PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Zen Zelli (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Anthony Burgess (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). This should be a great matchup!

Zelli
vs
Burgess

189 cm
31
198 lbs
15 - 14 - 0

190 cm
31
196 lbs
20 - 13 - 2

BJJ Purple Belt
Great elbows
Very quick

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Powerful

Performance Enhancing Drugs

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 2 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 15 - 14 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Zen Zelli!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 20 - 13 - 2, fighting out of Los Angeles, Anthony Burgess!
The judges for this bout are Timothy Bukovac, Jack Bonds and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Burgess throws an off balance right hand
and Zelli counters with a stiff right hand.
Zelli takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Zelli ducks under a wild hook from Burgess.
Burgess throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Burgess works the jab nicely.
Burgess throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Zelli checks a leg kick.
Burgess throws a lazy uppercut
and Zelli counters with a nice uppercut.
Zelli uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Burgess.
Burgess misses the body punch
and Zelli counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Zelli keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Burgess.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Burgess misses with a body shot
and Zelli counters with a three punch combo that has Burgess backing up. Burgess nods at Zelli to acknowledge the strikes.
Burgess throws a low kick but Zelli moves out of range easily.
Burgess throws out a loose jab but Zelli uses good head movement to avoid it.
A telegraphed right hand from Burgess misses the target.
Burgess tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Zelli was well out of range. Poor timing from Burgess.
Burgess swings for the body but Zelli moves out of range.
Burgess throws a hook but Zelli blocks it.
Donk. Zelli catches Burgess right on the button with a cross.
Burgess lunges at Zelli with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Zelli's hand.
Zelli avoids the body shot from Burgess.
Zelli throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Burgess misses with an uppercut.
Zelli tries to clinch but Burgess moves out of range.
Burgess just misses with a punch to the body.
Burgess circles away from the clinch attempt.
Zelli keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
A slow jab from Burgess misses its intended target.
Burgess throws the left hand but Zelli avoids the punch easily.
Burgess throws a low kick but Zelli moves out of range easily.
Burgess throws a lazy right hand but Zelli sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Anthony Burgess seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Burgess misses the shot to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Burgess fails to land with a series of punches.
Burgess throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Zelli.
Zelli uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Burgess.
Burgess is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Zelli.
Zelli misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Burgess misses with a straight right.
Burgess scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Burgess misses with a body shot
and Zelli counters with a straight right hand.
Zelli tries to clinch there but Burgess circles away.
Burgess throws a low kick but it's checked well by Zelli.
Burgess just misses with a punch to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Burgess thows a body shot but no joy.
Burgess looks to throw the jab but Zelli is out of range.
Burgess loads up on a big right hand but Zelli slips the punch.
Burgess changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Burgess looks to score with a jab to the body but Zelli is just out of range.
Burgess comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Zelli throws a left and a right that both miss
and Burgess counters with a nice leg kick.
Burgess uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Zelli has time to react.
Good leg kick by Burgess there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Zelli displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Burgess throws out the jab.

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Burgess throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Zelli.
Burgess is looking to chop away at Zelli's legs.
Burgess dodges the punch combination from Zelli.
Burgess lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Burgess is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Zelli.
Burgess misses with a double jab.
Burgess scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Zelli moves out of range as Burgess strikes.
Zelli takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
Burgess tries to bum rush Zelli with a series of wild strikes but Zelli uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Burgess tests Zelli's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Burgess throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Zelli.
Burgess throws a leg kick but Zelli checks it.
Burgess throws a leg kick
letting Zelli counter with a right hand.
Burgess throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Burgess takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
A looping hook to the body misses from Burgess. Zelli does a little dance to reset his feet.
Burgess misses with a hook. Zelli ducked under it nicely.
Burgess lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.
Burgess slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Zelli keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Burgess.
Zelli blocks a jab.
Burgess connects with the punch.
Burgess throws a front kick aimed at Zelli's knee but Zelli avoids it well.
Burgess throws a series of punches but Zelli avoids them all with ease.
A swing and a miss from Burgess.
Nice defenses there by Burgess.
Burgess swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Burgess misses with a body shot.
A big left from Burgess misses.

That's eight minutes gone in the round.
A looping hook to the body misses from Burgess. Zelli does a little dance to reset his feet.
Zelli fails with an attempt to clinch.
Burgess looks to land a right hand but Zelli moved out of range.
Burgess throws the left hand but Zelli avoids the punch easily.
Burgess scores with a shot to the body.
Burgess misses the body punch

and Zelli counters by moving into the clinch.

Burgess tightens his grip and picks Zelli up, before dumping him to the ground. Zelli manages to land in guard.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Burgess prevents Zelli from getting back to his feet.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Zelli looking to control.
Burgess throws a strike but Zelli rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Zelli tries to stand but Burgess is controlling from the bottom.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Burgess keeping full guard, as Zelli tries to pass.
Burgess controlling Zelli's posture.
Burgess keeping full guard, as Zelli tries to pass.
Zelli is working hard here to advance position.
Zelli wants to stand and escape but instead Burgess has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Zelli utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Burgess throwing strikes but missing.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Anthony Burgess dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the ring so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Burgess lands a two punch combo.
Burgess misses with a hook
and Zelli cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Burgess scores with a jab to the body.
Burgess misses with a straight left.
A combination from Burgess does no damage.
Zelli takes a swing at Burgess's ribcage but misses.
Burgess throws a jab when Zelli was well out of range.
Zelli darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Zen Zelli is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Nice defenses there by Burgess.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Burgess misses with a straight left.
Burgess connects with an inside leg kick.
Burgess throws a right and a left that Zelli avoids nicely.
We are yet to see a takedown attempt from Burgess in the fight. On paper you would think he is the more dominant ground fighter so let's see if these unusual tactics pay off.
A swing and a miss from Zelli.
Burgess throws a lazy right hand but Zelli sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Burgess looks to land a combination but Zelli avoids it well.
Burgess throws a lazy uppercut

and Zelli holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Burgess throws a punch but it's blocked by Zelli.

Burgess's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Burgess throws a series of punches but Zelli moves out of range.
Zelli paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Zelli looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Burgess swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Zelli blocks a leg kick.
Zelli checks a low kick from Burgess.
Burgess dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Zelli. That did some damage!
Burgess throws a body punch but Zelli moves out of range.
A big left from Zelli misses.
Nice uppercut lands for Burgess. That snapped Zelli's head back.
Burgess pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Burgess thows a body shot but no joy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zelli cracks Burgess with a right hand to the side of the head.
Zelli connects with a body shot.
Zelli moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Nice shot lands for Burgess.
Zelli steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Burgess.
Burgess misses with a straight left.
Burgess misses with an uppercut.
A bone on bone clash there as Zelli blocks the leg kick.
Burgess is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Zelli.
Anthony Burgess seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Burgess misses with a looping right.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Some wild striking there from Zelli.
Burgess throws a right hand that Zelli ducks under and follows up with a left that Zelli also avoids with ease.
Burgess throws a chopping leg kick but Zelli manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Burgess throws an off balance right hand
and Zelli makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Burgess swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
An inside leg kick lands from Burgess.
Burgess throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Burgess looks to land a left hand but Zelli moved out of range nicely.

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Burgess smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Zelli defending well as Burgess loads up on a big left hand.
Burgess tries to work over Zelli's front leg with a kick but Zelli checks it.
Zelli ducks under a wild hook from Burgess.
Zelli misses with a two punch combination.
Burgess throws a right hand that Zelli ducks under and follows up with a left that Zelli also avoids with ease.
A swing and a miss from Burgess.
Burgess scores with a decent looking hook.
A looping hook to the body misses from Burgess. Zelli does a little dance to reset his feet.
Burgess thows a body shot but no joy.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
Burgess takes a swing at Zelli's ribcage but misses.
Burgess lands a jab to the nose.
Zelli avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Burgess misses with a jab, cross combination.
Burgess misses with a looping right.
Burgess throws a looping overhand right but Zelli ducks down to avoid it.
Burgess thows a left - swing and a miss!
Zelli chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Burgess can pounce on him.
Zelli chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Burgess can pounce on him.
Burgess misses with a leg kick
and Zelli counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.
Burgess throws a hook but Zelli avoids it easily.
Zelli lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Zelli blocks a low kick nicely.
Burgess misses with an uppercut

and Zelli holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Zelli fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Zelli scores with a shot to the side of Burgess's head.
Burgess blocks an uppercut.
Zelli pushes Burgess back against the ropes and unloads with a body punch.
Zelli tries to throw a body punch but Burgess avoids it by throwing Zelli back against the ropes.
Burgess tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Zelli avoids it.
Burgess misses with the head strike.
Burgess scores with an uppercut up the middle.
A head punch on the inside from Zelli fails to land.
Zelli lands with a right to the head.

That's eight minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Zelli lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Burgess or not.

Burgess breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

Zelli closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the ropes.
Zelli lands with a left to the head.
Burgess working aggressively here.
Zelli throws a punch but it's blocked by Burgess.
Zelli lands a nice shot to the body.
Burgess is breathing heavily.
Burgess on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Zelli lands with a light punch inside.
Zelli cracks Burgess with a nice body shot.
Zelli scores with a nice hook to the head.
Burgess misses with the head strike.
Zelli throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Burgesss head.
Zelli lands a shot to the body.
Zelli missing with knees to the body.
Burgess throws a punch but it's blocked by Zelli.
Zelli works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
A short right from Zelli.
Zelli comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Zelli gets through Burgess's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Burgess swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Zelli lands a hook that snaps the head of Burgess backwards.
Zelli lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Zelli trying to land knees to the body.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Zelli.
Zelli misses with the head strike.
Burgess has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Zelli is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Zelli is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Zelli lands a body punch in the clinch.
Zelli lands a left hand.
Zelli pushes Burgess back against the ropes and lands a hook to the side of the head.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
A short right from Zelli on the inside.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Zelli doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Zelli lands an elbow that stopped Burgess in his tracks for a moment.
Zelli misses with a punch to the body.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Zen Zelli.
I have no idea who won that fight. Let's wait and see whether the judges are as confused as me! Time for a split decision perhaps?!. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.

Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight for Anthony Burgess!
Judge Jack Bonds scores the fight for Anthony Burgess!
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight for Anthony Burgess!

Anthony Burgess wins by unanimous decision!
Anthony Burgess was full of energy after the big win and talked about how he thinks he can do big things in this sport. The crowd were appreciative of his determination to succeed.