PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Suleman Pokong (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Abiodun Havilah (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). I don't know about you partner, but I'm pumped for this one!

Pokong
vs
Havilah

175 cm
23
170 lbs
6 - 10 - 1

185 cm
23
175 lbs
1 - 3 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Great elbows
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent MT
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 10 - 1, fighting out of Hilo, Suleman Pokong!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Abiodun Havilah !
The judges for this bout are Paul Gruel, Colin Fray and Jeff Smith.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Havilah tries to close the distance and clinch but Pokong swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Pokong fails to land with a series of punches.
Havilah tries to clinch but Pokong moves out of range.
Pokong fails in his attempt to clinch.

Pokong gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Pokong wants to stand and escape but Havilah is having none of it.

Havilah stands and steps away. Pokong gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Pokong with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Pokong throws a shot to the body.
Havilah stuffs the takedown attempt from Pokong. Pokong gets slowly back to his feet.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Pokong looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pokong throws a predictable looking body shot

and Havilah holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Havilah connects with a knee to the head.
Pokong lands a shoulder strike.
Havilah stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Pokong has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Pokong is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.

Havilah breaks from the clinch.
Pokong misses with a wild combination.
Pokong lands with a nice combination. Havilah backs away looking to recover.

It looks like Abiodun Havilah has been cut.
Havilah has done a lot of speed work in the buildup to this fight.
Havilah doesn't manage to clinch there - Pokong circles away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pokong swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Pokong jabs at Havilah 's body.
Pokong lands with a shot to the body.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Pokong avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

Havilah drives through and clinches with Pokong against the cage.
Havilah stalling.
Pokong has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Pokong wants to get back to striking at distance but Havilah won't allow it.

Pokong pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Pokong misses with a wild body shot.
Pokong throws a predictable looking body shot

and Havilah moves into the clinch.
A nice right hand lands inside from Havilah .

Havilah 's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Havilah throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Pokong darts in looking for a takedown but Havilah gets double underhooks and turns Pokong into the cage.
Havilah using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Pokong has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Knees to the body from Havilah .

Havilah breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

Havilah gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Havilah stalls.

Pokong breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Pokong tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Havilah was well out of range. Poor timing from Pokong.
Pokong fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Havilah manages to avoid it.
Havilah catches Pokong with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pokong throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

and Havilah holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Pokong tries to work over Havilah 's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Havilah tries a knee to the head but Pokong blocks it.
Havilah comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Pokong gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Havilah .
Our sources have told us that Pokong has been working on his knees in the buildup to the fight.
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!
Pokong dodges an elbow strike from Havilah .
Pokong has had enough of the clinch but Havilah keeps him there for the moment.
Havilah is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Pokong wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Havilah leaning against his opponent.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Abiodun Havilah will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Abiodun Havilah 's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

A shot to the liver by Pokong. Beautiful body shot.
Pokong ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Havilah moves away.
Havilah tries to clinch up but Pokong circles away and keeps his distance.
Pokong misses with a combination

and Havilah counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Havilah prevents Pokong from improving his position.
Pokong wants to get back to his feet.
Pokong is trying to control but Havilah passes into side control!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pokong wants to control but Havilah postures up.

Havilah stands up and beckons Pokong to his feet.
Nice takedown defense from Havilah . No joy for Pokong on that attempt.
Havilah tries to clinch up
and Pokong counters with a right hand to the body.
Suleman Pokong is winning the standup battle so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pokong throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Pokong throws out a powerful jab.
Havilah scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Pokong swings and misses with a hook to the body.

Pokong rushes Havilah and presses him up against the cage.
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!
Havilah misses with a body punch.
Havilah wants to stall.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Havilah creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Havilah tries to land a knee to the head but Pokong blocks with his arms.
Havilah fails to pull the fight into his guard.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Havilah .
Pokong wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Pokong escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Pokong throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Havilah counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Suleman Pokong seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Havilah circles away from the clinch attempt.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Havilah .

Pokong closes the distance and pushes Havilah back into the cage.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Pokong as Havilah tries to tie him up.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Havilah .
Pokong wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Havilah is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Pokong to keep the fight standing.
Suleman Pokong has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Abiodun Havilah .
Havilah stalling against the cage.
Havilah can't break the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Havilah looking to throw knees to the head but Pokong is blocking nicely.

Pokong breaks from the clinch.
Havilah rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Pokong moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Pokong ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Havilah is breathing heavily.
Pokong is looking to clinch.
Pokong comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Pokong misses with a body shot.
Pokong scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Havilah has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Suleman Pokong is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Pokong fails with a takedown attempt.
Pokong looks to score with a jab to the body but Havilah is just out of range.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Suleman Pokong dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Abiodun Havilah 's cut.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. This is the final round!

Havilah fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Pokong to the ground. Havilah is now in Pokong's guard.
Pokong looking for a sweep. Not yet Pokong, not yet.
Havilah controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Abiodun Havilah hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Havilah has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Pokong rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Pokong takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Pokong tries to clinch up but Havilah circles away and keeps his distance.
Havilah keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Havilah showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Pokong.
Pokong with a jab.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Havilah wants to clinch up but Pokong keeps it at a distance.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pokong rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Havilah moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Havilah misses with a wild body shot.
Havilah fails in his attempt to clinch.
Pokong looks to score with a jab to the body but Havilah is just out of range.
Pokong misses with a body shot.
Havilah keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Pokong scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Pokong misses with a double jab

and Havilah counters by clinching up.
Havilah stalling in the clinch.
Havilah misses with a knee to the head.
Pokong stalling in the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Havilah jumps guard and drags Pokong to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Pokong throws a strike but Havilah rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Havilah won't allow Pokong to sweep him here.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Havilah stops Pokong from standing up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Suleman Pokong wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Havilah throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Pokong stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Pokong rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Havilah moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Nice shot by Havilah .
Pokong thows a body shot but no joy.
Pokong lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Havilah circles away quickly and effectively.
Nice body punch from Pokong.
Havilah has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Havilah tries to close the distance and clinch but Pokong swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pokong looks to land a combination but Havilah avoids it well.
Havilah is looking to clinch.
Pokong lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Havilah circles away quickly and effectively.
Pokong misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Havilah counters with an outside leg kick.

Havilah closes the distance and pushes Pokong back into the cage.

Pokong escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
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!

Havilah closes the distance and clinches.
Havilah wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Havilah tries to land knees in the clinch but Pokong avoids the damage to the body.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Pokong wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Havilah has Pokong pushed against the cage.
Pokong blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.

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 Suleman Pokong.
I think Pokong 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 Paul Gruel scores the fight 29:28
Judge Colin Fray scores the fight 29:28
Judge Jeff Smith scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Suleman Pokong!