PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Michael Washington (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Samir Bhadi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Washington comes to the cage accompanied by No Tears. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Washington
vs
Bhadi

184 cm
24
185 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

186 cm
25
198 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Cuts easily

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Michael Washington!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Samir Bhadi!
The judges for this bout are Gregory Folan, Elvis Blanc and Robert Douchet.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Washington misses the shot to the body.
Bhadi moves out of range of the body kick.
Washington misses with a hook. Bhadi ducked under it nicely.
Bhadi shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Washington counters with a stiff right hand.
Bhadi tries to clinch but Washington moves out of range.
Bhadi shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Washington as he avoids it easily.
Washington bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Bhadi gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Washington looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Bhadi fails with an attempt to clinch.
Bhadi tries to clinch up
enabling Washington to counter with a crisp jab.

Washington 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.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

Bhadi looking for subs off his back but Washington has passed one foot through into half guard.
Bhadi trying to control from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bhadi wants to get back to his feet.
Washington scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Bhadi is trying to stand back up but Washington is controlling him
Washington stalling.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Washington has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Michael Washington wasn't doing enough on the ground.

Bhadi drops Washington with a right and a left! Bhadi comes rushing in but Washington regains his composure and manages to keep Bhadi in guard.

Washington is rocked!

It looks like Michael Washington has been cut.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Bhadi looking to pass the guard.
Washington keeping moving, preventing Bhadi from controlling successfully.
Washington is looking to stand up but Bhadi isn't so interested in that idea.
Washington knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Bhadi on the ground.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bhadi has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Washington is proving hard to escape from.
Washington keeping full guard, as Bhadi tries to pass.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.

Bhadi drops back for a leg but he's not going to get it - he lets go and Washington dives on top into guard.
Bhadi controls Washington momentarily but Washington frees himself.
Washington landing some decent shots from guard.
Washington won't allow Bhadi to get back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Washington showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Bhadi is trying to keep Washington in close.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Bhadi working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Washington doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Washington manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.

Bhadi looking for a guillotine here but Washington defends easily.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Bhadi is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Washington is controlling him.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Samir Bhadi dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Michael Washington's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Washington lands a really nice looking cross but Bhadi seems unphased.
Bhadi doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Bhadi tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Washington paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Washington scores with a one two! Bhadi had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
Bhadi moves out of range of the body kick from Washington.
Bhadi walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Washington looks to score with a jab to the body but Bhadi is just out of range.
A punch combination from Bhadi misses.
Washington dips to his left and cracks Bhadi with an uppercut!
Washington is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Bhadi.
Washington lands with a shot to the body.
Washington bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Bhadi's head.
Bhadi gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Washington counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Bhadi tries to clinch up

and Washington counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Washington stops Bhadi from getting back to his feet.
Bhadi trying to control from the bottom.

Washington decides to stand up and try his luck on the feet.
Washington lands a slapping body shot.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Washington scores with a jab to the head.
Samir Bhadi seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Bhadi is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Bhadi throws a sloppy head kick and Washington moves out of range easily.
Washington finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Bhadi tries to clinch

and Washington counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Washington.
Washington controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Bhadi throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bhadi looking for a sweep. Not yet Bhadi, not yet.
Bhadi wants to stand and escape but Washington is having none of it.
Washington has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

Bhadi is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Washington defends well.
Washington is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Bhadi wants to stand but Washington is controlling the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Bhadi throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.

Bhadi working away from the bottom but not quite defensive enough there because Washington has passed into half guard!
Washington is controlling the pace.

Bhadi is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Washington pulls his head out easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Still in half guard, Washington seems content to control.
Bhadi is trying to stand up here but Washington is controlling him well.
Washington looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Bhadi tries to roll over but Washington keeps him under control.
Bhadi is trying to stand.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Michael Washington dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Michael Washington's cut.
That's time! Washington's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Washington showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Bhadi.
Bhadi moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Washington throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Washington swats away the attempt to clinch by Bhadi.
A looping hook to the body misses from Washington. Bhadi does a little dance to reset his feet.
Bhadi tries to close the distance and clinch but Washington swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Bhadi looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Bhadi throws a shot from downtown. Washington moves away and avoids it.
Bhadi swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Washington counters with a left to the body.
Washington scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Good work by Washington as he checks the leg kick.
A decent looking cross lands there for Washington.
Washington dips to his left and cracks Bhadi with an uppercut!
Bhadi shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Washington pinned against the cage. Washington gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Washington swats away the attempt to clinch by Bhadi.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Washington swats away the attempt to clinch by Bhadi.
Bhadi tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Washington was well out of range. Poor timing from Bhadi.
Bhadi darts in trying to clinch
and Washington counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Bhadi tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

Washington scores with a takedown into Bhadi's guard.

Bhadi looks to be working for a triangle here. Oh, it looks like he might have it! Washington has picked Bhadi up and slammed him! Bhadi can't keep hold of the triangle and Washington manages to pass to side control!
Bhadi takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Washington moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.
Bhadi tries to control but Washington manages to take his back.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Washington really has the hooks in deep now - there seems like no escape for Bhadi.
Washington loading up with punches from the back mount - how long can Bhadi hold on?
Washington scores with punches to the body.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Washington has the hooks in. Bhadi is trying to push off one leg but he has to do so cautiously to avoid being submitted.
Bhadi tries to escape the position - he's now mounted. Is that better or worse? Hard to tell!
Washington prevents Bhadi from getting the reversal.
Bhadi trying desperately to get to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bhadi is looking to get to half guard.
Washington landing punches.
Washington is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Washington avoids the attempt from Bhadi to control.
Bhadi really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Bhadi wants to control but Washington is having none of it.
Washington controlling the position easily from mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bhadi takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Bhadi is wriggling around trying to escape.
Bhadi tries to hold on but Washington pushes him away.
Bhadi is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Bhadi is bucking up trying to escape but Washington cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Bhadi wants to try and get back to his feet.
Bhadi bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!

And that's the end of the fight!
Michael Washington showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Washington 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 Gregory Folan scores the fight 29:28
Judge Elvis Blanc scores the fight 29:28
Judge Robert Douchet scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Michael Washington!
Michael Washington was full of energy after the big win and talked about how he thinks he can do big things in this sport. The crowd were appreciative of his determination to succeed.