PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Matt St Pierre (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rico Sanchez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). St Pierre comes to the cage accompanied by Blur - Song 2. Rico Sanchez told me before the fight that he's been watching a lot of DVDs so let's see if that helps him in this one! I can't wait to find out!

St Pierre
vs
Sanchez

180 cm
23
183 lbs
6 - 5 - 0

183 cm
26
179 lbs
8 - 8 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Great low kicks
Very strong

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent MT
Solid chin

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 6 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Matt St Pierre!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Rico Sanchez!
The judges for this bout are Trevor Gratis, Ian Loll and Yves DeLean.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A solid leg kick lands there for St Pierre.
St Pierre keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Sanchez.

St Pierre pushes Sanchez up against the cage in a clinch.
Sanchez blocks an elbow strike.
St Pierre lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
St Pierre is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Sanchez blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
St Pierre looking to stall.
Sanchez lands a nice uppercut.
Sanchez drops down looking for an ankle pick but St Pierre pulls his leg out and moves away.
St Pierre lands a high kick!
St Pierre misses with a low kick.
Rico Sanchez seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
St Pierre misses with a kick to the body.

Sanchez takes the fight into the clinch.
St Pierre makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
St Pierre tries to land knees in the clinch but Sanchez avoids the damage to the body.
A left hand lands to the body for Sanchez.
St Pierre lands an elbow inside that Sanchez shrugs off.
St Pierre trying to land knees to the body.
Come on St Pierre - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
St Pierre avoids the elbow strike from Sanchez, against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
St Pierre blocks an uppercut.
St Pierre takes a knee right on the jaw!
St Pierre stalling the fight.
St Pierre lands an uppercut.
St Pierre misses with a knee strike.
Sanchez unloads a knee to the mid-section.
St Pierre digs a right hand into Sanchez's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Sanchez's gas tank.
St Pierre scores a nice knee to the body.
Sanchez putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has St Pierre in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Sanchez lands a damaging elbow.
St Pierre throws a knee to the head but misses.
A shot in the inside from Sanchez.
A shot in the inside from Sanchez.
Sanchez tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and St Pierre avoids it.
Sanchez on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
St Pierre is breathing heavily.
Sanchez misses with an elbow strike.
Knees to the body from St Pierre.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Sanchez as St Pierre tries to tie him up.
Sanchez throws an elbow that misses.
Sanchez lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt St Pierre or not.
Sanchez lands a nice uppercut.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Sanchez lands a nice uppercut.
St Pierre avoids a wild elbow strike from Sanchez.
St Pierre is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Sanchez.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
St Pierre is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Sanchez is keeping busy.
Sanchez drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
St Pierre slowing the pace effectively.
St Pierre is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
St Pierre blocks an elbow strike from Sanchez.
St Pierre blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Sanchez lands a nice elbow.
Sanchez lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
St Pierre takes an elbow to the temple.
Sanchez on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Sanchez tries to land a knee to the head but St Pierre blocks with his arms.
Sanchez lands a right hand that snaps the head of St Pierre backwards.
Sanchez working aggressively here.
Sanchez struggles to land a body shot inside as St Pierre controls his hands.
Sanchez goes for a takedown in the clinch but St Pierre prevents it.
Matt St Pierre has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Rico Sanchez.
Sanchez with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Sanchez looking to throw knees to the head but St Pierre is blocking nicely.
St Pierre lands with a left to the head.
St Pierre looking to throw knees to the head but Sanchez is blocking nicely.
St Pierre trying to stall but Sanchez improves his position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A short right from St Pierre on the inside.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Sanchez.
Sanchez avoiding damage as St Pierre throws knees to the body.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
St Pierre unloads a knee to the mid-section.
St Pierre tries to land a knee to the head but Sanchez blocks with his arms.
Nice elbow from Sanchez.
St Pierre utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Sanchez misses with a hook from the clinch.
Sanchez scores a nice knee to the body.
Sanchez lands a damaging elbow.
Sanchez takes an elbow to the forehead.
St Pierre landing knees to the body.
St Pierre tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Sanchez avoids it.
St Pierre tries to land knees in the clinch but Sanchez avoids the damage to the body.
With the fighters up against the cage, St Pierre throws an elbow but misses.
Sanchez pushes off an throws an elbow but St Pierre leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Sanchez throws an elbow but it's blocked.
With the fighters up against the cage, St Pierre throws an elbow but misses.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Sanchez.
Sanchez creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Sanchez tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
St Pierre stalling in the clinch.
Sanchez avoiding damage as St Pierre throws knees to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez misses with an elbow over the top.
Knees to the body from St Pierre.
St Pierre blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Sanchez pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
St Pierre dodges an elbow strike from Sanchez.
Sanchez managing to block the knees to the body from St Pierre.
St Pierre prevents the takedown attempt.
St Pierre displaying some good clinch control by pressing Sanchez up against the cage.
St Pierre tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Sanchez on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Sanchez takes an elbow to the temple.
St Pierre looking to stall.
Sanchez lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Sanchez throws an elbow but it's blocked.
St Pierre dodges an elbow strike from Sanchez.
St Pierre misses with some punches.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Sanchez managing to block the knees to the body from St Pierre.
A head punch on the inside from Sanchez fails to land.
St Pierre lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Sanchez misses with an elbow over the top.
Sanchez pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
A head punch on the inside from Sanchez fails to land.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Rico Sanchez will probably get the nod.
That's time! St Pierre's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Sanchez forces St Pierre back against the cage and clinches.
St Pierre tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Sanchez avoids it.
Sanchez tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and St Pierre avoids it.
Rico Sanchez seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Sanchez misses with a hook to the ribs.
Sanchez lands with a right to the head.
Sanchez dodges an elbow strike from St Pierre.
Knees in the clinch landing for Sanchez.
St Pierre lands a nice uppercut.
Sanchez avoids the elbow strike from St Pierre, against the cage.
Sanchez missing with knees to the body.
Sanchez misses with a knee strike.
Sanchez landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Sanchez looking to throw knees to the head but St Pierre is blocking nicely.
St Pierre tries to land knees in the clinch but Sanchez avoids the damage to the body.
St Pierre lands an elbow that stopped Sanchez in his tracks for a moment.
Sanchez throws an elbow but it misses.
St Pierre crunches a lovely knee into Sanchez's ribcage.
Sanchez struggles to land a body shot inside as St Pierre controls his hands.
Sanchez misses with a punch on the inside.
St Pierre is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Sanchez fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Sanchez blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Sanchez misses with an elbow over the top.
St Pierre using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
St Pierre looking to slow down the pace here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
St Pierre dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Sanchez throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
St Pierre blocks an uppercut.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Sanchez jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as St Pierre walks away with a smile on his face. Sanchez gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

St Pierre darts in and clinches Sanchez up against the cage.
Sanchez misses with a short punch on the inside.
Sanchez takes a knee to the side of the body.
Sanchez gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
St Pierre lands a knee to the body.
St Pierre is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
St Pierre trying to stall but Sanchez improves his position.
St Pierre avoids the elbow strike from Sanchez, against the cage.
Sanchez tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Sanchez avoids a wild elbow strike from St Pierre.
Sanchez misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from St Pierre.
St Pierre lands a knee to the body.
St Pierre landing knees to the body.
A nice glancing elbow lands by St Pierre.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez avoiding damage as St Pierre throws knees to the body.
St Pierre is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Sanchez blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Sanchez working St Pierre over with knees to the body.
St Pierre is looking to control Sanchez's arms but Sanchez gets an underhook and turns him. Now St Pierre has his back to the cage.
Sanchez tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. St Pierre smiles and moves away.
Sanchez throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
St Pierre lands with a kick to the ribs.

St Pierre closes the distance and pushes Sanchez back into the cage.
Sanchez throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but St Pierre blocks it with crossed arms.
St Pierre tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Sanchez throws a punch but it's blocked by St Pierre.
St Pierre's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
St Pierre throws an elbow but it misses.
Knees in the clinch landing for St Pierre.
St Pierre blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Sanchez throws a punch but it's blocked by St Pierre.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
St Pierre throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Sanchez blocks it with crossed arms.
St Pierre using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Sanchez has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
St Pierre is pressed up against the cage. Sanchez has hold of a leg and is looking to drag St Pierre down to the mat. St Pierre avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Matt St Pierre has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Rico Sanchez.

St Pierre closes the distance and pushes Sanchez back into the cage.
St Pierre displaying some good clinch control by pressing Sanchez up against the cage.
A knee to the head by St Pierre.
Sanchez lands with a left to the head.
St Pierre blocks an uppercut.
St Pierre takes an elbow to the temple.
Sanchez lands with a short head shot on the inside.
St Pierre takes an elbow to the forehead.
Sanchez misses with a shot to the kidneys.
St Pierre looking to slow down the pace here.
St Pierre blocks a punch to the side of the head.

Sanchez pulls St Pierre into guard.
Sanchez trying to strike from the bottom but really, it's not the best position to be doing that from!
St Pierre showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Sanchez looking for submissions from the bottom but instead St Pierre passes into half guard.
St Pierre is thwarting Sanchez's attempts to control the position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Sanchez gets full guard.
Sanchez wants to hit a switch here but St Pierre passes into full mount! Oh no, disaster for Sanchez there!
Sanchez is trying to escape the mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Matt St Pierre dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Sanchez pushes St Pierre up against the cage in a clinch.
Sanchez misses with a hook from the clinch.
St Pierre lands an elbow that stopped Sanchez in his tracks for a moment.
St Pierre landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
St Pierre lands a body shot in the clinch.
Knees in the clinch landing for St Pierre.
St Pierre using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
St Pierre with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
St Pierre stalling in the clinch.
Sanchez avoiding damage as St Pierre throws knees to the body.
St Pierre lands a body punch in the clinch.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
St Pierre 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.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, St Pierre just misses with a elbow thrown towards Sanchez's brow.
With the fighters up against the cage, St Pierre throws an elbow but misses.
Sanchez looks to throw an elbow but misses.
St Pierre throws a knee to the head but misses.
Sanchez on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Sanchez goes for a takedown in the clinch but St Pierre prevents it.
Sanchez avoiding damage as St Pierre throws knees to the body.
St Pierre using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Sanchez has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
St Pierre looking to slow down the pace here.
St Pierre dodges an elbow strike from Sanchez.

That's one minute gone in the round.
St Pierre 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.
Sanchez working some nice short punches in the clinch.
With the fighters up against the cage, Sanchez throws an elbow but misses.
Sanchez throws an elbow but it misses.

Sanchez gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, St Pierre regains guard.
St Pierre keeping moving, preventing Sanchez from controlling successfully.
St Pierre utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now St Pierre is on top in guard.

Sanchez looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Sanchez looking for a sweep. Not yet Sanchez, not yet.

St Pierre drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and St Pierre jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
St Pierre passes into half guard.
Sanchez is staying active underneath St Pierre, who seems content to just control the action from this position.

St Pierre is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Sanchez trying to control from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez is trying to get back to full guard.

Sanchez actively working from the bottom here.
Sanchez is not content to let St Pierre control the position.
St Pierre stalling away here and it's allowed Sanchez to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.

Sanchez escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. St Pierre gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.

Sanchez is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
St Pierre controlling from the top position.

Sanchez throws his legs up looking for a submission but St Pierre uses it to pass to side control.
St Pierre grinds an elbow into Sanchez's temple.

And that's the end of the fight!
Matt St Pierre showed his dominance in that final round.
Well St Pierre has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Trevor Gratis scores the fight 29:28
Judge Ian Loll scores the fight 29:28
Judge Yves DeLean scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Matt St Pierre!