PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Vassili Zaitsev (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Faro Red (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Zaitsev comes into the arena with riing of fire blaring out of the sound system. Faro Red is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Zaitsev
vs
Red

190 cm
18
200 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

185 cm
25
205 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Intelligent

Good takedowns
Brawler
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Vassili Zaitsev!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Faro Red!
The judges for this bout are Fedor Mirinova, Konstantin Menshow and Aleksei Zolotukhin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Horrible takedown by Red or perhaps it was just good defense by Zaitsev which made him look bad.

Zaitsev is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Red's half guard.
Red moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Zaitsev throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Red works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

Zaitsev has gone for a leg lock! Red slips out almost immediately though and dives into Zaitsev's guard.
Zaitsev is pulling down on Red's head to control his posture.
Red slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Red tries to free his leg and advance position but Zaitsev is retaining full guard.

Zaitsev is edging up against the cage. He's using the cage to get back to his feet. Nice work there - the fighters are clinched.

Zaitsev is fighting off a takedown attempt but Red is just too persistent for him and manages to trip Zaitsev to the mat. Zaitsev regains guard as soon as the fighters hit the mat.

Red got a little sloppy there for a moment and Zaitsev has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Red has managed to get both his arms back between Zaitsev's legs - danger averted.
Zaitsev wants to sweep here but Red controlling him for the moment.
Red controls from within his opponent's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
It looks like Red might be adopting somewhat of a lay and pray gameplan here, which I'm sure won't go down too well with the paying fans in attendance... Or the ring announcers come to think of it.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Red slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
The referee asks Red politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Red prefers to stall for the moment though.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Zaitsev is trying to control Red's posture but Red avoids it.
The referee asks Red politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Red prefers to stall for the moment though.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Red wants to control but Zaitsev is keeping him busy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Red tries to advance to mount but Zaitsev denies him.
Zaitsev is not content to let Red control the position.
Zaitsev sneaks back into half guard.
Zaitsev is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Red trying to control the action but Zaitsev is working from the bottom.

Red decides to stand up and try his luck on the feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Zaitsev shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Red manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Zaitsev is breathing heavily.
Zaitsev working some strikes from top position.
Red is trying to control the position from the bottom.

Red wriggles free and stands up.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Zaitsev stuffs the takedown.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Red misses with a takedown attempt - Zaitsev sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Vassili Zaitsev has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Faro Red.
Zaitsev throws a head kick that misses.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Zaitsev shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Red stuffs the takedown attempt from Zaitsev. Zaitsev gets slowly back to his feet.
Red fails with the takedown.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Red.
Zaitsev tries to strike from the bottom but misses.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.
Zaitsev stops Red from passing to mount.

Red working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Red trying to control the position but Zaitsev is working away.
Red is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Red content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.

Red tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Red has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Zaitsev is trying to get back to half guard.
Zaitsev is trying to escape the position but Red is controlling the position.
Faro Red has got the better of the ground game so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Zaitsev tries to bench press Red off him but Red keeps the position.

Red swings around for an armbar but Zaitsev sees it coming a mile off and turns beautifully into Red's guard.

Red throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Zaitsev showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

Red looking to try and escape his hips here, looking for a submission. It looks like he's going for a triangle but Zaitsev is defending well. Red quickly switches to an armbar and extends the arm! Zaitsev has no choice but to tap, to a very quick submission! Wow, that was lightning fast! Red celebrates on the cage, with the crowd.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:56 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Faro Red!