PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Raymond Blake (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Victor Santiogo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Santiogo has chosen rock you like a hurricane as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Blake
vs
Santiogo

182 cm
20
197 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

182 cm
20
185 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Excellent MT
Cardio machine

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Tends to cut

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 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Raymond Blake!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Victor Santiogo!
The judges for this bout are Roger Salmon, Josh West and Ryoma Takatsuka.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Blake just misses with a punch to the body.
Santiogo takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Santiogo has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Santiogo there as he acknowledges the shot.
Santiogo ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Santiogo waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Blake.
The fighters circle momentarily. Blake darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Nice uppercut there from Blake.
Santiogo connects with the punch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Blake lunges at Santiogo with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Santiogo's hand.
The fighters circle momentarily. Santiogo darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
We've been informed that Santiogo has been sparring a lot of Muay Thai in the buildup to this fight so let's see if that has an impact on the result.
Santiogo lands a jab to Blake's midsection.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Blake scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.

It looks like Victor Santiogo has been cut.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A slow jab from Blake misses its intended target.
Blake throws a head kick that misses.
Santiogo comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Santiogo connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Santiogo tries for a takedown but Blake sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Santiogo scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.

Santiogo gets a takedown into half guard.
The fighters are battling for position here. Blake manages to regain full guard. Nice work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Santiogo trying to control the position from guard on top but Blake is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Santiogo passes Blake's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Santiogo trying to control the action but Blake is working from the bottom.
Santiogo controlling the pace.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Santiogo seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Blake does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Santiogo wants to pass the guard but Blake is defending well.

Santiogo is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Blake is looking for a sweep. Santiogo is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Santiogo passes to full mount!
Blake sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.

Blake looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Santiogo trying to mount his opponent but Blake defends it.
Santiogo is trying to control the action in half guard but Blake is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Santiogo prevents Blake from improving his position.
Santiogo wants to take a breather but Blake is having none of it.
Blake is looking for a sweep. Santiogo is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Santiogo controlling the pace.
Blake gets back to full guard.

Blake had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Santiogo defends it easily.
Santiogo controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

Santiogo avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Santiogo wants to control from the top but Blake keeps moving.

Blake has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Santiogo can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Santiogo wants to control from the top but Blake keeps moving.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Victor Santiogo will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Victor Santiogo's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Blake closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Santiogo quickly recovers to half guard.
Santiogo tries to get to full guard but Blake has control of the leg.
Blake slows the pace down in half guard.
Santiogo is not content to let Blake control the position.
Blake stalling.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Santiogo is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Blake sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Santiogo defending well though.
Santiogo wants to improve his position but Blake is controlling well.
Blake is taking a breather. Santiogo 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.
Blake sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Santiogo defending well though.
Santiogo is doing well to avoid being mounted. He's controlling the position at the moment.
Santiogo is looking to escape.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
A telegraphed right hand from Blake misses the target.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Blake misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Santiogo.
Santiogo throws out a loose jab but Blake uses good head movement to avoid it.
Blake throws a low kick but Santiogo moves out of range easily.
Blake lands with a cross.
Blake 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.
Santiogo is trying hard to land a takedown here. Blake sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Blake throws a leg kick which misses Santiogo's front leg but catches the back leg as Santiogo tries to avoid it.
Blake swings and misses with a shot to the body

and Santiogo counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Santiogo.

Blake had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Santiogo defends it easily.
Santiogo wants to get up but he can't break Blake's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Blake has his foot on Santiogo's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Santiogo works his way back into a safe position though.
Santiogo is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Santiogo pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Blake is keeping the position for now.
Santiogo wanted to stand there but Blake had control of the position.

Santiogo drops back, looking for a kneebar! Blake looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Blake looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Blake!

The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Blake scoring with punches and elbows.
Blake landing strikes.
Blake postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Blake lands a few punches from side control.
Santiogo gets back to half guard.
Santiogo is looking to improve his position.
Santiogo is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Blake is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!
Raymond Blake overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Blake landing strikes, looking to finish!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Blake lands a big elbow.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Blake working Santiogo over with strikes here.
Blake landing strikes from the mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Raymond Blake dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Victor Santiogo's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Blake fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Santiogo on the side of the head.
Blake fails to land the takedown.
Blake throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Santiogo uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Blake.
Blake swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Blake lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Santiogo has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Santiogo and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Blake looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Raymond Blake is winning the standup battle so far.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Santiogo takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Decent striking displayed by Blake there.
Santiogo misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Blake.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A jab from Blake misses.
Blake with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Blake with a lazy takedown attempt
letting Santiogo counter with a right hand.
Santiogo defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Blake.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Raymond Blake. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Santiogo tries to score a power double leg takedown but Blake sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Santiogo somewhat.
A punch lands to the side of Santiogo 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Santiogo is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Blake.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A slow jab from Santiogo misses its intended target.
Blake checks the leg kick nicely there.
Blake throws a shot to the body.
Santiogo throws a series of strikes that have Blake backpedaling.
Blake throws a looping overhand right but Santiogo ducks down to avoid it.
Blake with a hook.
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!
Blake tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Santiogo keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Horrible takedown attempt by Santiogo or perhaps it was just good defense by Blake, which made it look bad.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Blake fails in his attempt to clinch.
Blake swings widly with a right hand

and Santiogo counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Santiogo.

Blake is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Santiogo wants to control from the top but Blake keeps moving.
Santiogo pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Blake is keeping the position for now.
Santiogo stopping the sweep attempt from Blake.
Blake is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Santiogo can do to turn this around?
Santiogo wants to get up but he can't break Blake's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Santiogo controlling from the top position.
Blake bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Santiogo's guard.

Blake trying to control the position from guard on top but Santiogo is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Blake stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Santiogo swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Santiogo looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Santiogo controls Blake momentarily but Blake frees himself.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Blake tries to free his leg and advance position but Santiogo is retaining full guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Raymond Blake showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Blake has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Roger Salmon scores the fight 30:28
Judge Josh West scores the fight 29:28
Judge Ryoma Takatsuka scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Raymond Blake!