PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Mikael Soder (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mariano Sanchez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Mariano Sanchez has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Mikael Soder's chin.

Soder
vs
Sanchez

180 cm
18
190 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

183 cm
22
185 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Big heart

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Mikael Soder!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Mariano Sanchez!
The judges for this bout are Shigeki Sano, Hirohito Nitta and Shirou Masuda.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sanchez scores with a body shot.
Soder tries to close the distance and clinch up but Sanchez swats him away and circles back towards the center.

Soder takes the fight into the clinch.
Soder misses with a knee to the head.
Soder connects with a knee to the head.

It looks like Mariano Sanchez has been cut.
Soder missing with knees to the body.
Soder doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Soder misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Sanchez.
Soder lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Sanchez or not.
Soder with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Soder fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Soder holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Sanchez is trying to break the clinch but Soder is controlling him.
Soder tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Sanchez avoids it.
Sanchez wants to break the clinch but can't.
Sanchez has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Sanchez has had enough of the clinch but Soder keeps him there for the moment.
Sanchez on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Soder throws a knee to the head but misses.
Soder connects with a knee to the head.
A frustrated look appears on Sanchez's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Sanchez tries to circle away but Soder has him pinned against the cage.
Soder lands an elbow that stopped Sanchez in his tracks for a moment.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Soder misses with a knee to the head.
A nice left hand lands by Soder.
Soder misses with a knee strike.
Sanchez on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Soder keeps control of Sanchez as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Soder looking to throw knees to the head but Sanchez is blocking nicely.
Soder misses with a knee strike.
Soder has Sanchez pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Sanchez manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Soder scores a nice knee to the body.
Soder scores a nice knee to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Soder prevents Sanchez from breaking the clinch.
Soder tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Soder is breathing heavily.
Soder looking to throw knees to the head but Sanchez is blocking nicely.
Sanchez takes a knee right on the jaw!
Sanchez prevents a takedown attempt there.
Sanchez has had enough of the clinch but Soder keeps him there for the moment.
Soder lands a nice knee to the body.
Soder stalling against the cage.
Soder tries a knee to the head but Sanchez blocks it.
Sanchez swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Sanchez wants to break free but Soder has control.
Sanchez working hard to break the clinch.
Soder with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Sanchez looking to slow down the pace here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Soder just misses with a elbow thrown towards Sanchez's brow.
Soder misses with a knee strike.
Soder with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
The is referee keeping an eye on Soder - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Sanchez blocks an elbow strike from Soder.
Soder wants a takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mikael Soder. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Soder using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Sanchez has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Sanchez blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
A knee to the head by Soder.
Soder misses with a knee to the head.
Soder tries a knee to the head but Sanchez blocks it.
Sanchez has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Soder struggles to land a body shot inside as Sanchez controls his hands.
Sanchez has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Soder misses with a body punch.
Soder throws a knee to the head but misses.
Sanchez is trying to break the clinch but Soder has him pressed against the cage.
Soder connects with a nasty looking knee right to Sanchez's face.
Soder tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Soder misses with a knee strike.
Soder tries to land a knee to the head but Sanchez blocks with his arms.
Soder drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Sanchez is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Soder is working for takedown but Sanchez is calmly controlling the position for now.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Soder has Sanchez pressed against the cage, preventing Sanchez from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Soder using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Soder utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mikael Soder dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Mariano Sanchez's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Sanchez scores with a three punch combo!
Sanchez goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Sanchez throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Soder avoids a punch combination nicely.
Sanchez fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Sanchez misses with a two punch combination.
Sanchez throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Soder avoids a kick to the body.
Mikael Soder is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Sanchez looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Soder tries to clinch there but Sanchez circles away.

Soder moves into the clinch successfully.
Sanchez is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Soder landing knees to the body.
Soder has Sanchez pressed against the cage.
Soder unloads a knee to the mid-section. Sanchez lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Soder digs a right hand into Sanchez's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Sanchez's gas tank.
Soder has Sanchez pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Sanchez manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Soder with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Soder putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Sanchez in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Soder with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Soder misses with a knee to the head.
Soder has Sanchez pressed against the cage, preventing Sanchez from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Soder misses with a knee strike.
Soder stalls.
Sanchez wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Soder has him pressed against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Soder is struggling to control the position.
Soder has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Sanchez is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Sanchez gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Soder.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mikael Soder. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Soder lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Soder slows down the pace here.
Sanchez avoiding damage as Soder throws knees to the body.
Soder keeps control of Sanchez as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Soder misses with a knee strike.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Soder landing knees to the head.
Soder looking to throw knees to the head but Sanchez is blocking nicely.
Soder has Sanchez pressed against the cage.
Soder throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Sanchez blocks it with crossed arms.
Soder throws an elbow that misses.
Soder looking to throw knees to the head but Sanchez is blocking nicely.
Soder misses with a knee strike.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
Sanchez takes a knee to the side of the body.
Sanchez tries to break free but Soder pushes him back against the cage.
Soder with a knee to the head.
Soder prevents Sanchez from breaking the clinch.
Sanchez avoiding damage as Soder throws knees to the body.
Soder tries to land knees in the clinch but Sanchez avoids the damage to the body.
Sanchez wants to get back to striking at distance but Soder won't allow it.

That's four 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.
Sanchez working hard to break the clinch.
Soder looking to throw knees to the head but Sanchez is blocking nicely.
Soder lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Sanchez backwards.
Sanchez takes a knee to the side of the body.
Soder with a knee to the head.
Soder lands a damaging elbow.
Soder is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Sanchez is defending well for now.
Soder stalling against the cage.
Soder throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Sanchez blocks it with crossed arms.
Sanchez is trying to break free.
Mikael Soder has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Soder with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Sanchez tries to break the clinch but Soder is controlling the position.
Soder has Sanchez pressed against the cage, preventing Sanchez from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mikael Soder dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Mariano Sanchez's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Sanchez throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Sanchez works the jab nicely.
Sanchez misses with a jab, cross combination.
Sanchez throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Soder is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Sanchez looks to score with a jab to the body but Soder is just out of range.
Sanchez lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Sanchez throws a head kick that misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sanchez throws out a loose jab but Soder uses good head movement to avoid it.

Soder instigates a clinch.
Sanchez takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Soder throws a knee to the head but misses.
Soder stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Soder with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Soder lands a good knee to the midsection. Sanchez won't want to take too many of those.
Soder with a knee to the head.
Soder looking to throw knees to the head but Sanchez is blocking nicely.
Soder crunches a lovely knee into Sanchez's ribcage.
Soder lands a good knee to the midsection. Sanchez won't want to take too many of those.
Soder keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Sanchez's efforts to push away.
Soder lands a damaging elbow.
Soder is pushing Sanchez up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
A hook to the body from Soder.

Soder has Sanchez pressed up against the cage. He's trying to work for a single leg takedown. Soder pulls back from the cage and twists to the side, sending Sanchez tumbling to the mat - Soder dives into Sanchez's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Soder looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Soder trying to control but Sanchez is working from the bottom.
Soder works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Soder working the head and body with strikes.
Soder slows the pace down in half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Soder wants to take a breather but Sanchez is having none of it.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Sanchez is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Soder scores with a couple of nice shots.
Soder is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Mikael Soder is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.

The referee stands the fighters back up. Mikael Soder just wasn't active enough from the dominant position.
Sanchez avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Mariano Sanchez has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Sanchez misses with a series of wild punches.

Soder pushes Sanchez up against the cage in a clinch.
Sanchez is trying to break the clinch but Soder is controlling him.
Soder looking to throw knees to the head but Sanchez is blocking nicely.
Soder landing knees to the body.
A short body shot lands from Soder as the two fighters clinch.

And that's the end of the fight!
Mikael Soder showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Soder, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Shigeki Sano scores the fight 30:27
Judge Hirohito Nitta scores the fight 30:27
Judge Shirou Masuda scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Mikael Soder!