PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between BoVanianasashaniquanice Smith (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Marcus Saplin (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Man, I cannot wait for this one!

Smith
vs
Saplin

180 cm
22
185 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

195 cm
21
185 lbs
3 - 4 - 0

Good takedowns
Counter striker
Self confident

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent MT
Granite 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 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, BoVanianasashaniquanice Smith!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Marcus Saplin!
The judges for this bout are Skip Squint, Winston Howard and Damien Edna.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Saplin stuffs the takedown.
Saplin tries to clinch but Smith moves out of range.
Saplin tries to clinch up but Smith circles away and keeps his distance.
Saplin fails with an attempt to clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Saplin is looking to clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Saplin tries to close the distance and clinch but Smith swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Saplin stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Saplin wants it to stay on the feet.
Smith circles away from the clinch attempt.

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.
Smith swats away the attempt to clinch by Saplin.
Smith shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Saplin but Saplin pushes him off and we're back to square one.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for BoVanianasashaniquanice Smith. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Saplin fails in his attempt to clinch.
Saplin tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Smith fails to land the takedown.

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.
Smith shoots in but no luck this time.
BoVanianasashaniquanice Smith seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Saplin lands with a slapping head kick.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Marcus Saplin dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Smith.
Saplin is looking to clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Smith avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Saplin tries to clinch but Smith is having none of it.
Smith tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Saplin swivels and escapes.
Saplin doesn't manage to clinch there - Smith circles away.

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.
Saplin fails in his attempt to clinch.
Smith swats away the attempt to clinch by Saplin.
Saplin wants to clinch up but Smith keeps it at a distance.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Smith circles away from the clinch attempt.
Saplin tries to clinch up.
Marcus Saplin is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Saplin stuffs the takedown attempt from Smith. Smith gets slowly back to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for BoVanianasashaniquanice Smith. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Smith shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Saplin pinned against the cage. Saplin gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Both fighters are looking to counter, which isn't making for the most exciting fight in the world.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Smith wants to land a leg kick but Saplin is out of range.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Marcus Saplin showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. And we move into the final round!

Saplin slaps away a takedown attempt from Smith, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Saplin tries to clinch but Smith moves out of range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Saplin leaves Smith with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Saplin is looking to clinch.
Saplin tries to clinch up.

That's two 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.

Smith shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Saplin manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Smith wants to control from the top but Saplin keeps moving.
Smith might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Smith's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Saplin is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Smith is controlling him.
Smith controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Smith forces his way into half guard.
Smith slows the pace down in half guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Smith is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!
Smith wants to control the pace but Saplin is squirming around nicely.
Smith takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Smith can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Saplin is looking to escape.
Smith is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Saplin is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.

The referee stands the fighters back up. BoVanianasashaniquanice Smith just wasn't active enough from the dominant position.
Saplin fails with an attempt to clinch.

And that's the end of the fight!
BoVanianasashaniquanice Smith showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Saplin has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Skip Squint scores the fight 28:29
Judge Winston Howard scores the fight 28:29
Judge Damien Edna scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Marcus Saplin!