PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Hernando Cortez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Borat Sagdiyev (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Sagdiyev has chosen Kazakhstan National Anthem....Sort of !!!! as his entrance music. Borat Sagdiyev will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Cortez
vs
Sagdiyev

177 cm
32
185 lbs
10 - 5 - 1

179 cm
28
177 lbs
10 - 5 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
KO power

Good wrestler
Good kicks
Powerful

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 10 - 5 - 1, fighting out of Hilo, Hernando Cortez!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 10 - 5 - 0, fighting out of New York, Borat Sagdiyev!
The judges for this bout are Alyssa Summers, Russell Pearce and Jorge Garcia.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sagdiyev fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.

Sagdiyev tries to sprawl but Cortez drives through with a takedown into half guard.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Cortez is looking to take a break and control but Sagdiyev is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Sagdiyev is trying to maintain the position but Cortez is very close to passing his half guard.
Cortez frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Sagdiyev wants to control but Cortez is having none of it.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Cortez sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Cortez cracks Sagdiyev with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cortez tries to control but Sagdiyev wriggling away.
Sagdiyev is in all sorts of trouble here.
Cortez wants to control the pace but Sagdiyev is squirming around nicely.
Cortez controlling his opponent.
Cortez lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Cortez looking to control but Sagdiyev is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sagdiyev slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
Cortez is pressing down on Sagdiyev's thigh, looking to free his foot. Sagdiyev is holding on for now.
Cortez trying to control from half guard but Sagdiyev is working away.
Sagdiyev trying to hold on to Cortez's head to control him but Cortez postures up.
Cortez takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Hernando Cortez.

Sagdiyev gets a takedown into half guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Sagdiyev trying to mount his opponent but Cortez defends it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sagdiyev not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Sagdiyev trying to pass the guard but Cortez defending well.
Sagdiyev trying to advance position but Cortez counters by regaining guard.
Sagdiyev trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Sagdiyev wants to control from the top but Cortez keeps moving.
Sagdiyev throws a big right hand that misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Sagdiyev gets to his feet - Cortez follows without any prompting.
Sagdiyev tries a head kick but it misses.
Sagdiyev defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Cortez.

Sagdiyev shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Cortez manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Sagdiyev trying to control the position from guard on top but Cortez is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Cortez can't keep his opponent in guard - Sagdiyev advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Sagdiyev wants to pass the guard but Cortez is defending well.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Sagdiyev is looking for a kimura but Cortez is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Sagdiyev to get the leverage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Borat Sagdiyev will probably get the nod.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Cortez drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Cortez wants to control from the top but Sagdiyev keeps moving.
Cortez seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Cortez won't allow Sagdiyev to sweep him here.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Hernando Cortez just wasn't active enough.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Sagdiyev.
Cortez fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cortez looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Cortez looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Hernando Cortez. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Cortez shoots in and drives through. Sagdiyev sprawls well.
Sagdiyev leaves Cortez with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Sagdiyev fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Cortez shoots in and drives through. Sagdiyev sprawls well.
Cortez blocks a head kick by Sagdiyev.
Sagdiyev scores with a head kick.

It looks like Hernando Cortez has been cut.
Sagdiyev pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Sagdiyev shoots in for a takedown but Cortez shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Sagdiyev throws a head kick that misses.

Sagdiyev gets a takedown into half guard.
Sagdiyev is breathing heavily.
Sagdiyev slips a nice elbow through Cortez's hands, connecting with Cortez's forehead.
Sagdiyev throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Sagdiyev missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Borat Sagdiyev has got the better of the ground game so far.

Sagdiyev is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Cortez is just riding it out for now. Sagdiyev eventually gives up the hold.
Cortez is trying to control but can't.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sagdiyev is trying to control the action in half guard but Cortez is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Sagdiyev prevents Cortez from standing back up.
Cortez works his way to full guard. Good work.
Cortez keeping full guard, as Sagdiyev tries to pass.
Cortez tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Sagdiyev sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Cortez's guard.

Sagdiyev is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Cortez sees it coming and defends easily.
Sagdiyev trying to control from half guard but Cortez is working away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sagdiyev is looking to pass Cortez's guard but actually Cortez recovers to full guard.
Sagdiyev passes into half guard.

Sagdiyev postures up and decides to stand up, from the half guard. The ref calls for Cortez to stand up.
Sagdiyev throws a sloppy head kick and Cortez moves out of range easily.
Cortez pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Cortez shoots in looking for a takedown. Sagdiyev tries to sprawl out of it but Cortez keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Sagdiyev manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Cortez throws a shot from downtown. Sagdiyev moves away and avoids it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Borat Sagdiyev showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Hernando Cortez's cut.
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.

Sagdiyev pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Cortez tries for a takedown but Sagdiyev sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Sagdiyev shoots in looking for a takedown but Cortez manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Sagdiyev's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.

Sagdiyev looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Cortez pushes Sagdiyev off looking to stand but Sagdiyev dives back in and keeps control.
Sagdiyev trying to pass the guard but Cortez defending well.
Cortez is looking to control Sagdiyev's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Cortez avoid being mounted?
Cortez avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Sagdiyev.
Sagdiyev wants to pass to mount but Cortez is defending the position.
Sagdiyev is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Sagdiyev is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Cortez is just riding it out for now. Sagdiyev eventually gives up the hold.
Cortez keeping control of the position.
Cortez has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Sagdiyev is working away from the top position though.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Sagdiyev wants to pass to mount but Cortez is defending the position.
Sagdiyev works his way into full mount!
Cortez is looking to improve his position but Sagdiyev isn't that keen on the idea.
Sagdiyev sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
Sagdiyev has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Cortez's face.

Sagdiyev has control of Cortez's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and Cortez regains control of the situation pretty easily.
Cortez in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cortez working to try and regain half guard.
Sagdiyev connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Sagdiyev dominating with strikes here.
Sagdiyev scores with a couple of good head shots there.
A big strike lands for Sagdiyev! That's really hurt Cortez and he's turned his back - Sagdiyev keeps firing away and the ref dives in to stop the fight! Sagdiyev jumps to his feet to celebrate the victory!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:58 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Borat Sagdiyev!
Borat Sagdiyev decided to hype himself up post fight. It was going well but he went on about it a bit too long and the crowd turned on him a little.