PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Echo Marx (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Xander Sabin (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Marx
vs
Sabin

182 cm
22
190 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

190 cm
21
188 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Inexperienced

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Echo Marx!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Xander Sabin!
The judges for this bout are , Timothy Bukovac and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sabin shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Marx as he jumps to the side.

Marx closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.

Marx decides to return to a standing position.
Marx throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Sabin tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Marx paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Marx doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Sabin counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Sabin.
Marx goes for a takedown attempt but Sabin pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Sabin takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Sabin closes the distance and clinches up with Marx, looking for a takedown. Sabin pushes Marx against the cage but Marx circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Echo Marx seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Marx misses with a takedown

and Sabin counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Sabin.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Echo Marx. That's going to take a lot out of him.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Marx is on top in guard.
Sabin looks gassed!
Sabin wants to stand but Marx is controlling the position.
Marx wants to stand but Sabin has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Marx trying to control the position from guard on top but Sabin is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sabin utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Marx trying to control but Sabin is working from the bottom.
Marx tries to free his leg and advance position but Sabin is retaining full guard.

Sabin is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Marx trying to control the position from guard on top but Sabin is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Marx gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Sabin moves into the clinch.
Marx is trying to break the clinch but Sabin has him pressed against the cage.
Sabin jumps guard but Marx stands there with Sabin around his waist. Sabin gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Marx has Sabin pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Sabin manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Marx wants a takedown.

Sabin wants the takedown. Marx is fighting it off but Sabin persists and manages to bring the fight to the ground, ending up in Marx's guard against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sabin wants to control from the top but Marx keeps moving.
Marx throws a couple of shots from the bottom but they don't land.
Sabin stopping the sweep attempt from Marx.
Marx 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.

Marx uses the cage to get back to his feet.

Marx scores with a takedown into Sabin's guard.
Marx wants to control from the top but Sabin keeps moving.
Marx prevents Sabin from getting back to his feet.
Marx is working Sabin over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Marx trying to control but Sabin is working from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Marx lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Marx advances position into side control!
Sabin is looking for a sweep.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Sabin can do anything to dispel that myth.
Marx tries to move to mount but Sabin blocks the move with his legs.
Sabin is trying to control Marx's posture but Marx avoids it.
Marx passes to full mount! That's big trouble for Sabin!
BOOM! Marx connects with a massive shot to the dome!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Sabin is trying to escape the mount.
A nice elbow there by Marx.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Marx prevents Sabin from getting the reversal.
A nice elbow there by Marx.
Marx looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Marx is landing with some decent strikes but Sabin is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Marx trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Marx has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Sabin's face.
Marx prevents Sabin from getting the reversal.
Marx lands a heavy elbow.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Marx is working on an americana here. Ooh, that looks pretty nasty! Nope, Sabin has managed to escape the submission attempt.
Marx with the ground and pound from mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Echo Marx dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Sabin fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Marx sprawls well initially but Sabin persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Marx tries to roll over but Sabin keeps him under control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Marx has one foot on Sabin's thigh - he pushes off and manages to get back to his feet.
Marx stuffs the takedown.
Marx fails with the takedown

and Sabin counters by moving into the clinch.

Marx pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

Marx scores a takedown into full mount!
Sabin tries to hold on but Marx pushes him away.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Marx jumps to side control looking for an arm triangle but Sabin manages to avoid the submission attempt.
Sabin is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Marx has just dragged him back down to the mat.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Marx working the head and body with strikes.
Marx tries to advance to mount but can't.
Marx trying to control the action but Sabin is working from the bottom.
You can see the frustration on Sabin's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Marx scores with punches from side control.
Marx lands some shots froms side control.
Sabin is trying to buck Marx off.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Marx shoots in for a takedown but Sabin shows good takedown defense.

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.
Sabin tries to close the distance and clinch but Marx swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

Marx decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Sabin is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Marx scores with a couple of nice shots.
Sabin wants to get back to his feet.
Sabin wants to control but Marx is keeping busy and won't allow it.
It looks like Marx is going to stand back up.
Marx seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Sabin does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Marx passes to side control.
Marx creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
Sabin takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
The strikes coming from Marx are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
Sabin gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sabin has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Marx is working away from the top position though.
Sabin tries to roll over but Marx keeps him under control.
Marx lands with a punch from half guard.
Marx working over Sabin with some ground and pound. Sabin looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Marx scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Marx slips a nice elbow through Sabin's hands, connecting with Sabin's forehead.
Sabin pushes Marx off looking to stand but Marx dives back in and keeps control.
Sabin on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Ground and pound from Marx.

That's four 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.

Marx is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Marx works his way into side control.
Sabin struggling a bit here.
Marx tries to move into full mount but can't pass Sabin's legs.

Marx is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Sabin has escaped the position, nice work there.
Sabin manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
Marx wants to improve his position but Sabin is controlling well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Echo Marx dominated that second round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. This is the final round!

Sabin closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Sabin lands in his opponent's guard.

Sabin drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Sabin jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Marx lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Sabin!
Sabin throwing punches from his back but nothing is landing.
Marx dominating with strikes here.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Marx cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Marx lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Sabin is in a horrible position here. Marx smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Marx controlling from the full mount.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Marx trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Marx landing punches.
Marx avoids the attempt from Sabin to control.
Marx controlling the pace for now.
Marx looking to control but Sabin is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
A nice elbow there by Marx.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Marx landing strikes from the mount and Sabin is in trouble!
Sabin is trying desperately to improve position.
Marx wants to control the pace but Sabin is squirming around nicely.
The referee warns Sabin that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Sabin is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Marx is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Sabin can't escape the position.
Marx postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Sabin looks a forlorn figure.
Marx tries to control but Sabin wriggling away.
Marx is really struggling to control Sabin but he's trying to hold on to the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Marx has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Sabin's face.
Marx lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
A nice elbow there by Marx.
Sabin is trying desperately to improve position.
Marx wants to control the pace but Sabin is squirming around nicely.
Sabin tries to reverse the position but Marx maintains control.
Marx scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Echo Marx overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Sabin tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Marx has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Sabin's face.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Marx in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Marx cracks Sabin with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Echo Marx is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Marx prevents Sabin from getting the reversal.
Sabin is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Marx looking to finish Sabin with some ground and pound. This is bad for Sabin!
Sabin is looking to get to half guard.
Marx tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Xander Sabin has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Marx lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Sabin hang on?
Marx looking to control and managing it successfully.

And that's the end of the fight!
Echo Marx showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Marx, 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 Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 30:27
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 30:27
Judge Suge Night scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Echo Marx!