PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Cody Zeller (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Evandro Brandao (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Brandao has chosen Tool - Forty Six & 2 as his entrance music. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Zeller
vs
Brandao

210 cm
27
270 lbs
10 - 6 - 0

192 cm
26
265 lbs
8 - 8 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Lethal high kicks
Insanely flexible

Excellent grappler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Fury Nutrition Inc.

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 10 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Cody Zeller!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 8 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Evandro Brandao!
The judges for this bout are Radbod Blank, Albert Achterberg and Patrick Alders.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Zeller lands a front kick.
Brandao misses with a wild body shot.
Zeller uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Brandao.
Brandao misses with a leg kick
letting Zeller counter with a right hand.
Zeller lands a nice leg kick that just misses Brandao's sensitive parts.
Zeller thuds a mid kick into his opponent's body. That will wear on Brandao if he has to take too many more of those.
Brandao looks winded!
Brandao chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Zeller can pounce on him.

Brandao gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Zeller to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Brandao wants to stand but Zeller is controlling the position.
Zeller working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Brandao's head.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Brandao is looking to stand up but Zeller isn't so interested in that idea.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Zeller's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Brandao wants to stand and escape but Zeller is having none of it.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zeller trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Zeller pushes down on Brandao's leg and manages to get into half guard.
We've been hearing good reports from Zeller's training camp. Apparently he has been rolling around with some good quality BJJ practitioners and has been sharpening his skills. Let's see if that has an impact on the fight today.
Brandao is refusing to be controlled, as Zeller sits in half guard.
Zeller thows a huge punch but Brandao dodges it nicely.
Zeller prevents Brandao from standing back up.
Well, if Zeller is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Brandao wants to get back to his feet.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Brandao drops his hands momentarily and Zeller takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Brandao misses the shot to the body.

Brandao closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Zeller is trying to stall.
Brandao takes a shot to the head.
A short right from Brandao.
Zeller misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Zeller being controlled against the cage.
Brandao swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Brandao on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

Zeller is trying to trip Brandao. He has hold of a leg but Brandao is hopping around, keeping his balance for the moment. Zeller persists though and gets the takedown into guard.
Zeller 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.
Zeller distracts Brandao with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Zeller trying to control but Brandao is working from the bottom.
Zeller prevents Brandao from getting back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zeller will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Zeller showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Zeller postures up in Brandao's guard and throws a big left but Brandao blocks it.
Zeller passes Brandao's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Brandao pushes Zeller off looking to stand but Zeller dives back in and keeps control.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
That's a knee to de groin and it's over and out! Brandao crumples to the ground after an illegal strike from Zeller - the referee stops the clock and Brandao gets 5 minutes to recover from that one. "I'm sorry" says Zeller. Brandao manages to get back to his feet and the fight resumes.
Brandao closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Brandao moves out of range as Zeller throws a body kick.
Zeller connects with a solid leg kick.
A jab from Zeller finds it's way through Brandao's defenses.
Good leg kick by Zeller there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Brandao misses with a low kick.
Brandao chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Zeller can pounce on him.

Zeller shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Brandao's guard.
Zeller makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Zeller stops Brandao from standing up.
Zeller tries to free his leg and advance position but Brandao is retaining full guard.
Zeller trying to control the position from guard on top but Brandao is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Zeller throws a big right hand that misses.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Cody Zeller dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Brandao keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Zeller.
Brandao throws a counter combo.
You can see that Brandao has visibly slowed down as a result of the leg kicks
Zeller tries a head kick but it misses.
Zeller ducks under a wild hook from Brandao.
Zeller lands a leg kick that knocks Brandao off balance momentarily.
Zeller lets loose with a powerful body kick. Brandao will feel that in the morning.
Brandao tries to close the distance and clinch but Zeller swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Brandao fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Zeller looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Zeller throws a head kick that half lands.

It looks like Evandro Brandao has been cut.
Brandao swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Zeller counters with a nice low kick that buckles Brandao's knee momentarily.
Brandao throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Brandao is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Zeller.
Zeller with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Brandao ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Zeller moves away.
Zeller lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Brandao is looking to clinch.
Zeller goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
Zeller connects with a right hand. Brandao shakes it off.
Brandao tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Zeller manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Brandao wants to clinch up but Zeller keeps it at a distance.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A punch combination from Zeller misses.
Brandao scores with a hook to the body. Zeller takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Zeller works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Zeller is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Brandao is looking to clinch.
Zeller tries to counter with a takedown but Brandao is quick to defend against it.
Cody Zeller is winning the standup battle so far.
Brandao scores with a shot to the body.
Brandao is looking to clinch.

Brandao forces Zeller back against the cage and clinches.
Brandao holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Zeller tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Zeller misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Brandao is trying to break the clinch but Zeller has him pressed against the cage.
Zeller throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Brandao blocks it with crossed arms.
Brandao tries to pull guard but Zeller holds him up against the cage and eventually Brandao drops back down to his feet.
Brandao tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Zeller just stands there and leans against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Brandao working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Zeller is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Brandao can do to turn this around?
Brandao fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Cody Zeller has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Evandro Brandao.
Zeller throws a head punch that misses.

Brandao successfully pulls guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Brandao is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Zeller looking to pass the guard.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Zeller's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Brandao is looking to stand up but Zeller isn't so interested in that idea.
Brandao has momentary wrist control but Zeller slips an elbow through the middle.
Brandao preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Zeller postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Zeller working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Brandao wants to stand but Zeller is controlling the position.
Zeller content to stall in guard here.
Zeller with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Brandao keeping full guard, as Zeller tries to pass.
Zeller postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Brandao keeping full guard, as Zeller tries to pass.
Zeller wants to control from the top but Brandao keeps moving.
Zeller not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Brandao is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Zeller is controlling him.
Zeller wants to control from the top but Brandao keeps moving.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

Brandao instigates a clinch.
Zeller is stalling here.
Brandao lands with a light punch inside.
Brandao blocks a body shot from Zeller.

Brandao breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Brandao feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Zellers jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Evandro Brandao seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
An inside leg kick from Brandao misses.
Brandao scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Zeller doesn't seem bothered though.
Brandao tries to clinch up but Zeller circles away and keeps his distance.
Zeller appeared to be looking to counter that last move with a leg kick.

Brandao closes the distance and pushes Zeller back into the cage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Cody Zeller dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Evandro Brandao's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Brandao closes the distance and clinches.
Zeller is trying to stall.
Brandao's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Brandao is trying to push Zeller away but Zeller has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Zeller misses with a hook to the ribs.
Zeller cracks Brandao with a nice body shot.
Zeller misses with some punches.
Brandao tries to land knees in the clinch but Zeller avoids the damage to the body.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Brandao on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Zeller throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Brandao blocks it with crossed arms.
Zeller swings wildly with an uppercut but Brandao uses good head movement to avoid it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Brandao jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Zeller walks away with a smile on his face. Brandao gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
A telegraphed right hand from Brandao misses the target.
Zeller looked to counter that last move with a leg kick but didn't pull the trigger.
Brandao connects with a body shot.
Brandao moves out of range of the strikes.
Zeller blocks a leg kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A jab lands there for Brandao.

Zeller gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Brandao tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Brandao wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Zeller can't find room to land a body shot as Brandao controls the action.
Evandro Brandao seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Zeller softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.

Zeller breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Zeller circles away from the clinch attempt.
Brandao jabs Zeller to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Brandao tries to close the distance and clinch up but Zeller swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Zeller fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Sloppy strikes from Zeller. Those never looked like landing.
Brandao takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Zeller with a hook.
Brandao just misses with a punch to the body.
Zeller smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Brandao shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Cody Zeller has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Evandro Brandao.
Brandao takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Zeller moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Brandao takes a jab right on the kisser.
Brandao throws a head kick that misses.

Zeller drops Brandao with a nice combination! Zeller dives into Brandao's guard, looking to finish!
Zeller trying to control but Brandao is working from the bottom.
Zeller in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Zeller makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Brandao is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Zeller is controlling him.
Brandao keeping moving, preventing Zeller from controlling successfully.
Zeller stops Brandao from standing up.
Brandao keeping moving, preventing Zeller from controlling successfully.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Brandao lands a nice shot to the body.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Brandao is defended easily by Zeller.
Zeller seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.
Zeller fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Zeller takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Zeller throws a front kick that sends Brandao stumbling back into the cage.
Brandao takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.
Brandao stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Zeller.
Zeller tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
A nice side step and Brandao releases a counter shot to the body, but it doesn't find it's home.
Zeller thows a body kick. Brandao tries to catch it but that hurt him.
Nice shot by Zeller.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Zeller misses with an attempted mid kick.
Brandao shoots in but no luck this time.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Zeller changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Brandao tries to avoid it but Zeller manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Brandao to the ground. Brandao escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Zeller avoids the body shot from Brandao.
Cody Zeller is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Zeller scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Brandao shoots for a double leg takedown but Zeller sprawls well. He's pushed Brandao's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Evandro Brandao has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
That kick from Zeller tenderised Brandao's leg. Brandao is trying to keep his angry face on.
Brandao fails in his attempt to clinch.
Nice body kick there by Zeller.
A jab from Zeller finds it's way through Brandao's defenses.
Zeller with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Brandao throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Brandao dodges the punch combination from Zeller.
Zeller misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Brandao tries a low kick but Zeller avoids it.
Zeller lets loose with a powerful body kick. Brandao will feel that in the morning.

And that's the end of the fight!
Cody Zeller showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Zeller, 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 Radbod Blank scores the fight 30:27
Judge Albert Achterberg scores the fight 30:27
Judge Patrick Alders scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Cody Zeller!