PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Anthony Williamson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rafael Zanico (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Anthony Williamson is staring across the cage at his opponent, tweaking his nipples... Tweaking his own nipples that is.

Williamson
vs
Zanico

178 cm
26
134 lbs
10 - 7 - 0

173 cm
26
143 lbs
12 - 6 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Very quick

ADCC Champion
Good kicks
Determined

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 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Anthony Williamson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Rafael Zanico!
The judges for this bout are Hugh Johnson, Donatello Bradman and Steve Erwin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Zanico misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Zanico is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Zanico tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Williamson manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Zanico avoids a punch combination nicely.
Williamson stuffs the takedown.
Zanico throws a head kick that Williamson semi-blocks.
Zanico tries to clinch but Williamson moves out of range.
Zanico tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Williamson manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Zanico has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Williamson circles away from the clinch attempt.

Zanico closes the distance and clinches.
Zanico is looking to take this one to the mat.
Zanico has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Williamson is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Anthony Williamson has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Rafael Zanico.
Zanico goes for a takedown in the clinch but Williamson prevents it.

Williamson breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Williamson really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The fight stays on the outside here - Zanico looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Zanico tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Williamson scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.

Zanico changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Williamson looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Williamson is pushing Zanico's head away, looking to escape. Zanico manages to hold on to the position though.

Zanico goes for an armbar here - this could be all over! But no, Williamson has escaped beautifully and is now on top in side control! Oh, that's unlucky for Zanico but great work by Williamson.

Williamson stands up and we're back to a striking position.
The fighters circle momentarily. Williamson darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Williamson bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Zanico's head.
Zanico shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Williamson pinned against the cage. Williamson gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Anthony Williamson is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Williamson lands a jab-cross combination.
Zanico tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Zanico tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Williamson works the jab nicely.
Nice cross by Williamson.
Zanico tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Williamson swats away the attempt to clinch by Zanico.
Williamson jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Zanico defending well as Williamson loads up on a big left hand.
Williamson lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Williamson avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Williamson misses with a looping right.
Williamson misses with a looping left.

Zanico throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Williamson tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Zanico is in Williamson's guard.
Zanico looking to sit in guard and control but Williamson gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Zanico looking to hit a scissor sweep but Williamson is one step ahead there.
Williamson wants to stand but Zanico has a closed guard, so he can't escape.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Zanico wants to sweep but no luck.
Williamson knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Zanico on the ground.

Williamson decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
Williamson throws a right and a left that Zanico avoids nicely.
Zanico tries to clinch up.
Williamson thuds his right hand into Zanico's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Zanico defending well as Williamson loads up on a big left hand.
A jab from Williamson misses.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Williamson jabs at Zanico's body.
Williamson swats away the attempt to clinch by Zanico.
Williamson is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.

Zanico shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.

Zanico is working for a kimura but Williamson is defending it quite comfortably.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Rafael Zanico will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Williamson fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Zanico has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Zanico tries to close the distance and clinch but Williamson swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Williamson with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Zanico tries to clinch but Williamson is having none of it.
A jab from Williamson finds it's way through Zanico's defenses.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Nice takedown defense from Williamson. No joy for Zanico on that attempt.
Williamson throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Williamson throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Zanico on the side of the head.
Zanico showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Williamson.
A head kick misses from Zanico.
Williamson lunges at Zanico with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Zanico's hand.
Williamson jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Anthony Williamson is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Williamson throws a combination. Zanico tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
Williamson pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
No joy there for Williamson, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Williamson lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Zanico rushes Williamson and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

Williamson breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Zanico tries to close the distance and clinch up but Williamson swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Zanico tries to clinch up.
Williamson stalks Zanico and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Zanico's face. Zanico staggers backwards, shaken.
Zanico has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Williamson finds it's way round the side to connect with Zanico's head.
Williamson throws a jab when Zanico was well out of range.
Zanico fails with an attempt to clinch.

Zanico moves into the clinch.
Zanico changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Williamson fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Zanico tries to close the distance and clinch but Williamson swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Williamson misses with a double jab.
Zanico tries to close the distance and clinch up but Williamson swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Zanico fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Williamson avoids it really well and circles away.
Anthony Williamson has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Rafael Zanico.
Zanico ducks right into an uppercut from Williamson.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Williamson throws out a powerful jab.
Zanico takes a jab right on the kisser.
Williamson slaps away a takedown attempt from Zanico, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Williamson avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Anthony Williamson is winning the standup battle so far.
Williamson fails to land with a series of punches.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Williamson lands a jab to the nose.
Williamson motions for Zanico to come forward. Williamson throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Zanico shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Williamson as he jumps to the side.
Zanico plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Williamson connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Zanico wants to clinch.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Zanico.
Zanico doesn't manage to clinch there - Williamson circles away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Williamson circles away from the clinch attempt.
Williamson throws a shot from downtown. Zanico moves away and avoids it.
Zanico ducks under a wild hook from Williamson.
Zanico is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Zanico fails with an attempt to clinch.
The fighters circling - Williamson throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Williamson swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Williamson fails to land with a series of punches.
A decent looking cross lands there for Williamson.
Zanico fails with a takedown attempt.
Zanico fails with an attempt to clinch.
Zanico throws a right and a left that both miss.
A jab from Williamson finds it's way through Zanico's defenses.
Zanico moves out of range of the leg kick from Williamson.
Zanico throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Zanico tries a head kick but it misses.
Zanico pulls out of a head kick attempt.
A nice combination there by Williamson.
A nice combination there by Williamson.
Zanico tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Williamson paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Zanico fails with an attempt to clinch.
Good shot there by Williamson.
Zanico tries to clinch there but Williamson circles away.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Williamson misses with a series of wild punches.
Zanico wants to clinch up but Williamson keeps it at a distance.
Williamson motions for Zanico to come forward. Williamson throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
No joy there for Williamson, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Williamson scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Williamson lands a head shot.

Williamson gets tackled into the cage by Zanico. Zanico maintains the clinch.
Zanico is trying to drag Williamson to the mat but Williamson just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Anthony Williamson dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Williamson pivots, looking for a leg kick but Zanico is out of range and Williamson settles back down.
Williamson scores with a jab to the head.

Zanico has Williamson up against the cage in a clinch.
Williamson tries to break the clinch but Zanico is controlling the position.
Williamson wants to break free but Zanico has control.
Zanico prevents Williamson from breaking the clinch.
Williamson prevents a takedown attempt there.

Zanico is working on a single leg takedown against the cage. Williamson can't fight it off and eventually Zanico manages to take the fight to the floor. Williamson looks annoyed but at least he's managed to land in guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Williamson keeping full guard, as Zanico tries to pass.
Zanico sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Williamson's guard.
Zanico trying to pass the guard but Williamson defending well.
Rafael Zanico has got the better of the ground game so far.

Zanico is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.

Zanico is working for a kimura but Williamson is defending it quite comfortably.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Williamson is looking to escape.

Zanico is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Williamson has managed to free his arm - good work.

Zanico is working for a submission of some sort.
Zanico wants to pass the guard but Williamson is defending well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zanico sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Williamson defending well though.

Zanico wants to work for an arm triangle but Williamson is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.

Zanico is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Zanico is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!
Zanico scores with a couple of good head shots there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Zanico sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!

Zanico swings around for an armbar but it's a sloppy attempt and Williamson is now in Zanico's guard. A big mistake from Zanico there, giving up the dominant position!
Williamson wants to get up but he can't break Zanico's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Williamson wants to stand and escape but instead Zanico has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Rafael Zanico comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Zanico has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Hugh Johnson scores the fight 29:29
Judge Donatello Bradman scores the fight 29:29
Judge Steve Erwin scores the fight 29:29

The fight is ruled a draw!