PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Nikolay Zinovskiy (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kamryn Black (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Zinovskiy
vs
Black

181 cm
22
150 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

167 cm
18
150 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Granite chin

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Nikolay Zinovskiy!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Kamryn Black!
The judges for this bout are Dmitry Maklakov, Ivan Kurochkin and Vladimir Khabensky.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Black misses with a kick to the body
and Zinovskiy makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Black misses with a double jab
and Zinovskiy counters with a slapping leg kick.
Zinovskiy shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Black pinned against the cage. Black gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Zinovskiy shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Black tries to score a power double leg takedown but Zinovskiy sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Black somewhat.
A leg kick checked by Zinovskiy.
Zinovskiy shoots for a takedown but Black saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Nikolay Zinovskiy. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Zinovskiy wants to clinch.
Black throws a left and a right that both miss
and Zinovskiy counters with a leg kick.
Black throws a nice looking combination but Zinovskiy bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Zinovskiy lands a nice hook to Black's body. Black takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Zinovskiy.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Black misses with a right hand
and Zinovskiy counters with a nice body shot.
Zinovskiy tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Black paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Black lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Zinovskiy circles away quickly and effectively.
Zinovskiy cracks the inside of Black's front leg.

Zinovskiy has taken the fight to the clinch.
Black is trying to force a seperation but Zinovskiy has the dominant position.

Zinovskiy manages to pull guard.
Zinovskiy will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Black working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Zinovskiy's head.
Zinovskiy not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Black must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Zinovskiy tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Zinovskiy lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Black!
Black tries to hold on but Zinovskiy pushes him away.
Black looks gassed!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Poor strikes thrown by Zinovskiy there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Zinovskiy looking to control and managing it successfully.
Black is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Black is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Zinovskiy trying to control but Black is having none of it.
Zinovskiy content just to control the position here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zinovskiy manages to capitalize on a mistake by Black to take his back!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Zinovskiy controlling the position well here. Black rolled but Zinovskiy kept the hooks locked in and stayed in the dominant position.
Zinovskiy trying to control.
Zinovskiy throwing wild punches that miss their target.
Black looking very determined here, making life difficult for Zinovskiy.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Black is staying cool under pressure, defending well against the rear naked choke attempt from his opponent.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Black needs to keep his hands up - Zinovskiy had a free shot at his head there.
Black misses with a combination
and Zinovskiy counters with a stiff right hand.
Nikolay Zinovskiy is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Zinovskiy shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Black counters with a single leg into guard. Zinovskiy didn't expect that.
Zinovskiy looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Black really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Zinovskiy. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Black throws a big elbow that misses.
Zinovskiy preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Black keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Zinovskiy's head.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Black wants to pass the guard but Zinovskiy is keeping the position.
Black throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Zinovskiy works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Zinovskiy working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Black doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Black manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Black throwing strikes from guard but Zinovskiy blocks nicely.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Black accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Zinovskiy working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Black.
Zinovskiy avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Zinovskiy wants to sweep here but Black controlling him for the moment.

Zinovskiy looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Zinovskiy is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Black is controlling him.
Black working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Black in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Zinovskiy working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Black.
Black loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Zinovskiy utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Black missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Black lands a couple of elbows.
Black is looking to work some ground and pound but Zinovskiy has wrist control.
Black postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Black throws a strike but Zinovskiy rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Black is controlling Zinovskiy's posture.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Black wants to stand but Zinovskiy is controlling the position.
Black is wriggling around but Zinovskiy manages to pass to half guard.
Zinovskiy performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Zinovskiy works his way into side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Black avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Zinovskiy.

Zinovskiy decides to take the fight back to the feet.
Black stuffs the takedown attempt from Zinovskiy. Zinovskiy gets slowly back to his feet.
Black misses with a double jab
and Zinovskiy counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Zinovskiy looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Black swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Zinovskiy finishes the little exchange by landing a big kick to the body.
Zinovskiy throws a head kick that looked like it stung.
Black misses the jab.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kamryn Black showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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!

Zinovskiy shoots in for a double leg but Black sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
A combination from Black does no damage.
Black throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Zinovskiy.
Black throws a left and a right that both miss
and Zinovskiy counters with a flying knee. Nice.
Black misses with the combination.
Black shoots in and drives through. Zinovskiy sprawls well.
Black fails to land with a series of punches.

Zinovskiy drives through and clinches with Black against the cage.
Zinovskiy drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Black gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Zinovskiy is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Black gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Nikolay Zinovskiy. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Zinovskiy lands an elbow inside that Black shrugs off.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A hook to the body from Zinovskiy.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Zinovskiy has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Black is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.

Zinovskiy pulls Black into guard.
Zinovskiy looking to hit a scissor sweep but Black is one step ahead there.
Black works over Zinovskiy with some ground and pound from guard.
Black trying to control but Zinovskiy is working from the bottom.
Zinovskiy looking to hit a scissor sweep but Black is one step ahead there.
Black postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Zinovskiy has momentary wrist control but Black slips an elbow through the middle.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Zinovskiy is on top in guard.
Black wants to stand but Zinovskiy is controlling the position.
Black tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Black is trying to control the position but Zinovskiy postures up.
Black wants to control but Zinovskiy passes easily into half guard.
Black wants to improve his position but Zinovskiy is controlling well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Black is trying to maintain the position but Zinovskiy is very close to passing his half guard.
Kamryn Black has got the better of the ground game so far.
Zinovskiy perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Black is trying to get back to full guard.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Zinovskiy in particular looking to stall.
Zinovskiy looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Nikolay Zinovskiy.
Zinovskiy fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Zinovskiy is trying hard to land a takedown here. Black sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Nikolay Zinovskiy is winning the standup battle so far.
Zinovskiy slips under a jab from Black.
A right-left combo lands from Black.
Black misses with a kick to the body
and Zinovskiy counters with a nice body kick.
Zinovskiy shoots in but no luck this time.
Black lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Zinovskiy circles away quickly and effectively.
Zinovskiy scores with a spinning back kick!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
A looping hook to the body misses from Black. Zinovskiy does a little dance to reset his feet.
Black tries to bum rush Zinovskiy with a series of wild strikes but Zinovskiy uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Black misses with an uppercut

and Zinovskiy holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Black prevents the takedown attempt.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Nikolay Zinovskiy.
I think Zinovskiy 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 Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 28:29
Judge Ivan Kurochkin scores the fight 28:29
Judge Vladimir Khabensky scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Kamryn Black!
Kamryn Black was full of energy after the big win and talked about how he thinks he can do big things in this sport. The crowd were appreciative of his determination to succeed.