PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Michael Balboa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Krokodil Zelenij (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Balboa comes to the cage accompanied by Eye Of The Tiger. Zelenij comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Eminem - Evil Deeds kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! Krokodil Zelenij acknowledges the crowd's support as he enters the cage.

Balboa
vs
Zelenij

187 cm
33
221 lbs
18 - 14 - 0

191 cm
23
219 lbs
6 - 5 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Powerful takedowns
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 18 - 14 - 0, fighting out of New York, Michael Balboa!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 5 - 0, fighting out of New York, Krokodil Zelenij!
The judges for this bout are John Kavanagh, Alyssa Summers and Russell Pearce.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Balboa paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Zelenij fails with the takedown.
Balboa waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Zelenij.
Balboa misses with a hook

and Zelenij counters with a shoot takedown. Balboa fights it but they end up in guard.
Zelenij won't allow Balboa to get back to his feet.
Balboa trying desperately to get back to his feet here but he's not having any joy at all. He's going to tire himself out if he's not careful.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zelenij looking to pass the guard.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Zelenij walks into a straight right hand from Balboa.
Balboa pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Balboa loads up on a big right hand but Zelenij slips the punch.
Zelenij ducks under a wild hook from Balboa.
Zelenij wants to clinch.
Zelenij tries to work over Balboa's front leg with a kick but Balboa checks it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Balboa scores with a nice strike.
Zelenij slips a jab from Balboa.
Balboa misses with a double jab
letting Zelenij counter with a right hand.

It looks like Michael Balboa has been cut.
Balboa cracks Zelenij with a right hand to the side of the head.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Zelenij closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Balboa quickly recovers to half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Balboa looks like he's trying to stand up.
Balboa knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Zelenij on the ground.
Zelenij is looking to take a break and control but Balboa is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Zelenij seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Zelenij looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Zelenij uses his free foot to push down on Balboa's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Balboa.
Zelenij looking to control but Balboa is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Zelenij lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Balboa hang on?
Balboa is squirming around, avoiding Zelenij's attempts to control the action.
Zelenij lands with some strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Balboa wants to get back to his feet.
This has been an exciting period of action!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Zelenij tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.

Zelenij looks like he's working for a submission but he's not found anything just yet.
Zelenij won't let Balboa get back to his feet... He wants to keep the fight where it is for now.
Balboa is trying to stand but he's not in a good position to be doing that! Zelenij has taken his back!
Balboa is trying to stand back up.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Zelenij controlling the position well here. Balboa rolled but Zelenij kept the hooks locked in and stayed in the dominant position.
Let's hope that Zelenij has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Krokodil Zelenij will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Michael Balboa's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Balboa throws a hook but Zelenij blocks it.
Balboa misses with a wild combination.
Zelenij uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Balboa.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Balboa looks to score with a jab to the body but Zelenij is just out of range.
Zelenij ducks under a wild hook from Balboa.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Balboa throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Zelenij shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Michael Balboa is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Zelenij shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Balboa as he jumps to the side.
Zelenij ducks under a wild hook from Balboa.

Zelenij looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for Balboa!
Zelenij throws some wild stikes that Balboa manages to avoid easily.
Zelenij won't let Balboa get back to his feet... He wants to keep the fight where it is for now.
Krokodil Zelenij has got the better of the ground game so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Balboa has given up his back, trying to stand up. Not clever.

Zelenij working for the choke.
Balboa controlling the position well but he knows he's in a bad position.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Zelenij has his hand under the chin of his opponent looking for the choke. He's nearly got it! This one could be all over! But no, Balboa has freed his hand and lives to survive another… well, another couple of seconds at least!
Balboa holding both Zelenij 's hands and preventing any damage.

Zelenij is working the back position looking for the choke. Oh, he's slid into an armbar! Beautiful transition and Balboa taps out! Fantastic Jiu Jitsu from Zelenij.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:59 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Krokodil Zelenij!
After the fight, Krokodil Zelenij was humble in paying tribute to his opponent but made it clear he wants to go on to bigger and better things. It seemed to go down well with the crowd who cheered him loudly.