PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Antonio Zetsika (ranked 1537 p4p, 2376 weight class) and Nuri Jafar (ranked 171 p4p, 253 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Zetsika
vs
Jafar

177 cm
37
146
17 - 15 - 0

175 cm
39
145
37 - 31 - 0

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Very quick

Excellent grappler
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 17 - 15 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Antonio Zetsika!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 37 - 31 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nuri Jafar!
The judges for this bout are Winston Howard, Ron Honeybunn and Topper Green.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Jafar moves out of range of the body kick.

Jafar gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Jafar wants to sweep but no luck.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Zetsika throws a big right hand that misses.

Zetsika stands up from Jafar's guard - Zetsika perhaps looking for a knockout.
Zetsika avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Jafar misses with a straight right.
Jafar throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Zetsika sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Zetsika went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
Zetsika works Jafar's body with a nice hook.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Nice body punch from Zetsika.
We can't be sure of the tactics at this early stage but we have heard that Jafar has been working on his takedowns a lot in the buildup to the fight and we can only assume he's going to look to take this to the mat.
Zetsika fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Jafar manages to avoid it.
Jafar tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Zetsika digs a good body shot into Jafar's ribs.
Zetsika ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zetsika fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Jafar on the side of the head.
Zetsika throws a push kick but Jafar slaps the foot to one side.
Zetsika uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Jafar.

Zetsika takes the fight into the clinch.
Jafar misses with a short punch on the inside.
Jafar misses with a punch on the inside.
Zetsika blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Jafar swings away with an uppercut that misses.

Zetsika's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
We've been hearing reports that Zetsika has been drilling takedowns in recent sessions so let's see if that has an impact on the result of this fight.
Jafar wants to clinch up but Zetsika keeps it at a distance.
Zetsika appears to be looking for a counter punch to the body.
Nuri Jafar seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Jafar cracks Zetsika with an open hand slap.
Zetsika slips under a jab.

Jafar shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Jafar was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
This has been an exciting period of action!

Jafar decides to stand up, so the ref orders Zetsika to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A looping hook to the body misses from Jafar. Zetsika does a little dance to reset his feet.
Jafar tries to clinch there but Zetsika circles away.
Zetsika misses with a two punch combination.
Zetsika misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Jafar.
Zetsika swats away the attempt to clinch by Jafar.
Zetsika uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Jafar.
Jafar smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Jafar looks for a takedown but Zetsika sprawls well.
Zetsika throws a big counter combination but Jafar scrambles out of danger and avoids any damage.
Jafar circles away from the clinch attempt.
Zetsika throws a sloppy body shot
and Jafar counters with a stiff right hand.
Jafar with a nice cross.
Zetsika is looking to wear down Jafar with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Zetsika scores with a nice right hand.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Jafar.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zetsika swats away the attempt to clinch by Jafar.
Jafar scores with a jab. Zetsika acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Zetsika goes for a double leg but Jafar avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Jafar continues to drive forward.
Zetsika blocking some punches.

Zetsika is working on a single leg takedown against the cage. Jafar can't fight it off and eventually Zetsika manages to take the fight to the floor. Jafar looks annoyed but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Jafar pulls Zetsika in close to prevent any damage.
Jafar wants to stand up but Zetsika is controlling him.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Zetsika stays in close to Jafar's body and controls the position.

Zetsika decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
Jafar tries to close the distance and clinch up but Zetsika swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Jafar fails with the takedown
and Zetsika counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Antonio Zetsika has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Nuri Jafar.
Zetsika keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Jafar.
Jafar misses with a straight right.
Zetsika throws a big counter combination but Jafar scrambles out of danger and avoids any damage.
A looping hook to the body misses from Zetsika. Jafar does a little dance to reset his feet.
Jafar lands with a good body shot.

Zetsika has managed to clinch.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Zetsika manages to break the clinch.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Antonio Zetsika dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Jafar circles away from the clinch attempt
letting Jafar counter with a right hand.
Zetsika steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Jafar.
Zetsika moves away from the strike by Jafar.
Zetsika fails in his attempt to clinch.
Jafar gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.

Zetsika darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Zetsika is keen to just control but Jafar is a slippery customer.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Zetsika thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Jafar's head.
Jafar trying to control from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zetsika missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Zetsika is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Jafar can do to turn this around?
Jafar controlling the position well.
Zetsika wants to lay and pray for a moment but Jafar keeps working.
Jafar wants to improve his position but Zetsika is controlling well.
Zetsika thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Jafar's head.

Zetsika postures up and decides to stand up, from the half guard. The ref calls for Jafar to stand up.
Zetsika tries to clinch there but Jafar circles away.
Antonio Zetsika is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Jafar misses the shot to the body.
Zetsika tries to clinch up
and Jafar counters with a right hand to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Jafar looks to land a right hand but Zetsika moved out of range.
Jafar waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Zetsika.
Jafar stuffs the takedown attempt from Zetsika. Zetsika gets slowly back to his feet.
Zetsika throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Zetsika looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.

Zetsika instigates a clinch.
Jafar misses with a short punch on the inside.

Zetsika manages to break the clinch.
Zetsika misses with a hook to the body
and Jafar counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Zetsika tries to close the distance and clinch but Jafar swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Jafar closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Zetsika did well to prevent Jafar getting side control.
Zetsika is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Jafar not doing much here.
Zetsika is trying to maintain the position but Jafar is very close to passing his half guard.

Jafar stands, ready to strike. The ref makes him back up and allows Zetsika to get to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Zetsika lands with a straight right. Jafar didn't see that one coming.
Jafar throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Zetsika sees it coming and avoids it easily.

Jafar moves into the clinch.
Jafar throws a head punch that misses.

Zetsika breaks from the clinch.
Jafar misses with a body shot.
Zetsika on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Zetsika cracks Jafar with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Zetsika gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Jafar.
Jafar might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
Zetsika ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Jafar moves away.

Zetsika shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Zetsika was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Jafar is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Nuri Jafar will probably get the nod - 10:9.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. This is the final round!

Zetsika looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Zetsika fails to land the takedown.
Zetsika wants to clinch
and Jafar counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.

Zetsika clinches with his opponent.
Jafar tries to throw a body punch but Zetsika avoids it by throwing Jafar back against the cage.
Zetsika blocks an uppercut.
Jafar fails to land with a short punch on the inside.

Zetsika escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Zetsika tries to clinch up.
Jafar swings for the body but Zetsika moves out of range.
Jafar misses with an uppercut. Zetsika saw that one coming.
Jafar misses with an uppercut. Zetsika saw that one coming.
As Jafar looks to move away, Zetsika throws a big counter combo but Jafar just gets out of the way.
A jab from Jafar misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A jab lands there for Zetsika.
Zetsika lands with an uppercut that bounces Jafar off the cage and back into range.
Zetsika blocks a jab.
Zetsika lands a jab.
Jafar throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
A slow jab from Jafar misses its intended target.
Zetsika throws a quick counter kick to the body but Jafar avoids it.
Jafar takes a shot to the body in his stride.

Zetsika shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Zetsika was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!

Jafar throws his opponent off and manages to get back to his feet! Nicely done!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Zetsika tries to clinch but Jafar is having none of it.
Zetsika feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Jafars jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Zetsika displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Jafar throws out the jab.
Jafar swings for the body but Zetsika moves out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Zetsika stuffs the takedown attempt from Jafar. Jafar gets slowly back to his feet.

Zetsika scores with a takedown into Jafar's guard.
Zetsika throwing strikes from guard but Jafar blocks nicely.
Zetsika is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Jafar keeping moving, preventing Zetsika from controlling successfully.

Zetsika stands up from Jafar's guard - Zetsika perhaps looking for a knockout.

Zetsika fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Jafar sprawls well initially but Zetsika persists and gets the takedown into half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zetsika lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Zetsika slips a nice elbow through Jafar's hands, connecting with Jafar's forehead.
Zetsika thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Jafar's head.
Zetsika thows a huge punch but Jafar dodges it nicely.
Jafar is looking to control Zetsika's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Jafar avoid being mounted?
Jafar is trying to get back to full guard.
Zetsika tries to stand and escape but Jafar is controlling the position.
Jafar trying to hold on to Zetsika's head to control him but Zetsika postures up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Zetsika wants to take a breather but Jafar is having none of it.
Zetsika missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Zetsika trying to control the action but Jafar is working from the bottom.
Jafar pushes Zetsika off looking to stand but Zetsika dives back in and keeps control.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Jafar just misses with a punch to the body.
Jafar moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Jafar keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Jafar tries to close the distance and clinch up but Zetsika swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Zetsika is looking to counter punch.
Zetsika misses with a jab, cross combination.

And that's the end of the fight!
Antonio Zetsika showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Zetsika has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Winston Howard scores the fight 29:28
Judge Ron Honeybunn scores the fight 29:28
Judge Topper Green scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Antonio Zetsika!
In defeat, Nuri Jafar stepped up to the mic, saying 'He did not follow the script'.