PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Tuco Mendoza (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kahlua Zordick (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Mendoza comes to the cage accompanied by Lamb of God - Descending. Tuco Mendoza has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Mendoza
vs
Zordick

177 cm
22
162 lbs
11 - 5 - 0

165 cm
30
160 lbs
11 - 6 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Very quick

ADCC Champion
Good kicks
Powerful

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 11 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Tuco Mendoza!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Kahlua Zordick!
The judges for this bout are Marco Blurström, Arvi Lind and Roosa Järviläinen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Mendoza misses with a wild body shot.
Zordick tries to clinch up
and Mendoza counters with a stiff right hand.
Mendoza misses with a straight left.
Mendoza swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Mendoza will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Zordick drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Mendoza looks to land a left hand but Zordick moved out of range nicely.
Mendoza with a poor takedown

and Zordick counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Zordick.

Zordick has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Mendoza uses from the top position.
Mendoza lands a couple of digs.
Mendoza forces his way into half guard.
Zordick is trying to maintain the position but Mendoza is very close to passing his half guard.
Mendoza lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Zordick looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Mendoza trying to control the action but Zordick is working from the bottom.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Zordick manages to get to full guard.

Zordick is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Mendoza defends well.
Mendoza tries to free his leg and advance position but Zordick is retaining full guard.

Zordick is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Mendoza controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Mendoza throwing strikes but missing.
Mendoza pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Zordick is keeping the position for now.
Mendoza missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mendoza looking to sit in guard and control but Zordick gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Mendoza preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Zordick advances position into side control!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Mendoza manages to get back to half guard.
Mendoza preventing any damage for now, controlling his opponent's head.

Zordick is working for a kimura but Mendoza is defending it quite comfortably.

The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Zordick is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Mendoza has managed to free his arm - good work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mendoza tries to roll over but Zordick keeps him under control.
Zordick is looking to take a break and control but Mendoza is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Mendoza is looking for a sweep. Zordick is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

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

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Mendoza with the active half guard here but Zordick passes nicely into side control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
An elbow from Zordick crashes against the mat.
Mendoza sneaks back into half guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Zordick is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Mendoza trying to control here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Tuco Mendoza will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Mendoza looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Zordick turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Good work by Mendoza as he checks the leg kick.
Zordick slips a straight right by Mendoza.
Mendoza takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Mendoza throws the left hand but Zordick avoids the punch easily.
Zordick shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Mendoza as he jumps to the side.
Mendoza misses with an uppercut
and Zordick counters with a nice body kick.
Mendoza avoids the body shot from Zordick.
Mendoza tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Zordick was well out of range. Poor timing from Mendoza.
Zordick throws a leg kick but Mendoza sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Mendoza with a poor takedown
and Zordick counters with a body kick that brings a smile to the face of both fighters.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zordick shoots in for a takedown but Mendoza shows good takedown defense.
Zordick pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Zordick throws a feint and then finishes with a kick to the body.
Mendoza tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Zordick was well out of range. Poor timing from Mendoza.
Mendoza throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Nice defenses there by Zordick.
Mendoza misses with a looping right.
Zordick fails with a takedown attempt.
Tuco Mendoza has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Kahlua Zordick.
Mendoza lands a jab to Zordick's midsection.
Good shot there by Zordick.
Mendoza throws an overhand right that lands on Zordick's shoulder, as Zordick tries to avoid the shot.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mendoza shoots and misses
and Zordick counters with a leg kick.

Mendoza closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.

Zordick looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Zordick is refusing to be controlled, as Mendoza sits in half guard.
Zordick trying to hold on to Mendoza's head to control him but Mendoza postures up.
Mendoza trying to control the action but Zordick is working from the bottom.
Tuco Mendoza overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Mendoza is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Zordick sees it coming and defends easily.

Zordick looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Zordick is looking to control Mendoza's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Zordick avoid being mounted?

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Mendoza is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Zordick defends it well.

Zordick looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Zordick is refusing to be controlled, as Mendoza sits in half guard.
Zordick is trying to maintain the position but Mendoza is very close to passing his half guard.
Mendoza is looking to stall here but Zordick recovers full guard.

Zordick is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.

Zordick is looking for a triangle but Mendoza pushes his legs off easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Zordick keeping moving, preventing Mendoza from controlling successfully.
Mendoza cracks Zordick with a solid left hand.
Mendoza trying to control the position from guard on top but Zordick is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Mendoza advances position into side control!
Zordick gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Mendoza is trying to control the action in half guard but Zordick is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Zordick trying to control here.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Zordick works his way to full guard. Good work.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Mendoza got a little sloppy there for a moment and Zordick has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Mendoza has managed to get both his arms back between Zordick's legs - danger averted.
Mendoza distracts Zordick with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Mendoza looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Kahlua Zordick will probably get the nod - 10:9.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Zordick shoots for a takedown but Mendoza saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Mendoza shoots in for a takedown but Zordick shows good takedown defense.
Mendoza shoots in but no luck this time.
Mendoza is trying hard to land a takedown here. Zordick sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Tuco Mendoza. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Zordick throws a lazy uppercut

and Mendoza counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Mendoza.
Mendoza postures up.

Zordick has managed to work for a loose triangle. I think Mendoza should be able to defend this one pretty easily though. Oh, Zordick has tightened it up now! Mendoza should have reacted faster there - he's in big trouble and yes, he's tapped out! This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:55 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle). Kahlua Zordick!
Kahlua Zordick seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.