PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Jesus Malverde (ranked 821 p4p, 119 weight class) and Ri Zaadha (ranked 641 p4p, 89 weight class). The crowd seem to be enjoying Zaadha's choice of entrance music: Here I Am. I'm sure you'll be fascinated to know that I was talking to some pointless Z list celebrity before the fight and he thought that Ri Zaadha was going to win. Let's see if he was right.

Malverde
vs
Zaadha

179 cm
34
176 lbs
12 - 5 - 1

189 cm
30
177 lbs
20 - 12 - 0

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Olympic wrestler
World class MT
Granite chin

Core Combat

Ma Balls Is Hot Clothing
Altitude Clothing

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 12 - 5 - 1, fighting out of Amsterdam, Jesus Malverde!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 20 - 12 - 0, fighting out of New York, Ri Zaadha!
The judges for this bout are Sam Margolis, Daniel Bishop and William Gold.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Malverde shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Zaadha tries a low kick but Malverde avoids it.
Nice uppercut there from Malverde.
Malverde waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Zaadha.
Zaadha tries a quick counter leg kick but Malverde is wise to it.
Malverde throws a predictable looking body shot
letting Zaadha counter with a right hand.
Malverde lands with a good body shot.
A slow jab from Malverde misses its intended target.
Malverde has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.
Malverde fails with an attempt to clinch.
Zaadha scores with a nice right hand.
Zaadha takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Zaadha misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Malverde paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Malverde misses with a low kick.
Malverde fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Zaadha manages to avoid it.
Zaadha misses with a head kick.
Malverde was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Malverde is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Zaadha.
Good standup being displayed there by Malverde as he connects with a hook.
Malverde lands a right hook to the body.
Malverde misses with a straight right.
Zaadha chopping away at his opponent's legs.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zaadha tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Malverde manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Malverde swings for the body but Zaadha moves out of range.
Jesus Malverde seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Malverde ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Zaadha misses with a straight left.
A chopping leg kick lands by Zaadha.
Zaadha pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Malverde keeps the fight on the outside.
A little feinted left hand from Malverde on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Zaadha slips under a jab from Malverde.
Malverde scores with a shot to the body.
Zaadha ducks under a wild hook from Malverde.
Zaadha was about to counter that last move with a leg kick but changes his mind.
Zaadha walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Malverde checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Malverde tries a low kick but Zaadha avoids it.
Zaadha scores with a jab. Malverde acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Zaadha staying out of range there.
Malverde closes the distance but Zaadha moves to the side
and Zaadha cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Malverde throws a right and a left that both miss.
Malverde turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Zaadha moves forwards but Malverde connects with a nice, crisp jab.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Malverde throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
A looping hook to the body misses from Zaadha. Malverde does a little dance to reset his feet.
Malverde is looking to counter the offense by Zaadha and move into the clinch.
Zaadha uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Malverde.
Zaadha walks into a left hand.
Zaadha tries to score with a low kick but Malverde moves his leg out of the way.
Malverde blocks a jab.
A good leg kick by Zaadha.
Zaadha moves in looking to clinch but Malverde pushes him off.
Malverde is looking to clinch but Zaadha is avoiding it.
Malverde backing away here, and Zaadha unleashes a leg kick that just misses.
Malverde throws a right and a left that Zaadha avoids nicely.

Zaadha gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Malverde is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
A short left from Zaadha.
Malverde misses with a hook from the clinch.
Zaadha fails to land with a short punch on the inside.

Zaadha breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Malverde throws a right hand that misses
letting Zaadha counter with a right hand.
Malverde throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Malverde misses with a jab, cross combination.
Zaadha slips a straight right by Malverde.
Malverde throws a chopping leg kick but Zaadha manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Malverde misses with a left hand
and Zaadha counters with an inside leg kick.
Malverde moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Malverde swings for the body but Zaadha moves out of range.
The fight stays on the outside here - Malverde looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Zaadha misses with an uppercut
and Malverde cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

Zaadha closes the distance and pushes Malverde back into the cage.
Zaadha throws a head punch that misses.
Malverde lands a hook that snaps the head of Zaadha backwards.
Zaadha misses with some punches.
Malverde throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Zaadhas head.
Zaadha misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Zaadha misses with the head strike.
Malverde misses with a short punch on the inside.
Zaadha blocks a punch to the side of the head.
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!
Zaadha lands with a left to the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Zaadha creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Zaadha has Malverde pressed against the cage, preventing Malverde from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Zaadha working aggressively here.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Malverde.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Zaadha creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Zaadha misses with the head strike.
A head punch on the inside from Zaadha fails to land.
Malverde lands with a light punch inside.
Zaadha doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Zaadha can't find room to land a body shot as Malverde controls the action.
Zaadha misses with a hook from the clinch.
Malverde creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Zaadha's defenses.
A nice left hand lands by Malverde.

Malverde pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Malverde slips under a jab.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Malverde moves forwards but Zaadha connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Zaadha loads up on a big right hand but Malverde slips the punch.
Malverde takes a swing at Zaadha's ribcage but misses.
A big left from Malverde misses.
Malverde throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Zaadha stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Jesus Malverde will probably get the nod.
That's time! Malverde's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Zaadha wants to clinch up but Malverde keeps it at a distance.
Jesus Malverde is winning the standup battle so far.
Malverde misses with a straight right.
Zaadha lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
Zaadha is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Malverde.
Malverde throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Zaadha sees it coming and avoids it easily.

Zaadha lands a big head kick that sends Malverde tumbling to the mat! Zaadha takes a step backwards and waves Malverde back to his feet - he wants the finish!

Malverde is rocked!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Malverde swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Oh Malverde is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Malverde works the jab nicely.

Malverde darts in and clinches Zaadha up against the cage.
Zaadha lands a shot to the body.
Nice body punch from Zaadha.
Zaadha pushes Malverde back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Malverde swings away with an uppercut that misses.

Zaadha breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Zaadha throws a sloppy head kick and Malverde moves out of range easily.

Zaadha closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Malverde seems to have got his legs back now.
A short uppercut from Malverde.
Zaadha misses with a body punch.
Zaadha lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Zaadha swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Malverde has a couple of punches blocked by Zaadha.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zaadha throws a head punch that misses.
Zaadha misses with a hook from the clinch.
Zaadha prevents a body shot from Malverde.
Malverde misses with a short punch on the inside.
Zaadha blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Zaadha has a couple of punches blocked by Malverde.
Malverde working aggressively here.
Malverde misses with some punches.
Malverde blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
A right hand to the body from Malverde.
Zaadha misses with a punch to the body.
Zaadha dodges an elbow strike from Malverde.
Malverde tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Malverde swings wildly with an uppercut but Zaadha uses good head movement to avoid it.
Malverde pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Malverde blocking some punches.
Zaadha misses with some punches.
Malverde swings wildly with an uppercut but Zaadha uses good head movement to avoid it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Zaadha lands with a short shot to the head.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Malverde.
Ri Zaadha seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Zaadha misses with the head strike.
A short left from Zaadha.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Zaadha.
Malverde lands a nice uppercut.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Zaadha working aggressively here.
Malverde pushes off an throws an elbow but Zaadha leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Malverde misses with a body punch.
Malverde has a couple of punches blocked by Zaadha.
Malverde lands a shoulder strike.
Malverde tries a body shot but Zaadha blocks it.
Malverde working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Malverde misses with a punch on the inside.

Zaadha breaks from the clinch.

Zaadha gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Zaadha blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Malverde goes for a body shot but it's blocked.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Malverde lands a right hand that snaps the head of Zaadha backwards.
Zaadha scores with a hook to the body.

Zaadha escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Malverde checks a leg kick.
Malverde lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Zaadha backs up against the cage.
Malverde jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Malverde tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Zaadha manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Malverde swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Zaadha takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Malverde misses the body punch
and Zaadha cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Malverde misses with a wild body shot.
Jab from Zaadha.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Malverde misses with a punch to the body.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Malverde working aggressively here.
Malverde throws an elbow but it misses.
A hook to the body from Malverde.
Malverde pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Malverde lands with a short shot to the head.
Malverde working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Zaadha working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Malverde misses with some punches.
Zaadha misses with a short punch on the inside.
Malverde misses with a punch to the body.
Zaadha blocks an uppercut.
Zaadha has been looking to improve his clinch game in recent weeks. Malverde seems to have the measure of him in the clinch so far, so let's see if Zaadha can turn it around.
Zaadha scores with a shoulder strike.
Zaadha working aggressively here.
Zaadha misses with a hook to the ribs.
Zaadha goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Zaadha lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Malverde or not.
Zaadha has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Malverde.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Good body shot from Malverde.
Malverde blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Malverde can't find room to land a body shot as Zaadha controls the action.
Zaadha swings wildly with an uppercut but Malverde uses good head movement to avoid it.
Zaadha misses with a punch to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Ri Zaadha will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Zaadha gets a clinch.
Zaadha misses with the head strike.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Malverde.
Zaadha working aggressively here.
Malverde throws a punch but it's blocked by Zaadha.
Malverde lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Zaadha throws a head punch that misses.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Malverde.
Malverde lands a body punch in the clinch.
Zaadha misses with a punch on the inside.
Malverde blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Malverde lands an elbow inside that Zaadha shrugs off.
Zaadha working hard to break the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Zaadha.
Malverde misses with the head strike.
Malverde lands on the inside with an uppercut.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Malverde blocks a body shot from Zaadha.
Zaadha blocks a body shot from Malverde.
Zaadha misses with a hook from the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Malverde fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Malverde.
A short left from Malverde.
Zaadha blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Zaadha dodges an elbow strike from Malverde.
Zaadha scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Malverde lands a shoulder strike.
Malverde scores with a shot to the side of Zaadha's head.
Malverde tries to throw a body punch but Zaadha avoids it by throwing Malverde back against the cage.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Malverde just misses with a elbow thrown towards Zaadha's brow.
A head punch on the inside from Malverde fails to land.
Malverde lands with a light punch inside.
Zaadha lands with a light punch inside.
Zaadha lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Zaadha lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Malverde tries a body shot but Zaadha blocks it.
Malverde misses with a hook from the clinch.
Malverde misses with a short punch on the inside.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Malverde lands a hook to the side of the head.
Zaadha blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Malverde blocks an uppercut.
Malverde has a couple of punches blocked by Zaadha.
Zaadha dodges an elbow strike from Malverde.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Malverde.
Malverde misses with a hook from the clinch.
Malverde swings away with an uppercut that misses.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Malverde just misses with a elbow thrown towards Zaadha's brow.
Zaadha dodges an elbow strike from Malverde.
Zaadha lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Malverde scores with a nice hook to the head.
A nice left hand lands by Malverde.
A short uppercut from Malverde.
Malverde tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Zaadha blocks an elbow strike from Malverde.
Malverde misses with a punch on the inside.
Zaadha lands a hook to the side of the head.
Malverde tries a body shot but Zaadha blocks it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Malverde misses with a punch to the body.

Malverde manages to break the clinch.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Zaadha checks a leg kick.
Zaadha is clearly trying to counter these attacks from Malverde with a body shot.
Zaadha throws a leg kick but Malverde checks it.
Malverde scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Zaadha scores with a nice right hand.
Malverde attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
A slow jab from Zaadha misses its intended target.
Malverde moves in looking to clinch but Zaadha pushes him off.
Zaadha stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Malverde.
Malverde misses with an uppercut
and Zaadha cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Zaadha throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Malverde blocks a head kick by Zaadha.
Zaadha throws the kick towards the body but Malverde avoids it.

Zaadha gets tackled into the cage by Malverde. Malverde maintains the clinch.
Malverde misses with a body punch.
Zaadha tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Malverde gets through Zaadha's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Zaadha lands a hook that snaps the head of Malverde backwards.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Malverde.
Zaadha scores with a shot to the side of Malverde's head.
Malverde throws a head punch that misses.
Zaadha lands with a light punch inside.
Malverde lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Malverde scores with a shot to the side of Zaadha's head.
Zaadha lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
A short body shot lands from Zaadha as the two fighters clinch.
Zaadha misses with some punches.
Malverde fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Malverde lands with a short punch from the clinch.

Zaadha's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Malverde lands with a straight right. Zaadha didn't see that one coming.
Zaadha ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Zaadha moves into range and lands a nice body kick.
Malverde scores with a nice right hand.

And that's the end of the fight!
Jesus Malverde showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Malverde 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 Sam Margolis scores the fight 28:29
Judge Daniel Bishop scores the fight 29:28
Judge William Gold scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Jesus Malverde!
Jesus Malverde bigged himself up after the win. The crowd seemed to love it.