PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Gianmarco Zaniboni (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Manny Pacquiao (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Pacquiao has chosen ten thousand fists as his entrance music. The atmosphere really building for this one as we go over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Zaniboni
vs
Pacquiao

175 cm
19
149 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

170 cm
23
145 lbs
4 - 2 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
Cardio machine

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

THE STEEL PENN NUTRITION
Russian Fightwear [7 $ Shirt]

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 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Gianmarco Zaniboni!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Manny Pacquiao!
The judges for this bout are Taro Takaoka, Ren Mimura and Tatsuya Matsuyama.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Pacquiao looks to land a combination. Zaniboni sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Zaniboni tries for a takedown but Pacquiao sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Pacquiao takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Zaniboni throws a body punch but Pacquiao moves out of range.

Pacquiao scores a takedown into full mount!
Zaniboni manages to regain half guard. Good work.
Zaniboni trying to hold on to Pacquiao's head to control him but Pacquiao postures up.
Pacquiao really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Zaniboni. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Zaniboni is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Pacquiao is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Zaniboni works his way to full guard. Good work.
Pacquiao postures up.
Zaniboni wants to sweep but no luck.
Zaniboni looking to control.

Zaniboni escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Pacquiao gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zaniboni wants to sweep here but Pacquiao controlling him for the moment.
Pacquiao must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

Zaniboni has an omoplata and is looking to use it perhaps as a submission or perhaps to transition. Pacquiao 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 Zaniboni.
Zaniboni tries to bench press Pacquiao off him but Pacquiao keeps the position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Zaniboni manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
Pacquiao regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Zaniboni.
Pacquiao looking for a sweep. Not yet Pacquiao, not yet.

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.
Pacquiao is controlling Zaniboni's posture.
Zaniboni stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Pacquiao swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Zaniboni working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Pacquiao utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Zaniboni in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Zaniboni loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Zaniboni 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.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Pacquiao swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.

Zaniboni shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Pacquiao manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Zaniboni postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Zaniboni with a flurry of punches that miss.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Pacquiao can do anything to dispel that myth.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zaniboni passes into half guard.
Pacquiao is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Zaniboni's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Zaniboni's back!
Zaniboni tries to escape the position.
Zaniboni trying to control the hands but Pacquiao breaks the grip.
Zaniboni tries to escape the position - he's now mounted. Is that better or worse? Hard to tell!
Pacquiao can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Zaniboni is looking to escape.
Zaniboni is desperately trying to improve his position but Pacquiao has a good base and remains in mount.
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.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Zaniboni regains half guard.
Zaniboni tries to get to full guard but Pacquiao has control of the leg.
Zaniboni slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.

Zaniboni looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Zaniboni working a defensive guard here.
Zaniboni keeping moving, preventing Pacquiao from controlling successfully.
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 Gianmarco Zaniboni will probably get the nod.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Zaniboni misses the shot to the body.
Zaniboni just misses with a punch to the body.
Pacquiao fails to land the takedown.
Zaniboni throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Pacquiao sizes up Zaniboni with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Zaniboni swings for the body but Pacquiao moves out of range.
Zaniboni shoots in looking for a takedown. Pacquiao tries to sprawl out of it but Zaniboni keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Pacquiao manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Zaniboni shoots in for a double leg but Pacquiao sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Zaniboni wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Zaniboni thows a body shot but no joy.
Pacquiao avoids the body shot from Zaniboni.
Pacquiao lands a two punch combo.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zaniboni misses with a double jab
and Pacquiao connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Pacquiao pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Pacquiao displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Zaniboni.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Gianmarco Zaniboni. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Pacquiao scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Zaniboni doesn't seem bothered though.
Pacquiao swinging wildly here.
Zaniboni throws out a loose jab but Pacquiao uses good head movement to avoid it.
Zaniboni misses with an uppercut. Pacquiao saw that one coming.
Zaniboni throws a sloppy body shot
and Pacquiao counters with a left and a right that stings Zaniboni.
Pacquiao throws a hard body shot but it just misses.

Zaniboni darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Pacquiao keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Zaniboni stops Pacquiao from getting back to his feet.
Zaniboni not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Pacquiao keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.

Zaniboni is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Zaniboni missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Zaniboni thows a huge punch but Pacquiao dodges it nicely.
Pacquiao keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Zaniboni fails to land with a series of punches.
Zaniboni walks into a stiff left hand from Pacquiao.

Pacquiao has managed to clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zaniboni misses with a punch to the body.
Zaniboni working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Pacquiao tries to break free but Zaniboni pushes him back against the cage.
Zaniboni keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Pacquiao's efforts to push away.
Zaniboni misses with the head strike.
Pacquiao has had enough of the clinch but Zaniboni keeps him there for the moment.
Zaniboni scores with a shoulder strike.
Zaniboni presses Pacquiao against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Pacquiao is breathing heavily.
Zaniboni prevents Pacquiao from breaking the clinch.
Zaniboni prevents Pacquiao from breaking the clinch.
Pacquiao wants to get back to striking at distance but Zaniboni won't allow it.
Pacquiao is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Zaniboni digs a right hand into Pacquiao's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Pacquiao's gas tank.
A frustrated look appears on Pacquiao's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Zaniboni throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Pacquiaos head.
Zaniboni struggles to land a body shot inside as Pacquiao controls his hands.
A right handed body shot lands from Zaniboni.
A head punch on the inside from Zaniboni fails to land.

Zaniboni has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Pacquiao uses from the top position.
Zaniboni bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Pacquiao's guard.
Zaniboni sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Pacquiao's guard.
Zaniboni passes the half guard and he's now in mount! Big trouble for Pacquiao!
Zaniboni thowing shots but they're missing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Zaniboni thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.

Zaniboni looking to secure an arm triangle but Pacquiao defends it well.
Zaniboni sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
Poor strikes thrown by Zaniboni there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Zaniboni throws some wild stikes that Pacquiao manages to avoid easily.
Pacquiao wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Zaniboni.
Pacquiao holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Zaniboni tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gianmarco Zaniboni 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!

Zaniboni keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Zaniboni is looking to wear down Pacquiao with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Zaniboni misses with a body punch
and Pacquiao counters with a left and a right that stings Zaniboni.
Pacquiao misses with a double jab.
A jab from Zaniboni does it's job there.
Zaniboni misses the shot to the body.
Pacquiao looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Zaniboni misses with a shot to the body
and Pacquiao counters with a thumping low kick.
Zaniboni ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Pacquiao moves away.
Zaniboni swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Pacquiao counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Zaniboni just misses with a punch to the body.
Nice body punch from Zaniboni.
Pacquiao takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Zaniboni misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Zaniboni misses with a hook to the body
and Pacquiao counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Zaniboni loads up on a big right hand but Pacquiao slips the punch.

Zaniboni scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Zaniboni connects with a nice short shot to Pacquiao's temple.
Zaniboni thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Pacquiao's head.
Gianmarco Zaniboni overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Zaniboni not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Zaniboni not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Zaniboni thows a huge punch but Pacquiao dodges it nicely.

Zaniboni is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Zaniboni is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!
Pacquiao avoids a series of strikes thrown by Zaniboni.
Pacquiao tries to get back to half guard but can't.

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.
Zaniboni throws some wild stikes that Pacquiao manages to avoid easily.
Zaniboni looking to finish with strikes here!
Pacquiao blocking the ground and pound.
Zaniboni throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Pacquiao because Zaniboni loaded up on that one.
Pacquiao is bucking up trying to escape but Zaniboni cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Pacquiao takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Zaniboni misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.
Zaniboni thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!
Pacquiao working to try and regain half guard.
Zaniboni thowing shots but they're missing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pacquiao keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Pacquiao wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Zaniboni.
Pacquiao blocking the ground and pound.
Gianmarco Zaniboni is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Zaniboni sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Zaniboni looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Zaniboni controlling from mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Zaniboni's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Zaniboni punching from mount but Pacquiao doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Zaniboni tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.

And that's the end of the fight!
Gianmarco Zaniboni showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Zaniboni, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Taro Takaoka scores the fight 30:27
Judge Ren Mimura scores the fight 30:27
Judge Tatsuya Matsuyama scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Gianmarco Zaniboni!