PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Fabricio Dias (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Michael Sanders (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Dias's entrance music is Marcelo D2 & Claudia - Desabafo / Deixa Eu Dizer. A fine choice. Michael Sanders 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!

Dias
vs
Sanders

175 cm
22
137 lbs
6 - 5 - 0

171 cm
32
145 lbs
14 - 7 - 1

BJJ Brown Belt
Solid boxing
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Good gas tank

Condemned

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Fabricio Dias!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 14 - 7 - 1, fighting out of Tokyo, Michael Sanders!
The judges for this bout are Shigeki Fujiwara, Shigeki Sano and Yukihiro Shimada.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sanders slips under a jab.
Sanders slips a jab and a cross from Dias.
Dias looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Sanders slips under a jab.
Dias fails to land with a series of punches.
Dias will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Dias fails to land with a series of punches.
Sanders throws a jab when Dias was well out of range.
Sloppy strikes from Dias. Those never looked like landing.
Fabricio Dias seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Dias lands a jab-cross combination.
A big right from Sanders misses.
Sanders slips a jab and a cross from Dias.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sanders shoots for a double leg takedown but Dias sprawls well. He's pushed Sanders's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Dias throws a series of strikes that have Sanders backpedaling.
Dias slips under a jab.

Sanders feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Dias avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Sanders throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Dias works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Sanders with a flurry of punches that miss.
Sanders trying to control but Dias is working from the bottom.
Sanders throws an elbow that misses. Dias uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Sanders's guard. Nice move by Dias!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sanders trying to control the position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Dias got a little sloppy there for a moment and Sanders has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Dias has managed to get both his arms back between Sanders's legs - danger averted.
Sanders trying to control the position.

Sanders is looking for a triangle but Dias pushes his legs off easily.

Sanders working for a triangle but Dias defends it easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Sanders is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Dias preventing the sweep.
Dias tries to stand but Sanders is controlling from the bottom.
Sanders tries to land a sweep but no joy.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Sanders has an active guard here but Dias has managed to pass into half guard.
Sanders has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Dias is working away from the top position though.
Sanders tries to roll over but Dias keeps him under control.
Sanders is pressing down on Dias's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Dias won't allow Sanders to sweep him here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Michael Sanders dominated that round.
That's time! Dias's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Dias keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Sanders.
Dias throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Sanders sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Dias scores with a jab. Sanders acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Dias throws a nice looking combination but Sanders bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Dias throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Dias misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Dias lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
Sanders dodges the punch combination from Dias.

Sanders closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Sanders lands in his opponent's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sanders wants to pass the guard but Dias is keeping the position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Sanders trying to control the position from guard on top but Dias is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Dias working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Sanders.
Sanders tries to free his leg and advance position but Dias is retaining full guard.
Sanders with a flurry of punches that miss.
Dias working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Sanders.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sanders throwing strikes from guard but Dias blocks nicely.
Sanders stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Dias swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Sanders working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Sanders works over Dias with some ground and pound from guard.
Sanders throws a big elbow that misses.
Michael Sanders has got the better of the ground game so far.
Sanders prevents Dias from getting back to his feet.
Sanders is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Sanders trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sanders throwing strikes from guard but Dias blocks nicely.
Sanders is in close to Dias's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Dias keeping moving, preventing Sanders from controlling successfully.
Sanders postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Sanders with a nice head shot there.
Sanders trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Sanders missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Sanders with a nice head shot there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sanders is pushing down on Dias's leg trying to pass to half guard. Dias is fighting to maintain full guard but Sanders has managed to sneak the leg through.
Sanders scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Sanders misses with a head shot. Dias uses the momentum to regain guard.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Sanders is in close to Dias's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Sanders with a flurry of punches that miss.
Sanders slips nicely into half guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Sanders thows a huge punch but Dias dodges it nicely.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Michael Sanders showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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.

Sanders looks to throw the jab but Dias is out of range.
A punch combination from Dias misses.
Dias throws a left and a right that both miss

and Sanders counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Sanders lands with a punch from half guard.
Sanders thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Dias's head.

Sanders is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Dias sees it coming and defends easily.
Sanders thows a huge punch but Dias dodges it nicely.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Sanders is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Sanders looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Dias with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sanders throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Sanders thows a huge punch but Dias dodges it nicely.
Sanders misses with a head shot. Dias uses the momentum to regain guard.
Sanders has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Sanders missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Sanders postures up in Dias's guard and throws a big left but Dias blocks it.
Sanders lands a couple of elbows.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sanders throwing strikes but missing.
Sanders works over Dias with some ground and pound from guard.
Sanders throws a big elbow that misses.
Sanders scoring with some ground and pound.
Sanders postures up in Dias's guard and throws a big left but Dias blocks it.
Sanders working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Sanders is looking to work some ground and pound but Dias has wrist control.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Sanders's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Sanders with a flurry of punches that miss.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sanders lands a couple of elbows.
Dias working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Sanders.
Sanders lands a couple of decent looking shots.

Dias is rocked!
Sanders lands a couple of elbows.
Oh Dias is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Dias preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Sanders scoring with some ground and pound.
Sanders throws an elbow that misses. Dias uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Sanders's guard. Nice move by Dias!
Sanders looking for a sweep. Not yet Sanders, not yet.
Dias trying to stand up but can't free himself from Sanders's guard.
Dias seems to have got his legs back now.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Sanders is on top in guard.
Sanders prevents Dias from getting back to his feet.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Sanders with a flurry of punches that miss.
Sanders postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Sanders loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Sanders lands a couple of elbows.
Sanders throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Dias works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Sanders cracks Dias with a solid left hand.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Michael Sanders really dominated that round.
That's time! Dias's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Dias falls off balance throwing a combination

and Sanders counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Sanders connects with a couple of short punches.
Sanders throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Sanders loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Sanders stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Dias swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Sanders throwing strikes but missing.
Sanders passes into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sanders throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
It's got to the stage where if one of these guys blows hard enough, the other might fall over.
Sanders throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.

Sanders has hold of the far side arm. He's working for the Kimura, can Dias defend it? Sanders steps over the head and cranks it - Dias is tapping out! That was textbook stuff right there - nice submission victory for Sanders!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:28 of round 4, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). Michael Sanders!