PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Cael Sanderson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and David Cabrera (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Cabrera has chosen Mal Encachado y Buchon as his entrance music. Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Sanderson
vs
Cabrera

189 cm
24
192 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

175 cm
20
187 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Granite chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
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 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Cael Sanderson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, David Cabrera!
The judges for this bout are Chris Downing, Frank Dennis and Alan Glass.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Sanderson bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Cabrera tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Sanderson wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Sanderson lands an elbow.
Sanderson taking a breather here.
Sanderson in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Cabrera can't do much from the bottom here.
Sanderson tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
Sanderson will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Sanderson working away.
Cabrera dodges the ground and pound from Sanderson.
Sanderson scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Cabrera to see if he's OK.
Sanderson connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Cabrera some visible discomfort.
Sanderson working away.
Sanderson landing a few strikes.
Sanderson working the body and head with strikes.
Cabrera gets back to half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cabrera manages to get to full guard.
Cabrera keeping moving, preventing Sanderson from controlling successfully.

Cabrera working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Sanderson doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Sanderson manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Sanderson chips away with some ground and pound.
Sanderson is working Cabrera over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Sanderson in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Sanderson's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Sanderson with a nice head shot there.
Sanderson content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Sanderson throws and elbow that misses. Cabrera uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Sanderson's guard. Nice move by Cabrera!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cabrera stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Sanderson swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Cabrera is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Cabrera throwing strikes but missing.
Cabrera is looking to work some ground and pound but Sanderson has wrist control.
Cabrera trying to control but Sanderson is working from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sanderson preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Cabrera has his takedown stuffed

so Sanderson counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Sanderson lands a couple of decent looking shots.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Cabrera holds on and takes a little breather.
Sanderson has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Sanderson distracts Cabrera with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Sanderson stopping the sweep attempt from Cabrera.
Sanderson working some strikes from top position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cabrera keeping moving, preventing Sanderson from controlling successfully.
Sanderson controlling from the top position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Sanderson works over Cabrera with some ground and pound from guard.
Sanderson trying to control but Cabrera is working from the bottom.
Sanderson passes Cabrera's left leg - he's now in half guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Sanderson looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Sanderson is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Cabrera tries to get to full guard but Sanderson has control of the leg.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Cael Sanderson dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Sanderson gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Cabrera counters with a nice body kick.
Sanderson dodges the punch combination from Cabrera.

Sanderson shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Sanderson throwing strikes from guard but Cabrera blocks nicely.
Cabrera working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Sanderson.
Sanderson postures up.

Cabrera pushes Sanderson off for just long enough to get back to his feet. Very athletic spring there.

Sanderson looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for Cabrera!
Sanderson landing strikes from the mount.
Cabrera tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Sanderson punishing his opponent with strikes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cabrera is looking to improve his position but Sanderson isn't that keen on the idea.
Cabrera is in a horrible position here. Sanderson smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Cabrera really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Sanderson cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Sanderson landing strikes from the mount and Cabrera is in trouble!
Sanderson sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Sanderson looking to finish Cabrera with some ground and pound. This is bad for Cabrera!
Sanderson putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Sanderson lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sanderson lands a heavy elbow.
Cabrera taking shots to the head.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Sanderson is landing with some decent strikes but Cabrera is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
A nice elbow there by Sanderson.
Cabrera is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Sanderson looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Cabrera is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Sanderson postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Cabrera looks a forlorn figure.
Cabrera is breathing heavily.
Cabrera can't escape the position.
Sanderson postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Cabrera looks a forlorn figure.
Sanderson lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sanderson fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Sanderson landing punches.
Cabrera is squirming around, avoiding Sanderson's attempts to control the action.
Cabrera is looking to improve his position but Sanderson isn't that keen on the idea.
A nice elbow there by Sanderson.
BOOM! Sanderson connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Cabrera is working to get back to half guard.
Sanderson landing strikes from the mount and Cabrera is in trouble!
Sanderson landing punches.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Cabrera tries to reverse the position but Sanderson maintains control.
Sanderson has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Cabrera's face.
Sanderson raining down shots from the mount!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sanderson can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Cabrera is looking to escape.
Sanderson looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Sanderson is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Cabrera slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
Sanderson trying to control the action but Cabrera is working from the bottom.
Cabrera trying to control from the bottom.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Cabrera moves into full guard.
Sanderson scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Sanderson wants to control from the top but Cabrera keeps moving.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Cael Sanderson dominated that second 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. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Sanderson scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Sanderson thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Cabrera trying to control here.
Sanderson working the head and body with strikes.
Sanderson working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Sanderson is nestled in close to Cabrera, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Cael Sanderson overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Sanderson working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Cabrera wants to control but Sanderson is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Cabrera taking some punishment here, with Sanderson in his half guard.
Sanderson lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Sanderson is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Cabrera can do to turn this around?
Sanderson thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Cabrera's head.
Sanderson looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Cabrera with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Sanderson lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The fighters are battling for position here. Cabrera manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Cabrera takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Cabrera is trying to control the position but Sanderson postures up.
Sanderson throws and elbow that misses. Cabrera uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Sanderson's guard. Nice move by Cabrera!

Cabrera thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.

Cabrera drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Sanderson manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Cabrera has Sanderson in his guard.
Sanderson forces his way into half guard.
Sanderson takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Cael Sanderson is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sanderson controlling the action here.
Sanderson is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Sanderson slips a nice elbow through Cabrera's hands, connecting with Cabrera's forehead.
Sanderson perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Sanderson seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Cabrera for as long as he can get away with.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Cabrera is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Sanderson pulls his head out easily.
Sanderson stalling.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Cael Sanderson.

Sanderson closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Cabrera to the mat! Cabrera manages to get full guard.
Sanderson won't allow Cabrera to sweep him here.
Sanderson trying to control but Cabrera is working from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sanderson is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Sanderson has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Cabrera looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
David Cabrera has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Cabrera is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Cabrera is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Sanderson is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.

And that's the end of the fight!
Cael Sanderson showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Sanderson, 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 Chris Downing scores the fight 30:27
Judge Frank Dennis scores the fight 30:27
Judge Alan Glass scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Cael Sanderson!