PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Darken Rahl (ranked 897 p4p, 1172 weight class) and Delbert Mazzariello (ranked 132 p4p, 176 weight class). Delbert Mazzariello will no doubt be looking to use his reach advantage to good effect.

Rahl
vs
Mazzariello

168 cm
39
146
21 - 15 - 1

180 cm
30
160
18 - 14 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Very quick

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

Shadow Realm Apparel

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 21 - 15 - 1, fighting out of New York, Darken Rahl!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 18 - 14 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Delbert Mazzariello!
The judges for this bout are Percy O'Donnell, Don Winkell and Jack Bonds.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Some bone on bone action there as Mazzariello checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Mazzariello keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Rahl keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Mazzariello.
An attempted straight right counter from Rahl misses the target.
Mazzariello with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Rahl cracks Mazzariello with an open hand slap.
Rahl works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Nice takedown defense from Mazzariello. No joy for Rahl on that attempt.
Mazzariello moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.

Rahl looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Mazzariello!
Rahl scores with a couple of short elbows.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Rahl landing strikes.
Rahl 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.
Rahl misses with an attempted head punch from side control.
Mazzariello tries to get back to half guard but can't.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mazzariello is working to avoid the ground and pound but Rahl connects with a decent elbow.

Rahl tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
We've been hearing good reports from Rahl's training camp. Apparently he has been rolling around with some good quality BJJ practitioners and has been sharpening his skills. Let's see if that has an impact on the fight today.
Mazzariello tries to buck Rahl off but Rahl is having none of it.

Rahl is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Mazzariello knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Mazzariello is trying to get back to half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rahl trying to control the action but Mazzariello is working from the bottom.

Rahl tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Rahl connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Mazzariello some visible discomfort.
Mazzariello gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rahl seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Rahl looks to land a strike but Mazzariello avoids it nicely and regains full guard.

Rahl avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Rahl loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Rahl throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Mazzariello works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Rahl throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Rahl not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Mazzariello is trying to control the position from the bottom.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Rahl's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Rahl with a flurry of punches that miss.
Rahl pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Mazzariello is keeping the position for now.
Rahl might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Rahl chips away with some ground and pound.

Rahl got a little sloppy there for a moment and Mazzariello has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Rahl has managed to get both his arms back between Mazzariello's legs - danger averted.
Mazzariello keeping moving, preventing Rahl from controlling successfully.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Mazzariello misses with a low kick.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

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

Rahl takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Rahl throws an overhand right that lands on Mazzariello's shoulder, as Mazzariello tries to avoid the shot.
It really doesn't seem like the step up in weight is hurting Rahl here at all. He's more than holding his own against the bigger man.
Mazzariello scores with a nice head shot.

Rahl fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Mazzariello to the ground. Rahl is now in Mazzariello's guard.
Mazzariello working a defensive guard but Rahl passes into half guard.
Rahl takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Rahl drops an elbow to the side of Mazzariello's head.
Rahl wants to control but Mazzariello is keeping him busy.
Mazzariello blocking the ground and pound attempt from Rahl.
Rahl lands strikes from half guard.
Rahl is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Mazzariello can do to turn this around?
Mazzariello is trying to get back to full guard.
Rahl controlling the pace.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rahl is nestled in close to Mazzariello, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
We've been informed that Mazzariello has been working hard on his conditioning in the buildup to the fight.
Mazzariello is in trouble now - Rahl has advanced to mount!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Rahl looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Mazzariello tries to hold on but Rahl pushes him away.
Rahl scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Rahl lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Rahl trying to control but Mazzariello is having none of it.
Mazzariello is trying to escape the mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rahl can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Mazzariello is looking to escape.
Mazzariello slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
Mazzariello moves into full guard.
Rahl with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Rahl looking to sit in guard and control but Mazzariello gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Mazzariello trying to control but Rahl is working from the bottom.
Mazzariello postures up in Rahl's guard and throws a big left but Rahl blocks it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mazzariello loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Mazzariello trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Rahl wants to stand but Mazzariello is controlling the position.
Mazzariello trying to control the position from guard on top but Rahl is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Rahl wants to stand and escape but Mazzariello is having none of it.
Mazzariello seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Mazzariello won't allow Rahl to get back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Mazzariello trying to control but Rahl is working from the bottom.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Rahl throws out a loose jab but Mazzariello uses good head movement to avoid it.
Rahl misses with a double jab.
Mazzariello throws a hard body shot but it just misses.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Mazzariello enables Rahl to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Mazzariello manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Mazzariello wants to sweep but no luck.
Rahl chips away with some ground and pound.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Mazzariello trying to keep a closed guard but Rahl is proving a slippery customer.
Rahl looking to sit in guard and control but Mazzariello gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Darken Rahl dominated that second round.
That's time! Rahl's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Mazzariello wants to clinch.
Rahl throws a body shot but no joy.
Mazzariello throws out a counter right but Rahl avoids it with no problem.
Mazzariello lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Mazzariello missing with a left hand there. Rahl was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Mazzariello misses with a wild body shot.
Mazzariello connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Mazzariello throws a jab but it's blocked by Rahl.
Rahl looks to land a left hand but Mazzariello moved out of range nicely.
Rahl will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rahl swings widly with a right hand
and Mazzariello counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Rahl misses the shot to the body.
Rahl tries to clinch but Mazzariello moves away
and Mazzariello connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Nice uppercut there from Mazzariello.
Rahl thows a left - swing and a miss!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mazzariello steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Rahl.
Mazzariello scores with a hook to the body. Rahl takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Rahl on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Mazzariello slips a straight right by Rahl.
Rahl throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Mazzariello wants to counter with a clinch but Rahl pushes him away.
Delbert Mazzariello has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

Rahl scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Mazzariello managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Rahl.
Mazzariello dodges the ground and pound from Rahl.

Rahl is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Mazzariello is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Rahl tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.

Rahl is working to tighten his grip on Mazzariello's neck. He's isolated an arm and is working for an arm triangle. Mazzariello has recognised the danger and is trying to turn with the submission but Rahl is really squeezing tight and eventually Mazzariello passes out! Rahl breaks the hold and jumps onto the cage to celebrate! Submission of the night, I'd say!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:58 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Arm Triangle). Darken Rahl!
After the big win, Darken Rahl made sure to do all the important stuff like thanking his sponsors Conquer and telling the interviewer how much he loves him.