PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Gabriel Zagorno (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Tony Hensball (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd giving both fighters a great reception on their way into the arena. That's good to see.

Zagorno
vs
Hensball

165 cm
23
140 lbs
10 - 5 - 0

175 cm
22
137 lbs
7 - 6 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Solid boxing
Cardio machine

BJJ Purple Belt
Decent boxing
Powerful

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 10 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Gabriel Zagorno!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Tony Hensball!
The judges for this bout are Robert Twigg, Stewart Dunkirk and Frank Dennis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Zagorno avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Hensball closes the distance looking to clinch
and Zagorno connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Zagorno is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Hensball.

Zagorno feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Zagorno passes into half guard.
Zagorno works his foot free and advances to mount.
Zagorno landing strikes, looking to finish!
Hensball wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Zagorno.
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.
Hensball is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Zagorno wants to control the pace but Hensball is squirming around nicely.
Zagorno in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Zagorno with a couple of short strikes.
Zagorno thowing shots but they're missing.

Zagorno moves into side control, trying to work for a kimura. That looks painful! Will he finish!!?? No, Hensball has worked his arm free - good work by Hensball!

Zagorno working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Zagorno is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Hensball knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Zagorno has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Zagorno working away.
Zagorno working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
Hensball parries the strikes from Zagorno easily there. Zagorno is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Hensball to escape.
Zagorno in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Zagorno trying to control the action but Hensball is working from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Zagorno tries for a kimura but Hensball is defending well.
The strikes coming from Zagorno are missing the target in this wave of attacks.

Zagorno working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.

Zagorno looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hensball takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Zagorno lands some shots froms side control.
You can see the frustration on Hensball's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Zagorno scores with punches from side control.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Zagorno is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Hensball knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Hensball is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gabriel Zagorno dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Zagorno slaps away a takedown attempt from Hensball, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Hensball fails in his attempt to clinch.
Hensball wants to clinch but Zagorno slips to the side
and Hensball takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Zagorno misses with a low kick.
The fight stays on the outside here - Hensball looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Hensball tries to close the distance and clinch up but Zagorno swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Hensball on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.

Zagorno changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Hensball looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hensball is working to avoid the ground and pound but Zagorno connects with a decent elbow.

Zagorno is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Hensball has escaped the position, nice work there.
Zagorno is looking to take a break and control but Hensball is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

Zagorno is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Hensball knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Zagorno looks up at the clock and then as Hensball takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Zagorno smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Zagorno swings around for an armbar but Hensball sees it coming a mile off and turns beautifully into Zagorno's guard.
Hensball throwing strikes but missing.

Zagorno throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Zagorno working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Hensball.
Zagorno has momentary wrist control but Hensball slips an elbow through the middle.
Hensball really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Zagorno. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Zagorno is controlling Hensball's posture.

Zagorno working for a triangle but Hensball defends it easily.

Zagorno looking for a guillotine here but Hensball defends easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zagorno wants to sweep but no luck.

Hensball is sitting in close to Zagorno's body. Zagorno has gone for a guillotine from the bottom. Oh damn, that looks pretty tight! Hensball is panicking - it looks like this one could be all over! Yes, Hensball is tapping! That was a very nice submission by Zagorno.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:55 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Guillotine). Gabriel Zagorno!
Gabriel Zagorno decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.