PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Abdullah Zaire (ranked 2160 p4p, 6204 weight class) and Bill Goldberg (ranked 92 p4p, 228 weight class). This should be a great matchup!

Zaire
vs
Goldberg

180 cm
32
215
18 - 11 - 0

198 cm
45
217
27 - 33 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Basic striking
KO power

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Solid chin

Furnace Performance 🔥
Silverguard Outfitters 🛡

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 18 - 11 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Abdullah Zaire!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 27 - 33 - 0, fighting out of New York, Bill Goldberg!
The judges for this bout are Yukihiro Yamamoto, Yukihiro Shimada and Sosuke Kotani.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Zaire closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Goldberg pushes Zaire off looking to stand but Zaire dives back in and keeps control.
Zaire throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Zaire misses with a head shot. Goldberg uses the momentum to regain guard.
Zaire throws a strike but Goldberg rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Zaire is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Zaire definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Goldberg really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Zaire. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Goldberg has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Zaire is proving hard to escape from.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zaire looking to hit a scissor sweep but Goldberg is one step ahead there.

Zaire throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Goldberg is looking to stand up but Zaire won't let him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.

Zaire has his foot on Goldberg's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Goldberg works his way back into a safe position though.
Zaire 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.

Zaire is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Goldberg defends well.
Zaire manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Goldberg manages to get himself to full guard.

Zaire trying to control but Goldberg is working from the bottom.
Zaire with a flurry of punches that miss.
Zaire wants to control from the top but Goldberg keeps moving.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Goldberg preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Zaire postures up in Goldberg's guard and throws a big left but Goldberg blocks it.
Goldberg utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Zaire prevents Goldberg from getting back to his feet.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Goldberg dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Zaire misses with a looping left.
Zaire takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Goldberg throws a hook but Zaire blocks it.
Zaire uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Goldberg.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Goldberg throws a hook but Zaire blocks it.
Zaire slips a jab from Goldberg.
Bill Goldberg seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Some bone on bone action there as Zaire checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Zaire misses with a hook.
Goldberg tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Zaire smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Goldberg misses with a body shot.
Goldberg throws a wild body kick that Zaire sees coming a mile off.
Zaire tries to counter by moving into the clinch but Goldberg manages to circle out of the way.
Goldberg pulls out of a head kick attempt.
An inside leg kick from Zaire misses.
Goldberg throws out a counter right but Zaire avoids it with no problem.
Zaire takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Zaire bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Goldberg on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Goldberg fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Zaire has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Goldberg throws a low kick but Zaire moves out of range easily.
A little feinted left hand from Zaire on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Goldberg checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Bill Goldberg will probably get the nod.
That's time! Back to the action!

Goldberg looks to land a combination but Zaire avoids it well.
Bill Goldberg seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Zaire misses the jab.
Zaire fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Goldberg manages to avoid it.
Goldberg connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Zaire throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Zaire dodges the punch combination from Goldberg.

Zaire darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Goldberg is refusing to be controlled, as Zaire sits in half guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Goldberg wants to get back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Goldberg blocking the ground and pound attempt from Zaire.
Zaire thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Goldberg's head.
Zaire prevents Goldberg from standing back up.
Zaire not doing much here.
Zaire not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.

Zaire looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Zaire missing with the ground and pound from half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Zaire trying to mount his opponent but Goldberg defends it.
Nice strikes from Zaire there.

Zaire looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Zaire lands a nice short elbow.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Zaire is looking for a kimura here.
Goldberg wants to get back to his feet.
Zaire thows a huge punch but Goldberg dodges it nicely.
Zaire working over Goldberg with some ground and pound. Goldberg looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Zaire not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Zaire not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Zaire missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Zaire thows a huge punch but Goldberg dodges it nicely.
Zaire missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Zaire throwing shots but Goldberg is blocking nicely.
Goldberg blocking the ground and pound attempt from Zaire.
Goldberg looks like he's trying to stand up.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Zaire throwing shots but Goldberg is blocking nicely.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Abdullah Zaire dominated that second 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. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Zaire displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Goldberg throws out the jab.
Goldberg throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Goldberg swinging wildly here.

Zaire looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Zaire with the ground and pound but Goldberg uses the opportunity to regain guard.
Zaire lands a couple of decent looking shots.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Goldberg keeping moving, preventing Zaire from controlling successfully.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Zaire in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Goldberg working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Zaire.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zaire postures up in Goldberg's guard and throws a big left but Goldberg blocks it.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Goldberg wants to stand up but Zaire is controlling him.
Zaire trying to control the position from guard on top but Goldberg is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Goldberg utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Zaire throwing strikes from guard but Goldberg blocks nicely.
Zaire throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Zaire trying to control the position from guard on top but Goldberg is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.

That's two 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.
Zaire postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Zaire missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Zaire throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Zaire throws a strike but Goldberg rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Goldberg avoids a guillotine attempt easily.

Zaire has an omoplata and is looking to use it perhaps as a submission or perhaps to transition. Goldberg is in a bit of discomfort here, but he's managed to free himself and has dived into side control! That didn't work out too well for Zaire.
Abdullah Zaire overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Goldberg wants to stand but Zaire is controlling his arm.
Zaire is looking for a sweep.
You can see the frustration on Zaire's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Goldberg wants to stand but Zaire has his arm trapped.
A control attempt from Zaire but he's now mounted!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Zaire is looking to improve his position but Goldberg isn't that keen on the idea.
Goldberg avoids the attempt from Zaire to control.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Goldberg tries to stand up but he's trapped just for the moment.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Bill Goldberg.
I think Goldberg has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Yukihiro Yamamoto scores the fight 28:29
Judge Yukihiro Shimada scores the fight 28:29
Judge Sosuke Kotani scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Bill Goldberg!
A very excited looking Bill Goldberg made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.