PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Arnoldo Rojas (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Vasili Zaitsev (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Vasili Zaitsev has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Rojas
vs
Zaitsev

156 cm
20
193 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

187 cm
24
184 lbs
0 - 3 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Arnoldo Rojas!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 3 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Vasili Zaitsev!
The judges for this bout are Igor Prikhodko, Illya Tyunina and Vladimir Khabensky.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Zaitsev tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Rojas paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Rojas appears to be looking for a big counter.
Rojas really is a fat lump.

Zaitsev rushes Rojas and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Rojas trying to land knees to the body.
Zaitsev jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Rojas walks away with a smile on his face. Zaitsev gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

Zaitsev darts in and clinches Rojas up against the cage.
Rojas is looking for a takedown.
Rojas misses with a punch to the body.
Zaitsev taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Zaitsev is trying to pull guard but Rojas turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Zaitsev fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Arnoldo Rojas has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Vasili Zaitsev.
Zaitsev throws an elbow but it's blocked.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Rojas has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Zaitsev uses from the top position.
Rojas is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Rojas sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Zaitsev defending well though.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Rojas wants to stand up but Zaitsev is controlling the position.
Zaitsev trying to hold on to Rojas's head to control him but Rojas postures up.
Rojas scores with a couple of good hammerfists.

Rojas postures up and decides to stand up, from the half guard. The ref calls for Zaitsev to stand up.
Zaitsev shoots in looking for a takedown. Rojas tries to sprawl out of it but Zaitsev keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Rojas manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Zaitsev looks winded!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rojas tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Vasili Zaitsev seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Zaitsev stuffs the takedown.
Zaitsev steps in looking to clinch after the strikes miss from Rojas.
Zaitsev fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Rojas looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
A looping hook to the body misses from Zaitsev. Rojas does a little dance to reset his feet.
Zaitsev tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Rojas paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Zaitsev shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Rojas as he jumps to the side.
Zaitsev throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Rojas's waist but Rojas gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Zaitsev off to one side.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zaitsev shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Rojas as he avoids it easily.
Rojas feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Zaitsev's calf.
Nice sprawl there from Rojas as Zaitsev shoots in.
Zaitsev defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Rojas.
Zaitsev tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Rojas defends well and Zaitsev ends up having to push Rojas into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Rojas seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.
Rojas tries a head kick but it misses.
Zaitsev misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

Rojas shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Zaitsev manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Rojas is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Rojas 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.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rojas trying to stand up but can't free himself from Zaitsev's guard.

Rojas decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Zaitsev, up you get!

Rojas looking to score a takedown here. Zaitsev is defending well but Rojas drives through and ends up in Zaitsev's guard.
Rojas connects with a couple of short punches.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Rojas chips away with some ground and pound.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Rojas in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Rojas content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Rojas cracks Zaitsev with a solid left hand.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Zaitsev dives in and grabs Rojas's left leg, looking for a takedown. Rojas pushes down on Zaitsev's head and hops out.

Rojas shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Rojas was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Zaitsev takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Rojas landing a few strikes.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Rojas lands some shots froms side control.

Rojas decides to stand up, so the ref orders Zaitsev to his feet.
Rojas showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Zaitsev.
Zaitsev is breathing heavily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rojas shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Zaitsev but Zaitsev pushes him off and we're back to square one.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zaitsev tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Rojas counters with a one-two to the body.
Zaitsev looks to clinch
and Rojas counters with a nice uppercut.
A punch combination from Zaitsev misses.
Rojas seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.
Rojas checks a leg kick.
Rojas throws a low kick but Zaitsev avoids it.
Zaitsev will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.

Rojas shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Rojas accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Rojas is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Zaitsev can do to turn this around?
Rojas wanted to stand there but Zaitsev had control of the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Rojas gets to his feet. Zaitsev looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!

Rojas closes the distance and pushes Zaitsev back into the cage.
A right hand to the body from Rojas.
Rojas tries for a takedown but Zaitsev manages to get underhooks.

Rojas gets control of Zaitsev's arms and successfully pulls guard. Rojas will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Zaitsev looking to sit in guard and control but Rojas gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rojas content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Rojas wants to stand but Zaitsev is controlling his posture from full guard.
Rojas keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Zaitsev's head.
Rojas wanted to stand there but Zaitsev had control of the position.

Zaitsev looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.

Zaitsev is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Rojas tries to stand but Zaitsev is controlling from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Rojas is in close to Zaitsev's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Rojas lands a couple of elbows.
Rojas postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Zaitsev has a closed guard, preventing Rojas from standing up.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Rojas throwing strikes but missing.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Arnoldo Rojas is winning the standup battle so far.
Zaitsev throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Rojas seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Arnoldo Rojas dominated that second round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Zaitsev showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Rojas.
Zaitsev fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Rojas avoids it really well and circles away.
Zaitsev is looking to score with low kicks.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Zaitsev throws a lazy head kick

and Rojas counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Zaitsev tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Rojas smiles and moves away.
Arnoldo Rojas is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Rojas leaves Zaitsev with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Rojas is looking for a counter combo.
Arnoldo Rojas has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Vasili Zaitsev.
Zaitsev takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nice uppercut there from Rojas.
Zaitsev shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Rojas as he avoids it easily.
Rojas fires out a quick counter leg kick but Zaitsev just manages to avoid it.
Rojas looks to land a right hand but Zaitsev moved out of range.

Rojas rushes Zaitsev and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Rojas goes for a takedown attempt but Zaitsev pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Rojas misses with a double jab.
Rojas will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rojas looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Zaitsev tries a head kick but it misses.
Zaitsev shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Rojas pinned against the cage. Rojas gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Rojas throws a nice looking combination but Zaitsev bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Some bone on bone action there as Zaitsev checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Zaitsev.
Rojas went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
That kick from Rojas tenderised Zaitsev's leg. Zaitsev is trying to keep his angry face on.
Zaitsev misses with a low kick as Rojas jumps back.
Zaitsev takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Zaitsev tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Rojas swivels and escapes.
Rojas tries for a takedown but Zaitsev sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.

Rojas instigates a clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Zaitsev is looking to take this one to the mat.

Rojas gets double underhooks and manages to take the fight to the ground.
Zaitsev is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Rojas lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Rojas's corner. There ya go! There ya go!

Rojas stands and steps away. Zaitsev gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Good leg kick by Rojas there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Zaitsev fails with a takedown attempt.

And that's the end of the fight!
Arnoldo Rojas showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Rojas has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Igor Prikhodko scores the fight 30:27
Judge Illya Tyunina scores the fight 30:27
Judge Vladimir Khabensky scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Arnoldo Rojas!