PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Flick Wham (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Shawn Ziribastow (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Ziribastow has chosen DEAD STARS as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Wham
vs
Ziribastow

177 cm
23
165 lbs
6 - 1 - 0

177 cm
22
155 lbs
10 - 2 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Very strong

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Powerful

MADE IN GERMANY
MADE IN GERMANY

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 6 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Flick Wham!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 10 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Shawn Ziribastow!
The judges for this bout are Alexandre Firmino, Matheus Silva and Felipe Paraventi.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

A momentary lapse in concentration from Wham enables Ziribastow to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Wham manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Wham working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Ziribastow.
Ziribastow throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Ziribastow cracks Wham with a solid left hand.
Ziribastow thows a big elbow that misses.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Ziribastow working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Ziribastow landing some decent shots from guard.
Ziribastow is looking to work some ground and pound but Wham has wrist control.
Ziribastow throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Wham works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Wham preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Ziribastow works over Wham with some ground and pound from guard.
Ziribastow thows a big elbow that misses.
Ziribastow wants to control from the top but Wham keeps moving.
Wham working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Ziribastow.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ziribastow lands a couple of elbows.
Ziribastow throws a big right hand that misses.
Ziribastow must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Ziribastow scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Ziribastow is working Wham over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Ziribastow accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Wham utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Ziribastow postures up in Wham's guard and throws a big left but Wham blocks it.
Ziribastow looking to pass the guard.
Wham keeping moving, preventing Ziribastow from controlling successfully.
Ziribastow is fighting to break Wham's control of his arms but Wham is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ziribastow with a flurry of punches that miss.
Ziribastow throwing strikes but missing.
Ziribastow throwing strikes but missing.
Ziribastow distracts Wham with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Ziribastow missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Ziribastow trying to control the position from guard on top but Wham is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Ziribastow missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ziribastow throws a big right hand that misses.
Wham keeping moving, preventing Ziribastow from controlling successfully.
Ziribastow distracts Wham with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Ziribastow thows a big elbow that misses.
Ziribastow throws a big right hand that misses.
Ziribastow with a nice head shot there.
Ziribastow postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Wham working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Ziribastow.
Ziribastow working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Ziribastow thows a big elbow that misses.
Ziribastow throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Wham works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Ziribastow postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Wham is breathing heavily.
Ziribastow throwing strikes but missing.
Wham is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Wham prevents Ziribastow from improving his position.
Wham passes into side control, despite Ziribastow's attempt to control the position.
Ziribastow is looking to reverse the position.
Ziribastow sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
Ziribastow blocking the ground and pound attempt from Wham.
Wham passes to side control.
Wham working away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Shawn Ziribastow dominated that round.
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.

Ziribastow misses the shot to the body.

Ziribastow closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Wham makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Wham.
Ziribastow postures up in Wham's guard and throws a big left but Wham blocks it.
Ziribastow distracts Wham with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Wham preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Ziribastow throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Wham works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Ziribastow postures up in Wham's guard and throws a big left but Wham blocks it.
Ziribastow stands up over Wham, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Ziribastow scoring with punches to the head and body.
Ziribastow preventing the sweep.
Ziribastow working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Ziribastow accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Ziribastow throws a strike but Wham rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Ziribastow is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Wham blocking the ground and pound attempt from Ziribastow.
Wham gets full guard.
Ziribastow being controlled here momentarily.
Wham working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Ziribastow.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ziribastow with a nice head shot there.
Ziribastow looking to pass the guard.
Ziribastow looking to sit in guard and control but Wham gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Wham stopping the sweep attempt from Ziribastow.
Wham pushing down on Ziribastow's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Ziribastow is trying to get back to full guard.

Wham is working for a submission of some sort.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ziribastow is controlling Wham's position as best he can from this difficult position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Ziribastow wants to get back to full guard.
Wham wants to control but Ziribastow is keeping him busy.
Ziribastow has his hands clasped together around Wham's back. He's all about the action.
Wham is looking to take a break and control but Ziribastow is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!

The ref stands the fighters back up because Flick Wham just wasn't active enough.
A head kick misses from Wham.
Flick Wham seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Ziribastow with a lazy takedown attempt
and Wham makes the exchange count by landing a cracking kick to the body. Ziribastow really felt that one!
Wham throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Ziribastow's head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ziribastow ducks down and throws a hook to the body.

Ziribastow shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than Ziribastow was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Wham in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Ziribastow lands a heavy elbow.
Ziribastow landing shots from mount.
Ziribastow thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!
Ziribastow tries to control but Wham wriggling away.
Ziribastow is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Wham can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Poor strikes thrown by Ziribastow there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Shawn Ziribastow showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Wham looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Ziribastow lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
An inside leg kick lands from Wham.
Wham pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Wham tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Wham throws a front kick that sends Ziribastow stumbling back into the cage.

Ziribastow closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Wham blocking the ground and pound attempt from Ziribastow.
Ziribastow thows a huge punch but Wham dodges it nicely.
Wham keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Ziribastow thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Wham's head.
Ziribastow is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Wham is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Wham regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Ziribastow.
Ziribastow loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Ziribastow postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Ziribastow throwing strikes from guard but Wham blocks nicely.
Ziribastow throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Ziribastow stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Wham swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Ziribastow postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Ziribastow accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Ziribastow postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Ziribastow accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Ziribastow tries to free his leg and advance position but Wham is retaining full guard.
Ziribastow throws a strike but Wham rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Ziribastow looking for a sweep. Not yet Ziribastow, not yet.
Ziribastow trying to control the position here.
Ziribastow looking to sweep using the butterfly guard but Wham puts pay to that idea as he passes nicely into half guard.
Wham tries to pass to full mount but Ziribastow defends it.
Ziribastow keeping control of the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Wham frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Wham content just to control the position here.
Ziribastow wants to hold on but Wham pushes him away.
Wham misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.
Flick Wham has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

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.

Wham is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Ziribastow can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
Wham looking to control and managing it successfully.
Wham thowing shots but they're missing.
Ziribastow is working to get back to half guard.
Shawn Ziribastow is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Ziribastow really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Wham. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

Wham jumps to side control looking for an arm triangle but Ziribastow manages to avoid the submission attempt.

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 Flick Wham.
I think Ziribastow has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Alexandre Firmino scores the fight 28:29
Judge Matheus Silva scores the fight 28:29
Judge Felipe Paraventi scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Shawn Ziribastow!