PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Leos Karanous (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Zack Taylor (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters really staring each other down here, as Zack Taylor enters the cage!

Karanous
vs
Taylor

180 cm
23
165 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

182 cm
18
208 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Granite 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 New York, Leos Karanous!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Zack Taylor!
The judges for this bout are Lou da Vinci, Chad Campbell and Alyssa Summers.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Karanous fails with a takedown attempt.
Taylor is looking to land body kicks.

Taylor closes the distance and clinches.

Taylor has hold of one of Karanous's legs. Karanous is fighting the takedown attempt but Taylor gets the trip and lands the takedown into guard.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Taylor tries to free his leg and advance position but Karanous is retaining full guard.
Karanous preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Taylor stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Karanous swivels though and keeps the full guard.

Karanous is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Karanous working a defensive guard here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Karanous looking to hit a scissor sweep but Taylor is one step ahead there.
Karanous pulls Taylor in close to his closed guard and prevents Taylor from doing any damage or advancing position.
Taylor showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Taylor throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Karanous keeping moving, preventing Taylor from controlling successfully.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Zack Taylor hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.

Taylor scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Karanous tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Taylor wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Karanous can't do much from the bottom here.
Taylor tries to stand but Karanous is controlling his head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Karanous tries to bench press Taylor off him but Taylor keeps the position.
Taylor controls the position.
Karanous gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.

Taylor is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Karanous has managed to free his arm - good work.
Karanous makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Karanous.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Karanous keeping full guard, as Taylor tries to pass.

Karanous looking for a guillotine here but Taylor defends easily.
Taylor trying to stand up but can't free himself from Karanous's guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Karanous controls Taylor momentarily but Taylor frees himself.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Zack Taylor will probably get the nod.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Taylor closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Taylor lands in his opponent's guard.
Taylor wants to control from the top but Karanous keeps moving.
Karanous working a defensive guard here.
Karanous striking off his back, scoring a few points.
Taylor looking to pass the guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Taylor is looking to pass into half guard but Karanous pushes him away with his feet and jumps on top - now Karanous is in guard.
Karanous looking to sit in guard and control but Taylor gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Taylor is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Karanous manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Taylor manages to get himself to full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Karanous thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Karanous trying to control the position from guard on top but Taylor is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Taylor looking to hit a scissor sweep but Karanous is one step ahead there.
Karanous trying to control the position from guard on top but Taylor is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Karanous sitting in guard, not really doing much.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Karanous won't allow Taylor to sweep him here.

Karanous drops back for a leg but he's not going to get it - he lets go and Taylor dives on top into guard.
Taylor being controlled here momentarily.

Leos Karanous has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.

Taylor closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Karanous to the mat! Karanous manages to get full guard.
Karanous wants to sweep here but Taylor controlling him for the moment.
Karanous is trying to keep Taylor in close.
Taylor must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Taylor postures up in Karanous's guard and throws a big left but Karanous blocks it.
Taylor trying to control but Karanous is working from the bottom.
Karanous looking to hit a scissor sweep but Taylor is one step ahead there.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Taylor seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Zack Taylor will probably get the nod - 10:9.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Taylor drives through with a takedown into guard.
Taylor trying to control the position from guard on top but Karanous is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Karanous looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Taylor postures up.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Zack Taylor was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Karanous wants to clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Taylor gets the takedown into side control.
Karanous manages to get back to half guard.
Karanous trying to control here.
Taylor wants to control but Karanous is keeping him busy.
Taylor is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Taylor controlling the action here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Zack Taylor wasn't active enough on the ground.
Karanous closes the distance and clinches up with Taylor, looking for a takedown. Karanous pushes Taylor against the cage but Taylor circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.

Taylor shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Karanous's guard.
Taylor really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Karanous. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Karanous is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Taylor stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Karanous swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Karanous tries to land a sweep but no joy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Taylor wants to stand and escape but instead Karanous has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.
Taylor is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Taylor takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Karanous slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.

Karanous has gone for a leg lock! Taylor slips out almost immediately though and dives into Karanous's guard.
Karanous is trying to control the position but Taylor postures up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Taylor throws an elbow that misses. Karanous uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Taylor's guard. Nice move by Karanous!
Taylor has Karanous pulled in close to control his posture.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Karanous trying to control the position from guard on top but Taylor is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Karanous prevents Taylor from getting back to his feet.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Taylor working a defensive guard here.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.

Karanous gets caught napping as Taylor dives in and scores a takedown. Karanous manages to retain guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Zack Taylor comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Taylor has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Lou da Vinci scores the fight for Zack Taylor!
Judge Chad Campbell scores the fight for Zack Taylor!
Judge Alyssa Summers scores the fight for Zack Taylor!

Zack Taylor wins by unanimous decision!