PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Zo Hyde (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Joe Kelly (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Joe Kelly is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Hyde
vs
Kelly

172 cm
19
138 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

165 cm
18
138 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Big heart

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight 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, Zo Hyde!
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, Joe Kelly!
The judges for this bout are Konstantin Menshow, Aleksei Zolotukhin and Igor Prikhodko.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hyde shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Kelly as he jumps to the side.

Hyde looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Hyde frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Hyde tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.

Hyde jumps to the side looking to secure the arm triangle…. Ooooh, that looks tight… Kelly is gargling but he's managed to escape! Nice work there by Kelly and Hyde has given up the dominant position trying to land that submission.
Hyde staying calm.
Hyde tries to score with some ground and pound. Kelly controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
Hyde in side control, throwing shots but Kelly defends.
Hyde trying to control the position but Kelly is working away.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Hyde goes for an armbar! This could be all over! Wait, no, Kelly rolls with the submission and now he's on top in Hyde's guard! Nice work there by Kelly!
Kelly lands a couple of elbows.
Kelly won't allow Hyde to sweep him here.
Hyde is working hard here to advance position.
Kelly trying to control the position from guard on top but Hyde is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Kelly scoring with some ground and pound.
Kelly is in close to Hyde's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Kelly works over Hyde with some ground and pound from guard.
Kelly chips away with some ground and pound.
Hyde looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Kelly must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Kelly scoring with some ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kelly preventing the sweep.
Hyde trying to strike off his back.
Hyde tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Hyde is breathing heavily.
Hyde controls Kelly momentarily but Kelly frees himself.
Kelly trying to stand up but can't free himself from Hyde's guard.
Kelly trying to control the position from guard on top but Hyde is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Kelly wants to clinch.
Hyde shoots for a double leg takedown but Kelly sprawls well. He's pushed Hyde's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.

Hyde shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than Hyde was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Kelly is looking to get back to his feet - it's going to be hard from this position.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kelly is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Hyde cracks Kelly with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Kelly tries to lock up and control but Hyde gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Kelly bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!
Kelly has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Hyde is proving hard to escape from.
Hyde trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.

Hyde is working for submissions here. He's thrown up his legs looking for a tringle but Kelly frees his head nicely. Oh but Hyde has switched to an armbar! Kelly is tapping furiously! Lovely submission there!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:03 of round 1, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle Armbar). Zo Hyde!