PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Vasilij Zajtsev (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Bogey James (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Bogey James has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Vasilij Zajtsev's chin.

Zajtsev
vs
James

165 cm
30
155 lbs
5 - 5 - 0

168 cm
28
152 lbs
6 - 8 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Very strong

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Determined

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 5 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Vasilij Zajtsev!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Bogey James!
The judges for this bout are , Timothy Bukovac and Don Winkell.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
James doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Zajtsev counters with a three punch combo that has James backing up. James nods at Zajtsev to acknowledge the strikes.

James scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
James throwing shots but Zajtsev is blocking nicely.
Zajtsev slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
James pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Zajtsev is keeping the position for now.
Zajtsev wants to sweep but no luck.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Zajtsev throwing strikes off his back to little effect.
Zajtsev working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from James.
James missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
James missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
James throws an elbow that misses. Zajtsev uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in James's guard. Nice move by Zajtsev!
Zajtsev 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.
James utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
James keeping full guard, as Zajtsev tries to pass.
James trying to control the position.
Zajtsev throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as James works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Zajtsev throws a big right hand that misses.

Zajtsev postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! James is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Zajtsev, into his guard.
James is pushing down on Zajtsev's leg trying to pass to half guard. Zajtsev is fighting to maintain full guard but James has managed to sneak the leg through.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
James looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Zajtsev with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
James takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
James scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
James sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Zajtsev defending well though.
James lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
James missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Zajtsev on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Zajtsev trying to hold on to James's head to control him but James postures up.
Zajtsev blocking the ground and pound attempt from James.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Zajtsev actively working from the bottom here.
James throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
James slips a nice elbow through Zajtsev's hands, connecting with Zajtsev's forehead.
James takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
James throwing shots but Zajtsev is blocking nicely.
Zajtsev is trying to defend against the ground and pound but James scores with a couple of nice shots.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
James is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Zajtsev tries to kick James off but James keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Zajtsev is trying to get back to full guard.
James thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
James seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
James not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Zajtsev keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Zajtsev is looking to control James's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Zajtsev avoid being mounted?
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. James lands a nice short elbow.
James looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
James takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
James missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Nice strikes from James there.
James tries to stand but his hand is stuck under Zajtsev.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Zajtsev makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Zajtsev.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!

James stands up over his opponent, looking to dive in with a big punch. Here he comes, superman style! Oh, the punch misses and Zajtsev has got him in a triangle choke for good measure! Oh no! James manages to get his head free but now Zajtsev has transitioned to an armbar! James grimaces and is forced to tap! Beautiful Jiu Jitsu from Zajtsev! I'd be surprised if that didn't end up as submission of the night!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:26 of round 1, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Vasilij Zajtsev!
During a confident post fight interview, Vasilij Zajtsev thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.