PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Saem Black (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Alen Zalac (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Zalac is bouncing up and down as he enters the arena, backed by Survival - Eminem. Saem Black looks tired to me. Hopefully he has got enough gas left in the tank to put in a good performance.

Black
vs
Zalac

185 cm
20
220 lbs
4 - 5 - 1

185 cm
24
217 lbs
4 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
Counter fighter
Granite chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Decent boxing
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 5 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Saem Black!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Alen Zalac!
The judges for this bout are Stewart Dunkirk, Tiny Johnson and Chris Downing.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Black stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Black wants it to stay on the feet.
Black displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Zalac.
Alen Zalac seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Zalac closes this distance looking for a takedown but Black circles away.
Saem Black has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Alen Zalac.
Zalac throws a right and a left that Black avoids nicely.
Black circles away from the clinch attempt

and Black counters with a nice double leg into side control. Zalac won't be happy with that.
Zalac takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Black content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.
Black seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Zalac for as long as he can get away with.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Black sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Zalac is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
Black working the ground and pound but Zalac is defending the strikes.
Black controls the position from side control.

That's two 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.
Black in side control, throwing shots but Zalac defends.
You can see the frustration on Zalac's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Black scoring with punches and elbows.
Black knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Zalac on the ground.
Zalac seems a little lost for a moment, as Black dominates the positioning.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zalac is looking to reverse the position.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Zalac misses with a wild combination.
Zalac has been working on his striking defense in training and it's paying off as Black is landing a low percentage of strikes.
Zalac lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Black circles away quickly and effectively.
Zalac misses with a takedown

and Black counters with a takedown into side control.
Black working the head with strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Black scores with a couple of short elbows.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Black controls the position.
Black looks up at the clock and then as Zalac takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Black smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!
Zalac can't do much from the bottom here.
Zalac tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Zalac can't do much from the bottom here.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Black staying calm.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Saem Black dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Zalac dives in for a single leg takedown but Black sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Black wants to take the fight to the mat but Zalac manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
Black wants a takedown but no success here.
Zalac wants to break the clinch but can't.
Zalac wants to break free but Black has control.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Black is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Zalac pulls him back up using the underhooks.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Saem Black. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Zalac trying to stall but Black improves his position.
Black jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Zalac walks away with a smile on his face. Black gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Zalac shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Black pinned against the cage. Black gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Zalac moves in looking to clinch but Black pushes him off.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Black checks the leg kick nicely there.
A punch combination from Zalac misses.
Zalac fails with an attempt to clinch.
Zalac misses with a jab, cross combination.
Zalac is looking to clinch.
Zalac lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!

It looks like Saem Black has been cut.
Zalac tries to clinch but Black moves out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Black circles away from the clinch attempt

and Black counters with a takedown into side control.
Zalac wants to get back to his feet but Black drags him back down.
Zalac struggling a bit here.
Black taking a breather here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Black scoring with punches from side control.
Black prevents Zalac from escaping the position.
Zalac takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
Black working the head with strikes.
Zalac is letting Black control him for a moment.
Saem Black overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Zalac tries to bench press Black off him but Black keeps the position.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Black controls the position from side control.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Zalac shoots in looking for a takedown. Black tries to sprawl out of it but Zalac keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Black manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Zalac throws a right hand that Black ducks under and follows up with a left that Black also avoids with ease.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Saem Black dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Saem Black's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Zalac looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Zalac lands the left hand.
Zalac tries to clinch there but Black circles away.
Good work by Black as he checks the leg kick.
Alen Zalac seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Zalac shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Black counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Black working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Black is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zalac avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Black.
Zalac has hold of Black's hands but Black slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Black controlling the pace.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Zalac dives in for a single leg takedown but Black sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.

Black has double underhooks and is working for a body lock takedown. He's got it. The fighters land in half guard but Zalac regains guard immediately.
Black lands a couple of digs.
Black has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Black won't allow Zalac to sweep him here.
Black missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Black throwing strikes but missing.
Zalac can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Black controls the pace.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Black with a flurry of punches that miss.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Black working some strikes from top position.
Black trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Zalac tries to score a power double leg takedown but Black sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Zalac somewhat.
Saem Black has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Alen Zalac.
Zalac takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Zalac fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Zalac closes the distance but Black moves to the side

and Black counters with a nice double leg into half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Black is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Zalac!
Black raining down hammerfists from mount.
Black content just to control the position here.
Black landing shots from mount.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Zalac takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Zalac tries to get back to half guard but can't.

And that's the end of the fight!
Saem Black showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Black, 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 Stewart Dunkirk scores the fight 30:27
Judge Tiny Johnson scores the fight 30:27
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Saem Black!