PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Malcom Berry (ranked 4701 p4p, 0 weight class) and Zachary Crawford (ranked 24850 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Berry
vs
Crawford

167 cm
18
151 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

183 cm
19
150 lbs
1 - 3 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue 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, Malcom Berry!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Zachary Crawford!
The judges for this bout are Ivan Kurochkin, Dmitry Maklakov and Valeri Chadov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Crawford shoots in for a double leg but Berry sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Berry attempts a counter takedown but Crawford avoids it well and moves away.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Crawford.

Crawford drives through and clinches with Berry against the cage.

Crawford pulls Berry into guard.
Berry controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Berry tries to stand but Crawford is controlling from the bottom.
Berry controlling from the top position.
Berry scoring with some ground and pound.
Berry trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Zachary Crawford seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Crawford has his takedown stuffed

and Berry holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Malcom Berry has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Zachary Crawford.
Crawford jumps guard but Berry stands there with Crawford around his waist. Crawford gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Berry stalling against the cage.
Berry is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Crawford keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Berry's efforts to push away.
Crawford unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Crawford blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Berry.
Crawford is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Berry gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Crawford successfully pulls guard.
Crawford is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Berry showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Crawford preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Berry wants to stand but Crawford is controlling his posture from full guard.
Berry is in close to Crawford's body, working some short punches and elbows.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Crawford holds on and takes a little breather.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Crawford looking to sweep using the butterfly guard but Berry puts pay to that idea as he passes nicely into half guard.
Crawford keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Berry takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Crawford trying to control from the bottom.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Berry avoids the head kick by Crawford.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Nice takedown defense from Berry. No joy for Crawford on that attempt.
Crawford shoots in looking for a takedown. Berry tries to sprawl out of it but Crawford keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Berry manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Malcom Berry dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Berry avoids the head kick by Crawford.
It looked like Berry was looking amped, ready to throw a big counter but didn't commit.
Crawford shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Crawford is defended easily by Berry.
Crawford misses with a takedown attempt - Berry sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Malcom Berry has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Zachary Crawford.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Crawford gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Berry to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Berry might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Berry controls from within his opponent's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Berry postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Crawford not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Berry wanted to stand there but Crawford had control of the position.
Crawford looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Berry keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Crawford's head.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Crawford being controlled here, momentarily.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Berry with a nice head shot there.
Berry landing some decent shots from guard.
Crawford has momentary wrist control but Berry slips an elbow through the middle.
Berry controlling from the top position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Crawford is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Crawford shoots for a takedown but Berry saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Berry is looking for a counter combo.
Berry slaps away a takedown attempt from Crawford, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Berry is looking for a counter combo.
Berry misses with a takedown attempt - Crawford sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Crawford counters with a body kick.
Crawford tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Berry appears to be looking for a big counter.
Malcom Berry is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Berry circles away from the clinch attempt.
Crawford shoots in for a takedown but Berry shows good takedown defense.
Crawford is breathing heavily.

Berry drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Crawford can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Berry controls the pace.
Berry chips away with some ground and pound.
Berry throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Berry 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.
Berry content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Berry is stalling in the full guard.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Malcom Berry dominated that second round.
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. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Crawford tries to clinch but Berry is having none of it.
Berry tries to counter with a takedown but Crawford is quick to defend against it.
Crawford fails with the takedown.
Berry went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.

Crawford gets caught flat footed, as Berry shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.

Crawford has scooted to the edge of the canvas and used the cage to get back to his feet. Berry has stuck on his opponent and is forcing him back against the cage.

Crawford breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Berry displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Crawford.
Berry tries a head kick but it misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Crawford shoots in looking for a takedown. Berry tries to sprawl out of it but Crawford keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Berry manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Malcom Berry has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Zachary Crawford.
Crawford takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Crawford shoots in and drives through. Berry sprawls well.
Berry shoots in for a double leg but Crawford sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Berry has a nice red mark on his side after a thudding body kick by Crawford.
Crawford tries to score a power double leg takedown but Berry sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Crawford somewhat.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Berry looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Berry postures up.
Berry landing some decent shots from guard.
Berry content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Berry is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Berry cracks Crawford with a solid left hand.
Berry scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Berry scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Berry's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Berry working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Crawford's head.
Berry is standing up over Crawford. Crawford looks to escape but Berry dives into side control.
Berry cracks Crawford with a big elbow.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Berry taking a breather here.
Berry lands a decent elbow from side control.

Berry decides to stand back up.
Crawford shoots for a double leg takedown but Berry sprawls well. He's pushed Crawford's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Berry went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
Crawford misses with a takedown attempt - Berry sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Berry appears to be looking for a big counter.
Zachary Crawford has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Malcom Berry is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Crawford gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Berry to score an easy takedown into full guard.

Crawford manages to wriggle out and sneak his way back up to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched up against the cage.

And that's the end of the fight!
Zachary Crawford comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Berry has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Ivan Kurochkin scores the fight 29:28
Judge Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 29:28
Judge Valeri Chadov scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Malcom Berry!