PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Michael Adelson (ranked 4075 p4p, 2936 weight class) and Malakai Fitzgerald (ranked 0 p4p, 237 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Adelson
vs
Fitzgerald

177 cm
18
155
1 - 0 - 0

185 cm
18
150
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Michael Adelson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Malakai Fitzgerald!
The judges for this bout are Wagner Zegers, Paul Aken and Patrick Alders.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Adelson has managed to clinch.
Adelson lands a nice knee to the body.

Fitzgerald drags the fight down to the ground.

Fitzgerald looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Adelson throwing strikes from guard but Fitzgerald blocks nicely.
Fitzgerald not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Adelson postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Fitzgerald is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Adelson wants to stand and escape but instead Fitzgerald has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

Adelson is adopting a defensive guard.
Fitzgerald tries to free his leg and advance position but Adelson is retaining full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Adelson tries to land a sweep but no joy.

Adelson looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.

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

Fitzgerald drops back looking for a leg! Adelson is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Adelson manages to kick Fitzgerald off! Fitzgerald jumps back into Adelson's guard.
Fitzgerald wants to control from the top but Adelson keeps moving.
Adelson looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

That's two 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.
Adelson trying to control the position.
Fitzgerald is pushing down on Adelson's leg trying to pass to half guard. Adelson is fighting to maintain full guard but Fitzgerald has managed to sneak the leg through.
Fitzgerald is trying to control the action in half guard but Adelson is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Fitzgerald sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Fitzgerald working Adelson over with strikes.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Fitzgerald is controlling the pace.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Adelson is trying to stand back up but Fitzgerald is controlling him
Fitzgerald looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Fitzgerald working over Adelson with some ground and pound. Adelson looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Fitzgerald lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Fitzgerald working over Adelson with some ground and pound. Adelson looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Adelson wants to get back to full guard.
Adelson trying to control but Fitzgerald postures up.
Adelson has hold of Fitzgerald's hands but Fitzgerald slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.

Fitzgerald is working for a kimura but Adelson is defending it quite comfortably.
Adelson works his way to full guard. Good work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Fitzgerald trying to control but Adelson is working from the bottom.
Fitzgerald wants to stand but Adelson is controlling his posture from full guard.
Fitzgerald wants to control from the top but Adelson keeps moving.
Fitzgerald passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Fitzgerald lands an elbow.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Fitzgerald decides to stand up, so the ref orders Adelson to his feet.
Fitzgerald just misses with a punch to the body.
As Fitzgerald tries to get set, Adelson tries to push him back and clinch up but Fitzgerald manages to avoid the attempt.
Adelson is looking to clinch but Fitzgerald is avoiding it.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Malakai Fitzgerald dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Adelson fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Fitzgerald tries to close the distance and clinch but Adelson swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Fitzgerald swings for the body but Adelson moves out of range.
Adelson shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Fitzgerald sprawls well. Fitzgerald wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Adelson gets slowly back to his feet.
Fitzgerald doesn't manage to clinch there - Adelson circles away.
Adelson tries to counter by moving into the clinch but Fitzgerald manages to circle out of the way.
The fight stays on the outside here - Fitzgerald looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
The fight stays on the outside here - Fitzgerald looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Fitzgerald misses with a jab, cross combination.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Fitzgerald slaps away a takedown attempt from Adelson, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Fitzgerald looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Michael Adelson. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Adelson fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Adelson changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Fitzgerald tries to avoid it but Adelson manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Fitzgerald to the ground. Fitzgerald escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Fitzgerald is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Adelson's half guard.

Fitzgerald is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Adelson wants to improve his position but Fitzgerald is controlling well.

Fitzgerald is looking for a kimura here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Fitzgerald stands, ready to strike. The ref makes him back up and allows Adelson to get to his feet.
Fitzgerald misses with a wild body shot.
Adelson slips under a jab.

Fitzgerald closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Adelson stalling against the cage.
Fitzgerald tries to score a body lock takedown but Adelson shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Adelson jumps guard but Fitzgerald stands there with Adelson around his waist. Adelson gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Fitzgerald is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Fitzgerald is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Adelson is defending well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Fitzgerald is looking for a takedown.
Adelson is pressed up against the cage. Fitzgerald has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Adelson down to the mat. Adelson avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
The fight stays on the outside here - Fitzgerald looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Adelson tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Fitzgerald defends well and Adelson ends up having to push Fitzgerald into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Adelson trying to land knees to the body.
Fitzgerald drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.

Adelson gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, Fitzgerald regains guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Fitzgerald manages to escape and get back to his feet.
Fitzgerald throws a combination that misses
and Adelson counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Fitzgerald looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Adelson fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Fitzgerald tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
Adelson will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Fitzgerald throws a series of punches but Adelson avoids them all with ease.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Fitzgerald swats away the attempt to clinch by Adelson.
A big right from Adelson misses.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Malakai Fitzgerald showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Adelson wants to clinch.
Fitzgerald tries to counter by closing the distance.

Fitzgerald closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Fitzgerald has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

Fitzgerald is working for a kimura but Adelson is defending it quite comfortably.
Adelson is looking to control Fitzgerald's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Adelson avoid being mounted?
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Fitzgerald stalling away here and it's allowed Adelson to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Fitzgerald's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Fitzgerald is working Adelson over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Adelson is trying to control the position but Fitzgerald postures up.

Adelson looking for a guillotine here but Fitzgerald defends easily.

Fitzgerald has gone for a leg lock! Adelson slips out almost immediately though and dives into Fitzgerald's guard.

Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Adelson looking to sit in guard and control but Fitzgerald gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Adelson is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Adelson has momentary wrist control but Fitzgerald slips an elbow through the middle.
Fitzgerald scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Fitzgerald showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

Fitzgerald thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Fitzgerald works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Fitzgerald wants to control but Adelson is keeping him busy.
Adelson gets back to full guard.

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

Fitzgerald looking for a sweep. Not yet Fitzgerald, not yet.
Adelson not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Adelson trying to control the position from guard on top but Fitzgerald is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Fitzgerald wants to stand up but Adelson is controlling him.
Adelson tries to stand but Fitzgerald is controlling from the bottom.
Fitzgerald keeping moving, preventing Adelson from controlling successfully.

That's four 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.
Fitzgerald seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Malakai Fitzgerald has got the better of the ground game so far.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Fitzgerald's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Fitzgerald goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Fitzgerald misses with a shot to the body
and Adelson counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.

Adelson closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Michael Adelson has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
A head punch on the inside from Adelson fails to land.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Malakai Fitzgerald.
I've got Fitzgerald winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Wagner Zegers scores the fight for Malakai Fitzgerald!
Judge Paul Aken scores the fight for Malakai Fitzgerald!
Judge Patrick Alders scores the fight for Malakai Fitzgerald!

Malakai Fitzgerald wins by unanimous decision!