PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Vladimir Zenin (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Marshall Mathers (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Zenin's ring entrance music is that housewives' favourite, Helloween - Power. Mathers is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: Square Dance. Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Zenin
vs
Mathers

172 cm
31
186 lbs
20 - 8 - 0

185 cm
26
185 lbs
16 - 6 - 1

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Brute

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 20 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Vladimir Zenin!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 16 - 6 - 1, fighting out of Hilo, Marshall Mathers!
The judges for this bout are Yuuki Gou, Yukihiro Yamamoto and Shigeki Fujiwara.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Zenin rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Mathers moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Mathers moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Mathers avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Zenin misses the jab.
Mathers catches Zenin with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
That kick from Mathers tenderised Zenin's leg. Zenin is trying to keep his angry face on.
Zenin misses with a straight left.
Mathers connects with a solid leg kick.
Mathers dips to his left and cracks Zenin with an uppercut!
Mathers changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Mathers scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Mathers tries to land a front kick but Zenin steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Zenin misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Mathers.
Mathers throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Nice body punch from Zenin.

Zenin shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Mathers napping and manages to drive through into side control!
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Zenin fails to land a wild elbow strike.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Zenin is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Mathers has escaped the position, nice work there.
You can see the frustration on Mathers's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Zenin working the head with strikes.
You can see the frustration on Mathers's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Mathers really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Zenin. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Zenin throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.
You can see the frustration on Mathers's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Mathers tries to bench press Zenin off him but Zenin keeps the position.
Zenin throwing strikes but missing, from side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Zenin working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
You can see the frustration on Mathers's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Mathers wants to get back to his feet.

Zenin looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Mathers is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Zenin in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Mathers is trying to buck Zenin off.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zenin with the ground and pound but Mathers regains half guard under the barage of strikes.
Zenin sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Mathers defending well though.
Mathers gets back to full guard.
Zenin stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Mathers swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Zenin stops Mathers from standing up.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Zenin accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Zenin trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Zenin scoring with punches to the head and body.
Zenin working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Zenin stopping the sweep attempt from Mathers.
Zenin postures up in Mathers's guard and throws a big left but Mathers blocks it.
Zenin throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Mathers 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.
Mathers is looking to stand up but Zenin isn't so interested in that idea.
Zenin scoring with punches to the head and body.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Mathers looking for a sweep. Not yet Mathers, not yet.
Zenin has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Zenin passes into half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Vladimir Zenin dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Zenin misses with a wild body shot.

Zenin closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Zenin lands in his opponent's guard.
Zenin is looking to work some ground and pound but Mathers has wrist control.
Zenin pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Mathers is keeping the position for now.
Zenin slips nicely into half guard.
Zenin not landing any meaningful shots this time.

Zenin is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Mathers has managed to free his arm - good work.
Vladimir Zenin overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Mathers is looking to control Zenin's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Mathers avoid being mounted?

That's one minute gone in the round.

Zenin is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Mathers doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Zenin.
Mathers is trying to stand back up but Zenin is controlling him
Mathers trying to control but Zenin postures up.
Zenin not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Zenin wants to free his trapped foot but Mathers is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Zenin scoring with strikes to the body and head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Zenin thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Mathers is trying to control but can't.
Mathers tries to roll over but Zenin keeps him under control.
Zenin not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Mathers trying to control but Zenin postures up.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Mathers blocking the ground and pound attempt from Zenin.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Mathers wants to get back to full guard.

Zenin looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Mathers wants to get back to full guard but Zenin has passed into side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zenin moves into full mount!
Mathers is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
Mathers tries to hold on but Zenin pushes him away.
Mathers is trying to escape but when you're mounted that's not too easy.
Zenin with good strikes from the mount here!
Zenin prevents Mathers from getting the reversal.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Zenin thowing shots but they're missing.
Mathers tries to lock up and control but Zenin gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.

Zenin looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
Mathers is wriggling around trying to escape.
Zenin breaks from Mathers's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Mathers wants to control but Zenin is having none of it.
Zenin with shots to the head and body - Mathers looks very uncomfortable down there.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Mathers is wriggling around trying to escape.
Zenin lands a heavy elbow.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Vladimir Zenin dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Zenin lands with a nice combination. Mathers backs away looking to recover.
Zenin loads up on a big right hand but Mathers slips the punch.
Zenin lands a lovely overhand right.
Zenin fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Zenin throws a big shot that misses.
Mathers throws a leg kick but Zenin sees it coming and checks it nicely.
A jab from Mathers misses.
Zenin lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Mathers throws a body kick that misses.
Zenin drops his hands momentarily and Mathers takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Mathers throws a leg kick but Zenin sees it coming and moves out of range.
Mathers gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Mathers catches Zenin with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mathers looks for the body kick but Zenin saw that one coming.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Mathers enables Zenin to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Mathers manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Zenin content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.

Zenin drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Mathers manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Zenin has Mathers in his guard.
Mathers trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Zenin wants to sweep here but Mathers controlling him for the moment.
Mathers looking to pass the guard.
Mathers is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Marshall Mathers has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Zenin is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Zenin looking for a sweep. Not yet Zenin, not yet.
Zenin might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Zenin throws a couple of shots from the bottom but they don't land.
Zenin throws a couple of shots from the bottom but they don't land.
Mathers is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Zenin doesn't do any damage with a couple of strikes from the bottom.
Zenin lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Mathers!

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Zenin working for a guillotine from mount but Mathers is in no mood to give up.
Zenin connects with a couple of good shots from mount.

It looks like Marshall Mathers has been cut.
Zenin lands a nice shot to the head.
You get the feeling that Mathers really doesn't like being in this position too much.
Zenin postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Mathers looks a forlorn figure.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Mathers is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Zenin misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Zenin dominating with strikes here.

Mathers is rocked!
Mathers working to try and regain half guard.
Mathers is still in real trouble! Can Zenin finish him?
Zenin postures up and connects with a big shot that has rocked Mathers badly. He's trying desperately to grab hold of Zenin around the waist but Zenin pushes him off and unloads with more strikes, forcing the referee to jump in and save him! Zenin is the winner by TKO! Zenin jumps onto the cage and shouts into the camera. "We did it momma!"

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:32 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Vladimir Zenin!