PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Ari Birmiski (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Hamid Zaferani (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Birmiski's entrance music is I'm Back - T.I. A fine choice. Rumors backstage are that the fighters have been paid to keep it standing but we know that would never happen in MMA!

Birmiski
vs
Zaferani

170 cm
28
140 lbs
16 - 9 - 0

170 cm
25
145 lbs
14 - 8 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Very strong

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Granite chin

Black Hand Fight Gear & Laundry

XTREME PWNAGE: Down Under!
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Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 16 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Ari Birmiski!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 14 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Hamid Zaferani!
The judges for this bout are Paul Gruel, Ryoma Takatsuka and Chris Saunders.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Zaferani scoring well with a low kick there.
Birmiski misses with a low kick.
Zaferani tests Birmiski's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Zaferani tries to move into range but Birmiski moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Birmiski throws a low kick but Zaferani moves out of range easily.
Birmiski misses with a body punch
and Zaferani counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Birmiski throws a head kick that misses
and Zaferani counters with a stiff right hand.
Birmiski tries to clinch but Zaferani is having none of it.
A nice inside leg kick there by Zaferani. That's going to slow Birmiski down.
Nice cross by Zaferani.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zaferani is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
A shot to the liver by Zaferani. Beautiful body shot.
Zaferani works the jab nicely.
Hamid Zaferani is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Zaferani throws a lazy right hand but Birmiski sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Zaferani throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Zaferani thuds his shin into the meat of Birmiski's side.
Birmiski jabs at Zaferani's body.
Zaferani lunges at Birmiski with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Birmiski's hand.
Zaferani fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
A looping hook to the body misses from Birmiski. Zaferani does a little dance to reset his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Birmiski looks to land a combination but Zaferani avoids it well.
Nice shot lands for Zaferani.
Birmiski throws a body punch but Zaferani moves out of range.
Birmiski rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Zaferani counters with a nice leg kick.
Birmiski looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Zaferani is fending him off so far but Birmiski persists. Nope, Zaferani circles away and we're back to standing.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
The fighters circle momentarily. Zaferani darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Zaferani chopping away at his opponent's legs.
A swing and a miss from Zaferani.
Hamid Zaferani seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Both fighters circling a little - Zaferani finishes the exchange with a kick to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Birmiski digs a good hook to Zaferani's body.
Birmiski throws a body punch but Zaferani moves out of range.
Birmiski waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Zaferani.
Zaferani lands a nice looking kick to the body. Birmiski takes a step back to recover.
Birmiski throws a front kick aimed at Zaferani's knee but Zaferani avoids it well.
Zaferani closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Birmiski takes a jab right on the kisser.
Zaferani fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Birmiski has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Birmiski bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Birmiski on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Birmiski uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Zaferani.
Zaferani dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Birmiski fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Zaferani is out of range.
Zaferani misses with a hook.
Birmiski throws a lazy right hand but Zaferani sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Zaferani circles away from the clinch attempt.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Zaferani fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Birmiski is out of range.
Birmiski misses with the body kick
and Zaferani connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Hamid Zaferani dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

A looping hook to the body misses from Zaferani. Birmiski does a little dance to reset his feet.
A solid body kick from Zaferani.
Birmiski throws a low kick but Zaferani moves out of range easily.
Birmiski takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Birmiski is trying hard to land a takedown here. Zaferani sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Zaferani throws a half hearted mid kick.
Zaferani lands a body shot.
Zaferani wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Birmiski dives in and grabs Zaferani's left leg, looking for a takedown. Zaferani pushes down on Birmiski's head and hops out.
Birmiski throws a shot from downtown. Zaferani moves away and avoids it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A solid leg kick lands there for Zaferani.
Birmiski swings for the body but Zaferani moves out of range.
Birmiski misses with a wild body shot.
Birmiski has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Birmiski there as he acknowledges the shot.
Zaferani connects with a right hand. Birmiski shakes it off.
Birmiski is looking to wear down Zaferani with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Zaferani throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
Zaferani works Birmiski's body with a nice hook.
Zaferani displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Birmiski throws out the jab.
Birmiski takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Zaferani scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Zaferani thows a body shot but no joy.
A punch combination from Birmiski misses.
Birmiski connects with a body shot.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Birmiski lands with a slapping head kick.
Zaferani dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Birmiski. That did some damage!
Birmiski wants to slow Zaferani down by chopping away at his legs.
A slapping body kick lands there for Zaferani.
Zaferani ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Birmiski misses with an uppercut.
Zaferani slips a straight right by Birmiski.
Birmiski throws a leg kick but Zaferani sees it coming and checks it nicely.
A swing and a miss from Zaferani.
Zaferani swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Birmiski.
Birmiski fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Zaferani checks it well.
Zaferani connects with a crisp jab.
Birmiski takes a swing at Zaferani's ribcage but misses.
Birmiski ducks down and throws a hook to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Birmiski takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Zaferani uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Birmiski.
Zaferani jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Birmiski thows a body shot but no joy.
Birmiski takes one to the chin there.
Birmiski looks to land a combination but Zaferani avoids it well.
Birmiski shoots and misses
and Zaferani counters with a head kick. That will keep Birmiski thinking before he tries any more sloppy attacks!
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ari Birmiski. That's going to take a lot out of him.
This has been an exciting period of action!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Zaferani turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Zaferani.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Hamid Zaferani showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Birmiski's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Zaferani cracks Birmiski with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Nice defenses there by Birmiski.
Zaferani ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Zaferani punishes Birmiski's body with a nice straight punch.
Birmiski slips under a jab from Zaferani.
Birmiski fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Nice uppercut there from Zaferani.
Birmiski looks to score with a jab to the body but Zaferani is just out of range.
Birmiski throws an overhand right that lands on Zaferani's shoulder, as Zaferani tries to avoid the shot.
Birmiski tries to move into range but Zaferani moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Birmiski fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Zaferani scores with a kick to the body.
Birmiski takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
A good leg kick by Zaferani.
Birmiski misses with a hook
and Zaferani counters with a right hand to the body.
Birmiski tries to clinch but Zaferani moves away
and Zaferani counters with an outside leg kick.
Birmiski shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
A nice combination there by Birmiski.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Birmiski fails with the takedown
and Zaferani counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Nice body punch from Zaferani.
Birmiski will be looking to protect his midsection after taking some solid kicks to the body.
Birmiski throws a jab when Zaferani was well out of range.
Zaferani displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Birmiski tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Zaferani swivels and escapes.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ari Birmiski. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Birmiski on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
The fighters circling - Zaferani throws out the jab but it was never going to land.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Birmiski takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Birmiski slips a jab from Zaferani.
Birmiski misses with a jab to the body
and Zaferani counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Zaferani misses with a looping left.
Zaferani lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Zaferani scores with a crisp jab that stopped Birmiski in his tracks.
Zaferani scores with a leg kick.
A cross from Zaferani lands.
Zaferani misses with a kick to the body.
Hamid Zaferani is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Zaferani lands with a straight right. Birmiski didn't see that one coming.
Zaferani moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
Birmiski tries to move into range but Zaferani moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Birmiski tries to close the distance and clinch but Zaferani swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Hamid Zaferani seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Zaferani avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Zaferani cracks Birmiski with an open hand slap.
Birmiski on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Zaferani lands a body shot.
Ari Birmiski has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Birmiski tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

And that's the end of the fight!
Hamid Zaferani comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Zaferani has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Paul Gruel scores the fight 27:30
Judge Ryoma Takatsuka scores the fight 27:30
Judge Chris Saunders scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Hamid Zaferani!
During a confident post fight interview, Hamid Zaferani thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.