PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Zolar Emelianenko (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jin Kazama (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Kazama has chosen Mamma said Knock you out as his entrance music. Both these guys have solid standup skills and neither is particularly fantastic on the ground, so let's hope for a nice standup war!

Emelianenko
vs
Kazama

175 cm
20
145 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

180 cm
21
148 lbs
8 - 3 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Very quick

BJJ Purple Belt
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 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Zolar Emelianenko!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Jin Kazama!
The judges for this bout are Paul Aken, Patrick Alders and Aafke Stam.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
An inside leg kick from Kazama misses.
Emelianenko swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Kazama.

Kazama drops Emelianenko with a beautiful combination! Emelianenko stares up at his opponent, who ushers him back to his feet - Kazama is looking for the KO!

Emelianenko is rocked!
Emelianenko lands with a shot to the body.
Oh Emelianenko is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Emelianenko throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Kazama on the side of the head.
Emelianenko seems to have got his legs back now.
Kazama avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Emelianenko just misses with a punch to the body.
Kazama tries a head kick but it misses.
Emelianenko throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Emelianenko stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Kazama misses with an uppercut. Emelianenko saw that one coming.
Emelianenko throws a series of punches but Kazama moves out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kazama misses with an uppercut.
Emelianenko just misses with a punch to the body.
Emelianenko bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Kazama's head.
Kazama avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Kazama throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Emelianenko throws a right and a left that Kazama avoids nicely.
Kazama fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Emelianenko on the side of the head.
Emelianenko misses with a kick to the body.
Emelianenko fails to land with a series of punches.
A slow jab from Emelianenko misses its intended target.
Kazama misses with a body shot
and Emelianenko cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A big left from Emelianenko misses.
Kazama misses with a looping left.
Kazama falls off balance throwing a combination
and Kazama takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Kazama uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Emelianenko.
Kazama defending well as Emelianenko loads up on a big left hand.
A looping hook to the body misses from Kazama. Emelianenko does a little dance to reset his feet.
Kazama avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Emelianenko lands with a straight right. Kazama didn't see that one coming.
Emelianenko uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Kazama has time to react.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Emelianenko throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Kazama on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Kazama is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Emelianenko.
Emelianenko fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Kazama looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
A combination from Kazama does no damage.
Kazama misses with a head kick.
Emelianenko misses with a body shot.
Emelianenko misses with an uppercut. Kazama saw that one coming.
Kazama connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Kazama throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Emelianenko counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Emelianenko feints and then cracks Kazama's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Kazama down.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nice defenses there by Emelianenko.
Emelianenko bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Emelianenko connects with a crisp jab.
Emelianenko throws the left hand but Kazama avoids the punch easily.
Kazama ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Kazama ducks under a wild hook from Emelianenko.
Kazama displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Emelianenko throws out the jab.
Emelianenko tests Kazama's chin there with a solid looking shot.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Emelianenko throws a hook but Kazama avoids it easily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Jin Kazama will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Kazama misses with a body punch
and Emelianenko counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Zolar Emelianenko is winning the standup battle so far.
Kazama looks to throw the jab but Emelianenko is out of range.
Emelianenko cracks Kazama with a good jab.
Emelianenko missing with a left hand there. Kazama was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Emelianenko staying out of range there.
Emelianenko is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
Kazama slips a straight right by Emelianenko.
Emelianenko throws a jab but it's blocked by Kazama.
Kazama ducks under a wild hook from Emelianenko.
Emelianenko misses with a looping left.
Emelianenko jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Emelianenko lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Kazama circles away quickly and effectively.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Emelianenko throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Kazama on the side of the head.
No joy there for Emelianenko, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Emelianenko throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Kazama stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
A swing and a miss from Kazama.
Kazama needs to keep his hands up - Emelianenko had a free shot at his head there.
A swing and a miss from Emelianenko.
Emelianenko cracks a nice hook into Kazama's ribs.
Emelianenko misses with a two punch combination.
Kazama ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Emelianenko moves away.
Kazama throws a shot from downtown. Emelianenko moves away and avoids it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Emelianenko fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Kazama on the side of the head.
Kazama avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Emelianenko swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Kazama throws a hook to the side of Emelianenko's head but Emelianenko sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Kazama swinging wildly here.
Emelianenko lands with a kick to the ribs.
Kazama cracks Emelianenko with a right hand to the side of the head.
Jin Kazama is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Kazama misses with a shot to the body
and Emelianenko counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Emelianenko pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Kazama is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Emelianenko.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Emelianenko lands with an overhand left.
A jab from Emelianenko misses.
Emelianenko misses with a wild body shot.
Kazama takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Kazama ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Emelianenko lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
A swing and a miss from Emelianenko.
Kazama misses with a wild body shot.
Kazama slips under a jab.
Kazama moves out of range as Emelianenko throws a body kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Emelianenko throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Kazama.
Kazama throws a lazy body kick
and Emelianenko counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Kazama throws a lazy right hand but Emelianenko sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Emelianenko misses with a hook. Kazama ducked under it nicely.
Kazama throws a big shot that misses.
Emelianenko throws out a powerful jab.
Emelianenko throws a looping overhand right but Kazama ducks down to avoid it.
Kazama connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Kazama swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Emelianenko counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Kazama takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Zolar Emelianenko dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Kazama moves away from the strike by Emelianenko.
Kazama slips under a jab from Emelianenko.
Emelianenko throws a big shot that misses.
Emelianenko is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Kazama.
Emelianenko fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Kazama throws a left and a right that both miss
letting Emelianenko counter with a right hand.
Emelianenko thows a left - swing and a miss!
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kazama throws a big shot that misses.
Emelianenko looks for the body kick but Kazama saw that one coming.
Emelianenko throws a jab when Kazama was well out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kazama thows a leg kick but Emelianenko checks it
and Emelianenko counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Emelianenko misses with a body kick.
Emelianenko misses with an uppercut.
Emelianenko looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Emelianenko throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Kazama sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Kazama swings and misses with a hook to the body.
A lazy left from Emelianenko finds it's target.
Emelianenko lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Kazama slips under a jab from Emelianenko.
A swing and a miss from Emelianenko.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kazama swings away with a body shot that misses
and Emelianenko counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Kazama ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Emelianenko misses with a combination
and Kazama counters with a solid body kick.
Nice straight punches there by Emelianenko. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Emelianenko.
Kazama throws a big shot that misses.
Emelianenko walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Emelianenko connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Emelianenko throws a body kick that digs right into the meat.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Emelianenko looking to land some kicks to the body here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kazama moves out of range of the strikes.
Kazama scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Kazama looks to land a left hand but Emelianenko moved out of range nicely.
Emelianenko scores with a nice head shot.
Kazama looks to throw a body kick
and Emelianenko counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Emelianenko misses with a looping left.
Emelianenko shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Kazama as he avoids it easily.
Emelianenko moves away from the strike by Kazama.
Danga de danga de dang - Kazama scores with a four punch combination!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kazama looks to land a right hand but Emelianenko moved out of range.
Kazama lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Kazama looks to throw a body kick
and Emelianenko cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Kazama throws a shot from downtown. Emelianenko moves away and avoids it.
Kazama misses with a combination
and Emelianenko counters with a stiff right hand.
Emelianenko misses with a straight left.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Emelianenko misses with a combination
enabling Kazama to counter with a crisp jab.
Emelianenko misses with a hook.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Jin Kazama.
I think Kazama 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 Paul Aken scores the fight 28:29
Judge Patrick Alders scores the fight 29:29
Judge Aafke Stam scores the fight 29:29

The fight is ruled a majority draw!