PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Winston Sanford (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Bryan Kennedy (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). 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.

Sanford
vs
Kennedy

201 cm
21
278 lbs
0 - 3 - 0

225 cm
20
225 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Winston Sanford!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Bryan Kennedy!
The judges for this bout are Francis DeMontford, Hugh Johnson and Eliza Hachem.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Sanford closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Sanford cracks Kennedy with a nice body shot.
Sanford managing to block the knees to the body from Kennedy.
Kennedy blocks an elbow strike.
Kennedy tries to land knees in the clinch but Sanford avoids the damage to the body.
Kennedy misses with a knee strike.
Sanford drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Kennedy gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Kennedy misses with a hook from the clinch.
Kennedy lands a nice uppercut.
Sanford blocks the elbow strike.
Sanford blocks an uppercut.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kennedy swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Kennedy tries a body shot but Sanford blocks it.
Sanford misses with an elbow over the top.
Kennedy misses with a body punch.
Kennedy swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Kennedy is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Kennedy misses with a punch on the inside.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kennedy missing with knees to the body.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Kennedy.
Sanford goes for a takedown in the clinch but Kennedy prevents it.
Kennedy throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Kennedy crunches a lovely knee into Sanford's ribcage.
Kennedy misses with some punches.
Still in the clinch, Kennedy scores with a nice short uppercut.
Kennedy trying to land knees to the body.
Sanford tries to throw a body punch but Kennedy avoids it by throwing Sanford back against the cage.
Kennedy lands with a light punch inside.
A right hand to the body from Kennedy.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Kennedy.
Sanford is working for takedown but Kennedy is calmly controlling the position for now.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Winston Sanford. That's going to take a lot out of him.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Sanford.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kennedy tries a body shot but Sanford blocks it.
Sanford blocks an uppercut.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Kennedy.
Sanford blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Kennedy looks winded!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Kennedy utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Kennedy swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Kennedy tries to throw a body punch but Sanford avoids it by throwing Kennedy back against the cage.
Kennedy tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Sanford avoids it.
Sanford is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Kennedy to keep the fight standing.
Kennedy is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Sanford is defending well for now.
Kennedy misses with a hook from the clinch.
Kennedy swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Kennedy misses with a punch to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kennedy tries a body shot but Sanford blocks it.
Kennedy swings wildly with an uppercut but Sanford uses good head movement to avoid it.
Sanford blocks an elbow strike.
Sanford avoiding damage as Kennedy throws knees to the body.
Sanford wants a takedown but no success here.
Sanford scores with a shoulder strike.
Kennedy throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Sanford lands an elbow that stopped Kennedy in his tracks for a moment.
Kennedy using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Sanford has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.

Sanford pulls guard successfully.
Sanford might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Kennedy trying to control the position from guard on top but Sanford is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Sanford doesn't do any damage with a couple of strikes from the bottom.
Sanford manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Kennedy manages to get himself to full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sanford throwing strikes from guard but Kennedy blocks nicely.
Sanford 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.
Sanford throws a big right hand that misses.
Sanford is looking to work some ground and pound but Kennedy has wrist control.
Sanford connects with a couple of short punches.
Kennedy is wriggling around but Sanford manages to pass to half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bryan Kennedy dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Winston Sanford's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Sanford throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Kennedy's head.

Kennedy has closed the distance and engaged Sanford in a clinch.
Kennedy avoids a wild elbow strike from Sanford.
Kennedy tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Sanford avoids it.
Kennedy has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Sanford blocking some punches.
A short body shot lands from Kennedy as the two fighters clinch.
Kennedy creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Kennedy.
The step up in weight doesn't seem to be a problem for Kennedy. He's performing admirably here against the bigger man.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sanford blocks an elbow strike from Kennedy.
Sanford taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Kennedy is breathing heavily.
Kennedy tries to land knees in the clinch but Sanford avoids the damage to the body.
Sanford avoids the elbow strike from Kennedy, against the cage.
Kennedy throws an elbow but it misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kennedy tries to land knees in the clinch but Sanford avoids the damage to the body.
Sanford lands a nice elbow.
Bryan Kennedy seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Sanford prevents a body shot from Kennedy.
Sanford is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Kennedy misses with some punches.
Kennedy lands a left hand that snaps the head of Sanford backwards.
A body shot lands from Sanford.
Sanford blocking some punches.
Kennedy misses with a short punch on the inside.
Kennedy has a couple of punches blocked by Sanford.
Kennedy tries to work over Sanford's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Kennedy misses with an elbow over the top.
Sanford blocks the elbow strike.
Kennedy with an attempt at a knee that misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kennedy prevents the takedown attempt.
Sanford lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Sanford gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Kennedy takes an elbow to the temple.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Sanford.
Sanford is looking to take this one to the mat.
Sanford gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Sanford jumps guard and drags Kennedy to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Kennedy wants to control from the top but Sanford keeps moving.
Sanford working a defensive guard here.
Both fighters have adopted an aggressive gameplan on the ground!
Sanford is adopting a defensive guard.
Sanford tries to land a sweep but no joy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kennedy lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Kennedy wants to control from the top but Sanford keeps moving.
Sanford trying to control the position here.

Sanford has scooted to the edge of the canvas and used the cage to get back to his feet. Kennedy has stuck on his opponent and is forcing him back against the cage.
A short uppercut from Sanford.
Kennedy looking to throw knees to the head but Sanford is blocking nicely.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Sanford.
Sanford drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Kennedy gets the underhooks and prevents it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Winston Sanford. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kennedy fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Kennedy tries a body shot but Sanford blocks it.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Sanford creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Sanford blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Sanford connects with a knee to the head.
Sanford blocks an elbow strike from Kennedy.
Sanford lands a nice elbow.
Sanford lands a knee to the body.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Sanford lands a body punch.
Sanford can't get the takedown.
Sanford lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Sanford lands an elbow inside.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Winston Sanford dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Winston Sanford's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Sanford closes the distance and clinches.
Kennedy tries to throw a body punch but Sanford avoids it by throwing Kennedy back against the cage.
Kennedy lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Sanford backwards.
Kennedy gets underhooks to prevent Sanford's takedown attempt.
Kennedy landing knees to the head.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Sanford creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Kennedy misses with a hook to the ribs.
Sanford lands an elbow inside that Kennedy shrugs off.
Sanford takes a shot to the head.
Sanford blocks a body shot from Kennedy.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Nice elbow from Sanford.
Kennedy takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
A nice left hand lands by Kennedy.
Sanford lands an elbow that stopped Kennedy in his tracks for a moment.
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!
Nice elbow from Kennedy.
Kennedy fails to land with a short punch on the inside.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sanford avoiding damage as Kennedy throws knees to the body.
Kennedy swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Sanford drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Kennedy misses with a punch to the body.
A short left from Sanford.
Kennedy managing to block the knees to the body from Sanford.
Sanford lands an elbow inside that Kennedy shrugs off.
Sanford gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Kennedy is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Sanford is defending well for now.
Sanford scores a nice knee to the body.
Sanford working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Sanford lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Sanford pulls Kennedy into guard.
Kennedy wants to control from the top but Sanford keeps moving.
Sanford lands an upkick as Kennedy stands over him.
Kennedy wants to control from the top but Sanford keeps moving.

Sanford has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Kennedy off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Sanford darts in and clinches Kennedy up against the cage.
Sanford is trying to drag Kennedy to the mat but Kennedy just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Winston Sanford. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Sanford lands an elbow inside that Kennedy shrugs off.
Kennedy misses with a punch on the inside.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kennedy tries to land knees in the clinch but Sanford avoids the damage to the body.
Sanford lands a nice elbow.
Sanford utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Sanford drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Kennedy gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Sanford lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Sanford looking for a takedown.
Sanford lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Kennedy.

Sanford has clasped his hands together around Kennedy's back... aaand, he's got a takedown into side control. Nicely done.
Sanford lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kennedy is working to avoid the ground and pound but Sanford connects with a decent elbow.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Sanford in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
An elbow from Sanford crashes against the mat.
Kennedy is trying to buck Sanford off.
Sanford working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.

Sanford tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.

And that's the end of the fight!
Winston Sanford showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Sanford has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Francis DeMontford scores the fight 29:28
Judge Hugh Johnson scores the fight 29:28
Judge Eliza Hachem scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Winston Sanford!