PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Daryl Page (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jake Sauk (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Daryl Page has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Page
vs
Sauk

192 cm
24
140 lbs
1 - 5 - 0

160 cm
20
138 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Experienced

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Enjoys gardening

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Daryl Page!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Jake Sauk!
The judges for this bout are Leandro Rodrigues, Luis Engracia and Paulo Santos.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Page avoids a punch combination nicely.
Page really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
A head kick by Sauk misses
and Page counters with a left and a right that stings Sauk.
Sauk throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Page attempts a counter takedown but Sauk avoids it well and moves away.
Sauk throws a sloppy head kick

and Page counters with a nice double leg into side control. Sauk won't be happy with that.
Sauk is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Page has just dragged him back down to the mat.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Page throwing strikes but missing, from side control.
Sauk is looking to regain half guard here but Page keeps moving and retains side control.
Page tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
Sauk takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
Page throws an elbow but Sauk slips to the side and avoids it well.
Page controlling the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Page looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.

Page thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Page controlling the position from side mount.
Sauk throws a couple of punches but he's in a bad position and they don't land.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Page trying to control the position but Sauk is working away.
Sauk on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
Sauk can't do much from the bottom here.
Sauk wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
Page content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Page shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Sauk as he jumps to the side.

Page looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sauk makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Sauk.
Page throwing strikes but missing.
Sauk wants to stand but Page is controlling the position.
Sauk controls Page momentarily but Page frees himself.
Sauk is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Sauk looks winded!
Sauk is adopting a defensive guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Sauk utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Page controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.

Sauk drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Page looking to hit a scissor sweep but Sauk is one step ahead there.
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Sauk working his ground and pound in the gym. He isn't landing a great percentage of his ground strikes so far though.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Sauk accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Sauk wants to pass the guard but Page is keeping the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Daryl Page dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Sauk leaves Page with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Sauk tries to clinch up but Page circles away and keeps his distance.
Page fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Page is trying to break the clinch but Sauk has him pressed against the cage.
Sauk wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Sauk tries to score a body lock takedown but Page shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Page wants to get back to striking at distance but Sauk won't allow it.
Sauk jumps guard but Page turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Page pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Sauk throws a left and a right that both miss
and Page counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Sauk thinking.
Sauk thows a leg kick but Page checks it
and Page counters with a three punch combo that has Sauk backing up. Sauk nods at Page to acknowledge the strikes.
Sauk is breathing heavily.
Sauk fails with a takedown attempt.
Daryl Page has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jake Sauk.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sauk tries for a takedown but Page circles away easily
and Page counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.

Page gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Sauk tries to break the clinch but Page is controlling the position.

Page escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Page closes this distance looking for a takedown but Sauk circles away.
Sauk throws a counter combo.
Page misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Sauk tries to counter with a clinch but Page shakes him off and moves away.
Sauk tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Page is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Sauk can do to turn this around?

Page clinches with his opponent.

Page pulls Sauk into guard.
Sauk 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.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Page is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Page controls Sauk momentarily but Sauk frees himself.
Page will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Page is looking to stand up but Sauk isn't so interested in that idea.
Sauk must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Sauk is looking to work some ground and pound but Page has wrist control.
Daryl Page overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sauk pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Page is keeping the position for now.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Sauk fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Page, pushing him back against the cage.
Page is trying to force a seperation but Sauk has the dominant position.

Sauk manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.

Page drops back looking for a leg! Sauk is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Sauk manages to kick Page off! Page jumps back into Sauk's guard.

Page decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Sauk, up you get!
Sauk moves in looking to clinch but Page pushes him off.
Sauk tries to clinch up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Page fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Sauk avoids it really well and circles away.
Sauk shoots for a takedown but Page saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Page shoots in but no luck this time.
Page looks for a takedown but Sauk sprawls well.
Sauk throws a series of punches but Page avoids them all with ease.
Daryl Page is winning the standup battle so far.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Sauk throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Page attempts a counter takedown but Sauk avoids it well and moves away.

Page looking to score a takedown here. Sauk is defending well but Page drives through and ends up in Sauk's guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Daryl Page dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Page looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Sauk!
Sauk wants to control but Page postures up.

Page is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Sauk has escaped the position, nice work there.
Sauk is looking to regain half guard here but Page keeps moving and retains side control.
Sauk is trying to control Page's posture but Page avoids it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Page is working Sauk over with some ground and pound from side control.
Sauk wants to get back to his feet.
Sauk takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A lull in the action here as Page stalls from top position.
Sauk is looking for a sweep.
Sauk tries to control the position but he's not in luck - Page easily slips into full mount!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Page lands a couple of good shots and Sauk has given up his back, trying to escape the position!

Page is looking for the choke from the back position but Sauk is controlling his hands well.
Page struggling to land strikes to the head as Sauk covers up.
Page is controlling his opponent, waiting for an opportunity to finish.
Sauk covers up after that shot from Page.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sauk tries to escape the position - he's now mounted. Is that better or worse? Hard to tell!

Page working for a submission but Sauk is keeping him at bay.
Page tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Sauk looking to escape from mount but he's given up his back!
Good control from Page.
Sauk tries to escape but Page has the hooks in and won't let him break free.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Page working for a choke but Sauk is defending well.
Page avoiding Sauk 's attempts to control his hands.
Page controlling well, preventing Sauk from escaping the position.
Page slows the pace down here. Having a little breather whilst he's in a dominant position, looking to rest and regain some energy, ready to go for the finish.
Sauk trying to control but not successfully.
Good control from Page.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.

Daryl Page is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Page seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Sauk for as long as he can get away with.
Page's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.

Jake Sauk seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Sauk is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.

Page continues to stall.

Sauk is still trying to improve position.

Further stalling from Page.

Page is really struggling to control Sauk but he's trying to hold on to the position.

Sauk is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.

Page has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

Sauk keeps trying to improve his position.

This is a sustained period of stalling by Page.

Sauk might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Page haven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.

If it seems like I'm not saying a lot, it's just because Page is stinking the place up with his stalling.

Page continues to hold on tight.

Page is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Sauk is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.