Soumah Dominates the Stand Up, Boughanem Escapes With a Late Choke at ARES 44
Youssef Boughanem left the Zénith de Strasbourg with a first round submission win over Mohamed Soumah on Saturday. For almost the entire fight, though, Soumah was the better fighter.
The stand up
On the feet, Soumah was a level above. The 28 year old French striker, standing 1.90 metres tall, beat Boughanem to the punch, landed powerful hooks at will and knocked him down four times in round one.
The runs
Boughanem had no answer to the striking. On the footage, he twice turned and ran across the cage to get away from the punches, rather than slipping or countering them. Le Parisien also reported that he fled across the cage, and that Soumah caught him and dropped him again. At one point Youssef Boughanem's mouthpiece came out, which brought a pause in the action while he was in trouble.
The finish
Soumah later said the fight should have been stopped, describing a hook that left Boughanem's eyes rolling. As the round went on and no stoppage came, Soumah appeared to lose momentum. Boughanem found a takedown, landed elbows on the mat and finished with a rear naked choke, still in round one.
In his own words
Speaking at the post fight press conference, Soumah did not hold back.
"Le combat, il aurait dû être arrêté plus tôt. Parce que j'ai causé d'énormes dégâts à Youssef Boughanem, même pour sa santé personnelle."
"The fight should have been stopped earlier. Because I caused enormous damage to Youssef Boughanem, even for his own health."
"Le dos contre la cage, je lui mets un crochet, je vois ses yeux convulser. L'arbitre, il le voit, il n'arrête pas. Il se relève, il court."
"His back against the cage, I land a hook on him, I see his eyes rolling. The referee sees it, he doesn't stop it. He gets up, he runs."
"J'étais un rouleau compresseur. Je l'ai fait tomber une, deux, trois, quatre fois. L'arbitre ne l'arrête pas."
"I was a steamroller. I dropped him once, twice, three times, four times. The referee doesn't stop it."
"J'ai vu le désespoir dans son regard. J'ai vu ses yeux me dire arrête, tout simplement."
"I saw the despair in his eyes. I saw his eyes telling me to stop, simply."
"Je m'excuse pour les dégâts que j'ai pu lui causer, je lui souhaite un prompt rétablissement."
"I apologise for the damage I may have caused him, I wish him a speedy recovery."
The record will show a submission win for Boughanem. The fight itself showed Soumah in control until the final sequence.
