PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Darren Doyle (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Matt Zazuya (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Matt Zazuya will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Doyle
vs
Zazuya

159 cm
19
161 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

200 cm
24
156 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Good kicks
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Darren Doyle!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Matt Zazuya!
The judges for this bout are Shigeki Sano, Yuuki Gou and Sosuke Kotani.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Zazuya closes the distance but Doyle moves to the side

and Doyle counters by moving into the clinch.
Doyle can't get the takedown.
Doyle tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Zazuya just stands there and leans against the cage.

Zazuya gets control of Doyle's arms and successfully pulls guard. Zazuya will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Doyle really is built like a bowling ball. I wonder if he'd roll if you pushed him down a hill...
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Doyle works over Zazuya with some ground and pound from guard.
Doyle might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.

Zazuya had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Doyle defends it easily.
Doyle is looking to work some ground and pound but Zazuya has wrist control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Doyle gets to his feet - Zazuya follows without any prompting.
Zazuya fails with an attempt to clinch.
Doyle throws out a loose jab but Zazuya uses good head movement to avoid it.
Doyle throws the kick towards the body but Zazuya avoids it.
Darren Doyle is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Doyle swats away the attempt to clinch by Zazuya.
Zazuya shoots and misses

and Doyle counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Doyle makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Doyle tries to stand but Zazuya is controlling from the bottom.
Doyle could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Doyle won't allow Zazuya to sweep him here.
Doyle throws a big elbow that misses.
Zazuya not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Doyle 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.
Doyle trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Doyle wanted to stand there but Zazuya had control of the position.
Zazuya tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Doyle cracks Zazuya with a solid left hand.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Doyle works over Zazuya with some ground and pound from guard.
Doyle postures up.
Zazuya is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Zazuya utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Doyle has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Zazuya is proving hard to escape from.
Zazuya has momentary wrist control but Doyle slips an elbow through the middle.
Doyle throws a big right hand that misses.
Zazuya is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Zazuya looks winded!
Doyle scoring with punches to the head and body.
Doyle landing with the ground and pound.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Doyle keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Zazuya's head.
Doyle has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Zazuya is proving hard to escape from.

Zazuya escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Doyle gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Doyle postures up in Zazuya's guard and throws a big left but Zazuya blocks it.
Zazuya looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Doyle wants to stand but Zazuya is controlling his posture from full guard.

Doyle stands up from Zazuya's guard - Doyle perhaps looking for a knockout.
Doyle avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Zazuya is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Doyle throws a left and a right that both miss
and Zazuya makes the exchange count by landing a cracking kick to the body. Doyle really felt that one!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Zazuya misses with a straight right.
Zazuya darts in trying to clinch
and Doyle counters with a straight right hand.
Zazuya thows a body shot but no joy.
Doyle falls off balance throwing a combination
and Zazuya counters with a right hand to the body.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Doyle goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Doyle has closed the distance and engaged Zazuya in a clinch.
Doyle is trying to break the clinch but Zazuya is controlling him.
Zazuya tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Doyle takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Doyle wants to get back to striking at distance but Zazuya won't allow it.

Zazuya breaks from the clinch.
Doyle has not gone for a single takedown so far in this fight, which seems like a very strange tactic when you consider that he has the superior wrestling and BJJ.
Zazuya fails in his attempt to clinch.
Zazuya gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Doyle counters with a two punch combo.
Zazuya fails with the takedown
and Doyle counters with a left and a right that stings Zazuya.
Darren Doyle has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Matt Zazuya.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zazuya with a lazy takedown attempt

and Doyle counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Doyle.
Zazuya is breathing heavily.

Doyle has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Zazuya uses from the top position.
Zazuya is fighting to break Doyle's control of his arms but Doyle is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Zazuya tries to stand but Doyle is controlling from the bottom.
Doyle has his hands on Zazuya's head, controlling the position.
Zazuya trying to control the position from guard on top but Doyle 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.
Zazuya shoots and misses

and Doyle counters by clinching up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Doyle jumps into guard, dragging Zazuya to the mat.

Doyle has scooted to the edge of the canvas and used the cage to get back to his feet. Zazuya has stuck on his opponent and is forcing him back against the cage.
Doyle tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Zazuya avoids it.

Doyle pulls guard effortlessly.
Zazuya prevents Doyle from getting back to his feet.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Doyle controlling the position.
Zazuya prevents Doyle from getting back to his feet.
Doyle wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Darren Doyle just wasn't active enough.
Zazuya tests Doyle's chin there with a solid looking shot.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zazuya lands a two punch combo.
Zazuya tries to grapple but his opponent circles

so Doyle counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Doyle stopping the sweep attempt from Zazuya.
Doyle landing with the ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Doyle wants to stand but Zazuya has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Doyle scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Zazuya not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Zazuya wants to sweep here but Doyle controlling him for the moment.
Doyle content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.

Doyle gets to his feet - Zazuya follows without any prompting.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Doyle throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Zazuya doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Doyle counters by clinching up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Darren Doyle dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Zazuya staying out of range there.
Zazuya shoots and misses

and Doyle counters into the clinch. Nicely done.

Doyle decides to pull guard.
Doyle is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Zazuya trying to control but Doyle is working from the bottom.
Doyle is pulling down on Zazuya's head. It's preventing any offense from Zazuya, at least for the moment.

Doyle escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Zazuya gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Zazuya trying to control but Doyle is working from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zazuya tries to stand but Doyle is controlling from the bottom.
Zazuya takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Zazuya stopping the sweep attempt from Doyle.
Zazuya being controlled here momentarily.

Matt Zazuya has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Zazuya tries to clinch but Doyle moves away

and Doyle counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Doyle.
Zazuya is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Zazuya wants to sweep but no luck.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Doyle is working Zazuya over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.

Zazuya looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Zazuya has momentary wrist control but Doyle slips an elbow through the middle.
Doyle lands a couple of elbows.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Doyle is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Doyle scoring with punches to the head and body.
Doyle is working Zazuya over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Doyle scoring with some ground and pound.
Darren Doyle overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Doyle gets to his feet. Zazuya looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!
No joy there for Doyle, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Matt Zazuya seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Zazuya doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Doyle counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Zazuya is working an open guard so Doyle takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
Zazuya takes one to the side of the head.
Doyle throws a series of punches but Zazuya moves out of range.
Doyle throws a right and a left that both miss.
A slow jab from Doyle misses its intended target.
Zazuya tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Doyle swats away the attempt to clinch by Zazuya.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Doyle pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Zazuya goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Zazuya misses with a takedown attempt

and Doyle counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Zazuya's guard now.
Darren Doyle has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Matt Zazuya.
Doyle is looking to stand up but Zazuya won't let him.
Doyle scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Doyle chips away with some ground and pound.
Doyle is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Doyle lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Doyle working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Zazuya's head.
Matt Zazuya has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Darren Doyle is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

Doyle stands and steps away. Zazuya gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.

And that's the end of the fight!
Darren Doyle showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Doyle, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Shigeki Sano scores the fight 30:27
Judge Yuuki Gou scores the fight 30:27
Judge Sosuke Kotani scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Darren Doyle!