PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Tyson Taylor (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Goran Hajdarovic (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Goran Hajdarovic will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Taylor
vs
Hajdarovic

195 cm
25
215 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

185 cm
19
200 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

Good takedowns
Basic striking
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Tyson Taylor!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Goran Hajdarovic!
The judges for this bout are Wesley Smith, Alan Glass and Stewart Dunkirk.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Hajdarovic drives through and clinches with Taylor against the cage.

Hajdarovic jumps guard.
Taylor is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Taylor missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Hajdarovic is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

We're going to have a standup here because Tyson Taylor wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.

Taylor closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Taylor lands in his opponent's guard.
Taylor looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Taylor is looking to work some ground and pound but Hajdarovic has wrist control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Taylor trying to control the position from guard on top but Hajdarovic is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Taylor 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.
Taylor controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Taylor is working Hajdarovic over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Hajdarovic wants to sweep but no luck.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Taylor's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Taylor throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Hajdarovic works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Hajdarovic looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Hajdarovic utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Hajdarovic wants to get back to his feet but Taylor is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Taylor connects with a couple of short punches.
Taylor not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Taylor 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.

Hajdarovic is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Taylor is aware though and is defending well.
Taylor is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Taylor works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Hajdarovic looks gassed!
Taylor controlling the action here.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Taylor lands a nice short elbow.
Taylor content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Tyson Taylor wasn't doing enough on the ground.

Taylor rushes Hajdarovic and presses him up against the cage.

Taylor breaks the clinch.
Hajdarovic doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Taylor counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Taylor.
Taylor postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Hajdarovic has momentary wrist control but Taylor slips an elbow through the middle.
Taylor postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Taylor scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Taylor controls from within his opponent's guard.

Hajdarovic is working an open guard so Taylor takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.

Hajdarovic tries to sprawl but Taylor drives through with a takedown into half guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Hajdarovic taking some punishment here, with Taylor in his half guard.
Taylor keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Taylor is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Taylor not doing much here.

Taylor stands up from half guard.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Taylor.
Taylor in side control lands a decent elbow.
Taylor scoring with punches and elbows.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Taylor goes for an armbar! This could be all over! Wait, no, Hajdarovic rolls with the submission and now he's on top in Taylor's guard! Nice work there by Hajdarovic!
Hajdarovic wants to control from the top but Taylor keeps moving.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tyson Taylor dominated that 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.

Taylor rushes Hajdarovic and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Hajdarovic tries to pull guard but Taylor won't allow it.
Hajdarovic tries for a takedown. No joy.
Hajdarovic tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Taylor smiles and moves away.
Tyson Taylor has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Goran Hajdarovic.
Taylor steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Hajdarovic.

Hajdarovic gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Taylor to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Hajdarovic trying to control the position.
Taylor is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Hajdarovic is breathing heavily.
Taylor makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Taylor postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Taylor is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Taylor landing with the ground and pound.
Hajdarovic wants to sweep here but Taylor controlling him for the moment.
Taylor landing some decent shots from guard.
Taylor sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Hajdarovic's guard.

Taylor is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Hajdarovic sees it coming and defends easily.
Tyson Taylor overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Taylor seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Taylor'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.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Taylor lands a nice short elbow.
Taylor is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.

Taylor is looking for a kimura but Hajdarovic is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Taylor to get the leverage.
Taylor scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Hajdarovic is trying to control but Taylor manages to pass to mount!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hajdarovic takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Taylor landing punches.
Taylor controlling his opponent.
Taylor lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Taylor raining down hammerfists from mount.
Taylor raining down shots from the mount!
Taylor tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Taylor has hold of Hajdarovic's left arm, perhaps looking for a submission. The two fighters tussle over control of the isolated limb and Hajdarovic manages to get his arm back to his side and away from danger.
Hajdarovic wants to hold on but Taylor pushes him away.
Taylor tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Hajdarovic wants to hold on but Taylor pushes him away.
Taylor postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Hajdarovic looks a forlorn figure.
Taylor lands a heavy elbow.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tyson Taylor dominated that second round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Taylor moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.

Taylor shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Hajdarovic's guard.
Taylor trying to control the position from guard on top but Hajdarovic is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Hajdarovic thows some rabbit punches from the bottom but they don't do any damage.
Taylor sitting in guard, not really doing much.

Taylor gets to his feet. Hajdarovic looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!
Taylor fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Hajdarovic.
Hajdarovic clobbers Taylor with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

Taylor shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Hajdarovic napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Taylor is looking to take a break and control but Hajdarovic is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Taylor controlling the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Taylor tries to advance to mount but can't.
Taylor remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.
Hajdarovic is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Taylor asserts his dominance and retains side control.

Taylor is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Hajdarovic knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.

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.
Taylor scores with a couple of short elbows.
You can see the frustration on Hajdarovic's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Taylor is staying tight to Hajdarovic's torso, preventing him from escaping.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Tyson Taylor.
Hajdarovic gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Taylor counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Taylor is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Hajdarovic has hold of Taylor's hands but Taylor slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.

Taylor is looking for a kimura but Hajdarovic is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Taylor to get the leverage.

Taylor is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Hajdarovic is just riding it out for now. Taylor eventually gives up the hold.
Hajdarovic is looking for a sweep. Taylor is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Taylor content to control rather than advance.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Taylor lands a nice short elbow.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Taylor missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Hajdarovic trying to control but Taylor postures up.
Taylor perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.

And that's the end of the fight!
Tyson Taylor showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Taylor, 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 Wesley Smith scores the fight 30:26
Judge Alan Glass scores the fight 30:26
Judge Stewart Dunkirk scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Tyson Taylor!