PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Zab Judah (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Diego Mandarino (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!

Judah
vs
Mandarino

171 cm
18
145 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

177 cm
21
150 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Basic striking
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Granite 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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Zab Judah!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Diego Mandarino!
The judges for this bout are Valeri Chadov, Sergei Dronov and Igor Prikhodko.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Judah keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Mandarino takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Mandarino will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Judah throws a right and a left that both miss.
Judah scores with a three punch combo!
Mandarino misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Mandarino fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Zab Judah has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Diego Mandarino.
Judah displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Mandarino shoots in and drives through. Judah sprawls well.
Judah swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Mandarino.
Mandarino shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Judah as he jumps to the side.
Mandarino falls off balance throwing a combination
and Judah counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Mandarino fails with a takedown attempt.
Mandarino shoots for a takedown but Judah saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Mandarino looks gassed!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Judah throws a left and a right that both miss
and Mandarino counters with a head kick.
Judah throws a series of punches but Mandarino avoids them all with ease.
Some wild striking there from Judah.
Judah swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Judah lands with a nice combination. Mandarino backs away looking to recover.
Judah rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Mandarino moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Judah misses with a jab, cross combination.
Judah fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Mandarino throws a combination that misses
and Judah counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Judah looks to land a combination but Mandarino avoids it well.
Judah throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Judah throws a series of punches but Mandarino avoids them all with ease.
Judah throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Mandarino shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Judah but Judah pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Mandarino doesn't manage to clinch there - Judah circles away.
Mandarino tries for a takedown but Judah circles away easily
and Judah counters with a lovely shot to the body.
No joy there for Judah, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Judah tries to bum rush Mandarino with a series of wild strikes but Mandarino uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Mandarino takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Judah throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Judah misses with a two punch combination.
Judah throws a nice looking combination but Mandarino bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.

Mandarino drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Mandarino blocks the strikes from Judah.
Judah wings away with a couple of strikes but they don't land.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Judah is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Mandarino trying to control the position but Judah is working away.
Judah tries to wriggle free to get back to his feet but he's given up his back! Oops.
You can see the frustration on Judah's face… He knows he is in trouble unless he improves his position sooner rather than later.
Judah is trying to get back to his feet but Mandarino has full control of the position and if anything, Judah has just worked his way into a worse spot.
Judah tries to break free.
Mandarino controlling from the back.
You can see the frustration on Judah's face… He knows he is in trouble unless he improves his position sooner rather than later.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Judah has the hand control, trying to stop the rear naked choke.
Mandarino is hanging on to Judah's back as he tries to escape.
Mandarino tries to keep control of the position but Judah is staying busy.
Judah breaks Mandarino's hooks off and manages to turn into his guard.
Judah throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Judah closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Judah misses with a series of wild punches.
Judah throws a right hand that Mandarino ducks under and follows up with a left that Mandarino also avoids with ease.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Mandarino shoots in and drives through. Judah sprawls well.
Judah misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
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 Zab Judah will probably get the nod.
That's time! Back to the action!

Judah fails to land with a series of punches.
Judah will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Mandarino showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Judah.
Mandarino shoots in but no luck this time.
A nice combination there by Judah.
Mandarino throws a head kick but Judah moves out of range.
Judah looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Mandarino misses with a head kick.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Judah rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Mandarino moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Mandarino tries to clinch there but Judah circles away.
Mandarino is breathing heavily.
Judah closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Mandarino looks for a takedown but Judah sprawls well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mandarino looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Judah is fending him off so far but Mandarino persists. Nope, Judah circles away and we're back to standing.
Zab Judah has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Diego Mandarino.
Mandarino wants to clinch.
Mandarino takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Danga de danga de dang - Judah scores with a four punch combination!
Mandarino shoots in and drives through. Judah sprawls well.
Nice body punch from Judah.
Judah stuns Mandarino with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Judah throws a right and a left that Mandarino avoids nicely.
Judah falls off balance throwing a combination
and Mandarino counters with a head kick.
A combination from Judah does no damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Judah lands a two punch combo.
Zab Judah is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Mandarino dodges the punch combination from Judah.
Judah is working the combinations to good effect here.
Mandarino slips a jab and a cross from Judah.
Judah moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
Judah connects with a body shot.
Some wild striking there from Judah.
Judah misses with a wild combination.
Judah throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Zab Judah seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Judah moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
Mandarino closes the distance and clinches up with Judah, looking for a takedown. Mandarino pushes Judah against the cage but Judah circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Judah throws a right and a left that both miss.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Judah looks to land a combination but Mandarino avoids it well.
Judah will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Mandarino dodges the punch combination from Judah.
Judah scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Horrible takedown by Mandarino or perhaps it was just good defense by Judah which made him look bad.
A combination from Judah does no damage.
Judah throws a series of punches but Mandarino avoids them all with ease.
Judah is looking to wear down Mandarino with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Mandarino showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Judah.
Judah throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Mandarino.
A left and a right from Judah both land. Nice combination.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Mandarino throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Judah's waist but Judah gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Mandarino off to one side.
A right-left combo lands from Judah.
Judah throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Judah lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Judah.
Judah digs a good hook to Mandarino's body.
Judah digs a good hook to Mandarino's body.
Mandarino throws a low kick but it's checked well by Judah.
Mandarino is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Judah.
Zab Judah is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Mandarino slips a jab and a cross from Judah.
Mandarino takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Judah rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Mandarino moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Judah will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.

Mandarino clinches up against the cage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Zab Judah dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Mandarino shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.
Judah knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Mandarino on the ground.
Mandarino trying to control but Judah is having none of it.
Judah throwing punches from his back but nothing is landing.
Judah is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Mandarino fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Judah keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Mandarino controlling from mount.
Mandarino working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Mandarino takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Judah tries to reverse the position but Mandarino maintains control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Judah flailing away with punches but nothing is landing.
Mandarino looking to control and managing it successfully.
Judah throws a strike from the bottom but Mandarino uses the opportunity to take his back.
Judah can't escape the position.
Judah holding both Mandarino 's hands and preventing any damage.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Mandarino lands with a nice looking elbow that stuns Judah.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
I really don't envy Judah right now.
Mandarino trying to control.
Judah rolls and manages to get back to half guard. Nicely done.
Judah tries to roll over but Mandarino keeps him under control.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Judah misses with a jab, cross combination.
Mandarino takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Judah lands a jab to the head.
Mandarino fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Nice body punch from Judah.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Judah misses with a wild combination.
Mandarino shoots and misses
and Judah counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Judah throws a one two combo.
Judah displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Judah misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Mandarino showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Judah.
Judah scores with a body shot.
Judah stalks Mandarino and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Mandarino's face. Mandarino staggers backwards, shaken.
Judah lands with an uppercut that bounces Mandarino off the cage and back into rage.
Judah scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Judah!
Mandarino shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Judah pinned against the cage. Judah gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Zab Judah has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Diego Mandarino.

That's four 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.
Left hook, right uppercut from Judah.
Mandarino has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
Judah lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Mandarino backs up against the cage.
Judah tests Mandarino's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Judah!
Judah throws a right and a left that Mandarino avoids nicely.
Judah goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Mandarino shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Judah counters with a nice uppercut.
Judah looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Diego Mandarino has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Zab Judah is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Judah fails to land with a series of punches.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Diego Mandarino.
I think Judah 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 Valeri Chadov scores the fight 29:28
Judge Sergei Dronov scores the fight 29:28
Judge Igor Prikhodko scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Zab Judah!