PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Joe Santiago (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mark Misirlou (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Misirlou has chosen Drake- Over as his entrance music. Both fighters will be looking to make this an exciting fight for the fans, I'm sure!

Santiago
vs
Misirlou

176 cm
28
135 lbs
13 - 6 - 0

172 cm
23
145 lbs
10 - 6 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Decent elbows
Very strong

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 13 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Joe Santiago!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 10 - 6 - 0, fighting out of London, Mark Misirlou!
The judges for this bout are Timothy Bukovac, and Frank Antenori.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Misirlou lunges at Santiago with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Santiago's hand.
Santiago throws a series of punches but Misirlou avoids them all with ease.
Santiago wants to clinch.
Misirlou tries for a takedown but Santiago sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Misirlou lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Santiago circles away quickly and effectively.

Misirlou decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Santiago moves into full guard.
Misirlou postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Santiago trying to keep a closed guard but Misirlou is proving a slippery customer.

Santiago looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Misirlou trying to control but Santiago is working from the bottom.

Misirlou has gone for a leg lock! Santiago slips out almost immediately though and dives into Misirlou's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Misirlou lands a decent punch to the body there.

Santiago stands up and waves to Misirlou to follow him.
Misirlou tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Santiago swivels and escapes.

Santiago has managed to clinch.
Santiago landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Santiago stalling the fight.
Santiago is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Santiago is pushing Misirlou up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Santiago lands an elbow just above Misirlou 's eye.

It looks like Mark Misirlou has been cut.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Santiago trying to control the position but instead, Misirlou has worked for underhooks and has pushed Santiago into the cage.
Misirlou lands with a right to the head.
Misirlou blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Santiago pushes Misirlou back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Santiago unloads a knee to the mid-section. Misirlou lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Misirlou wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Santiago has him pressed against the cage.
Misirlou wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Santiago has him pressed against the cage.
Santiago misses with an elbow over the top.
Santiago putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Misirlou in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Santiago is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Santiago with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Santiago throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Santiago scores a nice knee to the body.
Misirlou tries to break free but Santiago pushes him back against the cage.
Santiago stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Misirlou looks gassed!
Santiago holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Santiago unloads a knee to the mid-section. Misirlou lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Santiago really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Santiago is pushing Misirlou up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Santiago lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Misirlou or not.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A bit of stalling here from Santiago.
Santiago blocking some punches.
Santiago lands a left hand.
Santiago lands a nice knee to the body.
Santiago makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Santiago lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Santiago crunches a lovely knee into Misirlou's ribcage.
Santiago lands a damaging elbow.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Santiago.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Joe Santiago.
Misirlou swats away the attempt to clinch by Santiago.
Santiago tries to clinch up but Misirlou circles away and keeps his distance.

Santiago rushes Misirlou and presses him up against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Santiago is trying to maintain a safe position but Misirlou gets an underhook and turns Santiago into the cage.
With the fighters up against the cage, Santiago throws an elbow but misses.
Santiago blocking some punches.
Misirlou fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Joe Santiago has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Mark Misirlou.
Misirlou tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Santiago just stands there and leans against the cage.
Misirlou tries to pull guard but Santiago won't allow it.
Santiago stalls.
Misirlou jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Santiago walks away with a smile on his face. Misirlou gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Santiago stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Santiago wants it to stay on the feet.

Santiago looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Santiago wants to control from the top but Misirlou keeps moving.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Santiago preventing the sweep.
Santiago looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joe Santiago dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Mark Misirlou'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.

Santiago fails in his attempt to clinch.
Santiago shoots and misses

and Misirlou moves into the clinch.
Santiago content to slow the pace in the clinch.
Misirlou takes a knee to the side of the body.
Santiago misses with a punch on the inside.
The referee calls for Santiago to work.
Misirlou jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Santiago walks away with a smile on his face. Misirlou gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Santiago is looking to clinch but Misirlou is avoiding it.
Santiago tries to clinch but fails miserably

and Misirlou counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Santiago content to slow the pace in the clinch.
Santiago stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Santiago lands a good knee to the midsection. Misirlou won't want to take too many of those.
Santiago manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Knees to the body from Santiago.
Misirlou is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Santiago lands an elbow inside that Misirlou shrugs off.
Misirlou takes a knee right on the jaw!
Santiago lands a right hand that snaps the head of Misirlou backwards.
A short right from Santiago.
Santiago has Misirlou pressed against the cage, preventing Misirlou from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Santiago stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Misirlou tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Santiago smiles and moves away.
Santiago tries to clinch up
and Misirlou connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.

Santiago closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Santiago slows down the pace here.
Santiago using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Knees in the clinch landing for Santiago.
Misirlou misses with a punch to the body.

Misirlou pulls Santiago into guard.
Santiago has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Santiago has gone for a leg lock! Misirlou slips out almost immediately though and dives into Santiago's guard.
Santiago avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Santiago tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Santiago wants to get back to his feet but Misirlou is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Misirlou throws a strike but Santiago rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Misirlou keeping moving, preventing Santiago from controlling successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Misirlou throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Misirlou looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Santiago trying to control the position from guard on top but Misirlou is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Misirlou wants to get back to his feet but Santiago is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Santiago trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

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.
Santiago throws a big right hand that misses.
Misirlou has a closed guard, preventing Santiago from standing up.
Santiago stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Misirlou swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Santiago postures up in Misirlou's guard and throws a big left but Misirlou blocks it.
Santiago looking to pass the guard.
Misirlou controlling the position.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Misirlou shoots in for a takedown but Santiago shows good takedown defense.
Joe Santiago has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Mark Misirlou.
Santiago moves to clinch but Misirlou breaks away

and Misirlou counters with a single leg into guard. Santiago didn't expect that.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Joe Santiago will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Mark Misirlou's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Santiago avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Santiago tries to clinch but Misirlou is having none of it.
Misirlou shoots in and drives through. Santiago sprawls well.
Misirlou throws a jab but it's blocked by Santiago.
Santiago looks to clinch
and Misirlou connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Santiago throws a right and a left that both miss.
A kick lands to the mid section there for Santiago.
Misirlou with a lazy takedown attempt

and Santiago holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Santiago lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Santiago is working Misirlou over against the cage.
Santiago scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Santiago connects with a nasty looking knee right to Misirlou's face.
Santiago scores a nice knee to the body.
Santiago landing knees to the head.
Santiago is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Misirlou takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Santiago landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Santiago lands a nice shot to the body.
Misirlou being controlled against the cage.
Santiago gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Santiago controlling the action here for a moment.
Misirlou tries to break the clinch but Santiago is controlling the position.
Misirlou takes a knee to the side of the body.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Santiago.
Santiago lands a nice elbow.
Santiago stalling in the clinch.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Joe Santiago.
Santiago looks to clinch
and Misirlou counters with a straight right hand.
Misirlou has a takedown stuffed.
Joe Santiago has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Mark Misirlou.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Santiago wants to clinch
and Misirlou counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Santiago tries to clinch there but Misirlou circles away.
Misirlou throws a right and a left that Santiago avoids nicely.
Misirlou throws a looping overhand right but Santiago ducks down to avoid it.

Santiago has managed to clinch.
Misirlou on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Misirlou letting Santiago take a breather here.
Santiago seems to have come into the fight with the intention of avoiding any damage in the clinch, rather than actually showing any aggression.
Santiago is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Misirlou is keeping busy.
Misirlou is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Santiago is keeping busy.
Santiago scores with a hook to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Santiago lands a knee to the body.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Santiago.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Joe Santiago.
Santiago fails with an attempt to clinch.
Misirlou throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Santiago's waist but Santiago gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Misirlou off to one side.

Santiago closes the distance and pushes Misirlou back into the cage.
Santiago throws a knee to the head but misses.
Misirlou taking a breather.
Santiago content to slow the pace in the clinch.
Santiago comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Santiago works on Misirlou's body with a couple of short punches.
Santiago putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Misirlou in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Santiago using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Misirlou has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Joe Santiago is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Misirlou breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Santiago moves in looking to clinch but Misirlou pushes him off.
Joe Santiago is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Santiago closes the distance and pushes Misirlou back into the cage.
Santiago lands a body punch in the clinch.
Santiago lands an elbow inside.
Misirlou being controlled against the cage.
Joe Santiago has scored more points in the clinch so far.
A right hook to the body lands for Santiago.
Santiago is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Misirlou is looking to break free of the clinch but Santiago has double underhooks.
A left hand lands to the body for Santiago.
Mark Misirlou has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Santiago lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Santiago gets through Misirlou's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.

And that's the end of the fight!
Joe Santiago showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Santiago, 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 Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 30:27
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 30:27
Judge Frank Antenori scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Joe Santiago!