PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Zhang Chunqiao (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ragnar Bjorn (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chunqiao comes to the cage accompanied by You Can't Be Friends With Everyone by MAKE OUT. Well, I have no idea who's going to take this one!

Chunqiao
vs
Bjorn

168 cm
26
150 lbs
7 - 2 - 0

181 cm
23
154 lbs
6 - 2 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Solid boxing
Experienced

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Knockout power

Conquer

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 7 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Zhang Chunqiao!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Ragnar Bjorn!
The judges for this bout are Tiny Johnson, Alan Glass and Robert Twigg.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Chunqiao fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Bjorn is looking to clinch.
Bjorn tries to clinch up.

Chunqiao closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Bjorn is looking to escape.

Chunqiao is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Bjorn sees it coming and defends easily.

Chunqiao is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Bjorn tries to kick Chunqiao off but Chunqiao keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Chunqiao is stalling here. Bjorn is in no mood to hang around though. He's locked up a kimura from the bottom! Chunqiao seems to be keeping calm but he's forced to roll out of the hold and Bjorn has ended up in side control on the top. Nice work.
Chunqiao gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Chunqiao avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Bjorn.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Chunqiao wants to improve his position but Bjorn is controlling well.
Bjorn tries to stand but his arm is trapped.
Bjorn not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Bjorn tries to stand but can't do so whilst Chunqiao controls his leg.
Chunqiao is trying to get back to full guard.
Bjorn wants to stand but Chunqiao has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Chunqiao preventing any damage for now, controlling his opponent's head.
Chunqiao might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Chunqiao trying to hold on to Bjorn's head to control him but Bjorn postures up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Chunqiao is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Bjorn tries to clinch but Chunqiao moves out of range.
Bjorn tries to clinch up.
Bjorn tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Ragnar Bjorn is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Bjorn steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Chunqiao.
Bjorn misses with a head kick.
Chunqiao connects with a looping right hand.

Chunqiao scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Bjorn is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Chunqiao has just dragged him back down to the mat.
Bjorn is not content to let Chunqiao control the position.
Bjorn is trying to get back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Chunqiao thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Chunqiao is looking to take a break and control but Bjorn is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Chunqiao tries to cartwheel into mount but he doesn't manage it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Zhang Chunqiao dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Bjorn gets a clinch.
Bjorn's coach down at 11th Planet Fitness ($100/wk) was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on Bjorn's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.
Bjorn missing with knees to the body.
Bjorn stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Chunqiao jumps guard but Bjorn stands there with Chunqiao around his waist. Chunqiao gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Bjorn is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Chunqiao is defending well for now.
Bjorn taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Chunqiao avoiding damage as Bjorn throws knees to the body.
A bit of stalling here from Bjorn.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Chunqiao blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Chunqiao tries to break free but Bjorn pushes him back against the cage.
Bjorn utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Bjorn is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Chunqiao is keeping busy.
Chunqiao goes for a takedown attempt but Bjorn pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Zhang Chunqiao is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Bjorn moves into the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Chunqiao is trying to pull guard but Bjorn has him pressed against the cage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Zhang Chunqiao. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Bjorn taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Chunqiao wants to get back to striking at distance but Bjorn won't allow it.
Bjorn looking to throw knees to the head but Chunqiao is blocking nicely.
Chunqiao lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Bjorn with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Bjorn stalls.
Bjorn landing knees to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bjorn tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Chunqiao tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Bjorn is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Bjorn utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Chunqiao on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Bjorn misses with an elbow strike.
Bjorn with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Bjorn misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Chunqiao.
Chunqiao can't break the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bjorn misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Chunqiao.
Bjorn stalling the fight.
Chunqiao is looking to break free of the clinch but Bjorn has double underhooks.
Bjorn is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Bjorn.
Chunqiao working hard to break the clinch.
Chunqiao has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Bjorn is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Chunqiao on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Bjorn tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ragnar Bjorn showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. This is the final round!

Bjorn is looking to clinch but Chunqiao is avoiding it.
Ragnar Bjorn seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Chunqiao takes a head kick and keeps coming.
Bjorn tries to clinch up.

Bjorn tries to sprawl but Chunqiao drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Chunqiao wants to pass the guard but Bjorn is defending well.
Chunqiao prevents Bjorn from standing back up.
Bjorn is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.

Chunqiao is working for a kimura but Bjorn is defending it quite comfortably.

Chunqiao is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Chunqiao is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Bjorn sees it coming and defends easily.
Chunqiao wants to pass to mount but Bjorn is defending the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.

Chunqiao looking for a submission but Bjorn manages to get full guard, putting an end to that submission attempt.
Chunqiao trying to control but Bjorn is working from the bottom.
Chunqiao pushing down on Bjorn's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Bjorn wants to get back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Chunqiao is looking for a kimura. It's pretty deep but Bjorn still has the half guard so he's probably OK. Oh, Bjorn has exploded into a beautiful escape there and after a quick scramble, he's ended up in side control on top! Nice work!
Zhang Chunqiao overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Bjorn tries to get to his feet but he's trapped momentarily.
Chunqiao looking for a sweep but Bjorn has passed into full mount! Oh no!
Chunqiao is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Chunqiao tries to lock up and control but Bjorn gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Bjorn looking to control and managing it successfully.
Bjorn scoring with strikes but Chunqiao is staying in there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Chunqiao working to try and regain half guard.
Chunqiao sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.
Chunqiao keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Bjorn prevents Chunqiao from improving his position.
Bjorn seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Bjorn thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Chunqiao's head.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Chunqiao has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Bjorn is working away from the top position though.

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 Zhang Chunqiao.
I think Chunqiao has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Tiny Johnson scores the fight 29:28
Judge Alan Glass scores the fight 29:28
Judge Robert Twigg scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Zhang Chunqiao!
Zhang Chunqiao bigged himself up after the win. The crowd seemed to love it.