PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Andre Zirkovic (ranked 24781 p4p, 0 weight class) and Dean Ambrose (ranked 7026 p4p, 0 weight class). Zirkovic has a slight injury, which hopefully won't affect the fight too much. Both fighters will be looking to make this an exciting fight for the fans, I'm sure!

Zirkovic
vs
Ambrose

200 cm
18
180 lbs
4 - 2 - 0

195 cm
21
195 lbs
4 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Experienced

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Intelligent

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 4 - 2 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Andre Zirkovic!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Dean Ambrose!
The judges for this bout are Viktor Lagutenko, Aleksei Zolotukhin and Sergei Dronov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ambrose is looking to take this fight into the clinch.

Zirkovic closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Ambrose's guard.
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.
Ambrose will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
Ambrose trying to strike off his back.
Zirkovic is breathing heavily.
Ambrose bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Zirkovic's guard.

Ambrose loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Ambrose postures up and lands a big shot to Zirkovic's brow.
Ambrose is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Ambrose throws a big elbow that misses.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ambrose trying to control the position from guard on top but Zirkovic is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Ambrose's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Ambrose throws a big right hand that misses.
Ambrose throws a big elbow that misses.
Ambrose scoring with some ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ambrose with a flurry of punches that miss.
Ambrose postures up in Zirkovic's guard and throws a big left but Zirkovic blocks it.
Ambrose works over Zirkovic with some ground and pound from guard.
Ambrose trying to control the position from guard on top but Zirkovic is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Ambrose lands a couple of digs.
Ambrose keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Zirkovic's head.
Ambrose stands up over Zirkovic, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Zirkovic is looking to stand up but Ambrose isn't so interested in that idea.
Ambrose content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Ambrose throws a big elbow that misses.
Ambrose has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Ambrose throws a big right hand that misses.
Zirkovic on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Zirkovic tries to get out of the position.
Ambrose is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Ambrose is looking to stand up but Zirkovic won't let him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ambrose throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Zirkovic 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 landing with the ground and pound.
Ambrose postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Ambrose with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Ambrose is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Ambrose missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Zirkovic wants to stand but Ambrose is controlling the position.
Ambrose trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Ambrose postures up in Zirkovic's guard and throws a big left but Zirkovic blocks it.
Ambrose lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Ambrose connects with a couple of short punches.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ambrose throws a big right hand that misses.
Zirkovic is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Ambrose lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Zirkovic looking to control.
Zirkovic preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Ambrose works over Zirkovic with some ground and pound from guard.

Zirkovic is rocked!
Ambrose is working Zirkovic over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Oh Zirkovic is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Ambrose with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Ambrose scoring with some ground and pound.
Zirkovic wants to stand up but Ambrose is controlling him.
Ambrose lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Ambrose postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Ambrose lands a couple of elbows.
Ambrose working some strikes from top position.
Ambrose makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Ambrose lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Zirkovic trying to control the position.
Zirkovic is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Ambrose is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Ambrose scores with a decent looking elbow strike.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ambrose is looking to work some ground and pound but Zirkovic has wrist control.
Ambrose loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Ambrose is looking to work some ground and pound but Zirkovic has wrist control.
Zirkovic is trying to control the position but Ambrose postures up.
Ambrose lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Ambrose postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Zirkovic preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Ambrose postures up and lands a big shot to Zirkovic's brow.
Ambrose throws a strike but Zirkovic rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Ambrose striking off his back but it's not causing Zirkovic any problems.
Ambrose throws some sloppy strikes off his back.
Ambrose striking off his back but it's not causing Zirkovic any problems.
Ambrose tries to strike from the bottom.
Zirkovic seems to have got his legs back now.
Zirkovic engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Ambrose tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Ambrose trying to strike off his back.
Ambrose striking off his back.
Ambrose thows some rabbit punches from the bottom but they don't do any damage.
Ambrose looking for a sweep. Not yet Ambrose, not yet.
Ambrose will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
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!

Zirkovic swats away the attempt to clinch by Ambrose.
Ambrose tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Zirkovic manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.

Ambrose closes the distance and clinches.
Ambrose is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Ambrose has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Ambrose misses with a hook from the clinch.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Ambrose.
Ambrose misses with a body punch.
Ambrose lands a body shot.
Ambrose lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Zirkovic pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Ambrose wants to clinch.

Ambrose instigates a clinch.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A head punch on the inside from Ambrose fails to land.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Zirkovic.
Zirkovic takes a shot to the head.
Ambrose fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Ambrose lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Zirkovic or not.
A right hand to the body from Ambrose.
Ambrose lands a body shot.
Ambrose lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Zirkovic blocking some punches.
Ambrose tries to throw a body punch but Zirkovic avoids it by throwing Ambrose back against the cage.
Ambrose swings wildly with an uppercut but Zirkovic uses good head movement to avoid it.
Ambrose has a couple of punches blocked by Zirkovic.
Ambrose prevents Zirkovic from breaking the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Ambrose.
Ambrose misses with a short punch on the inside.
Ambrose misses with a short punch on the inside.
Zirkovic blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Ambrose misses with a short punch on the inside.
A head punch on the inside from Ambrose fails to land.
Zirkovic 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.
Zirkovic blocks a punch to the side of the head.
A head punch on the inside from Ambrose fails to land.
Ambrose has a couple of punches blocked by Zirkovic.
Ambrose working aggressively here.
Ambrose gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Zirkovic.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Andre Zirkovic. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Zirkovic blocks a couple of punches on the inside.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Still in the clinch, Ambrose scores with a nice short uppercut.

Ambrose pulls guard.
Ambrose bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Zirkovic's guard.

Ambrose working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Ambrose connects with a couple of short punches.
Ambrose postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Ambrose throws a big elbow that misses.
Ambrose postures up.
Ambrose lands a couple of elbows.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Ambrose accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Ambrose landing with the ground and pound.
Ambrose postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Ambrose with a flurry of punches that miss.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Zirkovic wants to stand up but Ambrose is controlling him.
Ambrose won't allow Zirkovic to sweep him here.
Ambrose with a nice head shot there.
Ambrose advances position into side control!
Zirkovic taking punishment in the form of punches.
Zirkovic managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Ambrose.
Ambrose in side control, throwing shots but Zirkovic defends.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Ambrose is trying to ground and pound but Zirkovic uses the momentary lack of control by Ambrose to regain half guard.
Zirkovic wants to get back to his feet.
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.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Ambrose clinches up against the cage.
Ambrose tries to throw a body punch but Zirkovic avoids it by throwing Ambrose back against the cage.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Ambrose.
Ambrose working aggressively here.

Zirkovic breaks the clinch.

Ambrose gets a clinch.
Ambrose tries to work over Zirkovic's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Zirkovic fails to pull guard.
Ambrose swings away with an uppercut that misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ambrose tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Ambrose lands a body punch in the clinch.
Zirkovic prevents a body shot from Ambrose.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Ambrose misses with a hook from the clinch.
Ambrose struggles to land a body shot inside as Zirkovic controls his hands.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A head punch on the inside from Ambrose fails to land.
Ambrose works on Zirkovic's body with a couple of short punches.
Ambrose misses with a punch on the inside.
Ambrose misses with a punch on the inside.
Ambrose swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Ambrose lands a hook that snaps the head of Zirkovic backwards.
Ambrose misses with a punch on the inside.
Ambrose misses with a punch on the inside.
Ambrose tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Zirkovic blocks a couple of punches on the inside.

Zirkovic pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

Ambrose clinches up against the cage.
Zirkovic blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Ambrose lands a left hand that snaps the head of Zirkovic backwards.
A nice right hand lands inside from Ambrose.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Ambrose.
Ambrose misses with a punch on the inside.
Ambrose misses with some punches.
Ambrose misses with some punches.
Ambrose tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Zirkovic's elbow.
Ambrose misses with a short punch on the inside.
Ambrose works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Zirkovic blocks a body shot from Ambrose.
Ambrose throws a punch but it's blocked by Zirkovic.
Zirkovic blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Ambrose makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Ambrose lands a body punch.
Zirkovic blocks a punch to the side of the head.
A head punch on the inside from Ambrose fails to land.
Ambrose misses with a short punch on the inside.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zirkovic's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Ambrose tries to throw a body punch but Zirkovic avoids it by throwing Ambrose back against the cage.
Dean Ambrose seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Ambrose is pressed up against the cage. Zirkovic has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Ambrose down to the mat. Ambrose avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.

Ambrose pushes Zirkovic up against the cage in a clinch.
A head punch on the inside from Ambrose fails to land.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Ambrose.
Ambrose scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Ambrose fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Ambrose lands a body punch.
Ambrose lands a body shot.
Ambrose working aggressively here.
Ambrose working aggressively here.
Ambrose working aggressively here.
Ambrose has a couple of punches blocked by Zirkovic.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

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.
Zirkovic wants to get up but he can't break Ambrose's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Ambrose throws a couple of shots from the bottom but they don't land.
Ambrose scores with a short punch from the bottom.
Zirkovic trying to control but Ambrose is working from the bottom.
Zirkovic postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Ambrose trying to strike from the bottom but really, it's not the best position to be doing that from!
Ambrose throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.
Ambrose is striking from the bottom but Zirkovic uses the opportunity to pass into half guard.

Zirkovic wants to work for an arm triangle but Ambrose is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Ambrose tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.
Andre Zirkovic 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 trying to control from the bottom.

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 Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight 26:30
Judge Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight 26:30
Judge Sergei Dronov scores the fight 26:30

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.