PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Joe Young (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Palko Zabijak (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Palko Zabijak has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Young
vs
Zabijak

160 cm
18
143 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

173 cm
18
140 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
KO power

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

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 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Joe Young!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Palko Zabijak!
The judges for this bout are David Hoff, Sandra Marshall and Peter Branson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Young shoots in and bounces Zabijak off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Young trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Young sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Young works a leg free and moves into half guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Zabijak is defending against the submission attempts here by Young.
Zabijak wants to get back to full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Young stops Zabijak from getting back to his feet.
Zabijak looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Zabijak makes some distance and scrambles quickly back to his feet. Nice work!
Zabijak scores with a decent looking hook.
Zabijak is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Young tries to counter with a takedown but Zabijak is quick to defend against it.
Zabijak catches Young with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Zabijak shoots in and drives through. Young sprawls well.
Zabijak tries to clinch
and Zabijak takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.

Young shoots in and bounces Zabijak off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Young pushing down on Zabijak's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Young content to control rather than advance.
Young could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.

Zabijak looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Young uses his free foot to push down on Zabijak's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Zabijak.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Young tries to control but Zabijak wriggling away.
Zabijak wants to control but Young is having none of it.
Young looking to control and managing it successfully.
Young trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Young takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Zabijak is desperately trying to improve his position but Young has a good base and remains in mount.
Young controlling the pace for now.
Zabijak is wriggling around trying to escape.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Young controlling his opponent.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joe Young dominated that round.
That's time! Young's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Young drives through with a takedown into guard.
Young is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

Zabijak is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Young is aware though and is defending well.
Young not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Young's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Young slips nicely into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zabijak wants to get back to his feet.
Young blocks the strikes from Zabijak.
Zabijak has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Young is working away from the top position though.
Zabijak is trying to control but Young passes into side control!
Zabijak is looking for a sweep.
Joe Young overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's two 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.
Young controls the position from side control.

Young swings around for an armbar but Zabijak sees it coming a mile off and turns beautifully into Young's guard.

Young throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Zabijak wants to control from the top but Young keeps moving.

Young working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Zabijak doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Zabijak manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zabijak looking to sit in guard and control but Young gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Zabijak looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Young passes into side control.
Zabijak prevents Young from improving position.

Young wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Zabijak, who protects the arm well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Zabijak is not content to let Young control the position.
Zabijak is trying to improve his position.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Zabijak gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joe Young dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, 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.

Young closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Zabijak's guard.
Young tries to free his leg and advance position but Zabijak is retaining full guard.
Young's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Zabijak wants to stand up but Young is controlling him.
Young wants to control from the top but Zabijak keeps moving.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Zabijak thows some rabbit punches from the bottom but they don't do any damage.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Young avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Zabijak is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Young wants to control but Zabijak is keeping busy.
Zabijak tries to stand but his hand is stuck under Young.
Young wants to control but Zabijak is keeping busy.

Young is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Zabijak pulls his head out easily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Young tries to get to full guard but Zabijak has control of the leg.
Young wants to control but Zabijak is keeping busy.
Young tries to roll over but Zabijak keeps him under control.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zabijak throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Zabijak is looking to clinch.
Young appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
Zabijak fails in his attempt to clinch.

Young throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Zabijak tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Young is in Zabijak's guard.
Young might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Zabijak is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Young sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Zabijak's guard.
Palko Zabijak has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Young keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Joe Young is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

Zabijak looking for submissions off his back.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Zabijak tries to get to full guard but Young has control of the leg.
Young is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Zabijak!
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Young controlling from the full mount.
Young blocks Zabijak's feeble attempts to strike from the bottom.

And that's the end of the fight!
Joe Young showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Young, 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 David Hoff scores the fight 30:27
Judge Sandra Marshall scores the fight 30:27
Judge Peter Branson scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Joe Young!