PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Jean Luc Picard (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Gegard Zaromskis (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Picard kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is The Picard Song. The crowd giving both fighters a great reception on their way into the arena. That's good to see.

Luc Picard
vs
Zaromskis

177 cm
24
168 lbs
9 - 8 - 0

176 cm
29
169 lbs
13 - 2 - 1

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

SPARTA FIGHTWARE-GTI
SPARTA FIGHTWARE-GTI

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 9 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Jean Luc Picard!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 13 - 2 - 1, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Gegard Zaromskis!
The judges for this bout are Alexandre Firmino, Emerson Jorge and Edson Gomes.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Zaromskis is looking to land body kicks.

Picard feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.

Zaromskis is edging up against the cage. He's using the cage to get back to his feet. Nice work there - the fighters are clinched.
Picard tries to pull guard but Zaromskis forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Zaromskis lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Zaromskis lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Picard or not.
Zaromskis tries a body shot but Picard blocks it.
Zaromskis misses with the head strike.
Zaromskis misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Zaromskis tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Picard's elbow.
Picard fails to pull guard.
Zaromskis doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Zaromskis.
Zaromskis lands a shot to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Picard tries to pull guard but Zaromskis won't allow it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jean Luc Picard. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Picard gets control of Zaromskis's arms and successfully pulls guard. Picard will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Zaromskis throwing strikes but missing.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Zaromskis throwing strikes but missing.
Zaromskis trying to control but Picard is working from the bottom.
Picard preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Zaromskis must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Picard controlling Zaromskis's posture.
Zaromskis distracts Picard with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Zaromskis postures up in Picard's guard and throws a big left but Picard blocks it.
Picard utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Zaromskis working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Picard keeping moving, preventing Zaromskis from controlling successfully.
Zaromskis throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Zaromskis tries to free his leg and advance position but Picard is retaining full guard.
Picard has momentary wrist control but Zaromskis slips an elbow through the middle.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zaromskis trying to control the position from guard on top but Picard is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Zaromskis throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Zaromskis loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Picard seems keen to control Zaromskis's posture.
Zaromskis trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Picard wants to sweep but no luck.
Zaromskis postures up.
Zaromskis wants to control from the top but Picard keeps moving.
Picard wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.

We're going to have a standup here because Jean Luc Picard wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Zaromskis misses with a hook to the body

and Picard counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Zaromskis keeping full guard, as Picard tries to pass.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Zaromskis seems keen to control Picard's posture.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gegard Zaromskis dominated that round.
That's time! Picard's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Zaromskis throws a hook but Picard blocks it.
Zaromskis missing with a left hand there. Picard was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Zaromskis tries to clinch but Picard moves out of range.
Picard misses with a takedown attempt
and Zaromskis counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Picard shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Zaromskis but Zaromskis pushes him off and we're back to square one.

Zaromskis clinches.
Zaromskis lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Picard or not.
Zaromskis misses with some punches.
Zaromskis working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Picard blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Zaromskis misses with the head strike.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Picard prevents a body shot from Zaromskis.
Zaromskis throws a head punch that misses.
Zaromskis swings wildly with an uppercut but Picard uses good head movement to avoid it.
Zaromskis has a couple of punches blocked by Picard.
Zaromskis tries a body shot but Picard blocks it.
Zaromskis misses with a hook from the clinch.
Zaromskis can't find room to land a body shot as Picard controls the action.
Zaromskis throws a punch but it's blocked by Picard.
Zaromskis throws a head punch that misses.
Zaromskis misses with a hook from the clinch.
Zaromskis tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Picard fails to pull guard.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jean Luc Picard. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Picard blocks an uppercut.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Zaromskis swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Zaromskis misses with some punches.
Zaromskis scores with a hook to the body.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Picard.
Zaromskis makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
A head punch on the inside from Zaromskis fails to land.
Zaromskis working aggressively here.
Zaromskis lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Zaromskis lands a right hand that snaps the head of Picard backwards.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Zaromskis lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Picard backwards.
Picard tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Picard.
Zaromskis has a couple of punches blocked by Picard.
Zaromskis misses with a shot to the kidneys.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Picard is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Zaromskis to keep the fight standing.
Zaromskis pushes Picard back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Picard is trying to pull guard but Zaromskis turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Picard blocking some punches.
Zaromskis goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Picard blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Picard's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!

Picard manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Zaromskis pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Picard is keeping the position for now.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Zaromskis accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Picard working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Zaromskis.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Zaromskis wants to control from the top but Picard keeps moving.
Zaromskis postures up in Picard's guard and throws a big left but Picard blocks it.
Zaromskis with a flurry of punches that miss.
Gegard Zaromskis has got the better of the ground game so far.
Zaromskis trying to control the position from guard on top but Picard is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Zaromskis throws a strike but Picard rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Picard looking to pass the guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gegard Zaromskis showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. And we move into the final round!

An inside leg kick from Zaromskis misses.
Zaromskis misses with a few strikes there.
Zaromskis is trying hard to land a takedown here. Picard sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Picard avoids a punch combination nicely.
Zaromskis dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Zaromskis throws out a loose jab but Picard uses good head movement to avoid it.
Zaromskis throws a series of punches but Picard moves out of range.
Zaromskis lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Picard circles away quickly and effectively.
Zaromskis feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Picards jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Zaromskis moves into range and lands a nice body kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zaromskis looks to throw a body kick
and Picard counters with a left to the body.
Zaromskis throws a lazy uppercut

and Picard counters with a nice double leg into side control. Zaromskis won't be happy with that.
Zaromskis is not content to let Picard control the position.
Picard looking to control but instead Zaromskis has slipped a leg in, to regain half guard.
Picard trying to control the action but Zaromskis is working from the bottom.
Picard is thwarting Zaromskis's attempts to control the position.
Jean Luc Picard has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Picard is just content to waste time from the top position. Zaromskis takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.
Zaromskis keeping moving, preventing Picard from controlling successfully.
Picard sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Zaromskis keeping full guard, as Picard tries to pass.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Picard trying to move into half guard but instead Zaromskis has managed to sweep!
Zaromskis throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Zaromskis trying to control the position from guard on top but Picard is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Zaromskis is looking to work some ground and pound but Picard has wrist control.
Zaromskis throws a strike but Picard rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Picard has gone for a leg lock! Zaromskis slips out almost immediately though and dives into Picard's guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Zaromskis looking to sit in guard and control but Picard gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Picard seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Picard throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Zaromskis works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Jean Luc Picard.
I think Zaromskis 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 Alexandre Firmino scores the fight for Gegard Zaromskis!
Judge Emerson Jorge scores the fight for Gegard Zaromskis!
Judge Edson Gomes scores the fight for Gegard Zaromskis!

Gegard Zaromskis wins by unanimous decision!