PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Albert Ricci (ranked 1564 p4p, 189 weight class) and Kostya Tszyu (ranked 1403 p4p, 170 weight class). Tszyu comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Till the End of Time kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! There are an array of beautiful celebrities at ringside tonight! I wonder if any of them paid for their tickets.

Ricci
vs
Tszyu

172 cm
38
140 lbs
18 - 12 - 0

185 cm
35
160 lbs
27 - 13 - 4

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Urban Fighter

Kore Fight Nutrition

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 18 - 12 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Albert Ricci!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 27 - 13 - 4, fighting out of New York, Kostya Tszyu!
The judges for this bout are Chris Downing, Tiny Johnson and Frank Dennis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Tszyu steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Ricci.
Tszyu misses with a hook.
Tszyu looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
A nice leg kick lands there from Ricci.
Tszyu ducks under a wild hook from Ricci.
Tszyu slips under a jab.
Ricci pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Tszyu pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Tszyu wants to clinch.
Ricci throws a head kick that looked like it stung.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Tszyu takes a swing at Ricci's ribcage but misses.

Ricci rushes Tszyu and presses him up against the cage.
Tszyu throws a punch but it's blocked by Ricci.
Ricci swings wildly with an uppercut but Tszyu uses good head movement to avoid it.
Tszyu with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Tszyu.
Tszyu tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Ricci working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Tszyu can't find room to land a body shot as Ricci controls the action.
A nice right hand lands inside from Ricci.
A nice left hand lands by Ricci.
A short left from Tszyu.
Good body shot from Ricci.
Nice body punch from Ricci - that landed with a thud.
Ricci lands a left hand that snaps the head of Tszyu backwards.
Tszyu lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Tszyu has a couple of punches blocked by Ricci.
Ricci presses Tszyu against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Ricci.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Tszyu lands a right hand.
Tszyu can't find room to land a body shot as Ricci controls the action.
Tszyu misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Ricci.
Ricci tries to throw a body punch but Tszyu avoids it by throwing Ricci back against the cage.
A nice left hand lands by Ricci.
Tszyu lands with a right to the head.
Ricci avoids the elbow strike from Tszyu, against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ricci fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Tszyu tries to land a knee to the head but Ricci blocks with his arms.
Ricci lands a left hand.
Tszyu swings wildly with an uppercut but Ricci uses good head movement to avoid it.
A short uppercut from Ricci.
Tszyu fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Tszyu has had enough of the clinch but Ricci keeps him there for the moment.
Ricci blocks a punch to the side of the head.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Ricci.
Ricci lands a left hand.
Tszyu misses with the head strike.
Tszyu swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Ricci tries to throw a body punch but Tszyu avoids it by throwing Ricci back against the cage.
Tszyu blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Tszyu throws a head punch that misses.
Ricci working aggressively here.
Ricci blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Ricci lands a left hand.
Ricci tries a body shot but Tszyu blocks it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tszyu throws a head punch that misses.
Tszyu utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Tszyu throws a head punch that misses.
Tszyu blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Tszyu throws an elbow but it misses.
Tszyu misses with a short punch on the inside.

Tszyu manages to break the clinch.

Ricci gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Ricci has a couple of punches blocked by Tszyu.
Ricci lands a right hand.
Ricci swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Ricci misses with a hook to the ribs.
Tszyu fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
A right hand to the body from Ricci.
Ricci lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Tszyu.
Tszyu lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Ricci blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Ricci misses with a short punch on the inside.
Ricci scores with a hook to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
A short left from Ricci.
Ricci throws a head punch that misses.
A short right from Tszyu.
Tszyu tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Ricci.
Tszyu fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Ricci prevents Tszyu from breaking the clinch.
Tszyu lands a body punch.
Ricci blocks a body shot from Tszyu.
Ricci throws a head punch that misses.
Tszyu lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
A head punch on the inside from Ricci fails to land.
Ricci blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Ricci misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Tszyu wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
A short uppercut from Ricci.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Tszyu has a couple of punches blocked by Ricci.
A nice left hand lands by Tszyu.
Ricci tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Tszyu's elbow.
Tszyu blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Albert Ricci dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Ricci closes the distance and clinches.
Tszyu lands a nice shot to the body.
Ricci misses with a hook from the clinch.
Tszyu misses with a body punch.
Tszyu prevents a body shot from Ricci.
Ricci blocks an uppercut.
Tszyu misses with a body punch.
Ricci scores with a shot to the side of Tszyu's head.
Ricci has a couple of punches blocked by Tszyu.

Tszyu pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Tszyu throws a head kick that misses
and Ricci counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Tszyu avoids the head kick by Ricci.

Ricci moves into range and clinches up with Tszyu.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Tszyu blocks an uppercut.
Ricci misses with a body punch.
Ricci is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Tszyu can do to turn this around?
Tszyu makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Ricci lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Tszyu or not.

Tszyu's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
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!
Ricci clobbers Tszyu with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Ricci fails in his attempt to clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tszyu misses with a head kick.
Ricci is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Tszyu.
Ricci lands a nice leg kick that just misses Tszyu's sensitive parts.
Tszyu lands a nice looking kick to the body. Ricci takes a step back to recover.
Tszyu throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Tszyu tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Ricci paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Tszyu misses with a hook
and Ricci counters with a stiff right hand.
Tszyu throws a head kick that misses.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Ricci.
Tszyu just misses with a punch to the body.
Ricci bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Nice shot by Ricci.
Ricci punishes Tszyu's body with a nice straight punch.
Tszyu lunges at Ricci with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Ricci's hand.
Tszyu misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Tszyu swats away the attempt to clinch by Ricci.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ricci walks into a stiff left hand from Tszyu.
Tszyu looks for the body kick but Ricci saw that one coming.
Tszyu fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Ricci checks it well.
Ricci fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Tszyu on the side of the head.
Tszyu throws a head kick but Ricci moves out of range.
Ricci tries to counter by clinching up but Tszyu breaks away and moves out of range.
Ricci fails with an attempt to clinch.
Tszyu appears to be waiting to throw a counter punch to the body.
Tszyu blocks a head kick by Ricci.
Ricci throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Tszyu stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Kostya Tszyu seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Ricci moves out of range of the body kick from Tszyu.
Ricci cracks Tszyu with a right hand to the side of the head.
Tszyu slips a straight right by Ricci.
Ricci throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Tszyu sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Tszyu avoids the head kick by Ricci.
Ricci dodges the punch combination from Tszyu.
Ricci was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Ricci attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Ricci moves into the clinch.
Ricci blocks a body shot from Tszyu.

Tszyu breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
The fight stays on the outside here - Ricci looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Ricci tries to clinch but Tszyu moves away
and Tszyu counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Ricci stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Tszyu.

Ricci gets in close and instigates a clinch.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Ricci.
Tszyu tries to throw a body punch but Ricci avoids it by throwing Tszyu back against the cage.
Tszyu wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Ricci has him pressed against the cage.
Albert Ricci has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Ricci fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Tszyu working aggressively here.
A right hook to the body lands for Ricci.
A left hand lands to the body for Ricci.
Ricci lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Tszyu lands a shoulder strike.
Ricci lands on the inside with an uppercut.
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!
Ricci lands with a light punch inside.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A nice left hand lands by Ricci.
Ricci goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Tszyu is looking to break free of the clinch but Ricci has double underhooks.
Ricci throws a head punch that misses.
A head punch on the inside from Tszyu fails to land.
Tszyu throws a head punch that misses.
A nice left hand lands by Ricci.
Tszyu throws a punch but it's blocked by Ricci.
Tszyu prevents a body shot from Ricci.
Tszyu blocking some punches.
Tszyu lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Nice body punch from Ricci.
Ricci misses with a hook from the clinch.
Tszyu blocks a body shot from Ricci.
Tszyu misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Ricci lands a body punch.
Tszyu misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Ricci misses with a punch to the body.
Ricci lands a body shot.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Albert Ricci dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

A shot to the liver by Ricci. Beautiful body shot.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Ricci checks a leg kick.
Tszyu takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Tszyu throws a body punch but Ricci moves out of range.
Ricci fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Tszyu.
Ricci blocks a leg kick.
Ricci with a jab.
Tszyu tries to land a leg kick but Ricci saw it coming and moves away.
Tszyu throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
It looks like Ricci has been trying to sharpen up his punching technique, as it looks crisper than last time we saw him.
Ricci jabs Tszyu right on the nose. Tszyu blinks but takes it well.
A solid leg kick lands there for Ricci.
Tszyu gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Ricci.
An inside leg kick lands from Tszyu.
Tszyu connects with an inside leg kick.

Tszyu has taken the fight to the clinch.
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!
A short body shot lands from Ricci as the two fighters clinch.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Tszyu.
Good body shot from Ricci.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tszyu tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Ricci's elbow.
Ricci throws a head punch that misses.
Tszyu tries a body shot but Ricci blocks it.
Ricci lands with a left to the head.
Tszyu tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Tszyu misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Ricci.
Ricci struggles to land a body shot inside as Tszyu controls his hands.
Tszyu swings wildly with an uppercut but Ricci uses good head movement to avoid it.
Tszyu struggles to land a body shot inside as Ricci controls his hands.
Ricci is leaning against Tszyu and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Tszyu presses Ricci against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Ricci blocking some punches.
Ricci blocks an uppercut.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Tszyu.
Ricci is working Tszyu over against the cage.
Tszyu takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Ricci misses with the head strike.
Tszyu tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Ricci presses Tszyu against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Kostya Tszyu has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ricci fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Ricci lands with a left to the head.
Ricci lands a body shot in the clinch.
Tszyu wants to break free but Ricci has control.
Ricci lands a body punch in the clinch.
Ricci lands with a left to the head.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Ricci presses Tszyu against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
A nice right hand lands inside from Ricci.
Ricci lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Ricci is working Tszyu over against the cage.
Ricci lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Ricci stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Ricci lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Ricci lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Tszyu or not.
Still in the clinch, Ricci scores with a nice short uppercut.
Ricci lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Tszyu backwards.
Ricci lands with a right to the head.
Tszyu struggles to land a body shot inside as Ricci controls his hands.
Ricci tries to throw a body punch but Tszyu avoids it by throwing Ricci back against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ricci lands with a left to the head.
Ricci misses with an elbow strike.
Ricci lands a hook that snaps the head of Tszyu backwards.
Ricci blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Ricci tries to throw a body punch but Tszyu avoids it by throwing Ricci back against the cage.
Ricci throws a punch but it's blocked by Tszyu.
Ricci misses with a hook to the ribs.
Tszyu struggles to land a body shot inside as Ricci controls his hands.
Ricci lands with a right to the head.
Ricci works on Tszyu's body with a couple of short punches.
Tszyu misses with a punch to the body.
Ricci swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Ricci digs a right hand into Tszyu's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Tszyu's gas tank.
A head punch on the inside from Ricci fails to land.
Ricci misses with some punches.
A nice right hand lands inside from Ricci.
Ricci pushes Tszyu back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Ricci lands a nice uppercut.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Ricci misses with an elbow over the top.
Albert Ricci is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ricci lands a nice uppercut.
Ricci misses with a hook from the clinch.
Ricci can't find room to land a body shot as Tszyu controls the action.
Tszyu throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Ricci blocks it with crossed arms.
A nice right hand lands inside from Ricci.
A head punch on the inside from Ricci fails to land.
Tszyu tries to throw a body punch but Ricci avoids it by throwing Tszyu back against the cage.
Ricci tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Tszyu's elbow.
Tszyu misses with a hook to the ribs.
Ricci tries to work over Tszyu's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
A left hand lands to the body for Tszyu.
Ricci cracks Tszyu with a nice body shot.
Tszyu misses with a short punch on the inside.
Ricci lands a shoulder strike.
Ricci lands with a short shot to the head.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Tszyu misses with a punch to the body.
Ricci digs a right hand underneath Tszyu's ribcage. Tszyu let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Tszyu throws a head punch that misses.
Ricci working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.

And that's the end of the fight!
Albert Ricci showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Ricci 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 Chris Downing scores the fight 30:27
Judge Tiny Johnson scores the fight 30:27
Judge Frank Dennis scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Albert Ricci!
A less than humble Albert Ricci misjudged his post fight interview somewhat and came across a little too arrogant whilst trying to hype up his own abilities.
In defeat, Kostya Tszyu stepped up to the mic, saying 'We thought we changed the game plan enough to sneak out a victory, well fought by Duffy. I hope he makes a tough challenge for the champion. '.