PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Vlad Zaytsev (ranked 4072 p4p, 0 weight class) and Dean Ambrose (ranked 22884 p4p, 0 weight class). Vlad Zaytsev looks tired to me. Hopefully he has got enough gas left in the tank to put in a good performance.

Zaytsev
vs
Ambrose

214 cm
25
180 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

195 cm
20
195 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Good kicks
Big heart

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Intelligent

One stop shop

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, Vlad Zaytsev!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Dean Ambrose!
The judges for this bout are Vladimir Khabensky, Illya Tyunina and Viktor Lagutenko.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Zaytsev moves in looking to clinch but Ambrose pushes him off.
Ambrose avoids the head kick by Zaytsev.

Ambrose instigates a clinch.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Ambrose.
Zaytsev changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Ambrose fights it off and pushes away nicely.

Ambrose darts in and clinches Zaytsev up against the cage.
Ambrose misses with the head strike.
Ambrose has a couple of punches blocked by Zaytsev.
Ambrose misses with the head strike.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Zaytsev.
Zaytsev tries for a takedown but Ambrose manages to get underhooks.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ambrose misses with a short punch on the inside.
A head punch on the inside from Ambrose fails to land.
Zaytsev has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Ambrose is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Vlad Zaytsev. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Ambrose misses with the head strike.
Zaytsev really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Ambrose doesn't land with the attempted body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zaytsev blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Ambrose throws a punch but it's blocked by Zaytsev.
Zaytsev is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Ambrose to keep the fight standing.
Ambrose swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Ambrose misses with some punches.
Ambrose throws a punch but it's blocked by Zaytsev.
Ambrose throws a punch but it's blocked by Zaytsev.
Ambrose misses with a hook from the clinch.
Zaytsev tries for a takedown. No joy.
Ambrose misses with a punch on the inside.
A head punch on the inside from Ambrose fails to land.
Zaytsev has Ambrose pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Ambrose manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Zaytsev is breathing heavily.
Ambrose throws a head punch that misses.
Ambrose tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Zaytsev's elbow.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Ambrose.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ambrose swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Ambrose misses with a short punch on the inside.
Ambrose lands a hook to the side of the head.
Ambrose tries to throw a body punch but Zaytsev avoids it by throwing Ambrose back against the cage.
Ambrose tries a body shot but Zaytsev blocks it.
Ambrose makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Ambrose lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Zaytsev looks to be in better condition than last time we saw him fight. Obviously he's been working hard on his cardio.
Zaytsev is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Ambrose is defending well.
Ambrose misses with some punches.
Zaytsev is looking to take this one to the mat.
Zaytsev wants to take the fight to the mat but Ambrose manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Ambrose misses with a hook from the clinch.
Ambrose struggles to land a body shot inside as Zaytsev controls his hands.
Ambrose has a couple of punches blocked by Zaytsev.
Ambrose has a couple of punches blocked by Zaytsev.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ambrose misses with the head strike.
Zaytsev is working for takedown but Ambrose is calmly controlling the position for now.
Ambrose swings wildly with an uppercut but Zaytsev uses good head movement to avoid it.
The referee is keeping an eye on Ambrose - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Ambrose.
A short left from Ambrose.

Ambrose ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Ambrose no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Ambrose thows some rabbit punches from the bottom but they don't do any damage.
Ambrose throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.
Zaytsev stopping the sweep attempt from Ambrose.
Ambrose will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
Ambrose throws some shots to the body, keeping his opponent honest.
Ambrose punching from the bottom - just letting Zaytsev know he's still in a fight.
Zaytsev has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ambrose lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Ambrose accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Ambrose trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Ambrose postures up in Zaytsev's guard and throws a big left but Zaytsev blocks it.
Ambrose postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Ambrose scoring with some ground and pound.
Ambrose throws a big right hand that misses.
Zaytsev working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Ambrose.
Zaytsev preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Ambrose landing with the ground and pound.
Ambrose stands up over Zaytsev, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dean Ambrose dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Ambrose has closed the distance and engaged Zaytsev in a clinch.
Zaytsev blocks an uppercut.
Ambrose throws a head punch that misses.
Zaytsev blocks a body shot from Ambrose.
Ambrose has a couple of punches blocked by Zaytsev.
Ambrose softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
A body shot lands from Ambrose.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Ambrose.
Ambrose gets underhooks to prevent Zaytsev's takedown attempt.
Ambrose throws a punch but it's blocked by Zaytsev.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Zaytsev looking for a takedown.
A head punch on the inside from Ambrose fails to land.
Ambrose misses with the head strike.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Ambrose swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Ambrose tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Zaytsev's elbow.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ambrose misses with a hook from the clinch.
A nice left hand lands by Ambrose.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Zaytsev.
Zaytsev blocking some punches.
Zaytsev blocking some punches.
Ambrose lands a hook that snaps the head of Zaytsev backwards.
Ambrose swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Zaytsev blocks a body shot from Ambrose.
Ambrose throws a head punch that misses.
Ambrose working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Zaytsev has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Ambrose after a bit of a struggle.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Vlad Zaytsev. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Ambrose fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Ambrose tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Ambrose working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ambrose misses with the head strike.
Zaytsev blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Zaytsev is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Ambrose gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Ambrose throws a punch but it's blocked by Zaytsev.
Zaytsev is trying to pull guard but Ambrose has him pressed against the cage.
Ambrose misses with a hook to the ribs.
Ambrose fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Ambrose lands a right hand that snaps the head of Zaytsev backwards.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Ambrose throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Zaytsevs head.
Dean Ambrose seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Zaytsev.

Ambrose pulls guard successfully.
Ambrose has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Ambrose tries to strike from the bottom.
Ambrose throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.
Ambrose scores with a couple of body punches from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ambrose will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
Ambrose striking off his back but it's not causing Zaytsev any problems.
Ambrose bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Zaytsev's guard.

Ambrose lands a couple of digs.
Ambrose throws a big elbow that misses.
Zaytsev preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Ambrose distracts Zaytsev with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Zaytsev avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Ambrose throwing strikes from guard but Zaytsev blocks nicely.
Ambrose postures up in Zaytsev's guard and throws a big left but Zaytsev blocks it.
Ambrose postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Ambrose throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ambrose throws a big elbow that misses.
Zaytsev preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Ambrose stands up over Zaytsev, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Ambrose loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Ambrose with a nice head shot there.
Ambrose postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Ambrose accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Ambrose throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Zaytsev works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

Ambrose closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Zaytsev blocking some punches.
Ambrose misses with a hook from the clinch.
Ambrose misses with some punches.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dean Ambrose showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Ambrose clinches with his opponent.
Zaytsev goes for a takedown in the clinch but Ambrose prevents it.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Zaytsev.
Ambrose scores with a shot to the side of Zaytsev's head.
Ambrose misses with a short punch on the inside.
Zaytsev has Ambrose pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Ambrose manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Zaytsev's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
A nice right hand lands inside from Ambrose.
Zaytsev prevents a body shot from Ambrose.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A right handed body shot lands from Ambrose.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Zaytsev.
Ambrose lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Ambrose throws a head punch that misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ambrose lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Zaytsev blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Ambrose is leaning against Zaytsev and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Zaytsev.
Ambrose tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Ambrose lands a body shot in the clinch.
Zaytsev blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Ambrose lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Zaytsev blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Ambrose misses with a short punch on the inside.
Ambrose tries a body shot but Zaytsev blocks it.
Zaytsev has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Ambrose is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Vlad Zaytsev. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Zaytsev takes a shot to the head.
Ambrose lands a hook to the side of the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ambrose tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Ambrose misses with a punch on the inside.
Ambrose swings wildly with an uppercut but Zaytsev uses good head movement to avoid it.
Ambrose holding his opponent close, against the cage.
A left hand lands to the body for Ambrose.
Ambrose tries to work over Zaytsev's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Zaytsev blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Ambrose lands a left hand.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Ambrose throws a punch but it's blocked by Zaytsev.
Ambrose working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Zaytsev blocks an uppercut.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zaytsev is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Ambrose to keep the fight standing.
Ambrose fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Ambrose lands a hook to the side of the head.
Ambrose lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Zaytsev blocks a body shot from Ambrose.
Ambrose struggles to land a body shot inside as Zaytsev controls his hands.
Ambrose tries a body shot but Zaytsev blocks it.
Zaytsev blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Ambrose swings wildly with an uppercut but Zaytsev uses good head movement to avoid it.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Zaytsev.
Ambrose lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Ambrose misses with a short punch on the inside.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ambrose misses with a short punch on the inside.
Ambrose has a couple of punches blocked by Zaytsev.
Zaytsev blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Ambrose swings wildly with an uppercut but Zaytsev uses good head movement to avoid it.
Ambrose tries a body shot but Zaytsev blocks it.
Ambrose digs a right hand underneath Zaytsev's ribcage. Zaytsev let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Ambrose working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Zaytsev wants a takedown.
Zaytsev tries for a takedown. No joy.
Ambrose misses with some punches.
A head punch on the inside from Ambrose fails to land.
Vlad Zaytsev has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Dean Ambrose is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Ambrose fails to land with a short punch on the inside.

And that's the end of the fight!
Dean Ambrose comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Ambrose winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Vladimir Khabensky scores the fight 24:30
Judge Illya Tyunina scores the fight 24:30
Judge Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight 24:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Dean Ambrose!
Dean Ambrose opened up his post fight interview with a scream to camera that he wants a title shot! Whether he deserves the shot will be up to the management of the organization, so I guess he'll have to wait and see.