PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Chael Sonnen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Johny Witson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Well, I have no idea who's going to take this one!

Sonnen
vs
Witson

185 cm
30
192 lbs
11 - 5 - 0

185 cm
22
201 lbs
8 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Very quick

BJJ Purple Belt
Decent boxing
Determined

Bad Man Clothing

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 11 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Chael Sonnen!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Johny Witson!
The judges for this bout are Summer Carpenter, Donatello Bradman and Ben Hemmingworth.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sonnen looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Witson is fending him off so far but Sonnen persists. Nope, Witson circles away and we're back to standing.
Sonnen dives in for a single leg takedown but Witson sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Witson misses with a knee to the head.
Sonnen changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Witson fights it off and pushes away nicely.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Chael Sonnen. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Witson clinches up with Sonnen and pushes him back against the cage.

Witson's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Sonnen is trying hard to land a takedown here. Witson sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Nice defenses there by Sonnen.
Witson throws a body punch but Sonnen moves out of range.
Sonnen fails with a takedown attempt from distance.

Sonnen shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Witson manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Sonnen wants to control from the top but Witson keeps moving.
Witson preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.

Witson has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Sonnen can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Sonnen is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Witson not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Sonnen landing with the ground and pound.
Sonnen scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Witson working a defensive guard here.
Sonnen distracts Witson with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Sonnen is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Witson keeping moving, preventing Sonnen from controlling successfully.
Witson lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Sonnen!
Witson trying to control but Sonnen is having none of it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Witson throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.

Witson goes for an armbar but he's not got it… Sonnen turns into him and now he's in Witson's guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Sonnen stopping the sweep attempt from Witson.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Witson is still trying to improve position.
Sonnen lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Sonnen slips nicely into half guard.
Sonnen not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Sonnen moves nicely into side control.
Sonnen working the head and body with strikes.
Sonnen 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.
Witson takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Sonnen tries to move to full mount but Witson actually manages to regain half 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!
Sonnen is taking a breather. Witson says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Witson felt the need to train up his defensive grappling in the buildup to the fight. Presumably he was expecting to be in a difficult position like this, so let's see if he can get out of it.
Sonnen wants to pass the guard but Witson is defending well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Witson is refusing to be controlled, as Sonnen sits in half guard.
Sonnen controlling the action here.
Sonnen scoring with strikes to the body and head.
We've been hearing that Sonnen has been drilling a lot of ground and pound in training, so let's see if he get the finish.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Sonnen throws a strike but Witson avoids it easily and moves to full guard.
Sonnen trying to control the position from guard on top but Witson is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Sonnen makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Sonnen postures up in Witson's guard and throws a big left but Witson blocks it.
Witson will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Chael Sonnen dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

A kick lands to the mid section there for Witson.
Witson turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Nice takedown defense from Witson. No joy for Sonnen on that attempt.
Sonnen tries to clinch but Witson moves out of range.
Witson stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.

It looks like Chael Sonnen has been cut.

Sonnen gets the takedown into side control.
Sonnen working away.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Witson manages to work his way to half guard, despite Sonnen's best efforts.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Sonnen thows a huge punch but Witson dodges it nicely.
Sonnen is trying to control the action in half guard but Witson is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Witson regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Sonnen.
Witson pulls Sonnen in close to prevent any damage.
Sonnen wants to control from the top but Witson keeps moving.
Sonnen throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Witson trying to keep a closed guard but Sonnen is proving a slippery customer.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.

Johny Witson has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Witson lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Witson takes one to the side of the head.

Sonnen shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Sonnen showed some decent athleticism there.
Witson is trying to get back to full guard.
Witson is refusing to be controlled, as Sonnen sits in half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sonnen works his way into side control.
An elbow from Sonnen crashes against the mat.
Witson is trying to improve his position.
Sonnen scores with punches from side control.
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!
Witson prevents Sonnen from moving into mount.
Sonnen works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
Witson tries to strike but it doesn't land.
Witson is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Sonnen off and has taken his back!
Sonnen trying to control the action but Witson just sinks the hooks in.
Sonnen is trying to break free.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sonnen is keeping busy.
Witson misses with punches from the back.
Sonnen wants to control his opponent's hands but Witson gets his hands free.
Sonnen tries to escape but Witson has the hooks in and won't let him break free.
Sonnen is keeping busy.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Witson is trying to stick to Sonnen's back but Sonnen is turning into Witson. He's managed to reverse the position - now he's in Witson's guard. Polite applause from the crowd in appreciation of some nice Jiu Jitsu by Sonnen.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Witson tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Witson utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Witson looking to hit a scissor sweep but Sonnen is one step ahead there.
Sonnen lands a couple of decent looking shots.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Witson keeping moving, preventing Sonnen from controlling successfully.
Sonnen is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Chael Sonnen will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Chael Sonnen's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Sonnen lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Witson at a distance.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Sonnen.
Sonnen cracks Witson with an elbow. That is naaassty.
Sonnen in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Sonnen misses with an attempted head punch from side control.
Witson takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Sonnen in side control lands a decent elbow.
Sonnen wants to control for a moment but Witson uses the opportunity to move back to half guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Sonnen tries to pass to full mount but Witson defends it.
Sonnen 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 throwing shots but Witson is blocking nicely.
Witson is not content to let Sonnen control the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sonnen is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Witson wants to control but Sonnen is keeping busy.
The fighters are battling for position here. Witson manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Sonnen scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Sonnen with a nice head shot there.
Sonnen won't allow Witson to sweep him here.
Sonnen controlling from the top position.
Witson working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Sonnen.
Witson keeping moving, preventing Sonnen from controlling successfully.
Witson keeping full guard, as Sonnen tries to pass.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Sonnen preventing the sweep.
Sonnen trying to control but Witson is working from the bottom.
Witson looking to control.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Sonnen.
Witson connects with a solid leg kick.
Sonnen shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Witson as he avoids it easily.
Sonnen misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Chael Sonnen. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Sonnen tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Witson manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Sonnen fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Witson avoids it really well and circles away.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Sonnen darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Sonnen lands a nice short elbow.
Sonnen is looking to stall here but Witson recovers full guard.
Witson not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Johny Witson has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Sonnen postures up in Witson's guard and throws a big left but Witson blocks it.
Witson is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Sonnen missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Witson utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Witson is trying to control the position but Sonnen postures up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Witson tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Witson is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Sonnen is working Witson over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Sonnen is looking to work some ground and pound but Witson has wrist control.
Sonnen is looking to work some ground and pound but Witson has wrist control.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Witson utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Sonnen trying to control the position from guard on top but Witson is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

Witson throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.

And that's the end of the fight!
Chael Sonnen showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Sonnen, 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 Summer Carpenter scores the fight 30:27
Judge Donatello Bradman scores the fight 30:27
Judge Ben Hemmingworth scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Chael Sonnen!
Chael Sonnen spent the whole post fight interview bigging himself up. It didn't go down that well with the fans after a while as they thought it was a bit arrogant.