PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Hot Rod (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Vitali Zaitsef (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Zaitsef is bouncing up and down as he enters the arena, backed by Mother Puncher - Mastodon. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Rod
vs
Zaitsef

225 cm
22
307 lbs
5 - 1 - 0

194 cm
22
275 lbs
4 - 5 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Experienced

Decent wrestler
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, for the super heavyweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Hot Rod!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 5 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Vitali Zaitsef!
The judges for this bout are Igor Prikhodko, Aleksei Zolotukhin and Vladimir Khabensky.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rod bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Zaitsef's head.
Rod moves into range and connects with a jab.
Zaitsef throws a leg kick which misses Rod's front leg but catches the back leg as Rod tries to avoid it.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Zaitsef lands with an uppercut that bounces Rod off the cage and back into range.

It looks like Hot Rod has been cut.

Zaitsef shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Rod will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Zaitsef scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Rod keeping moving, preventing Zaitsef from controlling successfully.
Zaitsef throwing strikes but missing.
Zaitsef in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Zaitsef has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Rod can't keep his opponent in guard - Zaitsef advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Zaitsef missing with the ground and pound from half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zaitsef throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Zaitsef sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Rod defending well though.
Zaitsef not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Zaitsef is looking to take a break and control but Rod is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Zaitsef throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Rod avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Zaitsef.
Rod on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Rod tries to get out of the position.
Zaitsef winds up and cracks Rod with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Zaitsef lands a nice short elbow.
Zaitsef thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Zaitsef thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Rod's head.
Rod knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Zaitsef on the ground.
Zaitsef thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rod keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Zaitsef is nestled in close to Rod, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Zaitsef missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Zaitsef trying to control the action but Rod is working from the bottom.
Zaitsef thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Zaitsef working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Zaitsef winds up and cracks Rod with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Zaitsef takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Zaitsef wants to take a breather but Rod is having none of it.
Rod is looking to escape.
Rod taking some punishment here, with Zaitsef in his half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zaitsef missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Zaitsef thows a huge punch but Rod dodges it nicely.
Rod wants to control but Zaitsef is keeping busy.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Zaitsef lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Zaitsef working Rod over with strikes.
Zaitsef sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Rod defending well though.
Zaitsef takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Rod pushes Zaitsef off looking to stand but Zaitsef dives back in and keeps control.
Rod taking some punishment here, with Zaitsef in his half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Zaitsef sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Rod defending well though.
Zaitsef slips a nice elbow through Rod's hands, connecting with Rod's forehead.
Zaitsef working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Rod keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Zaitsef drops an elbow to the side of Rod's head.
Zaitsef seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Rod is breathing heavily.

Zaitsef is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Rod has managed to free his arm - good work.
Zaitsef not landing any meaningful shots this time.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Zaitsef missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Vitali Zaitsef dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Hot Rod's cut.
That's time! Back to the action!

Zaitsef throws out a loose jab but Rod uses good head movement to avoid it.
Rod clobbers Zaitsef with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
The step up in weight doesn't seem to be a problem for Zaitsef. He's performing admirably here against the bigger man.
Rod steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Zaitsef.
Rod displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Zaitsef.
Zaitsef throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Zaitsef throws a right and a left that Rod avoids nicely.
Zaitsef has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Zaitsef takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.

Rod moves into the clinch.
Rod misses with the head strike.
Rod lands a body shot in the clinch.
Rod misses with a body punch.
Zaitsef is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Rod is defending well.
Zaitsef is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Zaitsef blocks a body shot from Rod.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A short right from Rod on the inside.
Rod lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Zaitsef.
Rod can't find room to land a body shot as Zaitsef controls the action.
Rod misses with a hook to the ribs.
A short right from Rod.
Zaitsef misses with a short punch on the inside.
Zaitsef wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Rod has him pressed against the cage.
Zaitsef tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Rod blocking some punches.
A short uppercut from Zaitsef.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Rod.
Rod lands with a right to the head.
Rod throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Zaitsef is breathing heavily.
Zaitsef prevents a body shot from Rod.
Rod lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Rod lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Zaitsef fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Zaitsef misses with a punch to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rod prevents a body shot from Zaitsef.
Zaitsef prevents a body shot from Rod.
Rod is leaning against Zaitsef and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Rod can't find room to land a body shot as Zaitsef controls the action.
Rod softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
A right hook to the body lands for Rod.
Zaitsef is looking to control Rod's arms but Rod gets an underhook and turns him. Now Zaitsef has his back to the cage.
A right hook to the body lands for Rod.
Nice body punch from Rod - that landed with a thud.
A right hook to the body lands for Rod.
Rod pushes Zaitsef back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Rod lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Zaitsef backwards.
A left hand lands to the body for Rod.
Nice body punch from Rod.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Rod.
A short body shot lands from Rod as the two fighters clinch.
Rod pushes Zaitsef back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Rod presses Zaitsef against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Rod tries to work over Zaitsef's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Rod lands with a short punch from the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zaitsef misses with the head strike.
Rod misses with a body punch.
Rod lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Rod lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
A right hook to the body lands for Rod.
Rod lands an uppercut.
Zaitsef tries to land knees in the clinch but Rod avoids the damage to the body.
Rod makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Rod softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Rod lands with a short head shot on the inside.

Zaitsef is rocked!
Rod lands a left hand that snaps the head of Zaitsef backwards.
Zaitsef is still on wobbly legs! Can Rod finish him?
Rod unloads with a big right hand that wobbles Zaitsef! He's leaning against the cage trying to keep his feet but Rod is unloading with more strikes now! Zaitsef drops to his knees and the referee stops the fight for a TKO!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:45 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Hot Rod!
Hot Rod retains his super heavyweight title!