PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Alen Zalac (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Frank Shanrock (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Zalac kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is Eminem - Not Afraid. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Zalac
vs
Shanrock

188 cm
22
260 lbs
1 - 7 - 0

195 cm
25
240 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
Experienced

Dangerous GnP
Dangerous knees
Solid chin

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 1 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Alen Zalac!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Frank Shanrock!
The judges for this bout are Chris Downing, Wesley Smith and Frank Dennis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A low kick from Shanrock misses
letting Zalac counter with a right hand.

It looks like Frank Shanrock has been cut.
Zalac shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Zalac keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Shanrock throws a leg kick
and Zalac counters with a body kick.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
A low kick from Shanrock misses
and Zalac counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Shanrock looks gassed!
Zalac tries to score a power double leg takedown but Shanrock sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Zalac somewhat.
Shanrock throws a leg kick
and Zalac counters with an outside leg kick.
Shanrock misses with a leg kick
and Shanrock takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.

Zalac moves into the clinch successfully.

Zalac gets control of Shanrock's arms and successfully pulls guard. Zalac will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Zalac is on top in guard.
Zalac is looking to work some ground and pound but Shanrock has wrist control.
Zalac pushing down on Shanrock's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Zalac not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Shanrock really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Zalac. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Zalac thows a huge punch but Shanrock dodges it nicely.
Zalac lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Zalac has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Shanrock is looking to improve his position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shanrock avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Zalac.
Zalac thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Shanrock's head.
Zalac sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Shanrock defending well though.
Zalac passes the half guard and he's now in mount! Big trouble for Shanrock!
Shanrock tries to hold on but Zalac pushes him away.
Zalac working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Zalac unloads with some shots from mount but Shanrock bucks and avoids them well.
Zalac punching from mount but Shanrock doing a good job of avoiding damage.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Zalac landing strikes from the mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shanrock is looking to get to half guard.
Shanrock wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Zalac.
Zalac unloads with some shots from mount but Shanrock bucks and avoids them well.
Shanrock tries to hold on but Zalac pushes him away.
Poor strikes thrown by Zalac there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Shanrock flailing away with punches but nothing is landing.
Zalac 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.
Shanrock tries to hold on but Zalac pushes him away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shanrock avoids a series of strikes thrown by Zalac.
Zalac lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Shanrock tries to buck Zalac off but he can't manage it.
Zalac prevents Shanrock from getting the reversal.
Zalac with good strikes from the mount here!
Zalac thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Shanrock can do anything to dispel that myth.
Zalac lands a heavy elbow.
Shanrock is looking to get to half guard.
Zalac scoring with strikes but Shanrock is staying in there.
Shanrock is trying to escape the mount.
Shanrock tries to hold on but Zalac postures up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shanrock can't escape the position.
Shanrock wants to control but Zalac is having none of it.
Zalac looking to finish Shanrock with some ground and pound. This is bad for Shanrock!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Shanrock holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Zalac tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Shanrock is trying to stand.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Shanrock is trying desperately to improve position.
Shanrock is in a horrible position here. Zalac smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Alen Zalac dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Frank Shanrock's cut.
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.

Zalac shoots in looking for a takedown. Shanrock tries to sprawl out of it but Zalac keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Shanrock manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.

That has opened up Frank Shanrock's cut even more.
A low kick from Shanrock is predictable there
and Zalac counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.

Frank Shanrock's cut is absolute horrible now. This looks like something out of a horror film with blood covering both fighters.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Shanrock, right into the meat.
Shanrock swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Zalac counters with a two punch combo.
Shanrock defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Zalac.
Frank Shanrock seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A low kick from Shanrock is predictable there

and Zalac holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Zalac with a knee to the head.

Zalac ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Zalac no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Shanrock trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Shanrock trying to control but Zalac is working from the bottom.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Shanrock loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Zalac being controlled here, momentarily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shanrock wants to stand and escape but instead Zalac has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.
Shanrock wants to sweep but no luck.
Zalac is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Shanrock can do to turn this around?
Shanrock preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Shanrock looking for a sweep. Not yet Shanrock, not yet.
Zalac in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Zalac in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Shanrock is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Zalac won't allow Shanrock to sweep him here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Shanrock avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Zalac throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Zalac prevents Shanrock from getting back to his feet.
Zalac postures up in Shanrock's guard and throws a big left but Shanrock blocks it.
Shanrock has control of Zalac's left arm, preventing Zalac from doing any damage.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Frank Shanrock was stalling too much, according to the referee.

Zalac closes the distance and pushes Shanrock back into the cage.
A knee to the head by Zalac.
Shanrock wants to get back to striking at distance but Zalac won't allow it.
Shanrock content to slow the pace in the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zalac has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Shanrock avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Alen Zalac. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Shanrock has moved round to his opponent's back and is looking for a suplex! Oh snap! He's tossed Zalac clear over his head and slammed him to the mat!
Shanrock controls the position.
Shanrock tries to keep control of the position but Zalac is staying busy.
Zalac rolls and manages to get back to half guard. Nicely done.
Zalac is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Shanrock scores with a couple of nice shots.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shanrock content to control rather than advance.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Shanrock connects with a nice short shot to Zalac's temple.

Zalac is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Shanrock pulls his head out easily.
Shanrock looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
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 Alen Zalac will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Frank Shanrock's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Shanrock fails to land with a series of punches.
Zalac keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Shanrock throws a body kick the misses

and Zalac decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Shanrock's guard.

Zalac drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Zalac jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Zalac throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Shanrock works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Shanrock seems keen to control Zalac's posture.

Shanrock working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Zalac doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Zalac manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Zalac is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.

Zalac got a little sloppy there for a moment and Shanrock has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Zalac has managed to get both his arms back between Shanrock's legs - danger averted.

Zalac thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shanrock wants to stand and escape but Zalac is having none of it.
Shanrock working a defensive guard but Zalac passes into half guard.
Zalac lands strikes from half guard.

Zalac is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Shanrock blocking the ground and pound attempt from Zalac.
Shanrock holds on for dear life, maintaining half guard for now.
Zalac sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Shanrock defending well though.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shanrock keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Shanrock wants to get back to full guard.
Zalac throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Shanrock blocking the ground and pound attempt from Zalac.
Shanrock tries to get to full guard but Zalac has control of the leg.
Shanrock is trying to stand.
Shanrock tries to get to full guard but Zalac has control of the leg.
Alen Zalac overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Shanrock flails away from the bottom but he's not doing any damage.
Shanrock keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Zalac wants to take a breather but Shanrock is having none of it.
Shanrock avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Zalac.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Zalac wants to work for an arm triangle but Shanrock is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Shanrock flails away from the bottom but he's not doing any damage.
Shanrock pushes Zalac off looking to stand but Zalac dives back in and keeps control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Zalac is working for a kimura but Shanrock is defending it quite comfortably.
Zalac prevents Shanrock from improving his position.
Zalac slips a nice elbow through Shanrock's hands, connecting with Shanrock's forehead.
Shanrock wants to control but Zalac is keeping busy and won't allow it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Zalac throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.

Zalac is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Shanrock doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Zalac.
Shanrock keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Shanrock wants to get back to his feet.

Zalac is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Shanrock controlling the position well.
Frank Shanrock has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Alen Zalac is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

Shanrock looking for submissions off his back.

And that's the end of the fight!
Alen Zalac showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Zalac has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Chris Downing scores the fight 30:26
Judge Wesley Smith scores the fight 30:26
Judge Frank Dennis scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Alen Zalac!