PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Ricard Cuenca (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Diego Sanchez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Cuenca's entrance music is 2pac - Troublesome '96. A fine choice. This should be fireworks!

Cuenca
vs
Sanchez

189 cm
33
197 lbs
27 - 6 - 0

188 cm
35
190 lbs
41 - 19 - 2

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Granite chin

Good wrestler
World class MT
Granite chin

Underworld Clothing
AnonymouS

AnonymouS

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the middleweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 27 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Ricard Cuenca!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 41 - 19 - 2, fighting out of Montreal, Diego Sanchez!
The judges for this bout are Frank Antenori, Timothy Bukovac and Jack Bonds.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Cuenca on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Sanchez throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Sanchez will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Sanchez moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Cuenca walks into a straight right hand from Sanchez.
Sanchez sizes up Cuenca with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Sanchez throws an off balance right hand

and Cuenca counters by moving into the clinch.
Cuenca is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Sanchez fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Cuenca's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Sanchez working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Cuenca tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
With the fighters up against the cage, Cuenca throws an elbow but misses.
Cuenca prevents a body shot from Sanchez.
Sanchez tries a body shot but Cuenca blocks it.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Sanchez.
Cuenca lands a body punch.
Sanchez lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Cuenca lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sanchez takes an elbow to the forehead.

It looks like Diego Sanchez has been cut.
Cuenca lands an elbow just above Sanchez 's eye.
A body shot lands from Cuenca.
Sanchez doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Cuenca working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Our sources have told us that Cuenca has been working on his elbows in the gym.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Sanchez.
Sanchez scores with a nice hook to the head.
Cuenca with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Sanchez cracks Cuenca with a nice body shot.
Cuenca misses with an elbow strike.
Cuenca blocks an uppercut.

Sanchez breaks from the clinch.
Sanchez misses with a hook. Cuenca ducked under it nicely.
Sanchez throws a body punch but Cuenca moves out of range.
Sanchez checks a low kick from Cuenca.
Sanchez misses with a right hand
and Cuenca counters with a leg kick.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Sanchez takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Cuenca throws a leg kick which misses Sanchez's front leg but catches the back leg as Sanchez tries to avoid it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez looks to land a right hand but Cuenca moved out of range.
Cuenca throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Cuenca moves in looking to clinch but Sanchez pushes him off.
Sanchez punishes Cuenca's body with a nice straight punch.
Sanchez moves out of range of the leg kick from Cuenca.
A little jabbing left from Sanchez on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Cuenca misses with a body kick.
Cuenca moves out of range as Sanchez strikes.
Sanchez lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Cuenca at a distance.
Sanchez takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
Sanchez connects with a nice looking jab.
Sanchez has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Sanchez there as he acknowledges the shot.
Cuenca throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Sanchez misses with a looping left.
Sanchez digs a good hook to Cuenca's body.
Cuenca tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Sanchez paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Sanchez with a body punch. A glancing blow.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez digs a good body shot into Cuenca's ribs.
Sanchez paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Cuenca wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Sanchez checks a leg kick.
Sanchez looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Sanchez throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Cuenca sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Cuenca appeared to be looking to counter that last move with a leg kick.
No joy there for Sanchez, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Cuenca goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Cuenca throws a head kick that misses.
Sanchez uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Cuenca.
Cuenca uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Sanchez.
Cuenca misses the jab.
Cuenca throws a nice inside leg kick.
Sanchez attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Sanchez circles away from the clinch attempt.
Sanchez on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Cuenca.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez thows a left - swing and a miss!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Cuenca avoids a punch combination nicely.
Cuenca falls off balance throwing a combination
and Sanchez counters with an outside leg kick.
Sanchez throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Cuenca.
Sanchez will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Cuenca checks a leg kick.
Sanchez connects with a leg kick. Cuenca looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Sanchez looks to throw the jab but Cuenca is out of range.
Cuenca walks into a jab.
Cuenca moves away from the strike by Sanchez.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Sanchez tries to score with a low kick but Cuenca moves his leg out of the way.
Cuenca takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Good work by Cuenca as he checks the leg kick.
Cuenca was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Sanchez misses with a jab to the body
and Cuenca counters with a straight right hand.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Diego Sanchez dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Diego Sanchez's cut.
That's time! Cuenca's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Cuenca throws a poor cross that misses
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Cuenca looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Sanchez misses with an uppercut.

Cuenca forces Sanchez back against the cage and clinches.
Ricard Cuenca has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Sanchez holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Cuenca softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Sanchez blocks an elbow strike.
Cuenca misses with a hook from the clinch.
Cuenca lands with a light punch inside.
Sanchez goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Sanchez blocks an uppercut.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sanchez blocking some punches.
Cuenca throws a head punch that misses.
Cuenca misses with a hook from the clinch.
Sanchez pushes Cuenca back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Sanchez takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Sanchez dodges an elbow strike from Cuenca.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cuenca scores with a nice hook to the head.
Cuenca tries to land knees in the clinch but Sanchez avoids the damage to the body.
Cuenca prevents a body shot from Sanchez.
Cuenca makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Cuenca throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Sanchez pushes Cuenca back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Cuenca misses with a short punch on the inside.
Sanchez misses with a hook from the clinch.
Sanchez tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Cuenca's elbow.
Sanchez wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Cuenca effectively controlling the action here.
Cuenca lands an elbow just above Sanchez 's eye.
Sanchez wants to stall.
Cuenca lands with a short punch from the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez lands a hook to the side of the head.
Cuenca blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Cuenca lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Cuenca throws an elbow that misses.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Sanchez tries to work over Cuenca's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Cuenca gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Sanchez can't find room to land a body shot as Cuenca controls the action.
A head punch on the inside from Sanchez fails to land.
Sanchez can't find room to land a body shot as Cuenca controls the action.
Cuenca lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Sanchez digs a right hand underneath Cuenca's ribcage. Cuenca let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Sanchez lands a hook that snaps the head of Cuenca backwards.
Cuenca scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Sanchez avoids a wild elbow strike from Cuenca.
Cuenca misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Sanchez blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Sanchez has a couple of punches blocked by Cuenca.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez misses with a body punch.
Sanchez blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Cuenca blocks a body shot from Sanchez.
A nice left hand lands by Cuenca.
Sanchez throws a head punch that misses.
A short body shot lands from Cuenca as the two fighters clinch.
Cuenca scores with a nice hook to the head.
Cuenca misses with an elbow over the top.
Sanchez blocks a punch to the side of the head.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
A head punch on the inside from Sanchez fails to land.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Sanchez as Cuenca tries to tie him up.
Sanchez has a couple of punches blocked by Cuenca.
Cuenca controlling the action here for a moment.
Sanchez can't find room to land a body shot as Cuenca controls the action.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez dodges an elbow strike from Cuenca.
Sanchez misses with some punches.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Sanchez.
Cuenca misses with an elbow strike.
Cuenca blocks an uppercut.
Cuenca lands with a short shot to the head.
Sanchez can't find room to land a body shot as Cuenca controls the action.
Sanchez is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Cuenca is keeping busy.
Sanchez working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Sanchez throws a punch but it's blocked by Cuenca.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Nice body punch from Sanchez.
Sanchez throws a head punch that misses.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Cuenca just misses with a elbow thrown towards Sanchez's brow.
Cuenca lands with a right to the head.
Sanchez can't find room to land a body shot as Cuenca controls the action.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ricard Cuenca dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Diego Sanchez'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.

Cuenca tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Sanchez was well out of range. Poor timing from Cuenca.
Cuenca throws a shot from downtown. Sanchez moves away and avoids it.
Sanchez throws a nice inside leg kick.
Sanchez closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Good leg kick by Cuenca there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Sanchez misses with a straight left.
Sanchez scores with a jab to the body.
Sanchez throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
A swing and a miss from Cuenca.
Sanchez tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Cuenca is able to avoid easily.
Sanchez will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sanchez feints a jab promting Cuenca to slip. Sanchez then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Cuenca slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.
Cuenca swinging wildly here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sanchez walks forward, straight into a front kick from Cuenca.
Cuenca tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Sanchez swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Good leg kick by Cuenca there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Sanchez thuds his shin into the meat of Cuenca's side.
Sanchez throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Cuenca sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Nice body kick there by Sanchez.
Cuenca with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Cuenca gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Sanchez is looking to chop away at Cuenca's legs.
A little feinted left hand from Cuenca on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Sanchez avoids the head kick by Cuenca.
A good leg kick by Cuenca.
Sanchez throws a low kick but Cuenca avoids it.
Cuenca fires out a quick counter leg kick but Sanchez just manages to avoid it.
Cuenca moves out of range of the body kick from Sanchez.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cuenca connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Sanchez throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Sanchez thows a left - swing and a miss!
Cuenca scores with a jab to the head.
Cuenca uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Sanchez has time to react.
Cuenca on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Cuenca closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Cuenca looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Cuenca tries a low kick but Sanchez avoids it.
Sanchez misses the shot to the body.
Diego Sanchez seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Sanchez throws a series of punches but Cuenca moves out of range.
Sanchez shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Cuenca eats them both and turns towards Sanchez to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.
Sanchez fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Cuenca.
Cuenca attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Cuenca fails to land with a series of punches.
Sanchez is clearly trying to counter these attacks from Cuenca with a body shot.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Some bone on bone action there as Sanchez checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Cuenca keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Sanchez.
Ricard Cuenca seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Sanchez scores with a shot to the body.
Sanchez lets loose with a powerful body kick. Cuenca will feel that in the morning.
Sanchez moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Cuenca misses with a head kick.
Sanchez throws a leg kick
and Cuenca counters with a straight right hand.
Sanchez throws a jab but it's blocked by Cuenca.
Sanchez throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Sanchez rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Cuenca moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Sanchez throws a lazy right hand but Cuenca sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
It appears Cuenca was looking to counter with a kick there.
Sanchez thuds his right hand into Cuenca's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Cuenca has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Cuenca fakes the leg kick and cracks Sanchez in the body.
Sanchez moves out of range of the body kick from Cuenca.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez throws a leg kick that misses.
Sanchez scores with a spinning back kick!
A jab from Cuenca misses.
Nice shot by Cuenca.
Cuenca scores with a punch to the head.
Cuenca scores with a nice strike.
Cuenca misses with a low kick.
A shot to the liver by Sanchez. Beautiful body shot.
Sanchez lands a nice leg kick that just misses Cuenca's sensitive parts.
Cuenca takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Sanchez avoids a punch combination nicely.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Cuenca tries to clinch
enabling Sanchez to counter with a crisp jab.
Cuenca throws a front kick aimed at Sanchez's knee but Sanchez avoids it well.
Sanchez misses with a looping left.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Diego Sanchez really dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Diego Sanchez's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Cuenca takes one to the side of the head.
Cuenca connects with the punch.
Cuenca looks for the body kick but Sanchez saw that one coming.
Sanchez was about to counter that last move with a leg kick but changes his mind.
Sanchez throws a hook but Cuenca avoids it easily.
Cuenca has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Cuenca there as he acknowledges the shot.
Nice uppercut there from Sanchez.
Cuenca takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Cuenca avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Sanchez waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Cuenca.
Cuenca takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cuenca throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Sanchez is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
Sanchez misses the jab.
That's a knee to de groin and it's over and out! Sanchez crumples to the ground after an illegal strike from Cuenca - the referee stops the clock and Sanchez gets 5 minutes to recover from that one. "I'm sorry" says Cuenca. Sanchez manages to get back to his feet and the fight resumes.
Sanchez tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Sanchez tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Cuenca is able to avoid easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sanchez lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Sanchez's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Cuenca throws a shot from downtown. Sanchez moves away and avoids it.
Cuenca lands with a hook. Sanchez tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Cuenca avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Cuenca was looking to counter that last move with a shot to the body but he didn't commit.
Sanchez throws a front kick aimed at Cuenca's knee but Cuenca avoids it well.
Sanchez scoring well with a low kick there.
Sanchez jabs at Cuenca's body.
Sanchez blocks a leg kick.
Sanchez darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Sanchez throws a right hand that misses
letting Cuenca counter with a right hand.
Cuenca jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Sanchez scores with a decent looking hook.
Cuenca throws a right and a left that both miss.
Sanchez looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Cuenca looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Cuenca uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Sanchez.
Sanchez fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Cuenca looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Sanchez lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Cuenca steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Sanchez.
Cuenca ducks under a wild hook from Sanchez.
Cuenca slips a straight right by Sanchez.
Sanchez cracks a nice hook into Cuenca's ribs.
Cuenca moves to clinch but Sanchez breaks away
and Sanchez counters with a straight right hand.
Sanchez pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Sanchez blocks a jab.
Cuenca on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Sanchez throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
It looked like Cuenca was looking amped, ready to throw a big counter but didn't commit.
Nice jab there from Cuenca.
Sanchez is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Cuenca.

Cuenca rushes Sanchez and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Cuenca lands on the inside with an uppercut.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cuenca blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Cuenca has a couple of punches blocked by Sanchez.
Cuenca throws an elbow but it misses.
Nice body punch from Cuenca.
Cuenca scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Cuenca misses with a body punch.
Cuenca misses with an elbow over the top.
Sanchez working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Cuenca looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Sanchez is trying to stall.
Cuenca blocks an uppercut.
Sanchez working aggressively here.
Sanchez slows down the pace here.
Sanchez lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Cuenca.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Sanchez.
A short body shot lands from Cuenca as the two fighters clinch.
Cuenca gets through Sanchez's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Cuenca lands an elbow just above Sanchez 's eye.
Cuenca looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Cuenca blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Sanchez lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Cuenca.
Cuenca blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Cuenca gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Cuenca.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Cuenca creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Sanchez doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Cuenca throws a head punch that misses.
Sanchez misses with a short punch on the inside.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close fourth round but Diego Sanchez will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The cut man is working on Diego Sanchez'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. 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.

Sanchez keeps the fight on the outside.
Cuenca blocks a leg kick.
Sanchez moves out of range as Cuenca strikes.
Sanchez throws a hook to the side of Cuenca's head but Cuenca sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Cuenca throws a body punch but Sanchez moves out of range.
Sanchez connects with a leg kick. Cuenca looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Sanchez has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Cuenca.
Sanchez has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
The fighters circling - Sanchez throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Sanchez takes a swing at Cuenca's ribcage but misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sanchez fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Cuenca lifts his leg as if looking to counter with a high kick.
Sanchez throws a lazy right hand but Cuenca sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
A little feinted left hand from Cuenca on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Cuenca bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Sanchez's head.
Sanchez misses with a looping left.
Cuenca scores with a nice strike.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sanchez sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.
Cuenca throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Sanchez counters with a low kick, right behind Cuenca 's knee.
Cuenca takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Sanchez throws an off balance right hand

and Cuenca moves into the clinch.
Cuenca goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Sanchez tries to throw a body punch but Cuenca avoids it by throwing Sanchez back against the cage.
Sanchez swings wildly with an uppercut but Cuenca uses good head movement to avoid it.
Sanchez blocks the elbow strike.
Cuenca working aggressively here.
Sanchez tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Sanchez tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Cuenca's elbow.
Cuenca creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Sanchez's defenses.
Cuenca scores with a shot to the side of Sanchez's head.
Cuenca using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Sanchez has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Sanchez throws a head punch that misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez lands a nice shot to the body.
Cuenca misses with a punch on the inside.
Sanchez pressing his opponent against the cage.
Sanchez blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Cuenca throws a head punch that misses.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Sanchez taking a breather.
Ricard Cuenca has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
A nice right hand lands inside from Cuenca.
Cuenca tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Cuenca tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Cuenca throws an elbow that misses.
Sanchez blocks an elbow strike.
Cuenca misses with an elbow strike.
Cuenca misses with a punch on the inside.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez working aggressively here.
Sanchez blocks an elbow strike from Cuenca.
Diego Sanchez is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Sanchez misses with a hook to the ribs.
Cuenca is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Cuenca has a couple of punches blocked by Sanchez.
Cuenca taking a breather.
Sanchez dodges an elbow strike from Cuenca.
Sanchez prevents a body shot from Cuenca.
Cuenca pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Sanchez takes an elbow to the temple.
Sanchez misses with a punch on the inside.
Cuenca misses with a short punch on the inside.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cuenca misses with the head strike.
Cuenca throws a punch but it's blocked by Sanchez.
Cuenca blocks a body shot from Sanchez.
Cuenca misses with a hook from the clinch.
Sanchez lands a left hand that snaps the head of Cuenca backwards.
Cuenca looks to throw an elbow but misses.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Cuenca.
Sanchez can't find room to land a body shot as Cuenca controls the action.
Cuenca throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
A nice left hand lands by Cuenca.
Sanchez goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Sanchez blocks an elbow strike from Cuenca.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ricard Cuenca showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Sanchez has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Frank Antenori scores the fight 47:48
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 47:48
Judge Jack Bonds scores the fight 47:48

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Diego Sanchez!
Diego Sanchez is the new middleweight champion!
Our winner, Diego Sanchez, made sure he spent some time buttering up the crowd during his post fight interview, which will no doubt bring him a few more fans.
Ricard Cuenca was interviewed post fight and said 'I want a rematch!'.