PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Kendrick Stagliano (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mao Zedong (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Stagliano
vs
Zedong

173 cm
19
135 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

173 cm
23
135 lbs
4 - 2 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Very quick

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Kendrick Stagliano!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Mao Zedong!
The judges for this bout are , and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Stagliano clinches with his opponent.
Zedong jumps guard but Stagliano stands there with Zedong around his waist. Zedong gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Stagliano is trying to break free.

Stagliano jumps into guard, dragging Zedong to the mat.
Stagliano is wriggling around but Zedong manages to pass to half guard.
Stagliano trying to control here.
Zedong moves into full mount! Stagliano won't be happy about that!

Zedong looks like he's working for a submission but he's not found anything just yet.
Zedong controlling from mount.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Zedong has hold of Stagliano's left arm, perhaps looking for a submission. The two fighters tussle over control of the isolated limb and Stagliano manages to get his arm back to his side and away from danger.
Zedong lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.

Zedong looking to secure an arm triangle but Stagliano defends it well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Zedong looking to control and managing it successfully.

Zedong is working on an americana here. Ooh, that looks pretty nasty! Nope, Stagliano has managed to escape the submission attempt.
Zedong lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.

It looks like Kendrick Stagliano has been cut.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zedong controlling the pace for now.
Let's hope that Zedong has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
It looks like Zedong might be adopting somewhat of a lay and pray gameplan here, which I'm sure won't go down too well with the paying fans in attendance... Or the ring announcers come to think of it.

That's four 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.

Zedong is in full mount, looking to secure a guillotine but Stagliano is surviving well by controlling Zedong's body position as best he can.
Zedong content just to control the position here.
Zedong scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Stagliano?
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mao Zedong dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Kendrick Stagliano's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Stagliano cracks Zedong with a good jab.

Stagliano shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Stagliano throws a strike but Zedong rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Zedong advances to half guard.
Zedong seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Zedong passes to full mount!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zedong tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Stagliano working to try and regain half guard.
Zedong takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.

That's two 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.
Stagliano working to try and regain half guard.
Zedong controlling the position easily from mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Zedong looking to secure an arm triangle but Stagliano defends it well.

Zedong working to secure an arm triangle but it's not happening for him just yet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stagliano tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Zedong controlling the pace for now.

Zedong is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Stagliano can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mao Zedong showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Kendrick Stagliano's cut.
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!

Zedong takes a jab right on the kisser.

Stagliano shoots in and gets a takedown into Zedong's guard.
Zedong utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Stagliano is fighting to break Zedong's control of his arms but Zedong is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Stagliano trying to control the position from guard on top but Zedong is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Zedong pulls Stagliano in close to prevent any damage.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.

Stagliano scores with a takedown into Zedong's guard.
Stagliano being controlled here momentarily.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Stagliano avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Zedong utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Stagliano has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Zedong has his hands on Stagliano's head, controlling the position.
Stagliano throws a strike but Zedong rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Zedong in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Stagliano can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Zedong controls the pace.
Zedong pushing down on Stagliano's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zedong prevents Stagliano from improving his position.
Zedong controlling the action here.
Kendrick Stagliano has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Mao Zedong is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.

Zedong is looking for a kimura but Stagliano is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Zedong to get the leverage.
Stagliano throws a strike from the bottom but Zedong passes into side control!
Zedong controls the position.
Mao Zedong has got the better of the ground game so far.

And that's the end of the fight!
Mao Zedong comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Zedong 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 Andi Peters scores the fight 27:30
Judge Gordon Ramsey scores the fight 27:30
Judge Frank Skinner scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Mao Zedong!