PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Paul Burke (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Cliff Sierra (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Burke comes to the cage accompanied by Let it Rock. Sierra comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Sweet Dreams-Manson kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! Cliff Sierra acknowledges the crowd's support as he enters the cage.

Burke
vs
Sierra

180 cm
25
175 lbs
8 - 9 - 0

180 cm
19
180 lbs
1 - 4 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Prefers standup

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Granite chin

Garra Suplementos [Q150 only $15]

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 8 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Paul Burke!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Cliff Sierra!
The judges for this bout are Eliza Hachem, Summer Carpenter and Steve Erwin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Burke tries to clinch but Sierra is having none of it.
Paul Burke seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Sierra tries to clinch up but Burke circles away and keeps his distance.
Burke misses with a body shot.
Sierra throws a solid leg kick but Burke takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Sierra.
Burke throws a jab when Sierra was well out of range.
Sierra has a takedown stuffed.
Burke wants to clinch but Sierra slips to the side

and Sierra counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Nice strikes from Sierra there.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Sierra wants to free his trapped foot but Burke is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Burke blocking the ground and pound attempt from Sierra.
Burke is trying to get back to full guard.
Sierra trying to control the pace.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sierra wants to pass to mount but Burke is defending the position.
Sierra trying to control from half guard but Burke is working away.
Sierra not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Burke wants to get back to his feet.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Sierra circles away from the clinch attempt

and Sierra counters with a shoot takedown. Burke fights it but they end up in guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sierra wants to control from the top but Burke keeps moving.
Sierra is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Burke avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Sierra thows a big elbow that misses.

Sierra drops back for a leg but he's not going to get it - he lets go and Burke dives on top into guard.

Burke stands and steps away. Sierra gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Sierra loads up on a big right hand but Burke slips the punch.
Sierra tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Burke was well out of range. Poor timing from Sierra.
Paul Burke is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Burke tries to clinch

and Sierra counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Sierra.
Burke being controlled here, momentarily.
Sierra tries to free his leg and advance position but Burke is retaining full guard.
Sierra really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Burke. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Burke wants to get back to his feet but Sierra is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Burke keeping moving, preventing Sierra from controlling successfully.
Sierra stopping the sweep attempt from Burke.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sierra pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Burke is keeping the position for now.
Burke wants to stand up but Sierra is controlling him.
Sierrais looking to pass into half guard but Burke pushes him away with his feet and jumps on top - now Burke is in guard.
Sierra looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Cliff Sierra dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Burke wants to clinch but Sierra slips to the side
and Sierra counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Sierra circles away from the clinch attempt

and Sierra counters with a takedown into side control.
Sierra with the ground and pound but Burke regains half guard under the barage of strikes.
Sierra is trying to control the action in half guard but Burke is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Burke has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Sierra is working away from the top position though.
Burke is trying to stand back up but Sierra is controlling him
Sierra looks to land a strike but Burke avoids it nicely and regains full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Burke scrambles and gets back to his feet.
Sierra shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Burke but Burke pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Burke wants to clinch

and Sierra counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Sierra looking to sit in guard and control but Burke gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Burke gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
Burke clinches but Sierra breaks the clinch

and Sierra counters with a nice double leg into side control. Burke won't be happy with that.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Sierra controlling from side mount.
Burke is trying to get back to half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sierra landing strikes.
Sierra wants to lay and pray for a moment but Burke keeps working.
Sierra creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Burke sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
Sierra trying to control the position but Burke is working away.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sierra throwing shots but missing, from side control.
Sierra works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
Sierra with the ground and pound but Burke regains half guard under the barage of strikes.

Sierra is looking for a kimura but Burke is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Sierra to get the leverage.
Sierra is just content to waste time from the top position. Burke takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.

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.
Burke wants to sweep here but Sierra controlling him for the moment.
Sierra wants to control from the top but Burke keeps moving.
Sierra wants to stand and escape but instead Burke has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Burke gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
No luck for Sierra with that takedown attempt.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Cliff Sierra showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! And we move into the final round!

Sierra shoots in for a takedown but Burke shows good takedown defense.
Burke avoids a kick to the body.
A chopping leg kick lands by Sierra.
Burke tries to clinch but fails miserably

and Sierra counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Burke!
Sierra can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Burke is looking to escape.
Sierra punching from mount but Burke doing a good job of avoiding damage.

Sierra goes for an armbar but he's fallen flat on his backside there and now Burke is on top in guard.
Sierra takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Burke is in close to Sierra's body, working some short punches and elbows.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Burke gets to his feet - Sierra follows without any prompting.
Burke clinches but Sierra breaks the clinch

and Sierra counters with a single leg into guard. Burke didn't expect that.
Sierra trying to control but Burke is working from the bottom.
Burke has control of Sierra's left arm, preventing Sierra from doing any damage.
Sierra won't allow Burke to get back to his feet.
Sierra trying to control but Burke is working from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sierra with a nice head shot there.
Burke bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Sierra's guard.

Burke decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
Burke wants to clinch

and Sierra counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Sierra working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Sierra trying to control the position from guard on top but Burke is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Sierra might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Burke kaven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sierra stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Burke swivels though and keeps the full guard.

Burke manages to escape and get back to his feet.
Cliff Sierra is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Sierra cracks the inside of Burke's front leg.
Sierra tries a low kick but Burke avoids it.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Sierra, right into the meat.
Sierra misses with a few strikes there.
Sierra shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Burke but Burke pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Sierra wants to clinch up but Burke keeps it at a distance.
Cliff Sierra is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

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.
Sierra shoots in looking for a takedown. Burke tries to sprawl out of it but Sierra keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Burke manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Paul Burke has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Cliff Sierra.
Burke checks a low kick from Sierra.
Burke wants to clinch

and Sierra counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Burke!
Burke trying desperately to get to his feet.
Cliff Sierra has got the better of the ground game so far.
Burke is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
Paul Burke has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Burke is squirming around, avoiding Sierra's attempts to control the action.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

And that's the end of the fight!
Cliff Sierra comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Sierra has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Eliza Hachem scores the fight 27:30
Judge Summer Carpenter scores the fight 27:30
Judge Steve Erwin scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Cliff Sierra!