PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Richard Dawkins (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Xavier Sanchez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Dawkins might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Prong - Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck . Sanchez is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: Sublime - Santaria. Richard Dawkins is staring across the cage at his opponent, tweaking his nipples... Tweaking his own nipples that is.

Dawkins
vs
Sanchez

170 cm
28
159 lbs
20 - 6 - 0

188 cm
29
180 lbs
34 - 8 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Conviction
Black Hand Fight Gear & Laundry

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 20 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Richard Dawkins!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 34 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Xavier Sanchez!
The judges for this bout are Columbo Gatti, Joseph Jones and Chad Campbell.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Dawkins gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Dawkins, as that shot connected.
Sanchez lands with a nice body kick.
Dawkins tries to score a power double leg takedown but Sanchez sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Dawkins somewhat.
Sanchez throws a low kick but it's checked well by Dawkins.
Dawkins misses with a jab, cross combination.
Dawkins throws a nice outside leg kick.
Dawkins throws a leg kick which misses Sanchez's front leg but catches the back leg as Sanchez tries to avoid it.
Dawkins throws a leg kick but Sanchez sees it coming and moves out of range.
Sanchez throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Sanchez swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Sanchez finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.

Sanchez moves into range and clinches up with Dawkins.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sanchez can't find room to land a body shot as Dawkins controls the action.
Dawkins scores with a nice hook to the head.
Dawkins works on Sanchez's body with a couple of short punches.
Sanchez blocks a punch to the side of the head.
A right hook to the body lands for Dawkins.

Dawkins breaks the clinch.
Dawkins pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Sanchez misses with a jab, cross combination.
Dawkins moves into range and lands a nice body kick.
Dawkins throws a body punch but Sanchez moves out of range.
Sanchez thows a left - swing and a miss!
The fight stays on the outside here - Sanchez looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

Dawkins fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Sanchez to the ground. Dawkins is now in Sanchez's guard.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Dawkins throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Sanchez works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dawkins landing some decent shots from guard.
Dawkins in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Sanchez tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Dawkins postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Sanchez working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Dawkins.
Dawkins stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Sanchez swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Sanchez is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Sanchez keeping full guard, as Dawkins tries to pass.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dawkins in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Dawkins landing with the ground and pound.
Sanchez is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Dawkins might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Dawkins moves into full guard.

Dawkins has his foot on Sanchez's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Sanchez works his way back into a safe position though.

The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Dawkins looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Sanchez is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez trying to control but Dawkins is working from the bottom.
Sanchez might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Dawkins kaven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.
Sanchez throwing strikes but missing.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Sanchez wants to pass the guard but Dawkins is keeping the position.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Sanchez is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Richard Dawkins dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Dawkins delivers a nice body kick.
Dawkins does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Dawkins looks to throw a body kick
and Sanchez connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Dawkins lands a nice looking kick to the body. Sanchez takes a step back to recover.
Dawkins throws a low kick, looking for Sanchez's leg but Sanchez calmly moves out of range.
Sanchez changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Sanchez is looking to score with low kicks.
Sanchez uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Dawkins.
Dawkins dives in and grabs Sanchez's left leg, looking for a takedown. Sanchez pushes down on Dawkins's head and hops out.
Sanchez ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Dawkins moves away.
Richard Dawkins is winning the standup battle so far.
Dawkins swings for the body but Sanchez moves out of range.
Dawkins blocks a jab.
Dawkins falls off balance throwing a combination

and Sanchez counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Dawkins's guard now.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Dawkins working for a triangle but Sanchez defends it easily.

Dawkins has his foot on Sanchez's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Sanchez works his way back into a safe position though.
Richard Dawkins overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Sanchez slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Sanchez trying to control the position from guard on top but Dawkins is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
It really doesn't seem like the step up in weight is hurting Dawkins here at all. He's more than holding his own against the bigger man.
Sanchez is pushing down on Dawkins's leg trying to pass to half guard. Dawkins is fighting to maintain full guard but Sanchez has managed to sneak the leg through.
Dawkins regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Sanchez.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Sanchez chips away with some ground and pound.

Sanchez got a little sloppy there for a moment and Dawkins has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Sanchez has managed to get both his arms back between Dawkins's legs - danger averted.
Sanchez postures up.
Dawkins 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.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Sanchez tries to free his leg and advance position but Dawkins is retaining full guard.
Sanchez loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Sanchez trying to control the position from guard on top but Dawkins is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Sanchez throws a big elbow that misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez throws an elbow that misses. Dawkins uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Sanchez's guard. Nice move by Dawkins!
Sanchez preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Sanchez looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Sanchez pulls Dawkins in close to his closed guard and prevents Dawkins from doing any damage or advancing position.
Dawkins preventing the sweep.
Sanchez working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Dawkins.
Sanchez working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Dawkins.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Dawkins wants to pass the guard but Sanchez is keeping the position.
Dawkins throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Dawkins preventing the sweep.
Sanchez wants to control the position but Dawkins says "no thanks buddy" and passes to half guard.

Dawkins looking for a submission but Sanchez manages to get full guard, putting an end to that submission attempt.
Dawkins landing some decent shots from guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Dawkins loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Xavier Sanchez will probably get the nod - 10:9.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Sanchez moves out of range as Dawkins throws a body kick.
Sanchez throws a big shot that misses.
Sanchez looks to land a right hand but Dawkins moved out of range.
Sanchez throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Sanchez throws a low kick but it's checked well by Dawkins.
Dawkins throws a body punch but Sanchez moves out of range.
Sanchez throws a good cross that connects.
Dawkins throws a low kick, looking for Sanchez's leg but Sanchez calmly moves out of range.
A jab from Sanchez misses.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Sanchez.
Sanchez misses with an uppercut
and Dawkins counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Dawkins throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Sanchez avoids the body shot from Dawkins.
Dawkins uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Sanchez.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dawkins thuds his shin into the meat of Sanchez's side.
Dawkins ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Sanchez moves away.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Sanchez.
Dawkins taking punishment in the form of punches.
Sanchez wants to take a breather but Dawkins manages to regain guard - a lesson learnt for Sanchez.
Sanchez content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Sanchez preventing the sweep.

Sanchez stands over his opponent and dives in with a flying punch! Dawkins throws up his legs and catches Sanchez in a triangle! Oh this looks tight! Sanchez tries to escape but he's forced to tap! Wow, fantastic work there by Dawkins! That came out of nowhere!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:57 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle Choke). Richard Dawkins!
Post fight, Richard Dawkins took to the microphone: 'Ya know, if beating a quality opponent like Xavier Sanchez doesn't tell you who the greatest 145 lb fighter in the world is, I don't know what does.'.