PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Lemaux Zeidweghy (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Salvador Newman (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Zeidweghy
vs
Newman

179 cm
20
155 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

169 cm
18
145 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Big heart

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Lemaux Zeidweghy!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Salvador Newman!
The judges for this bout are Don Winkell, Timothy Bukovac and Frank Antenori.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Newman tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Zeidweghy manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Newman looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Zeidweghy misses with a wild body shot.
Newman wants to clinch.

Zeidweghy rushes Newman and presses him up against the cage.
Newman is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.

Newman has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Zeidweghy uses from the top position.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Newman throws some sloppy strikes off his back.
Newman is trying to control the position from the bottom.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Zeidweghy has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Newman is proving hard to escape from.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zeidweghy controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Newman looking to control.
Newman 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.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Zeidweghy closes the distance and clinches up with Newman, looking for a takedown. Zeidweghy pushes Newman against the cage but Newman circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Zeidweghy fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Newman avoids it really well and circles away.
Newman lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Newman.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Newman tries to clinch but Zeidweghy moves out of range.
Newman is looking to clinch.
Zeidweghy throws a head kick that misses.
Zeidweghy circles away from the clinch attempt

and Zeidweghy counters with a takedown into side control.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Zeidweghy decides to stand up, so the ref orders Newman to his feet.

Newman takes the fight into the clinch.
Newman prevents the takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Lemaux Zeidweghy. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Zeidweghy is looking for a takedown.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zeidweghy wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Newman has him pressed against the cage.

Newman breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Horrible takedown by Zeidweghy or perhaps it was just good defense by Newman which made him look bad.
Zeidweghy is breathing heavily.
Newman throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Nice takedown defense from Zeidweghy. No joy for Newman on that attempt.
Newman shoots in but Zeidweghy avoids the takedown attempt easily.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Zeidweghy is defended easily by Newman.

Newman has Zeidweghy up against the cage in a clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Newman pulls Zeidweghy into guard.
Newman wants to stand and escape but Zeidweghy is having none of it.
Zeidweghy is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Newman has his hands on Zeidweghy's head, controlling the position.
Zeidweghy prevents Newman from getting back to his feet.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Newman working a defensive guard here.
Zeidweghy stops Newman from standing up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Salvador Newman will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Newman drops his hands momentarily and Zeidweghy takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Zeidweghy throws a nice head kick!

Newman looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Zeidweghy is holding on to half guard well.
Newman wants to lay and pray for a moment but Zeidweghy keeps working.
Zeidweghy is looking to improve his position.
Newman trying to control from half guard but Zeidweghy is working away.

That's one minute gone in the round.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Salvador Newman hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Newman tests Zeidweghy's chin there with a solid looking shot.

Newman instigates a clinch.

Zeidweghy breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Zeidweghy shoots for a double leg takedown but Newman sprawls well. He's pushed Zeidweghy's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Newman throws a sloppy head kick
and Zeidweghy counters with a leg kick.
Newman dives in and grabs Zeidweghy's left leg, looking for a takedown. Zeidweghy pushes down on Newman's head and hops out.
Zeidweghy fails with the takedown.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Newman tries to clinch up.
Zeidweghy shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Newman sprawls well. Newman wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Zeidweghy gets slowly back to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Lemaux Zeidweghy. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Newman shoots in but Zeidweghy avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Newman shoots in for a double leg but Zeidweghy sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Newman misses with a combination

and Zeidweghy counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Newman!
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Zeidweghy looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
Zeidweghy lands a big shot there that rocks Newman but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Newman tries to reverse the position but Zeidweghy maintains control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zeidweghy wants to control the pace but Newman is squirming around nicely.
Lemaux Zeidweghy overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Zeidweghy controlling from the full mount.
Zeidweghy lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Newman hang on?
Zeidweghy pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Newman tries to hold on but Zeidweghy postures up.
Newman is trying to avoid being dragged into an even worse position than he's already in but Zeidweghy is staying active.
Zeidweghy trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Zeidweghy with the ground and pound from mount.
Zeidweghy is landing with some decent strikes but Newman is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Zeidweghy scores with a couple of good head shots there.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Zeidweghy prevents Newman from getting the reversal.
Zeidweghy controlling from the full mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Lemaux Zeidweghy dominated that second round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Zeidweghy keeps the fight on the outside.
Zeidweghy tries to clinch but Newman is having none of it.
Zeidweghy looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Newman is fending him off so far but Zeidweghy persists. Nope, Newman circles away and we're back to standing.
Newman tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Zeidweghy paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Newman leaves Zeidweghy with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Newman fails to land the takedown.
Zeidweghy fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Lemaux Zeidweghy. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

Newman fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Zeidweghy to the ground. Newman is now in Zeidweghy's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zeidweghy wants to stand and escape but Newman is having none of it.
Newman postures up and lands a big shot to Zeidweghy's brow.

Zeidweghy throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Zeidweghy keeping moving, preventing Newman from controlling successfully.
Zeidweghy is trying to keep Newman in close.
Newman tries to stand but Zeidweghy is controlling from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Newman with a flurry of punches that miss.
Newman trying to control the position from guard on top but Zeidweghy is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Salvador Newman.
Zeidweghy tries for a takedown but Newman sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Salvador Newman seems to be getting the better of the standup.
No luck for Zeidweghy with that takedown attempt.
Newman misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

Newman closes the distance and clinches.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Newman pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Newman throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Zeidweghy.
Zeidweghy tries a head kick but it misses.
Zeidweghy tries for a takedown but Newman circles away easily
and Newman counters with a stiff right hand.

Newman gets a double leg takedown into Zeidweghy's guard.
Newman trying to control but Zeidweghy is working from the bottom.
Newman stays in close to Zeidweghy's body and controls the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Newman stopping the sweep attempt from Zeidweghy.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Salvador Newman wasn't active enough on the ground.
Zeidweghy fails in his attempt to clinch.

Newman takes the fight into the clinch.
Zeidweghy tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Zeidweghy is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Newman lands with a short punch from the clinch.

And that's the end of the fight!
Salvador Newman comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Newman 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 Don Winkell scores the fight 28:29
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 28:29
Judge Frank Antenori scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Salvador Newman!