PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Solomon Zook (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Wallid Ismail (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Zook's entrance music is God's Gonna Cut You Down. A fine choice. Rumors backstage are that the fighters have been paid to keep it standing but we know that would never happen in MMA!

Zook
vs
Ismail

177 cm
26
196 lbs
11 - 1 - 0

170 cm
26
182 lbs
9 - 4 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent MT
Granite chin

BJJ Brown Belt
Counter striker
Knockout power

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the middleweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 11 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Solomon Zook!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Wallid Ismail!
The judges for this bout are Matheus Silva, Mauricio Rocha and Luis Engracia.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ooooh, nice body kick lands from Zook. Ismail shrugs it off though.
Ismail gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Zook makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Ismail stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Zook.
Ismail looks gassed!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Zook misses with a body punch
and Ismail connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
That's a knee to de groin and it's over and out! Ismail crumples to the ground after an illegal strike from Zook - the referee stops the clock and Ismail gets 5 minutes to recover from that one. "I'm sorry" says Zook. Ismail manages to get back to his feet and the fight resumes.
Zook tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Ismail misses with a takedown
and Zook counters with a body kick that brings a smile to the face of both fighters.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zook tried to score with a low kick but Ismail checks it.
Zook doesn't manage to clinch there - Ismail circles away.
Zook lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Ismail at a distance.
Ismail takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Zook bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Zook throws a nice outside leg kick.
Zook fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Ismail.

Zook clinches up with Ismail and pushes him back against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Zook lands an elbow inside.
Nice elbow from Zook.

It looks like Wallid Ismail has been cut.
Zook with a knee to the head.
Zook connects with a nasty looking knee right to Ismail's face.
Zook lands an elbow inside that Ismail shrugs off.
Zook landing knees to the body.
Zook lands a nice knee to the body.
Zook lands an elbow inside that Ismail shrugs off.
Knees in the clinch landing for Zook.
Zook putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Ismail in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Ismail takes an elbow to the temple.
Ismail goes for a takedown attempt but Zook pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Solomon Zook has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Wallid Ismail.
Ismail takes a head kick and keeps coming.

Ismail is rocked!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ismail misses with a takedown attempt
and Zook counters with a good low kick that Ismail was not able to check.
Zook tries to clinch but Ismail moves out of range.
Ismail doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Ismail takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Zook tries to close the distance and clinch but Ismail swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Ismail avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Zook clinches with his opponent.
Zook comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Zook unloads a knee to the mid-section. Ismail lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Zook lands a knee to the head.
Ismail being controlled against the cage.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Zook.
Zook lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Stalling in the clinch from Zook.
Zook lands an elbow that stopped Ismail in his tracks for a moment.

That has opened up Wallid Ismail's cut even more.
Zook with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Zook creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Ismail's defenses.
Zook gets through Ismail's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Ismail takes an elbow to the temple.
Ismail is trying desperately to land a takedown but Zook is having absolutely none of it. This is turning into a bit of a nightmare for Ismail.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Zook prevents the takedown attempt.
Zook lands a damaging elbow.
Zook using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Zook lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Zook lands an elbow just above Ismail 's eye.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Solomon Zook dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Wallid Ismail's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Zook misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Zook is looking to clinch but Ismail is avoiding it.
Ismail shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Zook counters with a leg kick.

Zook gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ismail goes for a takedown in the clinch but Zook prevents it.
Zook landing knees to the body.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Ismail is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Zook gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Solomon Zook has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Wallid Ismail.
Ismail has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Zook is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Zook lands an elbow inside.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zook landing knees to the body.
Zook gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Ismail takes an elbow to the temple.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Zook.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Zook obliges.
Zook lands a nice elbow.
Solomon Zook has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Zook misses with a knee to the head.
Ismail changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Zook fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Zook throws a push kick but Ismail slaps the foot to one side.
Ismail takes a kick to the side of the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ismail misses with a takedown
and Zook counters with an outside leg kick.
Ismail shoots and misses
and Zook counters with a nice body kick.
A clash of legs there as Ismail blocks the low kick.
Ismail shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Zook counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Ismail thinking.
Both fighters are looking to counter, which isn't making for the most exciting fight in the world.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Some bone on bone action there as Ismail checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zook thumps Ismail with a low kick.
Ismail avoids a kick to the body.
Ismail with a lazy takedown attempt
and Zook counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Zook cracks the inside of Ismail's front leg.
Zook connects with a solid leg kick.
Ismail moves out of range of the leg kick from Zook.
Zook throws a low kick but Ismail avoids it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Zook throws a low kick but Ismail avoids it.
Ismail avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Zook misses with a hook to the body

and Ismail counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Ismail.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Zook wants to sweep but no luck.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Ismail trying to control the position from guard on top but Zook is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Zook is edging up against the cage. He's using the cage to get back to his feet. Nice work there - the fighters are clinched.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Solomon Zook dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Wallid Ismail'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.

Ismail has his takedown stuffed
and Zook counters with a low kick, right behind Ismail 's knee.
Ismail has his takedown stuffed
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Ismail swats away the attempt to clinch by Zook.
Ismail doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Zook counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Zook.
Solomon Zook has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Wallid Ismail.
Ismail takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ismail is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Ismail takes an elbow to the temple.
Zook lands an elbow just above Ismail 's eye.
Zook lands a damaging elbow.

The cut above Wallid Ismail's eye is starting to cause him problems now.
Zook unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Zook tries a knee to the head but Ismail blocks it.
Ismail takes a knee right on the jaw!
Zook lands a damaging elbow.
Zook using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Ismail has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Zook lands a right hand.
Ismail is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Zook gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Zook lands an elbow inside that Ismail shrugs off.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Zook obliges.
Zook lands an elbow that stopped Ismail in his tracks for a moment.

Wallid Ismail's cut is absolute horrible now. This looks like something out of a horror film with blood covering both fighters.
Ismail tries for a takedown. No joy.
Zook dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Zook.
Zook lands a good knee to the midsection. Ismail won't want to take too many of those.
Zook lands a nice elbow.
Zook is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Ismail is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Zook gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Zook creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Ismail's defenses.
Zook is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Ismail can do to turn this around?
Zook scores with a knee to the head.
Knees to the body from Zook.
Zook lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Zook lands an elbow that stopped Ismail in his tracks for a moment.
Zook lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Zook lands an elbow that stopped Ismail in his tracks for a moment.
Ismail takes an elbow to the forehead.
Zook taking a breather.
Zook lands a knee to the body.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Zook.
The referee is keeping an eye on Zook - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Knees to the body from Zook.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Zook lands with a light punch inside.
Ismail is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Zook lands a damaging elbow.
Zook connects with a knee to the head.
Zook lands a damaging elbow.
Zook dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ismail drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Zook gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Nice elbow from Zook.
Zook lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
A knee to the head by Zook.
Ismail blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Zook comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Zook misses with a knee strike.
Ismail drops down looking for an ankle pick but Zook pulls his leg out and moves away.
Ismail doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Zook counters with a head kick. That will keep Ismail thinking before he tries any more sloppy attacks!
Zook throws a half hearted mid kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Zook throws a low kick but Ismail avoids it.
Ismail fails with the takedown

and Zook counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Zook.
Ismail looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Ismail takes an elbow to the forehead.

The referee calls the doctor in to look at Wallid Ismail's cut. Oh no, the doctor has called an end to the bout!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:43 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Cut). Solomon Zook!
Solomon Zook retains his middleweight title!