PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Ziben Pejic (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Gilbert Leben (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Pejic
vs
Leben

225 cm
22
300 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

225 cm
18
300 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

BJJ White Belt
Dangerous knees
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Ziben Pejic!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Gilbert Leben!
The judges for this bout are Leandro Rodrigues, Edson Gomes and Emerson Jorge.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Leben throws a solid leg kick but Pejic takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Leben.
Leben pushes Pejic away with a front kick.
Pejic tries to score a power double leg takedown but Leben sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Pejic somewhat.

Pejic shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than Pejic was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Leben is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
Leben wants to control but Pejic is having none of it.
Pejic working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Pejic looking to control but Leben is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Pejic is working for a guillotine from mount but Leben frees his head quite easily.
Leben tries to get back to half guard but can't.

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.
Pejic throws some wild stikes that Leben manages to avoid easily.
Pejic looking to control and managing it successfully.
Leben is bucking up trying to escape but Pejic cracks him with another couple of good strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pejic looking to control and managing it successfully.
Leben tries to reverse the position but Pejic maintains control.
Pejic tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.

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.
Leben is looking to get to half guard.
Pejic sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Leben wants to control but Pejic is having none of it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Pejic throws a head kick but Leben moves out of range.
Pejic doesn't manage to clinch there - Leben circles away.
Ziben Pejic is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Pejic shoots in but Leben avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Pejic lands a nice looking body kick.
Pejic takes a nasty kick to the mid section... That should keep him thinking. Does he try and block and risk a head kick landing?
Leben turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Leben with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Pejic tests Leben's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
Pejic lands a kick to the ribs of his opponent. Nice work there - in and out in a flash.

Pejic drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Pejic's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pejic is looking to stand up but Leben won't let him.

Pejic postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Leben is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Pejic, into his guard.
Pejic lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Leben!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pejic looking to land elbow strikes but Leben uses the position to regain half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Still in half guard, Pejic seems content to control.
Leben is trying to get back to full guard.
Pejic is pressing down on Leben's thigh, looking to free his foot. Leben is holding on for now.
Leben is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Pejic trying to mount his opponent but Leben defends it.
Leben is looking to improve his position.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Leben trying to control but Pejic postures up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ziben Pejic dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Pejic steps to his left, right into the path of a big body kick from Leben. That one must have hurt.
Leben lands a front kick.
Leben scores with a head kick.
Ooooh, nice body kick lands from Leben. Pejic shrugs it off though.
A chopping leg kick lands by Leben.
Leben fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Pejic has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Leben lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Pejic takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Pejic on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
A good leg kick by Leben.
Pejic stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Leben.
Pejic throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Pejic chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Leben can pounce on him.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Leben lands with a kick to the ribs.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Leben throws a solid leg kick but Pejic takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Leben.
Leben pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Leben feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Pejic's calf.
Pejic is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
A lazy body kick from Pejic
and Leben counters with a slapping leg kick.
Pejic closes the distance looking to clinch
and Leben counters with a good low kick that Pejic was not able to check.
A good leg kick by Leben.
Pejic takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Gilbert Leben seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A decent looking body kick lands there for Leben.
Pejic tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Leben counters with a nice leg kick.
A thudding body kick lands there by Leben!
Leben feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Pejic's calf.
Pejic doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Leben counters with a nice body kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
That's a knee to de groin and it's over and out! Pejic crumples to the ground after an illegal strike from Leben - the referee stops the clock and Pejic gets 5 minutes to recover from that one. "I'm sorry" says Leben. Pejic manages to get back to his feet and the fight resumes.
Leben throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Pejic's head.
Leben feints and then cracks Pejic's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Pejic down.
Pejic takes a body kick right on the floating rib. Ouchie.
A nice inside leg kick there by Leben. That's going to slow Pejic down.
A nice leg kick lands there from Leben.
Gilbert Leben is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Pejic tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Leben lands a nice leg kick that just misses Pejic's sensitive parts.
A solid leg kick lands there for Leben.
Leben is looking to slow Pejic down with leg kicks.
Leben fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Pejic has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Pejic tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Leben buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Leben, right into the meat.
Gilbert Leben has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Leben connects with a leg kick. Pejic looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Leben throws a leg kick which misses Pejic's front leg but catches the back leg as Pejic tries to avoid it.
Leben fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Leben chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Ziben Pejic is winning the standup battle so far.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Leben, right into the meat.
Leben plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Leben fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Pejic.
Leben buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Leben scores with a spinning back kick!
Pejic closes the distance but Leben moves to the side
and Leben counters with a thumping low kick.
Leben lands a kick to the ribs of his opponent. Nice work there - in and out in a flash.
An inside leg kick lands from Leben.
Leben is looking to slow Pejic down with leg kicks.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Leben throws a nice head kick!
Leben throws a nice head kick!
Leben fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Leben, right into the meat.
A nice leg kick lands there from Leben.
Leben fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Pejic has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Leben scoring well with a low kick there.
Leben throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Pejic.
Leben throws a feint and then finishes with a kick to the body.
Leben lands a nice leg kick that just misses Pejic's sensitive parts.
Leben lands with a thumping leg kick.
A kick lands to the mid section there for Leben.
Leben lands a nice looking body kick.
Ziben Pejic is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Pejic steps to his left, right into the path of a big body kick from Leben. That one must have hurt.

And that's the end of the fight!
Gilbert Leben comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Pejic 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 Leandro Rodrigues scores the fight 28:28
Judge Edson Gomes scores the fight 28:28
Judge Emerson Jorge scores the fight 28:28

The fight is ruled a draw!