PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Tao Zhang (ranked 5778 p4p, 24203 weight class) and Thumper Impala (ranked 569 p4p, 672 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Zhang
vs
Impala

185 cm
25
165
0 - 1 - 0

180 cm
20
155
0 - 4 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Tao Zhang!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Thumper Impala !
The judges for this bout are Bruno Hogan, John Mangel and Skip Squint.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Zhang shoots in for a double leg but Impala sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Impala throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Thud! ouch! good body kick from Impala - that will leave a mark!
Impala dives in and grabs Zhang's left leg, looking for a takedown. Zhang pushes down on Impala 's head and hops out.
Impala shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Impala throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Zhang dips to his left and cracks Impala with an uppercut!
Zhang tries to clinch there but Impala circles away.
Impala tries to counter with a clinch but Zhang shakes him off and moves away.
Zhang tries to clinch up but Impala circles away and keeps his distance.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Zhang struggles to land a body shot inside as Impala controls his hands.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Zhang is pressed up against the cage. Impala has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Zhang down to the mat. Zhang avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Zhang looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Nice sprawl there from Zhang as Impala shoots in.
Tao Zhang has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Thumper Impala .

Zhang closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Impala wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
Impala stops Zhang from passing to mount.
Zhang fails to land a wild elbow strike.
Impala is trying to get back to half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Impala can't do much from the bottom here.
Impala is trying to buck Zhang off.
An elbow from Zhang crashes against the mat.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
The referee tells the fighters to keep busy.
Impala tries to improve position but can't.
Zhang taking a breather here.
Impala manages to work his way to half guard, despite Zhang's best efforts.
Zhang prevents Impala from standing back up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Well, if Zhang 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.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Zhang tries to score a power double leg takedown but Impala sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Zhang somewhat.
Impala fails with a takedown attempt.
Zhang misses with a takedown attempt - Impala sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Zhang checks the leg kick nicely there.
Zhang tries to bum rush Impala with a series of wild strikes but Impala uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Impala is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.
Some bone on bone action there as Zhang checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Impala fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Zhang appears to be looking for a counter takedown.

Zhang moves into the clinch successfully.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Zhang content to slow the pace in the clinch.
Zhang tries for a takedown. No joy.
Impala gets underhooks to prevent Zhang's takedown attempt.
Impala is trying to pull guard but Zhang turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
A short uppercut from Impala .

Zhang escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Zhang moves into the clinch successfully.
Zhang tries to score a body lock takedown but Impala shows good agility there to stay on his feet.

Zhang pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Thumper Impala seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Zhang is looking to clinch but Impala is avoiding it.

Zhang closes the distance and pushes Impala back into the cage.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Zhang is trying to pull guard but Impala has him pressed against the cage.
Zhang landing knees to the body.

Impala gets a trip takedown into half guard.

Zhang manages to escape and get back to his feet!
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Tao Zhang will probably get the nod.
That's time! Back to the action!

We've been told by Zhang's head coaches at Cozad MMA Tokyo that he's been working on his takedown defense in preparation for this fight.
Zhang darts in looking for a takedown but Impala gets double underhooks and turns Zhang into the cage.

Impala manages to pull guard.
Tao Zhang overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Zhang trying to control the position from guard on top but Impala is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Impala controls Zhang momentarily but Zhang frees himself.
Zhang controls from within his opponent's guard.
Zhang wants to control from the top but Impala keeps moving.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Zhang won't allow Impala to get back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zhang tries to stand but Impala is controlling from the bottom.
Impala wants to stand but Zhang is controlling the position.
Impala tries to land a sweep but no joy.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Zhang shoots in looking for a takedown. Impala tries to sprawl out of it but Zhang keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Impala manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Zhang fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Tao Zhang. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Zhang clinches with his opponent.
Zhang fails to pull guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Zhang prevents the takedown attempt.

Zhang breaks the clinch.
Impala wants to clinch.
Zhang tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Impala manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Nice straight punches there by Impala . You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Impala .
Impala with a lazy takedown attempt
and Zhang counters with a slapping leg kick.
Impala is breathing heavily.
Zhang looks for a takedown but Impala sprawls well.
Zhang takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Impala throws a jab but it's blocked by Zhang.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Impala doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Zhang counters by moving into the clinch.
Zhang tries for a takedown but Impala manages to get underhooks.

Zhang pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

Zhang moves into the clinch.
Zhang stalls.
Zhang is trying to pull guard but Impala turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.

Zhang breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Some wild striking there from Impala .
Zhang throws a head kick that half lands.

Impala drives through and clinches with Zhang against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Zhang pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Tao Zhang is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Zhang fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Zhang throws a nice head kick!
Zhang looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Impala is fending him off so far but Zhang persists. Nope, Impala circles away and we're back to standing.
Thumper Impala seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Impala shoots in for a takedown but Zhang shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Impala throws a chopping leg kick but Zhang manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Impala misses with a wild combination.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Impala stuffs the takedown attempt from Zhang. Zhang gets slowly back to his feet.
Zhang shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Impala defends it nicely.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Tao Zhang will probably get the nod.
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. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Zhang pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Impala looks to land a combination but Zhang avoids it well.
Impala throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Zhang shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Impala sprawls well. Impala wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Zhang gets slowly back to his feet.
Impala fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Impala misses with a series of wild punches.
It looked like Zhang was looking amped, ready to throw a big counter but didn't commit.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Impala misses with a takedown attempt - Zhang sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Impala takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Zhang darts in looking for a takedown but Impala gets double underhooks and turns Zhang into the cage.
Zhang avoiding damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Zhang jumps guard.
Impala trying to control the position from guard on top but Zhang is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Zhang is trying to control the position but Impala postures up.
Impala landing with the ground and pound.
Zhang on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Zhang tries to get out of the position.
Impala throwing strikes but missing.
Impala missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Zhang tries to land a sweep but no joy.

Impala avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Impala wants to control from the top but Zhang keeps moving.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Zhang is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Impala trying to control but Zhang is working from the bottom.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Zhang ducks under a wild hook from Impala .
Impala fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Impala misses with a low kick.
Impala throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Zhang's waist but Zhang gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Impala off to one side.
Tao Zhang has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Thumper Impala .
Zhang throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Zhang shoots in for a takedown but Impala shows good takedown defense.
Zhang throws a lazy head kick
and Impala makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zhang takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Impala checks the leg kick nicely there.
Impala is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
Impala checks the leg kick.
Zhang connects with a jab.
Impala misses with a looping right.
Zhang shoots for a takedown but Impala saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.

Zhang darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.

Impala makes some distance and scrambles quickly back to his feet. Nice work!
Zhang tries to clinch up.
As Zhang backs off Impala throws a huge counter combo but Zhang manages to avoid it all.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Zhang tries to clinch up.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Impala swats away the attempt to clinch by Zhang.
Zhang stuffs the takedown.
Impala throws a leg kick but Zhang sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Zhang is trying to close the distance and clinch up, after that failed offence from Impala .
Impala tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Zhang manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Zhang swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Thumper Impala has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Zhang shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Impala but Impala pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Good work by Zhang as he checks the leg kick.
Zhang is looking to clinch.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Zhang shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Zhang takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Tao Zhang is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Impala circles away from the clinch attempt
and Impala counters with a lovely straight right hand!

And that's the end of the fight!
Thumper Impala comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Zhang has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Bruno Hogan scores the fight 29:28
Judge John Mangel scores the fight 29:28
Judge Skip Squint scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Tao Zhang!