PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Islam Mamadaliev (ranked 3925 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ya Tsung (ranked 5076 p4p, 0 weight class). Mamadaliev has a slight injury, which hopefully won't affect the fight too much. I'm sure you'll be fascinated to know that I was talking to some pointless Z list celebrity before the fight and he thought that Ya Tsung was going to win. Let's see if he was right.

Mamadaliev
vs
Tsung

177 cm
25
157 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

178 cm
25
156 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

Good wrestling
Brawler
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent MT
Solid chin

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Islam Mamadaliev!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Ya Tsung!
The judges for this bout are Eddie Farnsworth, Reed Andrews and Jonathan Paton.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Tsung moves into the clinch.
The referee is keeping an eye on Tsung - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Mamadaliev prevents Tsung from breaking the clinch.
Mamadaliev has Tsung pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Tsung manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Tsung tries to pull guard but Mamadaliev forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Tsung is trying to stall.

Tsung jumps guard and drags Mamadaliev to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Tsung throws a couple of shots from the bottom but they don't land.

Tsung is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Mamadaliev defends well.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Tsung will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
Tsung has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

Tsung looking for a guillotine here but Mamadaliev defends easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tsung is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Tsung bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Mamadaliev's guard.

Mamadaliev is breathing heavily.
Tsung sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Mamadaliev's guard.
Mamadaliev missing with punches from the bottom.
Mamadaliev tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tsung blocks the strikes from Mamadaliev.
Tsung passes the guard and advances to mount!
Mamadaliev takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Tsung can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Mamadaliev is looking to escape.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Tsung landing strikes, looking to finish!
Tsung landing strikes from the mount.
Tsung with the ground and pound from mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tsung unloads with some shots from mount but Mamadaliev bucks and avoids them well.
Mamadaliev is trying to escape the mount.
Mamadaliev on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Mamadaliev tries to get out of the position.
Poor strikes thrown by Tsung there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Tsung can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Mamadaliev is looking to escape.

Tsung goes for an armbar but he's fallen flat on his backside there and now Mamadaliev is on top in guard.

Tsung has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Mamadaliev can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tsung wants to stand and escape but Mamadaliev is having none of it.
Tsung has a closed guard, preventing Mamadaliev from standing up.
Tsung working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Mamadaliev.
Tsung is trying to keep Mamadaliev in close.
Mamadaliev has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Mamadaliev has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Tsung is proving hard to escape from.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ya Tsung dominated that round.
That's time! Mamadaliev's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Mamadaliev tries to score a power double leg takedown but Tsung sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Mamadaliev somewhat.
Tsung fails with an attempt to clinch.
Tsung shoots for a takedown but Mamadaliev saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Nice sprawl there from Mamadaliev as Tsung shoots in.
Tsung has a takedown stuffed.
Mamadaliev looked to counter with a high kick but didn't commit.
Islam Mamadaliev has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ya Tsung.
Mamadaliev fails with a takedown attempt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Nice sprawl there from Mamadaliev as Tsung shoots in.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Tsung lands a high kick!
Tsung fails with the takedown.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mamadaliev shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Nice sprawl there from Mamadaliev as Tsung shoots in.
Mamadaliev fires out a quick counter leg kick but Tsung just manages to avoid it.
Tsung tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Mamadaliev manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Tsung throws a front kick that sends Mamadaliev stumbling back into the cage.
Tsung fails with a takedown attempt.
Mamadaliev fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Tsung is looking for the big counter here.

Tsung closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Tsung.

Tsung pulls guard.

Tsung looks to be working for a triangle here. Oh, it looks like he might have it! Mamadaliev has picked Tsung up and slammed him! Tsung can't keep hold of the triangle and Mamadaliev manages to pass to side control!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tsung tries to bench press Mamadaliev off him but Mamadaliev keeps the position.
Tsung takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Tsung tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Tsung tries to slip a leg under to move to half guard but Mamadaliev presses down on the leg and jumps into full mount!
Tsung tries to hold on but Mamadaliev postures up.
Tsung is in all sorts of trouble here.
Tsung has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mamadaliev looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Tsung working to try and regain half guard.
Mamadaliev with good strikes from the mount here!
Tsung tries to buck Mamadaliev off but Mamadaliev takes his back!

Mamadaliev has his opponent's back and is working for the choke.

Tsung is staying cool under pressure, defending well against the rear naked choke attempt from his opponent.

Tsung is displaying good submission defense - not really looking in danger of submitting to the rear naked choke at the moment. That could change in an instant of course if Mamadaliev gets his way!

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Mamadaliev is working hard for the rear naked choke here.
Tsung trying to control but not successfully.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Mamadaliev is trying to stick to Tsung's back but Tsung is turning into Mamadaliev. He's managed to reverse the position - now he's in Mamadaliev's guard. Polite applause from the crowd in appreciation of some nice Jiu Jitsu by Tsung.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Islam Mamadaliev dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Tsung wants to clinch up but Mamadaliev keeps it at a distance.
Islam Mamadaliev seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Tsung misses with a takedown attempt - Mamadaliev sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Nice takedown defense from Mamadaliev. No joy for Tsung on that attempt.
Tsung shoots in for a double leg but Mamadaliev sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Islam Mamadaliev has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ya Tsung.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Mamadaliev.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Tsung.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Tsung tries for a takedown but Mamadaliev sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Mamadaliev appears to be looking for a big counter.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Mamadaliev.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

Mamadaliev working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tsung is looking for a sweep.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
You can see the frustration on Tsung's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

Mamadaliev tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Mamadaliev is trying to get an arm triangle but Tsung is defending well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Tsung gets back to half guard.
Tsung works his way to full guard. Good work.
Tsung looking to hit a scissor sweep but Mamadaliev is one step ahead there.
Tsung working a defensive guard here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tsung bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Mamadaliev's guard.

Tsung missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Tsung trying to control the position from guard on top but Mamadaliev is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Mamadaliev can't keep his opponent in guard - Tsung advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Tsung wants to lay and pray for a moment but Mamadaliev keeps working.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mamadaliev slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.

Tsung stands and steps away. Mamadaliev gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Tsung tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Mamadaliev manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Mamadaliev fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Tsung is looking to clinch but Mamadaliev is avoiding it.
Mamadaliev went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
Tsung tries to clinch there but Mamadaliev circles away.
Tsung tries to clinch but Mamadaliev is having none of it.

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 Islam Mamadaliev.
I think Mamadaliev 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 Eddie Farnsworth scores the fight 29:28
Judge Reed Andrews scores the fight 29:28
Judge Jonathan Paton scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Islam Mamadaliev!