PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Mika Zibanejadass (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Marcus Garvey (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Garvey is bouncing up and down as he enters the arena, backed by One Loaf of Bread -- Damian Marley. Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Zibanejadass
vs
Garvey

170 cm
33
138 lbs
15 - 14 - 0

170 cm
35
145 lbs
23 - 20 - 2

Good wrestling
Great elbows
Granite chin

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Granite chin

Fury Nutrition Inc.

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 15 - 14 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Mika Zibanejadass!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 23 - 20 - 2, fighting out of Montreal, Marcus Garvey!
The judges for this bout are Gregory Folan, Elvis Blanc and Yves DeLean.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Zibanejadass slips under a jab.
Nice cross by Zibanejadass.
Garvey has been spending a lot of time sparring his boxing in the run up to the fight, trying to sharpen up those hands and look for a knockout.
Zibanejadass throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Garvey looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Zibanejadass fails with the takedown
letting Garvey counter with a right hand.
Zibanejadass lands a nice looking kick to the body. Garvey takes a step back to recover.
Zibanejadass throws a lazy head kick
and Garvey counters with a nice uppercut.
Zibanejadass scores with a body shot.
Zibanejadass cracks Garvey with a good jab.
Garvey has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Zibanejadass.

Garvey closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Zibanejadass works on Garvey's body with a couple of short punches.
Zibanejadass looks to throw an elbow but misses.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Zibanejadass.
Garvey lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Garvey tries to throw a body punch but Zibanejadass avoids it by throwing Garvey back against the cage.

Zibanejadass breaks the clinch.
Zibanejadass throws a head kick but Garvey moves out of range.
Garvey avoids the body shot from Zibanejadass.
And Garvey responds with a good body kick, but Zibanejadass manages to step out the way in time.
We've been told by Zibanejadass's head coaches at Nights Watch MMA Academy that he's been working on his takedown defense in preparation for this fight.
Zibanejadass does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Zibanejadass lands with a cross.

Garvey has closed the distance and engaged Zibanejadass in a clinch.
A head punch on the inside from Garvey fails to land.
Zibanejadass misses with a hook to the ribs.
Zibanejadass looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Zibanejadass is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Garvey is keeping busy.
Garvey fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Garvey scores with a shot to the side of Zibanejadass's head.
Zibanejadass blocks a punch to the side of the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Zibanejadass comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.

Garvey breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Zibanejadass throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Garvey throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
A little feinted left hand from Zibanejadass on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Some bone on bone action there as Zibanejadass checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Garvey scores with a shot to the body.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Zibanejadass throws a head kick that misses.
Garvey throws a counter combo.
Zibanejadass lands with a thumping leg kick.
Zibanejadass throws a nice outside leg kick.
A decent looking cross lands there for Zibanejadass.
Marcus Garvey is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

Zibanejadass closes the distance and pushes Garvey back into the cage.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Zibanejadass.
Zibanejadass throws a head punch that misses.
Garvey blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Zibanejadass throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zibanejadass misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Garvey blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Garvey misses with a hook to the ribs.
Zibanejadass throws an elbow that misses.
Garvey blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Zibanejadass working aggressively here.
Zibanejadass looking to stall.
Zibanejadass misses with the head strike.
Garvey gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Zibanejadass.
Garvey avoids the elbow strike from Zibanejadass, against the cage.
Zibanejadass controlling the action here for a moment.
Garvey is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Garvey blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Garvey blocks an elbow strike from Zibanejadass.
Zibanejadass misses with a hook to the ribs.
Garvey wants to break free but Zibanejadass has control.
Zibanejadass pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Garvey lands with a light punch inside.
Garvey blocking some punches.
Zibanejadass throws an elbow but it misses.
Zibanejadass being controlled against the cage.
Zibanejadass has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Garvey after a bit of a struggle.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mika Zibanejadass. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Zibanejadass creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Zibanejadass tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Garvey misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Zibanejadass comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Zibanejadass's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Zibanejadass misses with a hook.
Zibanejadass lands a nice leg kick that just misses Garvey's sensitive parts.
Zibanejadass throws a body kick that misses.
Zibanejadass moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
A cross from Zibanejadass lands.
Garvey ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Garvey looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Mika Zibanejadass seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Zibanejadass does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Zibanejadass misses with a series of wild punches.
A head kick misses from Zibanejadass.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Garvey dodges the punch combination from Zibanejadass.
Garvey throws out a loose jab but Zibanejadass uses good head movement to avoid it.

Zibanejadass gets a clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zibanejadass has Garvey pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Garvey manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Zibanejadass has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Garvey after a bit of a struggle.
Zibanejadass swings wildly with an uppercut but Garvey uses good head movement to avoid it.
Zibanejadass tries a body shot but Garvey blocks it.
Zibanejadass is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Garvey can do to turn this around?
Garvey avoids the elbow strike from Zibanejadass, against the cage.
Garvey lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Zibanejadass backwards.
Garvey scores with a nice hook to the head.
Garvey lands a shot to the body.
Garvey avoids the elbow strike from Zibanejadass, against the cage.
Garvey gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Zibanejadass.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mika Zibanejadass. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Zibanejadass looking for a takedown.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Garvey lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Zibanejadass blocks a body shot from Garvey.
Garvey lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Zibanejadass throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Zibanejadass misses with an elbow over the top.
Garvey misses with a punch on the inside.
Marcus Garvey seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Garvey tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
A short right from Garvey.
Garvey tries a body shot but Zibanejadass blocks it.
Zibanejadass pushes off an throws an elbow but Garvey leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
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!
Zibanejadass struggles to land a body shot inside as Garvey controls his hands.
Garvey misses with a punch on the inside.

Zibanejadass breaks the clinch.
Garvey tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Zibanejadass is able to avoid easily.
A big right from Garvey misses.
Zibanejadass keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Garvey.
Zibanejadass throws a leg kick but Garvey sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Garvey looks for the body kick but Zibanejadass saw that one coming.
Mika Zibanejadass is winning the standup battle so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Garvey scores with a hook to the body. Zibanejadass takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Zibanejadass thuds a left hand into Garvey's body.
Zibanejadass connects with an inside leg kick.
Zibanejadass throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Garvey's waist but Garvey gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Zibanejadass off to one side.
Garvey scoring well with a low kick there.
A clash of legs there as Garvey blocks the low kick.
Zibanejadass throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
Garvey checks the leg kick.
Zibanejadass tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Garvey fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Zibanejadass with a nice cross.
Garvey misses with a body shot
and Zibanejadass counters with a nice leg kick.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Garvey takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Zibanejadass misses with a takedown
and Garvey connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Zibanejadass tries to work over Garvey's front leg with a kick but Garvey checks it.
The fighters circling - Zibanejadass throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Garvey throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Zibanejadass goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Garvey takes a nasty kick to the mid section... That should keep him thinking. Does he try and block and risk a head kick landing?
Garvey blocks a leg kick.
Garvey appeared to try and counter that last move with a leg kick.
Garvey misses with a left hand
and Zibanejadass counters with a head kick.
A lazy left from Garvey finds it's target.
Zibanejadass throws a head kick that misses
and Garvey counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Garvey with a body punch. A glancing blow.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Mika Zibanejadass will probably get the nod.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Garvey throws a solid leg kick but Zibanejadass takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Garvey.
Zibanejadass misses with a leg kick
and Garvey cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Zibanejadass swings for the body but Garvey moves out of range.
Zibanejadass throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Garvey misses with a kick to the body.
As Garvey backs away, Zibanejadass returns fire with a leg kick that just misses.
Zibanejadass thows a body kick. Garvey tries to catch it but that hurt him.
Garvey throws a head kick that misses.
Garvey throws a front kick that sends Zibanejadass stumbling back into the cage.
Zibanejadass lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Zibanejadass throws a body shot but no joy.
Zibanejadass looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Garvey looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Zibanejadass throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zibanejadass is looking to slow Garvey down with leg kicks.
Zibanejadass shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Garvey counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Garvey keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
That kick from Zibanejadass tenderised Garvey's leg. Garvey is trying to keep his angry face on.
Zibanejadass fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Zibanejadass is looking to score with low kicks.
A low kick from Zibanejadass misses
and Garvey counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.

Zibanejadass is rocked!
Garvey drops a shoulder and throws a monster hook that connects perfectly to the side of Zibanejadass's head, knocking him out cold! Garvey is extatic as he celebrates with his cornermen.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:52 of round 3, we have a winner by way of KO (Punch). Marcus Garvey!
During a confident post fight interview, Marcus Garvey thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.