PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Andrus Orlhovki (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Zach Morgan (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Orlhovki comes to the cage accompanied by Rolling Stones - Paint it black. Andrus Orlhovki has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Orlhovki
vs
Morgan

187 cm
23
255 lbs
9 - 4 - 0

195 cm
27
275 lbs
8 - 7 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Decent elbows
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 9 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Andrus Orlhovki!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Zach Morgan!
The judges for this bout are John Mangel, Bruno Hogan and Summer Carpenter.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Orlhovki closes the distance looking to clinch
and Orlhovki takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Morgan swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Orlhovki looks to clinch
and Morgan counters with a lovely shot to the body.

Morgan gets tackled into the cage by Orlhovki. Orlhovki maintains the clinch.
Morgan is looking to break free of the clinch but Orlhovki has double underhooks.
Orlhovki lands an elbow inside that Morgan shrugs off.

It looks like Zach Morgan has been cut.
Orlhovki stalling in the clinch but Morgan improves position.
Orlhovki tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Morgan just stands there and leans against the cage.
Orlhovki keeps control of Morgan as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Orlhovki prevents Morgan from breaking the clinch.
Orlhovki stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Orlhovki lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Morgan backwards.
Morgan wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Orlhovki is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Morgan pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Morgan prevents a takedown attempt there.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Andrus Orlhovki. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Morgan gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Orlhovki.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Orlhovki just misses with a elbow thrown towards Morgan's brow.
Orlhovki looking to slow down the pace here.
Orlhovki lands an elbow inside.
Morgan wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Morgan tries to break the clinch but Orlhovki is controlling the position.
Morgan blocks an elbow strike from Orlhovki.
Orlhovki keeps control of Morgan as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Morgan is trying to force a seperation but Orlhovki has the dominant position.
Orlhovki tries a body shot but Morgan blocks it.
Orlhovki dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Morgan is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Morgan working hard to break the clinch.
Orlhovki taking a breather.
Morgan is trying to push Orlhovki away but Orlhovki has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Morgan wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Morgan is looking to break free of the clinch but Orlhovki has double underhooks.

Morgan breaks the clinch.
Orlhovki is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Morgan misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Morgan tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Orlhovki blocks a head kick by Morgan.
Orlhovki is looking to clinch but Morgan is avoiding it.
Orlhovki tries to clinch but Morgan moves away
and Morgan counters with a nice body shot.
Orlhovki closes the distance looking to clinch
and Morgan counters with a left and a right that stings Orlhovki.
Orlhovki fails in his attempt to clinch.
Orlhovki darts in trying to clinch

and Morgan counters with a nice double leg into side control. Orlhovki won't be happy with that.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Morgan in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Morgan throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.

Orlhovki explodes and escapes back to his feet! Nice escape there!
Morgan on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Morgan dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Morgan connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Orlhovki's hands.
Morgan misses with a combination
and Orlhovki counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Orlhovki tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Morgan counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Morgan lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Orlhovki circles away quickly and effectively.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Orlhovki throws a looping overhand right but Morgan ducks down to avoid it.
Morgan looks to land a combination but Orlhovki avoids it well.
Morgan throws a nice looking combination but Orlhovki bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Morgan misses with a series of wild punches.
Orlhovki tries to clinch up but Morgan circles away and keeps his distance.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Orlhovki tries to clinch but Morgan is having none of it.
Orlhovki's corner calls for a 1-2. Orlhovki obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Morgan throws a right hand that Orlhovki ducks under and follows up with a left that Orlhovki also avoids with ease.
Orlhovki tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Morgan paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Orlhovki walks into a stiff left hand from Morgan.
Morgan walks into a left hand.
Morgan tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Orlhovki was well out of range. Poor timing from Morgan.
Morgan with a hook.
Orlhovki misses with a straight right.
Morgan avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Morgan throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Orlhovki.
Morgan misses with a two punch combination.
Morgan throws a sloppy head kick and Orlhovki moves out of range easily.
Morgan misses with a two punch combination.
Orlhovki moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
Orlhovki fails in his attempt to clinch.
Orlhovki avoids a punch combination nicely.
Orlhovki wants to clinch.
Orlhovki fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Morgan manages to avoid it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Morgan connects with a looping right hand.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Orlhovki tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Morgan counters with a nice body shot.
Orlhovki tries to clinch but Morgan moves away
and Morgan counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Orlhovki tries to close the distance and clinch but Morgan swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Morgan uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Orlhovki.
Orlhovki avoids the head kick by Morgan.
Morgan moves out of range of the body kick.
Morgan is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Orlhovki rather than just go for the knockout.
Morgan misses with a two punch combination.
Orlhovki dodges the punch combination from Morgan.
Orlhovki swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Orlhovki tries to close the distance and clinch up but Morgan swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Andrus Orlhovki is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
The fighters circling - Orlhovki throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Orlhovki throws a hook but Morgan blocks it.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Morgan throws a combination that misses
and Orlhovki connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Morgan doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Orlhovki counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Orlhovki throws a hook but Morgan blocks it.
Orlhovki takes a shot to the body in his stride.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Zach Morgan will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Zach Morgan's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Morgan misses with a jab, cross combination.
Orlhovki takes a swing at Morgan's ribcage but misses.
A nice combination there by Morgan.
Orlhovki misses with a body kick.
Orlhovki is looking to clinch.
Orlhovki 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.
Morgan lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Orlhovki circles away quickly and effectively.
Orlhovki misses the jab.
Orlhovki avoids a punch combination nicely.
No joy there for Morgan, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Morgan misses with a body kick.
Orlhovki swings for the body but Morgan moves out of range.
Morgan throws a body punch but Orlhovki moves out of range.
Morgan avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Decent striking displayed by Orlhovki there.
Andrus Orlhovki is winning the standup battle so far.

Morgan darts in and clinches Orlhovki up against the cage.
Orlhovki misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Morgan.
Orlhovki is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Morgan is keeping busy.
Morgan is trying to break free.
Morgan is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Morgan blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.

Orlhovki pulls guard effortlessly.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Morgan in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Orlhovki wants to stand but Morgan is controlling the position.
Morgan is looking to work some ground and pound but Orlhovki has wrist control.
Orlhovki working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Morgan.
Morgan throws a big right hand that misses.
Morgan throws and elbow that misses. Orlhovki uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Morgan's guard. Nice move by Orlhovki!
Orlhovki trying to control the position from guard on top but Morgan is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Orlhovki missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Orlhovki wants to control from the top but Morgan keeps moving.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Orlhovki accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

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.
Orlhovki is looking to work some ground and pound but Morgan has wrist control.
Orlhovki prevents Morgan from getting back to his feet.
Orlhovki postures up in Morgan's guard and throws a big left but Morgan blocks it.
Orlhovki wants to control from the top but Morgan keeps moving.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Orlhovki wants to pass the guard but Morgan is keeping the position.
Morgan keeping moving, preventing Orlhovki from controlling successfully.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Andrus Orlhovki wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Morgan misses with a combination

and Orlhovki counters by clinching up.
Orlhovki creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Morgan's defenses.
Morgan has had enough of the clinch but Orlhovki keeps him there for the moment.
Morgan takes a knee to the side of the body.
A frustrated look appears on Morgan's face as he tries to break the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Morgan tries to circle away but Orlhovki has him pinned against the cage.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Orlhovki.
Morgan is breathing heavily.
Orlhovki has a couple of punches blocked by Morgan.
Morgan working hard to break the clinch.
Orlhovki is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Morgan looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Morgan is looking to break free of the clinch but Orlhovki has double underhooks.

Morgan tightens his grip and picks Orlhovki up, before dumping him to the ground. Orlhovki manages to land in guard.
Morgan throwing strikes but missing.

Orlhovki has his feet on Morgan's hips. He pushes off and gets to his feet. Nice work.

Orlhovki gets a clinch.
Orlhovki comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Morgan managing to block the knees to the body from Orlhovki.
Orlhovki trying to control the position but instead, Morgan has worked for underhooks and has pushed Orlhovki into the cage.
Orlhovki is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Morgan is defending well for now.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Morgan is trying to break the clinch but Orlhovki is controlling him.
A frustrated look appears on Morgan's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Orlhovki lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Orlhovki is looking to control Morgan's arms but Morgan gets an underhook and turns him. Now Orlhovki has his back to the cage.
Morgan takes an elbow to the temple.

Morgan escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Orlhovki misses with a body punch
and Orlhovki takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Morgan circles away from the clinch attempt
and Morgan counters with a one-two to the body.
Orlhovki wants to clinch
and Morgan counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Orlhovki tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Morgan manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Orlhovki attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Morgan throws a sloppy head kick and Orlhovki moves out of range easily.
Orlhovki throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Morgan.
Morgan scores with a sloppy right hand. Orlhovki should have avoided that one.
A combination from Morgan does no damage.
Orlhovki darts in trying to clinch
and Morgan counters with a left and a right that stings Orlhovki.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Andrus Orlhovki will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Zach Morgan's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Morgan throws a left and a right that both miss
and Orlhovki counters with a straight right hand.
Morgan connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Orlhovki's hands.
Morgan rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Orlhovki moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Orlhovki throws an overhand right that lands on Morgan's shoulder, as Morgan tries to avoid the shot.
Morgan swats away the attempt to clinch by Orlhovki.
A combination from Morgan does no damage.
Morgan throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Orlhovki.
Orlhovki tries to close the distance and clinch up but Morgan swats him away and circles back towards the center.
A nice combination there by Orlhovki.
Orlhovki tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Morgan counters with a one-two to the body.
Morgan moves out of range as Orlhovki strikes.
Morgan ducks under a wild hook from Orlhovki.
Orlhovki closes the distance but Morgan moves to the side
and Morgan counters with a right hand to the body.
A combination from Morgan does no damage.
Orlhovki on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Morgan lands with a nice combination. Orlhovki backs away looking to recover.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Orlhovki fails with an attempt to clinch.
Morgan throws a series of punches but Orlhovki avoids them all with ease.

Orlhovki rushes Morgan and presses him up against the cage.
Orlhovki throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Morgan blocks it with crossed arms.
With the fighters up against the cage, Orlhovki throws an elbow but misses.
Morgan has had enough of the clinch but Orlhovki keeps him there for the moment.
Morgan wants to break free but Orlhovki has control.
Orlhovki tries to pull guard but Morgan won't allow it.
Orlhovki lands an elbow inside.
Morgan has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Morgan wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Orlhovki has him pressed against the cage.
Morgan is trying to break the clinch but Orlhovki is controlling him.
Orlhovki can't find room to land a body shot as Morgan controls the action.
Orlhovki trying to control the position but instead, Morgan has worked for underhooks and has pushed Orlhovki into the cage.
Orlhovki controlling the action here for a moment.
Morgan tries to circle away but Orlhovki has him pinned against the cage.
Morgan on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Orlhovki gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Morgan.
Orlhovki gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Orlhovki tries to land knees in the clinch but Morgan avoids the damage to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Orlhovki looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Orlhovki is trying to stall.
Orlhovki wants a takedown.
Orlhovki is trying to maintain a safe position but Morgan gets an underhook and turns Orlhovki into the cage.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Morgan wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.

Morgan breaks from the clinch.
Morgan tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Orlhovki swivels and escapes.
Morgan tries a head kick but it misses.
Orlhovki tries to clinch but Morgan moves out of range.
Orlhovki tries to clinch up
and Morgan counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.

Orlhovki closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
A frustrated look appears on Morgan's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Morgan on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Orlhovki tries to score a body lock takedown but Morgan shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Andrus Orlhovki. That's going to take a lot out of him.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Orlhovki.
Orlhovki creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Orlhovki lands with a light punch inside.
Morgan wants to get back to striking at distance but Orlhovki won't allow it.
Morgan avoids the elbow strike from Orlhovki, against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Morgan is pressed up against the cage. Orlhovki has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Morgan down to the mat. Morgan avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Morgan looks to land a body kick but Orlhovki moved away.
Morgan scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Orlhovki closes the distance looking to clinch
and Morgan counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Morgan lands a nice shot to the body.
Morgan lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Orlhovki circles away quickly and effectively.
Orlhovki tries to clinch but Morgan moves away
and Morgan counters with a three punch combo that has Orlhovki backing up. Orlhovki nods at Morgan to acknowledge the strikes.
Orlhovki showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Morgan.
Morgan rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Orlhovki moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Morgan ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Orlhovki moves to clinch but Morgan breaks away

and Morgan counters with a nice double leg into side control. Orlhovki won't be happy with that.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Orlhovki managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Morgan.
The ground and pound from Morgan seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.
Morgan creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Orlhovki sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Morgan throws an elbow but Orlhovki slips to the side and avoids it well.
Morgan is trying to ground and pound but Orlhovki uses the momentary lack of control by Morgan to regain half guard.
Morgan prevents Orlhovki from improving his position.
Morgan missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Morgan working the head and body with strikes.
Morgan thows a big elbow that misses, also allowing Orlhovki to regain full guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Morgan accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Morgan throws a strike but Orlhovki rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Morgan is working an open guard so Orlhovki takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.

And that's the end of the fight!
Zach Morgan comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Morgan 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 John Mangel scores the fight 28:29
Judge Bruno Hogan scores the fight 28:29
Judge Summer Carpenter scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Zach Morgan!