PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Johny Zabijaka (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Joey Garcia (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Joey Garcia is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Zabijaka
vs
Garcia

200 cm
19
240 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

177 cm
22
230 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Counter striker
Good in bed

BJJ White Belt
Good elbows
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Johny Zabijaka!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Joey Garcia!
The judges for this bout are Alexandre Firmino, Seu Braga and Felipe Paraventi.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Zabijaka is looking to clinch.
Garcia shoots in and drives through. Zabijaka sprawls well.

Garcia moves into the clinch.
Zabijaka wants to break free but Garcia has control.
Zabijaka can't get the takedown.
Garcia gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Zabijaka.
Garcia is pressed up against the cage. Zabijaka has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Garcia down to the mat. Garcia avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Johny Zabijaka. That's going to take a lot out of him.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Zabijaka.
Zabijaka shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Garcia but Garcia pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Zabijaka misses with a low kick.

Zabijaka closes the distance and clinches.
We're hearing some news coming in from back stage. It's official - Garcia has eaten all the pies!
Zabijaka looking for a takedown.

Zabijaka escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Garcia looks to clinch

and Zabijaka counters with a single leg into guard. Garcia didn't expect that.
Garcia looking for a sweep. Not yet Garcia, not yet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zabijaka trying to control but Garcia is working from the bottom.
Zabijaka stays in close to Garcia's body and controls the position.
Garcia wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Zabijaka looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Garcia working a defensive guard here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.

Zabijaka is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Garcia is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Garcia has escaped and now he's on top!
Garcia wants to stand and escape but instead Zabijaka has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.
Zabijaka works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Zabijaka content to control rather than advance.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Garcia wants to get back to full guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Garcia looks gassed!
Zabijaka tries to stand but his hand is stuck under Garcia.

Zabijaka is working for a submission of some sort.
Zabijaka controlling the action here.
Zabijaka prevents Garcia from improving his position.
Garcia really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Zabijaka. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.

Zabijaka is looking for a kimura here.
Garcia trying to keep hold of his opponent's head but Zabijaka manages to pass to mount!
Zabijaka controlling from the full mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Johny Zabijaka dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Garcia will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Garcia with a poor takedown

so Zabijaka counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Zabijaka works over Garcia with some ground and pound from guard.
Garcia can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Zabijaka controls the pace.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Garcia can do anything to dispel that myth.
Garcia can't keep his opponent in guard - Zabijaka advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Zabijaka controlling the pace.
Zabijaka seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Garcia for as long as he can get away with.
Garcia is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The referee stands the fighters back up. Johny Zabijaka just wasn't active enough from the dominant position.
Zabijaka wants to clinch up but Garcia keeps it at a distance.
Zabijaka throws a body punch but Garcia moves out of range.
Garcia defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Zabijaka.
Zabijaka closes this distance looking for a takedown but Garcia circles away.
Garcia stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Garcia wants it to stay on the feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Johny Zabijaka. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Zabijaka darts in trying to clinch

and Garcia counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Garcia.
Zabijaka wants a takedown.
Garcia tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Zabijaka avoids it.

That's two 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.
Garcia jumps guard but Zabijaka stands there with Garcia around his waist. Garcia gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.

Garcia's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Garcia darts in trying to clinch

and Zabijaka counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Garcia!
Garcia is squirming around, avoiding Zabijaka's attempts to control the action.
Garcia is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Zabijaka controlling from mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Garcia tries to reverse the position but Zabijaka maintains control.
Zabijaka will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Zabijaka sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Zabijaka lands a heavy elbow.
Zabijaka won't let Garcia get back to his feet... He wants to keep the fight where it is for now.
Zabijaka sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.

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.

Zabijaka is standing up, even though he is in mount.
Zabijaka shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Garcia sprawls well. Garcia wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Zabijaka gets slowly back to his feet.

Zabijaka rushes Garcia and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Garcia is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Zabijaka is keeping busy.
Zabijaka fails to pull guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Johny Zabijaka dominated that second round.
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!

Garcia avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Zabijaka looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Garcia is fending him off so far but Zabijaka persists. Nope, Garcia circles away and we're back to standing.
Garcia is trying hard to land a takedown here. Zabijaka sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.

The fight moves into the clinch position.

Zabijaka jumps guard.
Zabijaka working a defensive guard here.
Zabijaka is controlling Garcia's posture.
Zabijaka is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Garcia is controlling him.
Zabijaka controls Garcia momentarily but Garcia frees himself.
Garcia takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zabijaka is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.

Garcia postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Zabijaka is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Garcia, into his guard.
Zabijaka passes Garcia's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Zabijaka perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Zabijaka has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

The referee stands the fighters back up. Johny Zabijaka just wasn't active enough from the dominant position.
Garcia slaps away a takedown attempt from Zabijaka, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Zabijaka misses with a leg kick.
Garcia throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Zabijaka's waist but Zabijaka gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Garcia off to one side.
Nice takedown defense from Garcia. No joy for Zabijaka on that attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Johny Zabijaka. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Nice sprawl there from Garcia as Zabijaka shoots in.
Garcia stuffs the takedown.
Garcia with a poor takedown
and Zabijaka counters with a nice uppercut.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zabijaka with a lazy takedown attempt

and Garcia decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Zabijaka's guard.
Garcia with a flurry of punches that miss.
Garcia postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Zabijaka controlling the position.
Garcia wants to control from the top but Zabijaka keeps moving.
Zabijaka looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Zabijaka is trying to keep Garcia in close.
Garcia would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Zabijaka manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Zabijaka with shots to the head and body - Garcia looks very uncomfortable down there.
Joey Garcia has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Zabijaka looking to control and managing it successfully.
Garcia wants to control but Zabijaka is having none of it.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Joey Garcia.
I think Zabijaka 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 Alexandre Firmino scores the fight 30:28
Judge Seu Braga scores the fight 29:28
Judge Felipe Paraventi scores the fight 30:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Johny Zabijaka!