PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Clement Cherry (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and John Ziad (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). John Ziad acknowledges the crowd's support as he enters the cage.

Cherry
vs
Ziad

203 cm
24
178 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

182 cm
21
170 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Clement Cherry!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, John Ziad!
The judges for this bout are Wagner Zegers, Paul Aken and Aafke Stam.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Cherry throws a right and a left that both miss.
Ziad with a lazy takedown attempt
and Cherry counters with a stiff right hand.
Ziad fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Cherry throws a big counter combination but Ziad scrambles out of danger and avoids any damage.
Ziad tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Cherry paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Ziad tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Cherry was well out of range. Poor timing from Ziad.
Ziad fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Clement Cherry has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of John Ziad.
Ziad looks winded!
Ziad lands with a nice combination. Cherry backs away looking to recover.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ziad has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Cherry lands a head kick!
Ziad shoots in but no luck this time.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Ziad dives in and grabs Cherry's left leg, looking for a takedown. Cherry pushes down on Ziad's head and hops out.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sloppy strikes from Cherry. Those never looked like landing.
Ziad showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Cherry.
Ziad slips a jab and a cross from Cherry.
Cherry lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Ziad circles away quickly and effectively.
Ziad appeared to try and counter that last move with a leg kick.
Cherry connects with a leg kick. Ziad looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Cherry swinging wildly here.
Sloppy strikes from Ziad. Those never looked like landing.
Cherry scoring well with a low kick there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Cherry looking to score a takedown here. Ziad is defending well but Cherry drives through and ends up in Ziad's guard.
Cherry throws a big right hand that misses.
Cherry working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Ziad's head.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Cherry's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Cherry connects with a couple of short punches.
Ziad utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Cherry postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Ziad wants to sweep here but Cherry controlling him for the moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cherry is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Ziad is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Our spies down at at Cozad Amsterdam inform us that Ziad has really been working on his submissions in the buildup to this fight. Will it pay off?
Cherry will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Cherry missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Cherry really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Cherry trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Ziad is trying to control the position but Cherry postures up.
Cherry missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Cherry postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Cherry makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Ziad preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Ziad has momentary wrist control but Cherry slips an elbow through the middle.
Cherry missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Cherry accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Cherry throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Ziad's waist but Ziad gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Cherry off to one side.
Ziad slaps away a takedown attempt from Cherry, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Ziad rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Cherry moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Cherry closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Ziad quickly recovers to half guard.
Ziad looks like he's trying to stand up.

Cherry postures up and decides to stand up, from the half guard. The ref calls for Ziad to stand up.
Cherry shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Ziad defends it nicely.
Ziad is breathing heavily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cherry darts in looking for a takedown but Ziad gets double underhooks and turns Cherry into the cage.
Cherry shoots in but no luck this time.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Clement Cherry. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Cherry dives in and grabs Ziad's left leg, looking for a takedown. Ziad pushes down on Cherry's head and hops out.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cherry gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Ziad counters with a series of strikes. Cherry will be more careful next time no doubt.
Ziad tries to clinch there but Cherry circles away.
Ziad shoots and misses
and Cherry counters with a one-two to the body.

Cherry looking to score a takedown here. Ziad is defending well but Cherry drives through and ends up in Ziad's guard.
Cherry stops Ziad from standing up.
Cherry content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Cherry connects with a couple of short punches.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ziad working a defensive guard but Cherry manages to pass into side control anyway.
Ziad is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Cherry lands an elbow.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Cherry thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Ziad is looking to reverse the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cherry lands an elbow.
Cherry lands a decent elbow from side control.
Cherry cracks Ziad with an elbow. That is naaassty.
Cherry landing strikes.
Ziad is trying to work for a sweep but Cherry has mounted him!
Ziad has given up his back. Will we see Cherry going for some submissions?
Cherry connects with a big shot to the side of Ziad's head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ziad wants to control his opponent's hands but Cherry gets his hands free.
The referee is taking a good look at Ziad as he is on the wrong end of some big shots from Cherry!
Ziad wants to escape the position.
Ziad is taking damage to the body and head.
Ziad wants to escape the position.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Cherry is working the ground and pound. Can Ziad escape?
Cherry is working the ground and pound here and the referee is taking a close look at Ziad. He must escape soon or this one will be stopped.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Clement Cherry dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Cherry will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Ziad lands a nice looking body shot.
Cherry connects with a jab.
Cherry stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Cherry wants it to stay on the feet.

Cherry shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Ziad napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Ziad wants to get back to his feet but Cherry is dominant here and he's now got Ziad's back!
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cherry has Ziad flattened out and is raining down punches.
Ziad covers up after that shot from Cherry.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Cherry scores with punches to the body.
Ziad takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cherry lands strikes to the head.
Cherry 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.
Cherry landing with strikes.
Clement Cherry overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Ziad covers up after that shot from Cherry.
Ziad looks to control his opponent's hands but he's not mananging it at the moment.
Cherry lands with a nice looking elbow that stuns Ziad.
Cherry lands a punch that was close to the back of the head but the ref thinks it's OK.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cherry is landing with strikes from the back.
Ziad looks to control his opponent's hands but he's not mananging it at the moment.
Cherry lands with a couple of good shots - one to the side of the head and one questionable shot that could be viewed as to the back of the head but the referee lets it go.
Cherry scores with a nice shot to the head of his opponent. Ziad is looking for a way out.
Cherry is working the ground and pound here and the referee is taking a close look at Ziad. He must escape soon or this one will be stopped.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cherry lands with a big left hand that may well have hurt his opponent. Can Ziad hold on?!

Ziad is displaying good submission defense - not really looking in danger of submitting to the rear naked choke at the moment. That could change in an instant of course if Cherry gets his way!
Cherry scores with strikes from the back.
Cherry cracks Ziad with a big shot to body and one to the head - really punishing Ziad from the back mount here, looking to soften him up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Can Ziad hold on?! Cherry is landing more strikes to his hapless foe.
Cherry scores with strikes from the back.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Cherry lands with a couple of good shots - one to the side of the head and one questionable shot that could be viewed as to the back of the head but the referee lets it go.
Ziad tries to escape but Cherry has the hooks in and won't let him break free.
Cherry gets his hooks in and is throwing strikes.
Cherry scores with punches from the back.
Cherry is working the ground and pound. Can Ziad escape?

And that's the end of the fight!
Clement Cherry showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Cherry has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Wagner Zegers scores the fight 30:27
Judge Paul Aken scores the fight 30:27
Judge Aafke Stam scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Clement Cherry!