PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Roger McMillan (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Chael Sonnen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Sonnen has chosen Type 0 Negative Black No .1 as his entrance music. Both these guys are coming into the fight with injuries so let's see if that has a bearing on the fight. The fight MMA fans around the world have waited their entire lives for!

McMillan
vs
Sonnen

179 cm
25
183 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

188 cm
19
185 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

Good takedowns
Basic striking
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

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 Tokyo, Roger McMillan!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Chael Sonnen!
The judges for this bout are Shirou Masuda, Yukihiro Shimada and Shigeki Sano.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

McMillan shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
McMillan is breathing heavily.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Sonnen is looking to escape.
McMillan throwing shots but Sonnen is blocking nicely.
Sonnen wants to get back to his feet.
McMillan frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Sonnen squirming around on the bottom, looking to escape.
Sonnen in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.

Sonnen somehow manages to escape the mount and get back to his feet!
Sonnen lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Sonnen throws a series of punches but McMillan moves out of range.

McMillan gets a takedown into half guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Sonnen wants to get back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sonnen is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
McMillan seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
McMillan scoring with strikes to the body and head.
McMillan seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
McMillan trying to pass the guard but Sonnen defending well.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
McMillan looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Sonnen with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Sonnen is trying to defend against the ground and pound but McMillan scores with a couple of nice shots.
McMillan drops an elbow to the side of Sonnen's head.
McMillan working the head and body with strikes.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Sonnen is trying to stand.

McMillan stands up from half guard.

McMillan shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Sonnen napping and manages to drive through into side control!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sonnen wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
Sonnen is working to avoid the ground and pound but McMillan connects with a decent elbow.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
McMillan scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Sonnen to see if he's OK.
Sonnen is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
McMillan works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
McMillan passes to full mount! That's big trouble for Sonnen!
McMillan dominating with strikes here.
McMillan connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Sonnen is not a happy chappy… he wants out of there.
McMillan has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
BOOM! McMillan connects with a massive shot to the dome!
McMillan pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
You get the feeling that Sonnen really doesn't like being in this position too much.
McMillan postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Sonnen looks a forlorn figure.
McMillan cracks Sonnen with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sonnen's corner are shouting for him to stand up but that's bad cornering - how is he meant to stand up when he's mounted? He should be looking to improve his position on the ground before trying to stand back up.
McMillan lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Sonnen hang on?
Sonnen wants to try and get back to his feet.
McMillan raining down shots from the mount!
Sonnen is in a horrible position here. McMillan smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
McMillan lands a nice shot to the head.
Sonnen wants to try and get back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
McMillan working Sonnen over with strikes here.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
McMillan raining down hammerfists from mount.
McMillan breaks from Sonnen's wrist control and lands an elbow.
McMillan lands a nice shot to the head.
McMillan raining down shots from the mount!
Sonnen is trying to get to the cage to help him get back to his feet.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
McMillan raining down shots from the mount!
Sonnen is bucking up trying to escape but McMillan cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
McMillan won't let Sonnen get back to his feet... He wants to keep the fight where it is for now.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Roger McMillan dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

McMillan defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Sonnen.

McMillan closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Sonnen's guard.
Sonnen is looking to stand up but McMillan isn't so interested in that idea.
McMillan scoring with punches to the head and body.
McMillan lands a couple of decent looking shots.
McMillan works over Sonnen with some ground and pound from guard.
Sonnen wants to get back to his feet but McMillan is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
McMillan chips away with some ground and pound.
McMillan trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Sonnen is looking to stand up but McMillan isn't so interested in that idea.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
McMillan landing some decent shots from guard.
McMillan scores with a decent looking elbow strike.

Sonnen manages to escape and get back to his feet.

McMillan fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Sonnen to the ground. McMillan is now in Sonnen's guard.
McMillan postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
McMillan postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
McMillan prevents Sonnen from getting back to his feet.
McMillan working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Sonnen's head.
Sonnen wants to get back to his feet but McMillan is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
McMillan is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
McMillan won't allow Sonnen to get back to his feet.

McMillan stands up and waves to Sonnen to follow him.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Sonnen misses with a wild combination.
A right-left combo lands from Sonnen.
Sonnen fails to land the takedown.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Sonnen enables McMillan to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Sonnen manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
McMillan stops Sonnen from standing up.

Sonnen pushes McMillan off and scrambles back to his feet.
McMillan slips a jab and a cross from Sonnen.

McMillan looking to score a takedown here. Sonnen is defending well but McMillan drives through and ends up in Sonnen's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sonnen is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
McMillan makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Sonnen wants to get back to his feet but McMillan is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
McMillan content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.

McMillan stands up and waves to Sonnen to follow him.
Sonnen throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Horrible takedown by Sonnen or perhaps it was just good defense by McMillan which made him look bad.
Roger McMillan has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Chael Sonnen.
Sonnen rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but McMillan moves out of range and avoids them all easily.

McMillan scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Nice strikes from McMillan there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

McMillan escapes and gets back to his feet.
McMillan looks for a takedown but Sonnen sprawls well.

McMillan fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Sonnen sprawls well initially but McMillan persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Sonnen is trying to stand.
McMillan drops an elbow to the side of Sonnen's head.
McMillan looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Sonnen with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
McMillan slips a nice elbow through Sonnen's hands, connecting with Sonnen's forehead.
Sonnen is trying to stand.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
McMillan is nestled in close to Sonnen, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
McMillan 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.
McMillan lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
McMillan drops an elbow to the side of Sonnen's head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Roger McMillan dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Sonnen shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and McMillan counters with a shoot takedown. Sonnen fights it but they end up in guard.
Sonnen wants to get back to his feet but he's too absorbed in his own little project and McMillan manages to pass to side control.
Sonnen looks like he's trying to stand up.
McMillan lands strikes from half guard.
Sonnen wants to get back to his feet.
McMillan lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Sonnen looks like he's trying to stand up.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
McMillan 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.

McMillan postures up and decides to stand up, from the half guard. The ref calls for Sonnen to stand up.
Sonnen looks to land a combination. McMillan sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Sonnen misses with a takedown attempt - McMillan sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.

McMillan has closed the distance and engaged Sonnen in a clinch.

Sonnen has McMillan pressed up against the cage. He's trying to work for a single leg takedown. Sonnen pulls back from the cage and twists to the side, sending McMillan tumbling to the mat - Sonnen dives into McMillan's guard.

Sonnen thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Sonnen won't allow McMillan to sweep him here.
McMillan is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Sonnen looks like he's trying to stand up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
McMillan is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
McMillan 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.

Sonnen makes some distance and scrambles quickly back to his feet. Nice work!

McMillan dives in and scores a takedown into Sonnen's guard.
Sonnen wants to get back to his feet but McMillan is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
McMillan connects with a couple of short punches.
Sonnen wants to stand but McMillan is controlling the position.
McMillan working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.

Sonnen is working an open guard so McMillan takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
Sonnen throws a left and a right that both miss

and McMillan counters with a shoot takedown. Sonnen fights it but they end up in guard.
McMillan scores with a decent looking elbow strike.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Sonnen pushes McMillan off and scrambles back to his feet.
A punch combination from Sonnen misses.
Sonnen misses with a few strikes there.
Sonnen tries for a takedown but McMillan circles away easily
and McMillan counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Roger McMillan has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Chael Sonnen.

Sonnen gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
McMillan prevents Sonnen from getting back to his feet.

Sonnen has his feet on McMillan's hips. He pushes off and gets to his feet. Nice work.
Sonnen changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. McMillan tries to avoid it but Sonnen manages to keep hold of a leg and drag McMillan to the ground. McMillan escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
McMillan jabs away that one connects to the head of his opponent.
Sonnen misses with a jab, cross combination.
McMillan slips a jab and a cross from Sonnen.
McMillan moves out of range of the body kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sonnen rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but McMillan moves out of range and avoids them all easily.

McMillan looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
This has been an exciting period of action!
McMillan works over Sonnen with some ground and pound from guard.
McMillan lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
McMillan working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
McMillan is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
McMillan postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.

McMillan stands up from Sonnen's guard - McMillan perhaps looking for a knockout.

McMillan scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
McMillan passes to side control.
Sonnen is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.

And that's the end of the fight!
Roger McMillan showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for McMillan, 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 Shirou Masuda scores the fight 30:27
Judge Yukihiro Shimada scores the fight 30:27
Judge Shigeki Sano scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Roger McMillan!