PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Tendaji Afolayan (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and John Bzdunek (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Bzdunek has chosen Kilka ostatnich krokow as his entrance music. Tendaji Afolayan has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Afolayan
vs
Bzdunek

200 cm
25
130 lbs
4 - 2 - 0

166 cm
26
135 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid boxing
Granite chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the bantamweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Tendaji Afolayan!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, John Bzdunek!
The judges for this bout are Thiago Cunha, Emerson Jorge and Alexandre Firmino.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Bzdunek throws out a loose jab but Afolayan uses good head movement to avoid it.
Afolayan looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Bzdunek is fending him off so far but Afolayan persists. Nope, Bzdunek circles away and we're back to standing.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Afolayan.
Bzdunek slips a jab and a cross from Afolayan.
Bzdunek misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.

Afolayan has managed to clinch.

Afolayan pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Bzdunek shoots for a takedown but Afolayan saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Afolayan lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Bzdunek throws a looping overhand right but Afolayan ducks down to avoid it.

Afolayan closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.

Afolayan breaks from the clinch.
Bzdunek misses with a takedown attempt - Afolayan sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Tendaji Afolayan has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of John Bzdunek.
Bzdunek shoots in and drives through. Afolayan sprawls well.
Afolayan displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Bzdunek throws out the jab.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bzdunek fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Bzdunek tries to score a power double leg takedown but Afolayan sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Bzdunek somewhat.
Afolayan connects with the punch.
Afolayan will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Bzdunek throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Afolayan counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Afolayan darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Bzdunek fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Afolayan avoids it really well and circles away.
Afolayan lands with an uppercut that bounces Bzdunek off the cage and back into range.
John Bzdunek seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A thudding body kick lands there by Afolayan!
Bzdunek shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Afolayan as he jumps to the side.

Afolayan shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Bzdunek looks winded!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Afolayan missing with the ground and pound from half guard.

Bzdunek actively working from the bottom here.
Afolayan is trying to get back to his feet now but his leg is trapped.

Bzdunek looking for submissions off his back.
Afolayan sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Bzdunek defending well though.
Afolayan works his way into side control.
Afolayan tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Afolayan tries to advance to mount but can't.
Bzdunek is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
Afolayan works his foot free and advances to mount.
Bzdunek can't escape the position.

Afolayan wants to finish this one by submission but Bzdunek is holding onto his waist, trying to prevent any attacks from Afolayan.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Bzdunek tries to hold on but Afolayan postures up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Afolayan wants to control but Bzdunek has made it back to half guard. Nice work.
Afolayan is looking to take a break and control but Bzdunek is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Bzdunek is looking to improve his position.
Bzdunek manages to get to full guard.
Afolayan is looking to work some ground and pound but Bzdunek has wrist control.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Afolayan wants to control from the top but Bzdunek keeps moving.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tendaji Afolayan dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Afolayan.
Bzdunek waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Afolayan.
Bzdunek throws a lazy right hand but Afolayan sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Bzdunek closes the distance and clinches up with Afolayan, looking for a takedown. Bzdunek pushes Afolayan against the cage but Afolayan circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Bzdunek looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Bzdunek is really struggling to land any decent head shots against his taller opponent.
Bzdunek shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Afolayan as he jumps to the side.
Tendaji Afolayan has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of John Bzdunek.

Afolayan closes the distance and clinches.

Afolayan manages to pull guard.
Afolayan is trying to keep Bzdunek in close.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Afolayan looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Bzdunek postures up.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Afolayan keeping moving, preventing Bzdunek from controlling successfully.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Tendaji Afolayan wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Afolayan lands a glancing blow to the side of Bzdunek's head.
Bzdunek digs a good body shot into Afolayan's ribs.

Afolayan has taken the fight to the clinch.

Afolayan's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Horrible takedown by Afolayan or perhaps it was just good defense by Bzdunek which made him look bad.
Afolayan keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Nice defenses there by Afolayan.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Afolayan rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Bzdunek moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Bzdunek takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Afolayan shoots in for a double leg but Bzdunek sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Afolayan lands a high kick!
No luck for Afolayan with that takedown attempt.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Bzdunek dives in and grabs Afolayan's left leg, looking for a takedown. Afolayan pushes down on Bzdunek's head and hops out.

Afolayan fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Bzdunek, pushing him back against the cage.

Afolayan breaks from the clinch.
Afolayan is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.
Bzdunek tries to score a power double leg takedown but Afolayan sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Bzdunek somewhat.
Tendaji Afolayan is winning the standup battle so far.
Bzdunek stuffs the takedown.
Afolayan lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bzdunek throws a right and a left that both miss.
Afolayan bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Bzdunek's head.
Bzdunek shoots in but Afolayan avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Afolayan pushes Bzdunek away with a front kick.
Bzdunek is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Afolayan.
Bzdunek avoids the head kick by Afolayan.
Afolayan shoots in but Bzdunek avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Bzdunek shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Bzdunek is breathing heavily.
Bzdunek throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Afolayan makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.

Afolayan clinches.

Afolayan manages to break the clinch.
Bzdunek shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Afolayan sprawls well. Afolayan wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Bzdunek gets slowly back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Afolayan shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Bzdunek sprawls well. Bzdunek wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Afolayan gets slowly back to his feet.
Afolayan lands with an overhand left.
Afolayan really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Bzdunek.
Bzdunek fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Afolayan manages to avoid it.
Afolayan connects with a nice looking jab.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Afolayan looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Bzdunek is fending him off so far but Afolayan persists. Nope, Bzdunek circles away and we're back to standing.
Afolayan defending well as Bzdunek loads up on a big left hand.
Bzdunek throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Afolayan counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Afolayan scores with a head kick. Bzdunek tried to block it but didn't get his arm up in time.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tendaji Afolayan dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Bzdunek looks to land a left hand but Afolayan moved out of range nicely.
Bzdunek shoots for a takedown but Afolayan saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.

Afolayan has Bzdunek up against the cage in a clinch.

Afolayan manages to break the clinch.
Afolayan fails with the takedown.
Afolayan is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Bzdunek misses with a looping left.
Afolayan looks to land a combination but Bzdunek avoids it well.

Afolayan has managed to clinch.

Afolayan breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Bzdunek has a takedown stuffed.

Afolayan closes the distance and clinches.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Afolayan pulls guard successfully.
Bzdunek slips nicely into half guard.
Tendaji Afolayan overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Afolayan pushes Bzdunek off looking to stand but Bzdunek dives back in and keeps control.
Afolayan trying to hold on to Bzdunek's head to control him but Bzdunek postures up.

Afolayan is defending against the submission attempts here by Bzdunek.
Afolayan is looking to improve his position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Afolayan is trying to stand.
Afolayan is looking to improve his position.
Bzdunek wants to take a breather but Afolayan is having none of it.
Afolayan tries to kick Bzdunek off but Bzdunek keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

Bzdunek maintaining the dominant position here and is working for a kimura. He's locked it up! Afolayan could be in real trouble here! He's trying to wriggle out but Bzdunek has cracked it and Afolayan is screaming in pain - he's tapped out! Great finish by Bzdunek!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:53 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). John Bzdunek!
John Bzdunek is the new bantamweight champion!
John Bzdunek tried to hype himself up post fight but didn't word it too well and it ended up with him sounding like a bit of a tool.