Firnanda Talha off to one side.
Richer tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Firnanda Talha paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Richer pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Firnanda Talha back to the cage. Richer follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.
Firnanda Talha avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Richer with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Richer looking for a takedown.
Richer keeps control of Firnanda Talha as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Firnanda Talha turns his hips and lands a very nice judo throw into side control!
A lull in the action here.
Richer is looking to regain half guard here but Firnanda Talha keeps moving and retains side control.

Firnanda Talha tries for a kimura but Richer is defending well.
Firnanda Talha working the ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Firnanda Talha tries for a kimura but Richer is defending well.
Richer managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Firnanda Talha.
Richer manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Firnanda Talha is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Firnanda Talha has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Maya Richer has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Ahmad Firnanda Talha is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Firnanda Talha raining down shots from the mount!

And that's the end of the fight!
Ahmad Firnanda Talha comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Firnanda Talha winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Dillan Fox scores the fight 27:30
Judge Ian Loll scores the fight 27:30
Judge Robert Douchet scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ahmad Firnanda Talha!