PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Alexander Zuev (ranked 22984 p4p, 531 weight class) and Tucker Lee (ranked 7762 p4p, 506 weight class). Lee comes into a darkened arena with his song building. DMX - Party Up (Up In Here) kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! Alexander Zuev has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Zuev
vs
Lee

210 cm
19
280 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

183 cm
19
273 lbs
1 - 3 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Dangerous knees
Cardio machine

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Good gas tank

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 St Petersburg, Alexander Zuev!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Tucker Lee!
The judges for this bout are Timothy Bukovac, Frank Antenori and Don Winkell.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Zuev shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Lee's guard.
Lee working a defensive guard here.

Lee had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Zuev defends it easily.
Zuev sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Zuev is looking to stand up but Lee won't let him.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Lee trying to keep a closed guard but Zuev is proving a slippery customer.
Zuev is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zuev seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Lee for as long as he can get away with.
Lee is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

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

Zuev closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Lee did well to prevent Zuev getting side control.
Lee throws a strike from the bottom that misses.
Zuev tries to stand but can't do so whilst Lee controls his leg.
Zuev thows a huge punch but Lee dodges it nicely.
Lee tries to get to full guard but Zuev has control of the leg.
Zuev blocks the strikes from Lee.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lee is looking to control Zuev's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Lee avoid being mounted?
Lee makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Lee.
Zuev tries to stand but Lee is controlling from the bottom.
Zuev trying to control but Lee is working from the bottom.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.

Lee is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Zuev defends well.
Zuev loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Lee looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Zuev drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Lee tries to wriggle free to get back to his feet but he's given up his back! Oops.

Zuev looking for the choke but no joy.
Zuev trying to control momentarily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Zuev looking to break Lee's wrist control so he can sink in the choke. Lee remaining controlled and patient though - he really has to keep calm otherwise Zuev will wrap this one up with the rear naked choke!
Lee looks to control his opponent's hands but he's not mananging it at the moment.
Zuev struggling to keep hold of the position.
Lee trying to get back to his feet but Zuev is in full control for now.
Zuev not allowing Lee to control his hands.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Zuev somehow managing to miss with a strike from the back.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Alexander Zuev dominated that round.
That's time! Zuev's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Zuev feints and as Lee raises his hands in defense, Zuev changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Zuev trying to control but Lee is working from the bottom.
Alexander Zuev overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Zuev is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Zuev scoring with punches to the head and body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Lee is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Zuev will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

Lee looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Zuev passes into side control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lee manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
Lee slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.

Lee escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Zuev gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Zuev wants to control from the top but Lee keeps moving.
Zuev is looking to pass into half guard but Lee pushes him away with his feet and jumps on top - now Lee is in guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Zuev pulls Lee in close to his closed guard and prevents Lee from doing any damage or advancing position.
Zuev wants to sweep but no luck.
Lee stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Zuev swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Lee scoring with some ground and pound.
Zuev is trying to control the position but Lee postures up.
Lee is working Zuev over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Lee with a flurry of punches that miss.
Lee trying to control the position from guard on top but Zuev is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Zuev avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lee throws a strike but Zuev rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Zuev trying to control the position from guard on top but Lee is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Lee controls Zuev momentarily but Zuev frees himself.

Lee throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Zuev showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

Zuev got a little sloppy there for a moment and Lee has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Zuev has managed to get both his arms back between Lee's legs - danger averted.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Lee working a defensive guard here.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Zuev is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Nice takedown defense from Zuev. No joy for Lee on that attempt.
Alexander Zuev is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Lee pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Zuev throws a series of punches but Lee avoids them all with ease.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Lee doesn't manage to clinch there - Zuev circles away.
Alexander Zuev seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Zuev looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Lee is clearly looking to counter with head kicks.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Alexander Zuev dominated that second round.
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. This is the final round!

Zuev looking to score a takedown here. Lee is defending well but Zuev drives through and ends up in Lee's guard.

Lee is looking for a triangle here but Zuev uses the submission attempt to pass into side control.
Lee defending against the ground and pound.
Lee manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
Zuev is trying is best to control the position here.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Zuev trying to control from the bottom.
Zuev wants to get back to full guard.
Lee stops Zuev from getting back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zuev wants to control but Lee is keeping busy.
Lee trying to control the action but Zuev is working from the bottom.
Zuev has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Lee is working away from the top position though.
Lee is trying to control the action in half guard but Zuev is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.

Zuev is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Lee pulls his head out easily.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Lee tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Zuev was well out of range. Poor timing from Lee.
A counter left hand to the body from Zuev misses its target.

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.
Lee shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Zuev defends it nicely.

Zuev feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Lee is looking to stand back up... there's a bit of a scramble and Zuev dives into side control.

Zuev sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Lee is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
Lee wants to control but Zuev postures up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Zuev wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Lee, who protects the arm well.
Zuev scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Lee to see if he's OK.
Lee tries to control the position but he's not in luck - Zuev easily slips into full mount!
Lee tries to hold on but Zuev postures up.
Zuev trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Tucker Lee has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Zuev looking to control and managing it successfully.
Lee really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Lee is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Zuev throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Lee because Zuev loaded up on that one.

And that's the end of the fight!
Alexander Zuev showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Zuev 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 Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 30:27
Judge Frank Antenori scores the fight 30:27
Judge Don Winkell scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Alexander Zuev!
Tucker Lee was interviewed post fight and said 'I accept the defeat, but I will be back!'.