PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Jay Zol (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and TJ Crawford (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Crawford has chosen John Legend - Who Do We Think We Are as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Zol
vs
Crawford

170 cm
29
148 lbs
14 - 12 - 0

179 cm
34
155 lbs
17 - 17 - 0

Great wrestler
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent MT
Powerful

ONI

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 14 - 12 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Jay Zol!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 17 - 17 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, TJ Crawford!
The judges for this bout are Jack Bonds, Frank Antenori and Timothy Bukovac.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Crawford fails in his attempt to clinch.
Crawford tries to close the distance and clinch up but Zol swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Zol shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Crawford pinned against the cage. Crawford gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.

Zol closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Zol thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Crawford's head.
Zol 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.
Crawford avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Zol.
Crawford blocking the ground and pound attempt from Zol.
Crawford really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Zol. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Zol thows a huge punch but Crawford dodges it nicely.
Crawford keeping hold of Zol's head, controlling as best he can.
Zol is thwarting Crawford's attempts to control the position.
Crawford is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Zol scores with a couple of nice shots.
Crawford tries to roll over but Zol keeps him under control.
Zol thows a huge punch but Crawford dodges it nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zol thows a huge punch but Crawford dodges it nicely.
Crawford has hold of Zol's hands but Zol slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Zol thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Zol thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Crawford's head.
Zol thows a huge punch but Crawford dodges it nicely.
Zol thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Zol slips a nice elbow through Crawford's hands, connecting with Crawford's forehead.
Zol working over Crawford with some ground and pound. Crawford looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Zol sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Crawford defending well though.
Crawford keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Zol missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Crawford wants to get back to full guard.
Zol throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Zol throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Zol thows a huge punch but Crawford dodges it nicely.
Zol thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Zol takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Zol lands with a punch from half guard.
Zol thows a huge punch but Crawford dodges it nicely.
Zol missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Zol takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Zol lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Zol not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Zol slips a nice elbow through Crawford's hands, connecting with Crawford's forehead.
Zol throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Zol working Crawford over with strikes.
Zol working over Crawford with some ground and pound. Crawford looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Crawford trying to control from the bottom.
Zol working Crawford over with strikes.
Zol throws a big elbow that misses, also allowing Crawford to regain full guard.
We've been hearing that Zol has been drilling a lot of ground and pound in training, so let's see if he get the finish.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Zol with a flurry of punches that miss.
Zol is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Zol with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Crawford avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Crawford 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.
Zol working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Crawford's head.
Zol postures up in Crawford's guard and throws a big left but Crawford blocks it.
Zol throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Crawford works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Zol is in close to Crawford's body, working some short punches and elbows.

Crawford is rocked!
Zol is working Crawford over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Crawford is still in real trouble! Can Zol finish him?
Zol arches his back and unloads with a massive left and a right! Crawford's eyes roll back into his head, he's out cold! The ref dives in to stop the fight - wow, they were hard shots!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:56 of round 1, we have a winner by way of KO (Strikes). Jay Zol!