PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Dean Sam (ranked 4035 p4p, 3649 weight class) and Thijs De Koning (ranked 525 p4p, 492 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Sam
vs
De Koning

185 cm
25
190
2 - 1 - 0

185 cm
21
189
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid boxing
Intelligent

Good takedowns
Basic striking
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Dean Sam!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Thijs De Koning!
The judges for this bout are David Schapiro, Anthony Taglia and Russell Pearce.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Sam takes the fight into the clinch.
Sam lands a body punch in the clinch.

Sam breaks from the clinch.

De Koning tries to keep at a distance but Sam has taken the fight into the clinch.
De Koning drops down looking for an ankle pick but Sam pulls his leg out and moves away.
Sam with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.

Sam forces De Koning back against the cage and clinches.
De Koning tries for a takedown. No joy.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sam working hard to break the clinch.

Sam breaks from the clinch.
De Koning has done a lot of speed work in the buildup to this fight.

De Koning shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Sam is looking to stand back up but De Koning counters by passing into half guard. Oops... bit sloppy there by Sam.

Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
De Koning wants to stand up but Sam is controlling the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sam is not content to let De Koning control the position.

De Koning is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Sam has managed to free his arm - good work.

De Koning is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Sam wants to control but De Koning is keeping busy and won't allow it.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
De Koning looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
De Koning tries to stand but his arm is trapped.

De Koning is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Sam sees it coming and defends easily.
Sam is looking for a sweep. De Koning is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
De Koning slows the pace down in half guard.
De Koning wants to get back to his feet.
De Koning is pressing down on Sam's thigh, looking to free his foot. Sam is holding on for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
De Koning thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Sam's head.
Sam avoiding damage under a succession of punches from De Koning.
Sam knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for De Koning on the ground.
Sam is staying active underneath De Koning, who seems content to just control the action from this position.

De Koning has hold of the far side arm. He's working for the Kimura, can Sam defend it? De Koning steps over the head and cranks it - Sam is tapping out! That was textbook stuff right there - nice submission victory for De Koning!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:32 of round 1, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). Thijs De Koning!
After winning the bout, Thijs De Koning thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.