PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Joshua Zieg (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Larry Bird (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Zieg
vs
Bird

170 cm
25
152 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

168 cm
18
155 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Big right hand

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
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 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Joshua Zieg!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Larry Bird!
The judges for this bout are Bruno Lombardi, Chad Campbell and Jonathan Paton.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Bird looks to score with a jab to the body but Zieg is just out of range.
Good exchange - Bird coming out on top.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Zieg!
Bird missing with a left hand there. Zieg was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
A shot to the body from Bird misses
and Zieg counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Zieg displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Bird throws out the jab.
Zieg takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Bird throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Zieg counters with a left and a right that stings Bird.
Zieg tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Zieg looks to land a combination. Bird sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Bird lands with a right hand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bird takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Bird throws a shot from downtown. Zieg moves away and avoids it.
Larry Bird seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Bird will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Bird fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Zieg manages to avoid it.
Zieg ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Bird misses with a right hand

and Zieg counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Bird is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Bird is trying to break the clinch but Zieg has him pressed against the cage.

Zieg breaks from the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bird misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Zieg.
Zieg takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Zieg lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
Bird misses with an uppercut
and Zieg counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
A looping hook to the body misses from Bird. Zieg does a little dance to reset his feet.
Bird misses the shot to the body.
Bird takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Bird misses with a body shot

and Zieg moves into the clinch.
Bird tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A frustrated look appears on Bird's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Bird misses with a body punch.
Zieg lands an elbow that stopped Bird in his tracks for a moment.
Zieg lands with a light punch inside.
Zieg lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Bird takes a shot to the head.
Zieg scores with a hook to the body.
Bird wants to break free but Zieg has control.
A short right from Zieg.
Zieg scores with a shoulder strike.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bird has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Bird wants to get back to striking at distance but Zieg won't allow it.
Bird throws a head punch that misses.
Zieg using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Zieg stalls.
Zieg gets through Bird's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Bird swings wildly with an uppercut but Zieg uses good head movement to avoid it.
Zieg pushes Bird back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joshua Zieg dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Bird misses with a double jab.
Bird misses with a body shot.
Some wild striking there from Zieg.
Bird swings widly with a right hand
and Zieg counters with a straight right hand.
Bird misses with a hook

and Zieg counters with a flying knee that sends his opponent to the canvas! Zieg looking to finish!

Bird is rocked!
This has been an exciting period of action!

Zieg is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Zieg's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Zieg has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's one minute gone in the round.

We're going to have a standup here because Joshua Zieg wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Bird misses with a right hand
and Zieg counters with a three punch combo that has Bird backing up. Bird nods at Zieg to acknowledge the strikes.
Bird misses with a lunging right hand
and Zieg counters with a series of strikes. Bird will be more careful next time no doubt.
Zieg closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Bird is still on wobbly legs! Can Zieg finish him?
Bird dodges the punch combination from Zieg.
Bird seems to have recovered his senses.
Zieg ducks under a wild hook from Bird.
Bird throws a shot from downtown. Zieg moves away and avoids it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Zieg gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Zieg taking a breather.

Zieg turns his back and goes for a hip toss. It's a bit messy but it gets the job done and Zieg manages to end up in side control.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Zieg in side control, just content to control the action for now.
Zieg seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Bird for as long as he can get away with.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

We're going to have a standup here because Joshua Zieg wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Zieg is defended easily by Bird.
Zieg ducks right into an uppercut from Bird.
Bird throws a jab but it's blocked by Zieg.
Zieg keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bird throws a poor cross that misses
and Zieg counters with a series of strikes. Bird will be more careful next time no doubt.
Bird connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Bird thuds a left hand into Zieg's body.
Bird misses with a lunging right hand
and Zieg counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Zieg keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Zieg takes a body punch but keeps moving.
A combination from Bird does no damage.
Zieg is working the combinations to good effect here.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Bird throws a hook to the side of Zieg's head but Zieg sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Zieg keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joshua Zieg 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.

Zieg closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Bird misses with a left hand
and Zieg counters with a two punch combo.
Bird looks to land a right hand but Zieg moved out of range.

Zieg throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Bird was covering up waiting for the punch and Zieg finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Zieg not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Bird tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Zieg slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Joshua Zieg wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Bird throws an off balance right hand
and Zieg counters with a two punch combo.

Zieg gets a takedown into half guard.
Zieg works his way into full mount!
Zieg controlling his opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Joshua Zieg has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Zieg keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.

Zieg instigates a clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zieg content to slow the pace in the clinch.
Zieg is looking to take this one to the mat.
A right hand to the body from Zieg.
Bird tries to work over Zieg's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Bird has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Bird working hard to break the clinch.
Zieg will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Bird up against the cage.
Zieg lands a hook that snaps the head of Bird backwards.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Zieg escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Bird misses with a lunging right hand
letting Zieg counter with a right hand.
Zieg walks into a left hand.
Bird throws an off balance right hand
and Zieg counters with a left and a right that stings Bird.
Bird misses with an uppercut
and Zieg counters with a straight right hand.
Bird throws a hook but Zieg avoids it easily.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Bird misses with the combination.
Bird looks to throw the jab but Zieg is out of range.

And that's the end of the fight!
Joshua Zieg showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Zieg 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 Bruno Lombardi scores the fight 30:27
Judge Chad Campbell scores the fight 30:27
Judge Jonathan Paton scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Joshua Zieg!