PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Victor Gabriel Marcurius (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mariusz Pirzmak (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Marcurius's entrance music is Burn in Hell by Twisted Sister. A fine choice. Victor Gabriel Marcurius had a look across the cage there at his opponent. He definitely means business

Gabriel Marcurius
vs
Pirzmak

196 cm
24
240 lbs
7 - 9 - 0

195 cm
25
220 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
Experienced

Powerful takedowns
Counter striker
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 7 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Victor Gabriel Marcurius!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Mariusz Pirzmak!
The judges for this bout are Ren Mimura, Shigeki Sano and Shirou Masuda.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Marcurius misses with a takedown
letting Pirzmak counter with a right hand.
Pirzmak tries to clinch

and Marcurius decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Pirzmak's guard.
Marcurius looking to pass the guard.
Pirzmak keeping moving, preventing Marcurius from controlling successfully.
Pirzmak looking to control.
Pirzmak wants to sweep here but Marcurius controlling him for the moment.
Pirzmak has control of Marcurius's left arm, preventing Marcurius from doing any damage.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.

Marcurius stands up and waves to Pirzmak to follow him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Marcurius has his takedown stuffed

and Pirzmak counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Pirzmak tries to stand but Marcurius is controlling from the bottom.
Marcurius keeping moving, preventing Pirzmak from controlling successfully.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Pirzmak looking to sit in guard and control but Marcurius gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Pirzmak is adopting a defensive guard.
Marcurius is looking to stand up but Pirzmak won't let him.
Marcurius throws a big right hand that misses.
Marcurius won't allow Pirzmak to sweep him here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pirzmak working a defensive guard here.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Mariusz Pirzmak was stalling too much, according to the referee.
A lazy left from Pirzmak finds it's target.
Marcurius has his takedown stuffed

and Pirzmak counters with a shoot takedown. Marcurius fights it but they end up in guard.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Victor Gabriel Marcurius. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Marcurius bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Pirzmak's guard.
Pirzmak looking to hit a scissor sweep but Marcurius is one step ahead there.
Marcurius stops Pirzmak from standing up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Marcurius postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Pirzmak is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Marcurius, into his guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Marcurius working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Pirzmak.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Pirzmak looking to sit in guard and control but Marcurius gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Marcurius trying to control the position from guard on top but Pirzmak is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mariusz Pirzmak dominated that round.
That's time! Marcurius's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Pirzmak clinches up against the cage.
Pirzmak blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Pirzmak dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.

Marcurius pulls guard effortlessly.
Pirzmak looking to sit in guard and control but Marcurius gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Pirzmak looking for a sweep. Not yet Pirzmak, not yet.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Marcurius postures up in Pirzmak's guard and throws a big left but Pirzmak blocks it.
Marcurius trying to control the position from guard on top but Pirzmak is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Mariusz Pirzmak has got the better of the ground game so far.
Pirzmak is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Marcurius trying to control but Pirzmak is working from the bottom.
Marcurius missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Marcurius trying to stand up but can't free himself from Pirzmak's guard.
Pirzmak wants to sweep here but Marcurius controlling him for the moment.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Pirzmak can do anything to dispel that myth.
Marcurius throwing strikes but missing.

Marcurius stands up and waves to Pirzmak to follow him.

That's two 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.
Marcurius shoots and misses

and Pirzmak counters by clinching up.

Pirzmak is working on a single leg takedown against the cage. Marcurius can't fight it off and eventually Pirzmak manages to take the fight to the floor. Marcurius looks annoyed but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Pirzmak wants to control from the top but Marcurius keeps moving.
Pirzmak trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Marcurius bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Pirzmak's guard.
Marcurius trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Marcurius won't allow Pirzmak to sweep him here.
Marcurius working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Pirzmak pulls Marcurius in close to prevent any damage.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Marcurius throws and elbow that misses. Pirzmak uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Marcurius's guard. Nice move by Pirzmak!
Pirzmak trying to control the position from guard on top but Marcurius is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

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.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Mariusz Pirzmak wasn't active enough on the ground.
Marcurius misses with a takedown attempt

and Pirzmak counters by clinching up.
Marcurius drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Pirzmak gets the underhooks and prevents it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Victor Gabriel Marcurius. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Pirzmak is pressed up against the cage. Marcurius has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Pirzmak down to the mat. Pirzmak avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Marcurius has his takedown stuffed

and Pirzmak holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Pirzmak leaning his opponent against the cage.

Pirzmak is working on a single leg takedown against the cage. Marcurius can't fight it off and eventually Pirzmak manages to take the fight to the floor. Marcurius looks annoyed but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Marcurius tries to land a sweep but no joy.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mariusz Pirzmak showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Pirzmak shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Marcurius counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Pirzmak!
Pirzmak really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Marcurius. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Pirzmak squirming around on the bottom, looking to escape.
Pirzmak tries to reverse the position but Marcurius maintains control.

Marcurius looking to secure an arm triangle but Pirzmak defends it well.
Pirzmak is squirming around, avoiding Marcurius's attempts to control the action.
Marcurius avoids the attempt from Pirzmak to control.
Pirzmak is looking to improve his position but Marcurius isn't that keen on the idea.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Marcurius has hold of Pirzmak's left arm, perhaps looking for a submission. The two fighters tussle over control of the isolated limb and Pirzmak manages to get his arm back to his side and away from danger.

Marcurius goes for an armbar but he's not got it… Pirzmak turns into him and now he's in Marcurius's guard.
Pirzmak wants to stand and escape but instead Marcurius has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Marcurius wants to pass the guard but Pirzmak is keeping the position.
Marcurius loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Pirzmak is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Marcurius is controlling him.
Pirzmak wants to sweep here but Marcurius controlling him for the moment.

Pirzmak manages to escape and get back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pirzmak wants to clinch but Marcurius slips to the side

and Marcurius counters with a nice double leg into half guard.

Marcurius is working for a submission of some sort.
Marcurius tries to stand but can't do so whilst Pirzmak controls his leg.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Pirzmak tries to get to full guard but Marcurius has control of the leg.

Marcurius is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Pirzmak doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Marcurius.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pirzmak tries to roll over but Marcurius keeps him under control.
Pirzmak is staying active underneath Marcurius, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Mariusz Pirzmak is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Pirzmak tries to roll over but Marcurius keeps him under control.
Marcurius working over Pirzmak with some ground and pound. Pirzmak looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Victor Gabriel Marcurius has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Pirzmak tries to kick Marcurius off but Marcurius keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Victor Gabriel Marcurius showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Pirzmak 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 Ren Mimura scores the fight 28:29
Judge Shigeki Sano scores the fight 28:29
Judge Shirou Masuda scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Mariusz Pirzmak!