PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Johnny Llavicrep (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Tyquan Zaal (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Tyquan Zaal has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Llavicrep
vs
Zaal

195 cm
21
280 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

191 cm
22
247 lbs
5 - 4 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

BJJ Brown Belt
World class MT
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Johnny Llavicrep!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Tyquan Zaal!
The judges for this bout are Cecil Peabody, Alan Glass and Stewart Dunkirk.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Llavicrep closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Llavicrep is trying to control the action in half guard but Zaal is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Zaal is trying to get back to full guard.
Zaal trying to control from the bottom.

Zaal looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Llavicrep knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Zaal on the ground.
Zaal wants to control but Llavicrep is keeping busy and won't allow it.

Llavicrep looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Llavicrep thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Zaal looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Zaal moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Zaal looking to control.
Llavicrep wants to stand but Zaal has a closed guard, so he can't escape.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Llavicrep stopping the sweep attempt from Zaal.
Zaal can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Llavicrep controls the pace.
Llavicrep trying to control the position from guard on top but Zaal is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Llavicrep loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Llavicrep stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Zaal swivels though and keeps the full guard.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Johnny Llavicrep.
Llavicrep dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Tyquan Zaal is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Zaal throws a right hand that Llavicrep ducks under and follows up with a left that Llavicrep also avoids with ease.
A left lands for Zaal.

Llavicrep closes the distance and clinches.
Llavicrep avoiding damage as Zaal throws knees to the body.
Llavicrep goes for a takedown attempt but Zaal pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Zaal moves to clinch but Llavicrep breaks away
and Llavicrep counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Zaal tries to close the distance and clinch but Llavicrep swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Llavicrep misses with a jab, cross combination.
Llavicrep looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
A looping hook to the body misses from Llavicrep. Zaal does a little dance to reset his feet.
Zaal is looking to clinch.
Zaal connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
A slow jab from Zaal misses its intended target.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Zaal tries to close the distance and clinch up but Llavicrep swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Zaal tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Llavicrep paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Llavicrep misses with a wild body shot.
Llavicrep throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Llavicrep throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Zaal connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Llavicrep momentarily.
Llavicrep will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Jab by Zaal.
Llavicrep misses the jab.
A looping hook to the body misses from Zaal. Llavicrep does a little dance to reset his feet.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Llavicrep wants to clinch.
Zaal blocks a head kick by Llavicrep.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Zaal connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Llavicrep momentarily.
Zaal throws a shot to the body.
Llavicrep misses with an uppercut.
Tyquan Zaal seems to be getting the better of the standup.
A lazy left from Llavicrep finds it's target.
Llavicrep slips under a jab from Zaal.

Llavicrep gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Zaal is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Llavicrep is defending well for now.
Zaal misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Llavicrep.
Zaal misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Llavicrep.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Llavicrep as Zaal tries to tie him up.
Llavicrep tries to pull guard but Zaal holds him up against the cage and eventually Llavicrep drops back down to his feet.
Zaal is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Llavicrep breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zaal tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Llavicrep was well out of range. Poor timing from Zaal.
Zaal lands a head shot.
Zaal lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Llavicrep circles away from the clinch attempt.
Zaal fails with an attempt to clinch.
Johnny Llavicrep is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Llavicrep is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Zaal's half guard.
Zaal trying to control here.
Llavicrep prevents Zaal from improving his position.
Llavicrep keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Llavicrep has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Llavicrep is trying to control. Zaal wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.

We're going to have a standup here because Johnny Llavicrep wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Llavicrep walks into a jab.
Sloppy strikes from Llavicrep. Those never looked like landing.
Zaal fails with an attempt to clinch.
Zaal lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Llavicrep takes a swing at Zaal's ribcage but misses.
Zaal closes the distance looking to clinch

and Llavicrep counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Llavicrep.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zaal gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Llavicrep.
Llavicrep blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Llavicrep goes for a takedown in the clinch but Zaal prevents it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Johnny Llavicrep. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Zaal tries to stall but Llavicrep uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Zaal is persisting with his attempts to control the action in the clinch, rather than do any real damage.
Zaal landing knees to the body.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Zaal manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Llavicrep fails to pull the fight into his guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Zaal tries a knee to the head but Llavicrep blocks it.
Zaal with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Llavicrep wants a takedown.
Llavicrep drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Llavicrep tries for a takedown. No joy.
Llavicrep is working for takedown but Zaal is calmly controlling the position for now.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Llavicrep is trying to break free.
Zaal unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Zaal putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Llavicrep in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Llavicrep on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Llavicrep managing to block the knees to the body from Zaal.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tyquan Zaal showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Llavicrep looks to land a combination but Zaal avoids it well.
Llavicrep walks into a jab.
Zaal lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Llavicrep circles away quickly and effectively.
Llavicrep lands a right hook to the body.
Llavicrep falls off balance throwing a combination

and Zaal counters by clinching up.
Zaal taking a breather.
Zaal has Llavicrep pushed against the cage.
Zaal is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Llavicrep is looking for a takedown.
Zaal stalling in the clinch but Llavicrep improves position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Tyquan Zaal.
Zaal takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Llavicrep keeps the fight on the outside.
Llavicrep is looking to wear down Zaal with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Zaal connects with a nice looking jab.
Zaal tries to clinch there but Llavicrep circles away.
The step up in weight doesn't seem to be a problem for Zaal. He's performing admirably here against the bigger man.
Llavicrep misses the body punch

and Zaal moves into the clinch.
Llavicrep tries to pull guard but Zaal won't allow it.
Llavicrep is looking for a takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Johnny Llavicrep. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Zaal is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Llavicrep is defending well for now.
Zaal is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Llavicrep takes a knee to the side of the body.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Llavicrep avoiding damage as Zaal throws knees to the body.
Zaal is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Llavicrep is keeping busy.
Llavicrep managing to block the knees to the body from Zaal.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Llavicrep has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Zaal uses from the top position.
Zaal slips nicely into half guard.

Zaal is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Llavicrep is staying active underneath Zaal, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Llavicrep manages to get to full guard.
Llavicrep seems keen to control Zaal's posture.
Zaal pushing down on Llavicrep's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Llavicrep is trying to control but can't.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Zaal is trying to control the action in half guard but Llavicrep is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Zaal prevents Llavicrep from improving his position.

Zaal is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Llavicrep sees it coming and defends easily.
Zaal is looking to advance position but Llavicrep won't allow it.
Llavicrep wants to get back to full guard.
Llavicrep makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Llavicrep.
Zaal wants to pass the guard but Llavicrep is keeping the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Llavicrep is trying to control the position but Zaal postures up.

Zaal drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Zaal jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Zaal trying to control but Llavicrep is working from the bottom.
Zaal won't allow Llavicrep to sweep him here.
Zaal slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.

Zaal has an Americana. Llavicrep didn't react quickly enough there and he's in big trouble now! He tries to squirm out but is forced to tap! Zaal is delighted and gyrates in front of the ring girls. They seem to like the attention - it'll be interesting to see if Zaal hooks up with any of them at the after show party.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:59 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Americana). Tyquan Zaal!
Tyquan Zaal thanked the fans post fight for their support.