PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Zhang Zhu (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kazushi Sakuraba (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Kazushi Sakuraba has the eye of the tiger tonight.

Zhu
vs
Sakuraba

178 cm
31
180 lbs
8 - 24 - 0

183 cm
31
186 lbs
9 - 2 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent MT
Insanely flexible

BJJ Purple Belt
Decent boxing
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 8 - 24 - 0, fighting out of New York, Zhang Zhu!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Kazushi Sakuraba!
The judges for this bout are Wesley Smith, Alan Glass and Cecil Peabody.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A head kick misses from Zhu.
Zhu avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Zhu throws a sloppy head kick and Sakuraba moves out of range easily.
Zhu avoids a punch combination nicely.
Sakuraba tries a head kick but it misses.
Zhu throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Sakuraba throws a right and a left that Zhu avoids nicely.
Zhu's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Sakuraba connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Zhu scrambles back to his feet.
Sakuraba scores with a hook to the body. Zhu takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Zhu throws a body kick that digs right into the meat.
Sakuraba takes a kick to the side of the head.
Kazushi Sakuraba seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Zhu moves out of range of the body kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zhu changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Sakuraba tries to avoid it but Zhu manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Sakuraba to the ground. Sakuraba escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Zhu shoots for a double leg takedown but Sakuraba sprawls well. He's pushed Zhu's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Zhu throws a head kick that misses.
Zhu throws a sloppy head kick and Sakuraba moves out of range easily.
Kazushi Sakuraba is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Sakuraba throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Zhu looks for a takedown but Sakuraba sprawls well.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Zhang Zhu. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Zhu misses with a head kick.
Zhu dodges the punch combination from Sakuraba.
Zhu throws a sloppy head kick and Sakuraba moves out of range easily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Zhu throws a sloppy head kick and Sakuraba moves out of range easily.
Zhu showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Sakuraba.
Zhu throws a head kick that misses.
Zhu closes the distance and clinches up with Sakuraba, looking for a takedown. Zhu pushes Sakuraba against the cage but Sakuraba circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Sakuraba misses with a head kick.
Zhu throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Sakuraba ducks under a wild hook from Zhu.
Sakuraba walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Zhu checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sakuraba throws a left and a right that both miss
and Zhu counters with a flying knee. Nice.
Zhu pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Sakuraba closes the distance but Zhu moves to the side
and Zhu counters with a head kick.
Zhu throws a series of punches but Sakuraba avoids them all with ease.
Zhu fails to land the takedown.
Zhu misses with a body kick.
Zhu moves into range and lands a nice body kick.
A combination from Sakuraba does no damage.
Sakuraba throws a nice looking combination but Zhu bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Zhu thuds a mid kick into his opponent's body. That will wear on Sakuraba if he has to take too many more of those.
Sakuraba takes a kick to the side of the head.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Sakuraba blocks a head kick by Zhu.
Zhu throws a head kick that misses.
Sakuraba misses with the combination.
Zhu moves out of range as Sakuraba throws a body kick.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Sakuraba throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Zhu is trying hard to land a takedown here. Sakuraba sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
A looping hook to the body misses from Sakuraba. Zhu does a little dance to reset his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Zhang Zhu dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Sakuraba blocks a head kick by Zhu.
Sakuraba tries to close the distance and clinch up but Zhu swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Sakuraba cracks Zhu with a right hand to the side of the head.
Zhu shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Sakuraba pinned against the cage. Sakuraba gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Sakuraba moves in looking to clinch but Zhu pushes him off.
Sakuraba throws a left and a right that both miss
and Zhu counters with a stiff right hand.
Zhu misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Some wild striking there from Sakuraba.
Zhu throws a head kick but Sakuraba moves out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zhu throws a half hearted mid kick.
Sakuraba swinging wildly here.
Sakuraba blocks a head kick by Zhu.
Sakuraba avoids a kick to the body.
Sakuraba misses with a combination
and Zhu counters with a nice kick to the body.
Zhu just misses with a punch to the body.
Some wild striking there from Sakuraba.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Zhu tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Zhu throws a head kick that misses.
Sakuraba scores with a three punch combo!
Zhu throws a sloppy head kick and Sakuraba moves out of range easily.
Sakuraba throws a sloppy head kick and Zhu moves out of range easily.
Sakuraba misses with a double jab.
Zhu cracks Sakuraba with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
No joy there for Sakuraba, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Zhu throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zhu looks for a takedown but Sakuraba sprawls well.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Sakuraba.
Zhu throws a sloppy head kick
and Sakuraba counters with a two punch combo.
Sakuraba misses with a few strikes there.

Sakuraba moves into range and clinches up with Zhu.
Sakuraba throws an elbow but it misses.
Sakuraba is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Sakuraba keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Zhu's efforts to push away.
Sakuraba blocks an elbow strike from Zhu.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sakuraba throws an elbow but it misses.

Zhu pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Zhang Zhu is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Sakuraba takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Sakuraba throws a head kick that misses.
Zhu will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Zhang Zhu. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Sakuraba ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Zhu moves away.
Zhu shoots in and drives through. Sakuraba sprawls well.
Sakuraba moves out of range of the body kick from Zhu.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Zhu misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Sakuraba displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Zhu.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Kazushi Sakuraba will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Zhu avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Sakuraba tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Zhu looks to score with a jab to the body but Sakuraba is just out of range.
Sakuraba avoids the head kick by Zhu.
Good shot there by Sakuraba.
Zhu checks a leg kick.
Zhu avoids a punch combination nicely.
Zhu scores with a push kick.
Zhu misses with a two punch combination.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sakuraba throws a leg kick but Zhu sees it coming and moves out of range.
Zhu misses with a two punch combination.
Zhu bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.
No joy there for Sakuraba, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Sakuraba throws a right and a left that both miss.
Zhu avoids a punch combination nicely.
Zhu throws a head kick that Sakuraba semi-blocks.
Zhu misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sakuraba stuffs the takedown attempt from Zhu. Zhu gets slowly back to his feet.
Zhu throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Sakuraba connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Sakuraba attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Sakuraba uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Zhu.
Zhu tries a head kick but it misses.
Sakuraba swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Zhu tries a head kick but it misses.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Zhu.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sakuraba wants to clinch.
Sakuraba swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Sakuraba throws a hook to the side of Zhu's head but Zhu sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Zhu tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Zhu shoots for a takedown but Sakuraba saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Zhang Zhu. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Zhu throws a head kick that misses.
Sakuraba getting the better of the striking in that exchange.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Zhu throws a sloppy head kick
and Sakuraba counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Zhu shoots in looking for a takedown but Sakuraba manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Zhu's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Sakuraba scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Sakuraba rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Zhu moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Zhu turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Zhu tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Zhang Zhu is winning the standup battle so far.
Zhu slips under a jab.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Zhu keeps the fight on the outside.
Sakuraba lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Zhu circles away quickly and effectively.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Kazushi Sakuraba.
I think Sakuraba 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 Wesley Smith scores the fight 28:29
Judge Alan Glass scores the fight 28:29
Judge Cecil Peabody scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Kazushi Sakuraba!
As Kazushi Sakuraba got his breath back, he grabbed the microphone and managed to blurt out the following: Special thanks to my sponsor Lionwear, but come on, I train at Fight Gone Bad of course i was gonna win'.