PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Hong Gregory (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Zeljko Mavrovic (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Fingers crossed for an exciting fight - I'm sure both fighters are looking for a nice under the table bonus!

Gregory
vs
Mavrovic

162 cm
22
279 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

190 cm
25
220 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

Decent wrestler
Basic striking
Tends to cut

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 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Hong Gregory!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Zeljko Mavrovic!
The judges for this bout are Hirohito Nitta, Shigeki Sano and Ren Mimura.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Mavrovic forces Gregory back against the cage and clinches.
Mavrovic stalling.

Mavrovic manages to pull guard.
Mavrovic pulls Gregory in to control the position.
Mavrovic scores with a nice shot.
Mavrovic wants to stand but Gregory is controlling the position.
Gregory throwing strikes from guard but Mavrovic blocks nicely.
Gregory throwing strikes but missing.
Mavrovic throwing strikes off his back to little effect.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gregory working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Mavrovic looking to control.
Gregory throwing strikes from guard but Mavrovic blocks nicely.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Mavrovic working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Gregory doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Gregory manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gregory throws a big elbow that misses.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

Mavrovic shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Gregory manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.

Gregory working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Mavrovic doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Mavrovic manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Mavrovic stands up over Gregory, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Gregory wants to sweep here but Mavrovic controlling him for the moment.
Gregory keeping moving, preventing Mavrovic from controlling successfully.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mavrovic won't allow Gregory to sweep him here.

Gregory is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Mavrovic defends well.
Mavrovic lands a couple of elbows.
Mavrovic connects with a couple of short punches.
Gregory could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mavrovic wants to stand but Gregory is controlling his posture from full guard.
Mavrovic seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Mavrovic postures up and lands a big shot to Gregory's brow.
Mavrovic trying to control but Gregory is working from the bottom.
Mavrovic loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.

Gregory tries to keep at a distance but Mavrovic has taken the fight into the clinch.

Mavrovic gets control of Gregory's arms and successfully pulls guard. Mavrovic will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Mavrovic with a couple of shots from the bottom there - nothing Gregory can't handle though.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Mavrovic trying to control the position.
Gregory with a flurry of punches that miss.
Mavrovic controls Gregory momentarily but Gregory frees himself.
Gregory wants to control from the top but Mavrovic keeps moving.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Gregory in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Gregory is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Zeljko Mavrovic dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Mavrovic misses with a low kick.
Gregory half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.

Gregory gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
The step up in weight doesn't seem to be a problem for Mavrovic. He's performing admirably here against the bigger man.
Mavrovic wants to stand but Gregory has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Zeljko Mavrovic has got the better of the ground game so far.
Gregory wants to sweep but no luck.
Mavrovic wants to get up but he can't break Gregory's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gregory wants to sweep here but Mavrovic controlling him for the moment.
Mavrovic trying to control but Gregory is working from the bottom.
Mavrovic has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Gregory is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Mavrovic defends well.
Mavrovic wants to pass the guard but Gregory is keeping the position.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Hong Gregory is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Mavrovic looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Mavrovic lands a couple of decent looking shots.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Gregory is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Mavrovic keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Gregory's head.
Mavrovic working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Mavrovic wants to pass the guard but Gregory is keeping the position.
Mavrovic trying to control the position from guard on top but Gregory is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Gregory wants to get back to his feet but Mavrovic is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gregory bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Mavrovic's guard.

Mavrovic doesn't do any damage with a couple of strikes from the bottom.

Mavrovic is looking for a triangle but Gregory pushes his legs off easily.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Mavrovic can do anything to dispel that myth.
Mavrovic throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.
Gregory in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Gregory throws a big right hand that misses.
Gregory works over Mavrovic with some ground and pound from guard.
Mavrovic throws some sloppy strikes off his back.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Gregory is looking to work some ground and pound but Mavrovic has wrist control.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

Mavrovic manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Gregory on his heels. He'll look to pass Gregory's guard now, I'm sure.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mavrovic wants to stand but Gregory has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Mavrovic throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Mavrovic controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Gregory might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Gregory wants to sweep but no luck.

Gregory working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Mavrovic doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Mavrovic manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Mavrovic won't allow Gregory to get back to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Zeljko Mavrovic showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Mavrovic moves into the clinch.

Mavrovic is working on a single leg takedown against the cage. Gregory can't fight it off and eventually Mavrovic manages to take the fight to the floor. Gregory looks annoyed but at least he's managed to land in guard.

Mavrovic got a little sloppy there for a moment and Gregory has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Mavrovic has managed to get both his arms back between Gregory's legs - danger averted.
Mavrovic content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mavrovic sitting in guard here, content to control.
Mavrovic stops Gregory from standing up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mavrovic trying to control the position from guard on top but Gregory is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Gregory looking to sweep using the butterfly guard but Mavrovic puts pay to that idea as he passes nicely into half guard.
Mavrovic is trying to control the action in half guard but Gregory is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Mavrovic with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Gregory moves out of range of the body kick from Mavrovic.
Mavrovic misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Mavrovic defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Gregory.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gregory looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Mavrovic is fending him off so far but Gregory persists. Nope, Mavrovic circles away and we're back to standing.

Gregory takes the fight into the clinch.
Gregory is looking to control Mavrovic's arms but Mavrovic gets an underhook and turns him. Now Gregory has his back to the cage.

Mavrovic breaks from the clinch.
Mavrovic scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Mavrovic enables Gregory to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Mavrovic manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.

Gregory avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Gregory wants to control from the top but Mavrovic keeps moving.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gregory postures up in Mavrovic's guard and throws a big left but Mavrovic blocks it.
Mavrovic working a defensive guard here.
Mavrovic has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Gregory postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Zeljko Mavrovic is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Gregory is fighting to break Mavrovic's control of his arms but Mavrovic is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Let's hope that Mavrovic has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.

Mavrovic throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Gregory was covering up waiting for the punch and Mavrovic finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Mavrovic takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Mavrovic trying to stand up but can't free himself from Gregory's guard.
Gregory preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Gregory keeping moving, preventing Mavrovic from controlling successfully.
Mavrovic wanted to stand there but Gregory had control of the position.

And that's the end of the fight!
Zeljko Mavrovic comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Mavrovic 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 Hirohito Nitta scores the fight 27:30
Judge Shigeki Sano scores the fight 27:30
Judge Ren Mimura scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Zeljko Mavrovic!