PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Salaiman Firouzadeh (ranked 3017 p4p, 0 weight class) and Thongchai Kiatmookao (ranked 4601 p4p, 0 weight class). Thongchai Kiatmookao will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Firouzadeh
vs
Kiatmookao

178 cm
25
156 lbs
4 - 0 - 1

178 cm
25
157 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
Brawler
Very strong

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent MT
Powerful

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 4 - 0 - 1, fighting out of The Island, Salaiman Firouzadeh!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Thongchai Kiatmookao!
The judges for this bout are Santiago Holmes, David Hoff and Peter Branson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kiatmookao slips a jab and a cross from Firouzadeh.

Firouzadeh darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Firouzadeh thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Kiatmookao is trying to maintain the position but Firouzadeh is very close to passing his half guard.
Firouzadeh wants to stand up but Kiatmookao is controlling the position.
Firouzadeh trying to pass the guard but Kiatmookao defending well.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kiatmookao trying to control from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Firouzadeh slips a nice elbow through Kiatmookao's hands, connecting with Kiatmookao's forehead.

Kiatmookao is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Firouzadeh pulls his head out easily.
Kiatmookao is looking for a sweep. Firouzadeh is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Kiatmookao moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Firouzadeh stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Kiatmookao swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Kiatmookao looking to hit a scissor sweep but Firouzadeh is one step ahead there.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Firouzadeh thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Firouzadeh has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Firouzadeh accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Kiatmookao controls Firouzadeh momentarily but Firouzadeh frees himself.
Firouzadeh stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Kiatmookao swivels though and keeps the full guard.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Thud! ouch! good body kick from Kiatmookao - that will leave a mark!

Firouzadeh darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Firouzadeh content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Firouzadeh wants to work for an arm triangle but Kiatmookao is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Firouzadeh throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.

Firouzadeh is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Firouzadeh performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Kiatmookao wants to improve his position but Firouzadeh is controlling well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Firouzadeh not doing much here.

Firouzadeh is looking for a kimura here.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Kiatmookao tries to roll over but Firouzadeh keeps him under control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Firouzadeh gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Firouzadeh takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.

Firouzadeh has clasped his hands together around Kiatmookao's back... aaand, he's got a takedown into side control. Nicely done.
Firouzadeh knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Kiatmookao on the ground.
Kiatmookao is looking for a sweep.
Firouzadeh working away.
Kiatmookao pushes Firouzadeh away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Firouzadeh gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.
Firouzadeh moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kiatmookao is looking for a sweep.
Kiatmookao tries to control the position but he's not in luck - Firouzadeh easily slips into full mount!
Kiatmookao keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Firouzadeh landing strikes, looking to finish!
Firouzadeh raining down hammerfists from mount.
Firouzadeh wants to get back to his feet but Kiatmookao is holding on tight.
Salaiman Firouzadeh overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Firouzadeh fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Kiatmookao wants to hold on but Firouzadeh pushes him away.
Kiatmookao manages to regain half guard. Good work.
Firouzadeh controlling the action here.
Firouzadeh throws a strike but Kiatmookao avoids it easily and moves to full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Firouzadeh slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Firouzadeh wants to stand but Kiatmookao is controlling his posture from full guard.
Firouzadeh content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Firouzadeh working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.

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.
Firouzadeh wants to stand but Kiatmookao is controlling his posture from full guard.
Kiatmookao wants to stand but Firouzadeh is controlling the position.
Kiatmookao keeping full guard, as Firouzadeh tries to pass.
Kiatmookao is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Firouzadeh content to stall in guard here.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Firouzadeh stuffs the takedown attempt from Kiatmookao. Kiatmookao gets slowly back to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Salaiman Firouzadeh dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Firouzadeh shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Firouzadeh showed some decent athleticism there.
Firouzadeh is controlling the pace.
Kiatmookao tries to roll over but Firouzadeh keeps him under control.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Firouzadeh keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Firouzadeh is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Kiatmookao can do to turn this around?

That's one minute gone in the round.
Firouzadeh missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Firouzadeh prevents Kiatmookao from improving his position.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Firouzadeh scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Firouzadeh is controlling the pace.
Firouzadeh sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Kiatmookao defending well though.

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.
It looks like Firouzadeh is going to stand back up.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Firouzadeh in particular looking to stall.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Kiatmookao cracks Firouzadeh with a good jab.

Firouzadeh drives through and clinches with Kiatmookao against the cage.

Kiatmookao jumps guard.
Firouzadeh controls from within his opponent's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Firouzadeh has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Firouzadeh postures up.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Firouzadeh throws a body kick that misses.
Kiatmookao shoots in for a takedown but Firouzadeh shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Firouzadeh throws a big counter combination but Kiatmookao scrambles out of danger and avoids any damage.
Kiatmookao pulls out of a head kick attempt.
As Kiatmookao looks to move away, Firouzadeh throws a big counter combo but Kiatmookao just gets out of the way.
Kiatmookao tries to clinch but Firouzadeh moves out of range.

Firouzadeh shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Firouzadeh showed some decent athleticism there.
Firouzadeh is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.

And that's the end of the fight!
Salaiman Firouzadeh showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Firouzadeh, 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 Santiago Holmes scores the fight 30:27
Judge David Hoff scores the fight 30:27
Judge Peter Branson scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Salaiman Firouzadeh!