PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Ben Zaylor (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Carlos Torres (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Fingers crossed for an exciting fight - I'm sure both fighters are looking for a nice under the table bonus!

Zaylor
vs
Torres

174 cm
25
155 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

150 cm
18
150 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
Good chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Good kicks
Tends to cut

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Ben Zaylor!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Carlos Torres!
The judges for this bout are Stewart Dunkirk, Tiny Johnson and George Francis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Zaylor closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Zaylor lands in his opponent's guard.
Torres tries to strike from the bottom.
Torres should think about turning a few of those tyres round his middle into muscle if he wants people to take him seriously as an athlete.

Zaylor is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Zaylor engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Zaylor seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Torres for as long as he can get away with.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Zaylor's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Torres keeping full guard, as Zaylor tries to pass.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zaylor stops Torres from standing up.
Zaylor is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Zaylor passes into half guard.
Zaylor looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Zaylor has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

We're going to have a standup here because Ben Zaylor wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Nice jab there from Zaylor.
Torres tries to land a front kick but Zaylor steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Zaylor wants to clinch.
Torres throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Torres avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Torres throws a half hearted mid kick.

Zaylor shoots in and bounces Torres off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Zaylor postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zaylor is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.

Zaylor thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.

Zaylor drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Zaylor jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Zaylor controlling from the top position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Zaylor prevents Torres from getting back to his feet.
Torres keeping full guard, as Zaylor tries to pass.
Torres trying to keep a closed guard but Zaylor is proving a slippery customer.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Ben Zaylor.
Torres tries to close the distance and clinch up but Zaylor swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Zaylor fails with an attempt to clinch.
Torres tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Zaylor manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Torres enables Zaylor to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Torres manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Zaylor not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Torres wants to stand up but Zaylor is controlling him.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ben Zaylor dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Torres tries to sprawl but Zaylor drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Torres trying to control here.
Zaylor takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Zaylor working the head and body with strikes.
Torres wants to get back to full guard.
Well, if Zaylor is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
We're hearing some news coming in from back stage. It's official - Torres has eaten all the pies!
Zaylor's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Zaylor will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zaylor tries to pass the half guard into mount. Torres knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Zaylor feints and as Torres raises his hands in defense, Zaylor changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Zaylor trying to control the position from guard on top but Torres is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Zaylor sitting in guard here, content to control.
Zaylor throwing strikes but missing.
Zaylor passes Torres's right leg, so he's now in half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Zaylor wants to free his trapped foot but Torres is holding on for dear life with his legs.

Zaylor is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Torres sees it coming and defends easily.
Torres won't allow Zaylor to pass to mount.
Torres is looking to control Zaylor's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Torres avoid being mounted?
Zaylor thows a huge punch but Torres dodges it nicely.
Torres wants to get back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Zaylor in particular looking to stall.
Zaylor is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Zaylor not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Torres is trying to stand up here but Zaylor is controlling him well.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Zaylor works his way into side control.
Zaylor creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Torres sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
Torres trying to remain calm as Zaylor controls from the top position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Zaylor scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Torres to see if he's OK.
Zaylor staying calm.
Torres is looking to reverse the position.
The referee asks Zaylor politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Zaylor prefers to stall for the moment though.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Zaylor tries for a kimura but Torres is defending well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ben Zaylor dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

A thudding body kick lands there by Torres!

Zaylor closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
You can see the frustration on Torres's face as Zaylor controls the position.
Zaylor working the strikes but Torres uses the opportunity to regain half guard.
Still in half guard, Zaylor seems content to control.
Torres is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Zaylor scores with a couple of nice shots.
Zaylor is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Torres is trying to maintain the position but Zaylor is very close to passing his half guard.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zaylor scores with a couple of good hammerfists.

Zaylor seems to be looking for submissions.
Zaylor controlling the action here.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Torres is trying to stand up here but Zaylor is controlling him well.
Ben Zaylor is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Zaylor is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Torres can do to turn this around?

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Torres tries to roll over but Zaylor keeps him under control.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
A lazy body kick from Torres
and Zaylor counters with a good low kick that Torres was not able to check.
Zaylor checks a leg kick.
Torres scores with a push kick.
Torres takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Zaylor lands a nice leg kick that just misses Torres's sensitive parts.
The fight stays on the outside here - Torres looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Torres tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

Zaylor drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Zaylor sitting in guard, not really doing much.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zaylor pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Torres is keeping the position for now.
Zaylor content to stall in guard here.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Ben Zaylor wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Torres wants to clinch.
Torres throws a head kick but Zaylor moves out of range.
Torres connects with a leg kick. Zaylor looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.

Zaylor shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Zaylor showed some decent athleticism there.
Zaylor slows the pace down in half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Torres tries to roll over but Zaylor keeps him under control.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ben Zaylor showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Zaylor, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Stewart Dunkirk scores the fight 30:27
Judge Tiny Johnson scores the fight 30:27
Judge George Francis scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ben Zaylor!
During a confident post fight interview, Ben Zaylor thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.