PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Manny Pacquiao (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mikhail Zakarova (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Zakarova has chosen Song of the Volga Boatmen 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.

Pacquiao
vs
Zakarova

169 cm
29
149 lbs
18 - 3 - 1

175 cm
24
165 lbs
14 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Very strong

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Heavy handed

Springfield HW Nutrition

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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 18 - 3 - 1, fighting out of Los Angeles, Manny Pacquiao!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 14 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Mikhail Zakarova!
The judges for this bout are , and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Zakarova defending well as Pacquiao loads up on a big left hand.
Pacquiao misses with a leg kick.
Pacquiao ducks under a wild hook from Zakarova.
Pacquiao misses with a body shot.
Zakarova lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Pacquiao misses with a left hand
and Zakarova counters with a one-two to the body.
Zakarova throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Pacquiao fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Zakarova is out of range.
Pacquiao lands an overhand right.
Pacquiao misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Zakarova.
Zakarova throws a right hand that misses
and Pacquiao connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Pacquiao steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Zakarova.
Zakarova pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Pacquiao swings widly with a right hand
and Zakarova counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Pacquiao misses with a two punch combination.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zakarova lands the left hand.
Pacquiao lands a nice leg kick that just misses Zakarova's sensitive parts.
Pacquiao misses with a low kick.
Pacquiao ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Zakarova moves away.
Zakarova throws a nice head kick!
Zakarova pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Pacquiao throws a lazy head kick
and Zakarova counters with a good, hard body kick but Pacquiao shrugs it off.
Zakarova slips a jab from Pacquiao.
Pacquiao shoots in looking for a takedown. Zakarova tries to sprawl out of it but Pacquiao keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Zakarova manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Zakarova looking to land some kicks to the body here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pacquiao fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Zakarova manages to avoid it.
Zakarova slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Zakarova's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Zakarova duly obliges.
Zakarova uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Pacquiao.
Pacquiao throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Zakarova fails with the takedown.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Pacquiao!
Pacquiao showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Zakarova.
A shot to the body from Pacquiao misses
and Zakarova counters with a leg kick.
Pacquiao works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Pacquiao closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Pacquiao throws a predictable looking body shot
and Zakarova counters with a stiff right hand.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pacquiao throws out a loose jab but Zakarova uses good head movement to avoid it.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Pacquiao.
Horrible takedown by Pacquiao or perhaps it was just good defense by Zakarova which made him look bad.
Pacquiao takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Zakarova throws a lazy uppercut
and Pacquiao counters with a good low kick that Zakarova was not able to check.
Zakarova goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Pacquiao fails to land the takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Manny Pacquiao. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Pacquiao fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Zakarova has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Pacquiao throws a leg kick that is checked
and Zakarova counters with a slapping leg kick.
Zakarova throws a chopping leg kick but Pacquiao manages to avoid taking any serious damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pacquiao has a takedown stuffed.
Zakarova throws a right hand that misses

and Pacquiao counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Zakarova!
Pacquiao looking to control and managing it successfully.
Zakarova is looking to improve his position but Pacquiao isn't that keen on the idea.
Pacquiao sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Pacquiao trying to control but he's not successful this time.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mikhail Zakarova dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Pacquiao slips a jab and a cross from Zakarova.
Pacquiao throws a body kick, spinning off balance
and Zakarova counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Zakarova throws a body kick that digs right into the meat.
Manny Pacquiao seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Zakarova throws a chopping leg kick but Pacquiao manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
A nice leg kick lands there from Pacquiao.
Pacquiao fails with a takedown attempt.
Pacquiao misses with a shot to the body
and Zakarova counters with a stiff right hand.
Pacquiao shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Pacquiao keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Zakarova.
Zakarova lands a glancing blow to the side of Pacquiao's head.
Zakarova connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Zakarova throws a head kick but Pacquiao moves out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pacquiao cracks a nice hook into Zakarova's ribs.
A good leg kick by Pacquiao.
Pacquiao connects with a body shot.

Pacquiao drives through with a takedown into guard.

Zakarova has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Pacquiao off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.
Pacquiao shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Zakarova as he avoids it easily.
That kick from Zakarova tenderised Pacquiao's leg. Pacquiao is trying to keep his angry face on.
Mikhail Zakarova seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Pacquiao scores with a shot to the body.
Zakarova walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Zakarova throws an ugly left hook that misses

and Pacquiao counters with a shoot takedown. Zakarova fights it but they end up in guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pacquiao trying to control the position from guard on top but Zakarova is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Pacquiao stops Zakarova from standing up.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Zakarova working for a triangle but Pacquiao defends it easily.
Pacquiao is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Pacquiao preventing the sweep.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pacquiao passes Zakarova's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Pacquiao throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Zakarova is staying active underneath Pacquiao, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Zakarova is trying to control but can't.
Pacquiao is trying to control. Zakarova wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Zakarova is trying to get back to full guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Pacquiao stalling.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Manny Pacquiao wasn't doing enough on the ground.
A punch combination from Zakarova misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
A low kick from Pacquiao is predictable there
and Zakarova counters with a thumping low kick.
Pacquiao throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Pacquiao is looking to wear down Zakarova with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Zakarova throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Pacquiao on the side of the head.
Pacquiao misses with a jab, cross combination.
Pacquiao thows a body shot but no joy.
Zakarova throws a half hearted mid kick.
Mikhail Zakarova is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Zakarova waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Pacquiao.
Zakarova looks for the body kick but Pacquiao saw that one coming.
Zakarova staying out of range there.
Pacquiao motions for Zakarova to come forward. Pacquiao throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Nice shot by Zakarova.
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 Manny Pacquiao will probably get the nod.
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. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Pacquiao uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Zakarova has time to react.
A slapping leg kick lands for Pacquiao.
Zakarova plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Pacquiao fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Zakarova avoids it really well and circles away.
Pacquiao tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Zakarova is able to avoid easily.
Zakarova misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Pacquiao misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Zakarova counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Pacquiao thinking.
Zakarova jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Pacquiao takes a swing at Zakarova's ribcage but misses.
Pacquiao misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Zakarova.
Pacquiao takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Horrible takedown by Pacquiao or perhaps it was just good defense by Zakarova which made him look bad.
Zakarova pivots, looking for a leg kick but Pacquiao is out of range and Zakarova settles back down.
Zakarova misses with a straight left.
Zakarova looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Pacquiao misses with a hook. Zakarova ducked under it nicely.
Zakarova jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Pacquiao misses with a jab to the body
and Zakarova counters with a nice low kick that buckles Pacquiao's knee momentarily.
Pacquiao swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
A lazy body kick from Pacquiao
and Zakarova connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Pacquiao gets cracked there but stands up to it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A clash of legs there as Pacquiao blocks the low kick.
Pacquiao lands with an overhand left.
Pacquiao misses with a shot to the body
and Zakarova counters with an inside leg kick.
A lazy left from Zakarova finds it's target.
Pacquiao is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Thud! ouch! good body kick from Zakarova - that will leave a mark!
No joy there for Pacquiao, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Zakarova motions for Pacquiao to come forward. Zakarova throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Pacquiao uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Zakarova.
Zakarova blocks a jab.
Pacquiao misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Zakarova.
Pacquiao misses with a left hand
and Zakarova counters with a straight right hand.
A low kick from Zakarova is predictable there

and Pacquiao counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zakarova trying to control the position.
Pacquiao controlling from the top position.
Zakarova is trying to control the position from the bottom.

Pacquiao drops back looking for a leg! Zakarova is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Zakarova manages to kick Pacquiao off! Pacquiao jumps back into Zakarova's guard.
Pacquiao trying to control the position from guard on top but Zakarova is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Pacquiao missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Pacquiao trying to control the position from guard on top but Zakarova is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Pacquiao prevents Zakarova from getting back to his feet.
Zakarova controlling the position.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Pacquiao jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Pacquiao shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Zakarova counters with a lovely straight right hand!
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Manny Pacquiao. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Pacquiao misses with an uppercut
and Zakarova counters with a leg kick.

And that's the end of the fight!
Mikhail Zakarova comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Zakarova 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 Andi Peters scores the fight 28:29
Judge Gordon Ramsey scores the fight 28:29
Judge Frank Skinner scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Mikhail Zakarova!