PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Simon Vale (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Lou Mazza (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Vale's entrance music is Motorhead-Iron Fist . A fine choice. Mazza has chosen Smooth Criminal as his entrance music. Lou Mazza has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Simon Vale's chin.

Vale
vs
Mazza

190 cm
24
245 lbs
3 - 5 - 0

187 cm
22
284 lbs
11 - 6 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Powerful takedowns
Basic striking
Heavy handed

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 3 - 5 - 0, fighting out of New York, Simon Vale!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 6 - 0, fighting out of New York, Lou Mazza!
The judges for this bout are Reed Andrews, Bruno Lombardi and John Kavanagh.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Vale scores to the head and body with a nice combination!

It looks like Lou Mazza has been cut.
Vale throws a hook to the side of Mazza's head but Mazza sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Mazza is looking for the big counter here.
Mazza shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Vale as he jumps to the side.
A little feinted left hand from Vale on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Vale will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.

Vale gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.

Vale scrambles and gets back to his feet.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Mazza shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Vale defends it nicely.
Mazza moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Vale just misses with a punch to the body.

Mazza shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Vale manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Vale is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vale looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Mazza trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Mazza throws a big right hand that misses.
Vale preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Vale utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Mazza trying to control but Vale is working from the bottom.
Vale is looking to stand up but Mazza isn't so interested in that idea.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Mazza throws a right and a left that Vale avoids nicely.
Mazza with a lazy takedown attempt
and Vale cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Simon Vale has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Lou Mazza.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Vale defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Mazza.
Vale scores with a punch to the head.
Mazza darts in looking for a takedown but Vale gets double underhooks and turns Mazza into the cage.
Vale scores with a jab to the body.
Mazza throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Vale works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.

Vale rushes Mazza and presses him up against the cage.
Vale lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Mazza backwards.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Vale lands a shoulder strike.
Mazza misses with a punch on the inside.
Vale digs a right hand into Mazza's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Mazza's gas tank.
Mazza looks winded!
Vale cracks Mazza with a nice body shot.
Vale lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Mazza.
Vale works on Mazza's body with a couple of short punches.
Vale lands a left hand that snaps the head of Mazza backwards.
Vale lands with a light punch inside.

Vale turns his hips and lands a very nice judo throw into side control!
A lull in the action here.
Vale continues to stall.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Vale misses with the ground and pound.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Mazza takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Vale wants to control but Mazza is keeping him busy.
Mazza has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Vale tries to move to full mount but Mazza actually manages to regain half guard.
Mazza is not content to let Vale control the position.
Vale trying to mount his opponent but Mazza defends it.
Vale throwing shots but Mazza is blocking nicely.
Vale is keen to just control but Mazza is a slippery customer.
Vale sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Mazza defending well though.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mazza is refusing to be controlled, as Vale sits in half guard.
Vale trying to pass the guard but Mazza defending well.
Vale knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Mazza on the ground.
Mazza on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Mazza works his way to full guard. Good work.
Vale is working Mazza over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Mazza keeping moving, preventing Vale from controlling successfully.
Vale with a nice head shot there.
Vale loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Vale wants to control from the top but Mazza keeps moving.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Simon Vale dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Lou Mazza's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Vale ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Mazza moves away.
Vale scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Lou Mazza is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Vale dips to his left and cracks Mazza with an uppercut!
Vale tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Mazza is able to avoid easily.
Vale finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Mazza has a takedown stuffed.
No luck for Mazza with that takedown attempt.
A little feinted left hand from Vale on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Mazza moves out of range as Vale strikes.
It seemed like Mazza was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Mazza fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Simon Vale has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Lou Mazza.
Vale lunges at Mazza with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Mazza's hand.
Vale seems to be moving with more speed, compared to his last bout. He must have been working on that in the gym.

Vale tries to sprawl but Mazza drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Vale is looking to improve his position.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Mazza throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vale wants to control but Mazza passes into side.
Vale defending against the ground and pound.
You can see the frustration on Vale's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

Mazza looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Vale is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Mazza is controlling him well.
Mazza trying to control the action but Vale is working from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Vale prevents Mazza from improving position.

Mazza is trying to get an arm triangle but Vale is defending well.
Vale is looking to reverse the position.
Mazza is looking to take a break and control but Vale is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Vale defending against the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vale tries to escape but Mazza is in control.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Mazza fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Vale was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Mazza dodges the punch combination from Vale.

Vale shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Vale showed some decent athleticism there.
Mazza taking some punishment here, with Vale in his half guard.
Mazza wants to improve his position but Vale is controlling well.
Vale is looking to stall here but Mazza recovers full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Mazza working for a triangle but Vale defends it easily.
Vale has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Vale in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Mazza working a defensive guard here.
Vale is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Vale missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Mazza keeping moving, preventing Vale from controlling successfully.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Simon Vale dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Lou Mazza's cut.
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!

Vale lands with an uppercut that bounces Mazza off the cage and back into range.
Vale misses with a straight left.
Mazza looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Mazza is defended easily by Vale.
Simon Vale is winning the standup battle so far.
Vale feints and then cracks Mazza's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Mazza down.
Vale lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Vale connects with a good right hand that stumbles Mazza. Mazza circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
Mazza shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Vale sprawls well. Vale wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Mazza gets slowly back to his feet.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mazza shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Simon Vale has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Lou Mazza.
No joy there for Vale, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Mazza tries for a takedown but Vale sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Vale scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.

Vale lands a left and a right that send Mazza crashing to the mat, dazed. Vale thinks about following him to the mat but decides to wave him back up to his feet!
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Mazza shoots in but no luck this time.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Vale cracks Mazza with a big right hand that sends him to the floor! Mazza looks wobbly but he's sprung back up to his feet straight away… can Vale finish him?

Mazza is rocked!
Mazza takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Mazza bobbing and weaving nicely... He's ducked under a jab and ducks again but ooooooh! Vale comes at him with an uppercut from hell! Mazza falls to the canvas, unconscious! This one is all over! Oh man, looking at the replay that was right on the button! Mazza was out before he hit the floor!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:10 of round 3, we have a winner by way of KO (Punch). Simon Vale!
Post fight, an emotional Simon Vale said 'In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen'.