PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Zolar Emelianenko (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Buhawi Baracael (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Buhawi Baracael has the eye of the tiger tonight.

Emelianenko
vs
Baracael

175 cm
21
145 lbs
6 - 2 - 1

180 cm
27
155 lbs
10 - 3 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Very quick

Powerful takedowns
Decent boxing
Powerful

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 6 - 2 - 1, fighting out of Amsterdam, Zolar Emelianenko!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 10 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Buhawi Baracael!
The judges for this bout are Wagner Zegers, Saam Ante and Aafke Stam.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Emelianenko throws a half hearted mid kick.
Baracael keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Emelianenko.
Baracael shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Emelianenko stuffs the takedown.
Emelianenko lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Baracael circles away quickly and effectively.
Baracael displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Emelianenko throws out the jab.
Emelianenko lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
Emelianenko throws a hook but Baracael avoids it easily.
Emelianenko cracks Baracael with a right hand to the side of the head.
Baracael bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Baracael uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Emelianenko.
Emelianenko motions for Baracael to come forward. Emelianenko throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Emelianenko's jab looks to have found its range, popping Baracael under the eye.
Zolar Emelianenko seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Baracael ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Emelianenko lands a jab to Baracael's midsection.
Emelianenko scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Baracael tries to clinch but Emelianenko moves out of range.
Emelianenko lands a two punch combo.
Baracael displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Emelianenko throws out the jab.
Emelianenko fails to land with a series of punches.
Emelianenko throws a hook but Baracael blocks it.
Baracael throws a head kick but Emelianenko moves out of range.
Emelianenko swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Emelianenko misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Emelianenko connects with a body shot.
Emelianenko swats away the attempt to clinch by Baracael.
Emelianenko throws the left hand but Baracael avoids the punch easily.
Emelianenko looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Baracael fails with the takedown
and Emelianenko counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Zolar Emelianenko has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Buhawi Baracael.
Baracael ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Baracael doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Emelianenko counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Baracael is trying desperately to land a takedown but Emelianenko is having absolutely none of it. This is turning into a bit of a nightmare for Baracael.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Emelianenko comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Emelianenko throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Baracael.
Emelianenko lands with a hook. Baracael tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Nice defenses there by Baracael.
Emelianenko circles away from the clinch attempt.
Baracael throws a low kick but it's checked well by Emelianenko.
Zolar Emelianenko is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Baracael shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Emelianenko misses with a wild combination.
Baracael avoids the body shot from Emelianenko.
Emelianenko misses with the combination.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Baracael slips under a jab.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Baracael.
Baracael throws a leg kick
and Emelianenko counters with a good, hard body kick but Baracael shrugs it off.
Emelianenko scores with a kick to the body.
Baracael looks gassed!
Baracael takes a body kick right on the floating rib. Ouchie.
Emelianenko throws a front kick that sends Baracael stumbling back into the cage.
Baracael walks forward, straight into a front kick from Emelianenko.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Emelianenko throws the kick towards the body but Baracael avoids it.
A big left from Emelianenko misses.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Zolar Emelianenko dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Emelianenko lands with a thumping leg kick.
Zolar Emelianenko is winning the standup battle so far.
A combination from Emelianenko does no damage.
Emelianenko connects with a body shot that sends Baracael's belly button to the back.
Emelianenko stuns Baracael with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Nice shot lands for Emelianenko.
Baracael takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Baracael moves away from the strike by Emelianenko.
Baracael will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Baracael is breathing heavily.
Baracael on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Baracael tries to grapple but his opponent circles
enabling Emelianenko to counter with a crisp jab.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Emelianenko fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
A jab from Emelianenko misses.

Baracael shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Emelianenko's guard.
Baracael pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Emelianenko is keeping the position for now.
Baracael postures up.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Emelianenko is on top in guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Baracael wants to sweep but no luck.
Emelianenko wants to control from the top but Baracael keeps moving.
Baracael is trying to control the position but Emelianenko postures up.
Emelianenko looking to pass the guard.
Baracael is trying to control the position from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Emelianenko connects with a jab.
Emelianenko connects with a body shot that sends Baracael's belly button to the back.
Emelianenko cracks Baracael with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Emelianenko throws a body kick that misses.
Baracael will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Baracael shoots and misses
and Emelianenko counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Zolar Emelianenko has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Buhawi Baracael.
Emelianenko jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Emelianenko sizes up Baracael with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Emelianenko tries to bum rush Baracael with a series of wild strikes but Baracael uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Emelianenko looks to throw a body kick

and Baracael counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Emelianenko is looking for a sweep. Baracael is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Emelianenko makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Emelianenko.
Emelianenko manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Emelianenko tries to control but Baracael wriggling away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Zolar Emelianenko dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Emelianenko throws a looping overhand right but Baracael ducks down to avoid it.
Emelianenko misses with a series of wild punches.
Emelianenko throws a series of punches but Baracael avoids them all with ease.
Emelianenko scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Baracael doesn't seem bothered though.
Emelianenko misses with a series of wild punches.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Baracael tries to clinch up.
Baracael slips a jab from Emelianenko.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Emelianenko swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Baracael blocks a jab.
Emelianenko ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Baracael moves away.
Emelianenko lands a nice leg kick that just misses Baracael's sensitive parts.
Emelianenko misses with a double jab.
Emelianenko throws a jab but it's blocked by Baracael.

Emelianenko scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.

Emelianenko looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Baracael is trying to control Emelianenko's posture but Emelianenko avoids it.
Buhawi Baracael has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Baracael is trying to get back to half guard.

Emelianenko tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Baracael tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Baracael takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Emelianenko wants to lay and pray for a moment but Baracael keeps working.
Baracael can't do much from the bottom here.
Emelianenko in side control, just content to control the action for now.
Baracael is not content to let Emelianenko control the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Baracael is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Emelianenko's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.

Emelianenko is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Baracael doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Emelianenko.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Baracael is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Emelianenko's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Emelianenko's back!

And that's the end of the fight!
Zolar Emelianenko showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Emelianenko, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 30:26
Judge Saam Ante scores the fight 30:26
Judge Aafke Stam scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Zolar Emelianenko!