PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Tyson Zelman (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jonah Takalua (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Zelman comes to the cage accompanied by My Own Summer - Deftones. Both fighters will be looking to make this an exciting fight for the fans, I'm sure!

Zelman
vs
Takalua

170 cm
24
155 lbs
4 - 1 - 0

173 cm
22
152 lbs
5 - 3 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Dangerous knees
Very quick

Good takedowns
Excellent boxer
Knockout power

Asphyxiation Ltd.
Asphyxiation Ltd.

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Tyson Zelman!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Jonah Takalua!
The judges for this bout are Bruno Hogan, Winston Howard and Eliza Hachem.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Zelman is looking to slow Takalua down with leg kicks.
Zelman doesn't manage to clinch there - Takalua circles away.
Zelman lands with an uppercut that bounces Takalua off the cage and back into range.
Takalua is trying hard to land a takedown here. Zelman sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Zelman stuns Takalua with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Zelman scores with a leg kick.
Takalua shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Zelman pinned against the cage. Zelman gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Takalua swats away the attempt to clinch by Zelman.
Zelman feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Takalua's calf.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zelman lands with a thumping leg kick.
A low kick from Zelman misses

and Takalua counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Takalua loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Takalua tries to free his leg and advance position but Zelman is retaining full guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Takalua is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Takalua trying to stand up but can't free himself from Zelman's guard.
Zelman manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Takalua manages to get himself to full guard.
Zelman wants to get up but he can't break Takalua's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Zelman preventing the sweep.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Takalua seems keen to control Zelman's posture.
Takalua wants to stand and escape but Zelman is having none of it.
Zelman showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Nice body punch from Zelman.
Takalua ducks under a wild hook from Zelman.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Takalua checks a leg kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zelman swings for the body but Takalua moves out of range.
Zelman slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Takalua takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Zelman stuffs the takedown.
Tyson Zelman has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jonah Takalua.
Takalua moves forwards but Zelman connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Zelman throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Takalua shoots in and drives through. Zelman sprawls well.
Zelman throws a lazy right hand but Takalua sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Takalua's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Zelman connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Takalua scrambles back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Takalua takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Zelman getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Zelman throws a solid leg kick but Takalua takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Zelman.
Zelman lands a body shot.
Takalua takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Zelman ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Takalua looks gassed!
A decent looking cross lands there for Zelman.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Zelman changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Zelman uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Takalua has time to react.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tyson Zelman dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Zelman scores with a hook to the body. Takalua takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Zelman scores with a jab to the body.
Takalua fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Zelman tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Takalua paws at him with a jab and circles away.

Takalua shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Takalua showed some decent athleticism there.
Takalua missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Takalua thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Zelman is trying to maintain the position but Takalua is very close to passing his half guard.
Takalua tries to pass the half guard into mount. Zelman knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zelman tries to roll over but Takalua keeps him under control.
Takalua wants to lay and pray for a moment but Zelman keeps working.
Zelman is controlling Takalua's trapped leg to prevent Takalua from advancing to side control.
Takalua looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Zelman with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Zelman blocking the ground and pound attempt from Takalua.

Takalua is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Takalua works his way into full mount!

Takalua jumps to the side looking to secure the arm triangle…. Ooooh, that looks tight… Zelman is gargling but he's managed to escape! Nice work there by Zelman and Takalua has given up the dominant position trying to land that submission.
Zelman on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Zelman tries to get out of the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Takalua misses with an attempted head punch from side control.

Takalua tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Takalua has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Zelman struggling a bit here.
Zelman tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Zelman is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Takalua asserts his dominance and retains side control.

Takalua tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Takalua tries to move into full mount but can't pass Zelman's legs.
Zelman is trying to get back to half guard.
Takalua scoring with punches and elbows.

Takalua working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Takalua lands a few punches from side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Takalua working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Takalua trying to control the action but Zelman is working from the bottom.
You can see the frustration on Zelman's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Takalua is chipping away with strikes.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Zelman is trying to control Takalua's posture but Takalua avoids it.

Takalua goes for an armbar! This could be all over! Wait, no, Zelman rolls with the submission and now he's on top in Takalua's guard! Nice work there by Zelman!
Zelman looking to sit in guard and control but Takalua gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jonah Takalua showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Zelman's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Horrible takedown by Takalua or perhaps it was just good defense by Zelman which made him look bad.
Takalua shoots for a takedown but Zelman saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Takalua has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Zelman.
Zelman tries to clinch there but Takalua circles away.
Zelman misses with a body shot.
Zelman fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Zelman is looking to wear down Takalua with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Takalua.
Tyson Zelman has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jonah Takalua.
Zelman ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Takalua moves away.
Zelman throws a sloppy head kick and Takalua moves out of range easily.
Takalua shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Tyson Zelman seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Zelman bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Takalua's head.
Tyson Zelman is winning the standup battle so far.
A looping hook to the body misses from Zelman. Takalua does a little dance to reset his feet.
A shot to the liver by Zelman. Beautiful body shot.
Zelman ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Takalua moves away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Takalua moves forwards but Zelman connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Takalua shoots in for a takedown but Zelman shows good takedown defense.
Takalua shoots for a double leg takedown but Zelman sprawls well. He's pushed Takalua's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Takalua takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Zelman tries to close the distance and clinch but Takalua swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Takalua chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Zelman can pounce on him.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Zelman scores with a nice head shot.
Zelman throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Zelman lands a nice hook to Takalua's body. Takalua takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Takalua chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Zelman can pounce on him.
Zelman throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
A jab from Zelman does it's job there.
Takalua takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Takalua takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Zelman thuds a left hand into Takalua's body.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Zelman is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Decent striking displayed by Zelman there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Zelman pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Zelman bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Takalua's head backwards.
Zelman scores with a body shot.
Takalua takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Zelman ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Takalua takes a head kick and shrugs it off.

Takalua is rocked!
Zelman jabs Takalua to the body, keeping him at a distance.

And that's the end of the fight!
Tyson Zelman showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Zelman 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 Bruno Hogan scores the fight 29:27
Judge Winston Howard scores the fight 29:27
Judge Eliza Hachem scores the fight 29:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Tyson Zelman!
A very excited looking Tyson Zelman 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.