PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Axton Burgess (ranked 1885 p4p, 2563 weight class) and Donovan Sharpe (ranked 238 p4p, 320 weight class). Donovan Sharpe is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Burgess
vs
Sharpe

188 cm
21
190
3 - 1 - 0

182 cm
21
185
5 - 3 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent MT
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

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 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Axton Burgess!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Donovan Sharpe!
The judges for this bout are Alec Ball, Yves DeLean and Ian Loll.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sharpe throws a jab when Burgess was well out of range.
Sharpe displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.

It looks like Axton Burgess has been cut.
Sharpe takes a body punch but keeps moving.
We've been told by Burgess's head coaches at FIGHT FOUNDERS (CA) that he's been working on his takedown defense in preparation for this fight.
Burgess throws an ugly left hook that misses

and Sharpe counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Burgess is pressed up against the cage. Sharpe has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Burgess down to the mat. Burgess avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
A big left from Burgess misses.

Sharpe closes the distance and pushes Burgess back into the cage.
Sharpe jumps guard but Burgess turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Sharpe blocking some punches.
Sharpe tries to score a body lock takedown but Burgess shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Axton Burgess has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Donovan Sharpe.
Sharpe tries to pull guard but Burgess forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Burgess lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Sharpe backwards.

Sharpe jumps guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Burgess won't allow Sharpe to sweep him here.
Sharpe being controlled here, momentarily.
Sharpe is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Burgess is controlling him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Burgess slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
You can see the frustration on Sharpe's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Sharpe is trying to avoid being dragged into an even worse position than he's already in but Burgess is staying active.
Burgess controlling the position from side mount.
Sharpe tries to buck Burgess off but Burgess is having none of it.
Sharpe is trying to control Burgess's posture but Burgess avoids it.

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.
Burgess is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Sharpe will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.
Sharpe is looking to regain half guard here but Burgess keeps moving and retains side control.
Sharpe can't do much from the bottom here.
Burgess tries to move to mount but Sharpe blocks the move with his legs.
You can see the frustration on Sharpe's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Sharpe tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Burgess wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
What's Sharpe going to do here then? He's in a bit of a pickle.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Sharpe tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Burgess swivels and escapes.
Donovan Sharpe seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A slow jab from Burgess misses its intended target.
Sharpe tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Burgess counters with a straight right hand.

Burgess clinches up with Sharpe and pushes him back against the cage.
Sharpe wants a takedown but no success here.
Sharpe is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Burgess gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Sharpe is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Burgess pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Burgess working aggressively here.
Burgess throws a punch but it's blocked by Sharpe.
Sharpe blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Burgess lands a left hand that snaps the head of Sharpe backwards.
Burgess lands a body punch.
Burgess swings away with an uppercut that misses.

Sharpe works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sharpe postures up in Burgess's guard and throws a big left but Burgess blocks it.
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Sharpe working his ground and pound in the gym. He isn't landing a great percentage of his ground strikes so far though.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Sharpe in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Sharpe loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Burgess working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Sharpe.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Burgess wants to sweep but no luck.
Burgess has his hands on Sharpe's head, controlling the position.
Sharpe throws a strike but Burgess rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Burgess trying to control but Sharpe is working from the bottom.
Sharpe controls Burgess momentarily but Burgess frees himself.
Burgess throwing strikes but missing.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Axton Burgess dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Axton Burgess's cut.
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.

A big right from Burgess misses.
Burgess scores with a punch to the head.
Burgess throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Sharpe.
Sharpe is trying to ground and pound but Burgess uses the momentary lack of control by Sharpe to regain half guard.
Burgess is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Sharpe can do to turn this around?
Burgess avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Sharpe.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Burgess has his hands clasped together around Sharpe's back. He's all about the action.
Sharpe with the ground and pound but Burgess uses the opportunity to regain guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sharpe postures up.
Sharpe distracts Burgess with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Sharpe throws a big right hand that misses.
Burgess wants to sweep here but Sharpe controlling him for the moment.
Sharpe is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Sharpe throws an elbow that misses. Burgess uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Sharpe's guard. Nice move by Burgess!

Sharpe wriggles free and stands up.
Burgess tries to move into range but Sharpe moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Sharpe uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Burgess.

Sharpe gets the takedown into side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The strikes coming from Sharpe are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Burgess manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
Sharpe trying to control the action but Burgess is working from the bottom.
Burgess makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Burgess.
Sharpe throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Burgess works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Sharpe throwing strikes from guard but Burgess blocks nicely.
Sharpe trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Burgess has control of Sharpe's left arm, preventing Sharpe from doing any damage.
Sharpe lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sharpe postures up in Burgess's guard and throws a big left but Burgess blocks it.
Burgess pulls Sharpe in close to prevent any damage.
Sharpe with a flurry of punches that miss.

Burgess has his foot on Sharpe's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Sharpe works his way back into a safe position though.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.

Burgess gets tackled into the cage by Sharpe. Sharpe maintains the clinch.
A frustrated look appears on Sharpe's face as he tries to break the clinch.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Burgess creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Burgess misses with the head strike.
Sharpe tries to score a body lock takedown but Burgess shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
A short left from Burgess.
Sharpe is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Burgess gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Sharpe.
Axton Burgess has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Donovan Sharpe.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Burgess lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.

Sharpe is rocked!
A nice left hand lands by Burgess.
Sharpe is still on wobbly legs! Can Burgess finish him?
Burgess lands an uppercut in the clinch that drops Sharpe to his knees! Burgess keeps firing more shots against his stricken opponent and the referee jumps in to save him!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:21 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Axton Burgess!
Axton Burgess thanked the fans post fight for their support.