PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Dakota Maynard (ranked 2200 p4p, 3611 weight class) and Hakim Zerhouni (ranked 125 p4p, 197 weight class). Zerhouni has chosen Salah Edin - Tfoe ft. Sefyu as his entrance music. There are an array of beautiful celebrities at ringside tonight! I wonder if any of them paid for their tickets.

Maynard
vs
Zerhouni

170 cm
26
145
7 - 1 - 0

170 cm
25
136
2 - 1 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Basic striking
KO power

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Very confident

Bondi MMA 🏝️
Seventh Circle Clothing

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Dakota Maynard!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Hakim Zerhouni!
The judges for this bout are Viktor Lagutenko, Konstantin Menshow and Illya Tyunina.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Maynard blocks a low kick nicely.

Maynard has Zerhouni up against the cage in a clinch.
Maynard prevents Zerhouni from breaking the clinch.

Maynard ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Maynard no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Zerhouni has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Maynard is proving hard to escape from.
Zerhouni throwing strikes from guard but Maynard blocks nicely.

Zerhouni gets to his feet - Maynard follows without any prompting.
Maynard tries to close the distance and clinch up but Zerhouni swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Zerhouni lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Maynard has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Maynard and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Maynard moves in looking to clinch but Zerhouni pushes him off.

Maynard gets a clinch.
Maynard digs a right hand underneath Zerhouni's ribcage. Zerhouni let out a lung full of air as it connected.

Maynard has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Zerhouni uses from the top position.
Maynard seems keen to control Zerhouni's posture.
Zerhouni trying to stand up but can't free himself from Maynard's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zerhouni wants to control from the top but Maynard keeps moving.
Zerhouni throws a big right hand that misses.
Zerhouni must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Maynard is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Maynard wants to pass to mount but Zerhouni is defending the position.
Maynard controlling the pace.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Maynard is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Zerhouni!
Zerhouni really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Maynard content just to control the position here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Maynard prevents Zerhouni from getting the reversal.
Maynard controlling the position easily from mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Maynard fails to advance to Zerhouni's back.
Maynard controlling his opponent.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Zerhouni tries to lock up and control but Maynard gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Dakota Maynard dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Zerhouni circles away from the clinch attempt.
A head kick misses from Zerhouni.
Maynard takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.

Maynard closes the distance and clinches.
Zerhouni is trying to break the clinch but Maynard is controlling him.
Maynard fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Maynard has not gone for a single takedown so far in this fight, which seems like a very strange tactic when you consider that he has the superior wrestling and BJJ.
Zerhouni tries to break free but Maynard pushes him back against the cage.
Maynard misses with a hook to the ribs.
Maynard tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.

Maynard successfully pulls guard.

Maynard looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Zerhouni trying to control the position from guard on top but Maynard is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Maynard wants to sweep but no luck.

Maynard pushes a forearm under Zerhouni's chin to create some space. He's escaped his hips and pivoted quickly for an armbar! Can he extend the arm? Yes, Zerhouni is tapping out! Damn, that was fast!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:55 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Dakota Maynard!