PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Vito Corleone (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Sam Sanderson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Vito Corleone had a look across the cage there at his opponent. He definitely means business

Corleone
vs
Sanderson

173 cm
32
180 lbs
12 - 9 - 0

195 cm
24
178 lbs
4 - 5 - 0

Good wrestling
Counter fighter
Very quick

Good wrestler
Counter fighter
Good gas tank

Beaver Jooce!

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 12 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Vito Corleone!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Sam Sanderson!
The judges for this bout are William Peck, Elvis Blanc and Steve Smith.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sanderson throws a right hand that Corleone ducks under and follows up with a left that Corleone also avoids with ease.
Corleone attempts a counter takedown but Sanderson avoids it well and moves away.

Corleone shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Sanderson is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Sanderson looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Corleone lands a couple of elbows.
Corleone stands and throws Sanderson's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Sanderson tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Sanderson dodges the ground and pound from Corleone.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sanderson is trying to improve his position.
Sanderson keeps trying to improve his position.
Sanderson wants to control but Corleone postures up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Corleone misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Sanderson manages to work his way to half guard, despite Corleone's best efforts.
Corleone not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Sanderson wants to improve his position but Corleone is controlling well.

Corleone is working for a kimura but Sanderson is defending it quite comfortably.
Sanderson gets full guard.
Corleone has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Corleone won't allow Sanderson to sweep him here.
Sanderson not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Corleone accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Sanderson pulls Corleone in close to prevent any damage.
Sanderson is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sanderson trying to pass the guard but Corleone defending well.
Corleone keeping hold of Sanderson's head, controlling as best he can.
Sanderson is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Corleone is staying active underneath Sanderson, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Ground and pound from Sanderson.
Corleone manages to get to full guard.
Sanderson throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Corleone works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Sanderson is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Sanderson working some strikes from top position.
Corleone trying to strike from the bottom but really, it's not the best position to be doing that from!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sanderson postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Sanderson postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Sanderson postures up in Corleone's guard and throws a big left but Corleone blocks it.
Sanderson wants to control from the top but Corleone keeps moving.
Sanderson stands up over Corleone, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Corleone has momentary wrist control but Sanderson slips an elbow through the middle.
Sanderson working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

Sanderson drops back looking for a leg! Corleone is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Corleone manages to kick Sanderson off! Sanderson jumps back into Corleone's guard.
Sanderson content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Sanderson landing with the ground and pound.
Corleone might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.

Corleone is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Sanderson connects with a couple of short punches.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sanderson looking to pass the guard.
Sanderson lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Sanderson looking to sit in guard and control but Corleone gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Sanderson looking for a sweep. Not yet Sanderson, not yet.
Corleone controlling from the top position.
Sanderson bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Corleone's guard.

Sanderson has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Sanderson looking to sit in guard and control but Corleone gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Corleone being controlled here momentarily.
Both fighters have adopted an aggressive gameplan on the ground!
Corleone with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sam Sanderson dominated that 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.

Sanderson looks to land a combination but Corleone avoids it well.
Sanderson throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Sanderson swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Corleone looks to land a right hand but Sanderson moved out of range.
Sanderson throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Corleone throws a right hand that Sanderson ducks under and follows up with a left that Sanderson also avoids with ease.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sanderson with a lazy takedown attempt
and Corleone counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Corleone uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Sanderson uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Corleone.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Corleone lands with a nice body punch.
Sanderson shoots in but no luck this time.
Some wild striking there from Sanderson.
A combination from Sanderson does no damage.
Sanderson looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Sanderson fails with the takedown.
Vito Corleone has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Sam Sanderson.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Corleone scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Sanderson lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
Corleone throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Sanderson feints the counter takedown.
Sanderson on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
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!
Sanderson throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Sanderson keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A jab from Corleone misses.
Corleone clobbers Sanderson with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Sanderson tries to bum rush Corleone with a series of wild strikes but Corleone uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Corleone was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Sanderson walks into a jab.
Corleone throws the left hand but Sanderson avoids the punch easily.
Corleone misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Sanderson.
Sanderson misses with a wild combination.
Corleone appears to be looking for a counter takedown.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sloppy strikes from Sanderson. Those never looked like landing.
Corleone avoids a punch combination nicely.
Sanderson steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Corleone.
Sanderson is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.
Corleone lands a really nice looking cross but Sanderson seems unphased.
Sanderson swinging wildly here.

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

That was a close second round but I would say that Vito Corleone will probably get the nod.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Sanderson rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Corleone moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Corleone changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Sanderson ducks under a wild hook from Corleone.
Sanderson drops down looking to force a counter takedown but Corleone defends it well.
Sanderson uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Corleone.

Corleone drives through with a takedown into guard.
Corleone trying to control the position from guard on top but Sanderson is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Sanderson bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Corleone's guard.

We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sanderson missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Sanderson controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Sanderson keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Corleone's head.
Sanderson postures up.
Corleone 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.

Corleone throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Corleone wants to sweep but no luck.
Sanderson not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Corleone lands an upkick as Sanderson stands over him.
Sanderson scoring with punches to the head and body.
Sanderson distracts Corleone with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.

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

Corleone looking for a guillotine here but Sanderson defends easily.
Sanderson trying to control the position from guard on top but Corleone is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

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.
Corleone trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.
Corleone trying to control the position.
Sanderson scoring with some ground and pound.
Sanderson working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Corleone's head.
Sam Sanderson has got the better of the ground game so far.
Sanderson postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Sanderson throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Sanderson wants to control from the top but Corleone keeps moving.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Sanderson accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Sanderson with a flurry of punches that miss.
Sanderson passes into half guard.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Sanderson connects with a nice short shot to Corleone's temple.

Sanderson is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Corleone has managed to free his arm - good work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Sanderson is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.

Corleone is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Sanderson pulls his head out easily.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Sanderson in particular looking to stall.
Sanderson scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Sanderson wants to take a breather but Corleone is having none of it.
Sanderson thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Corleone's head.
Sanderson is thwarting Corleone's attempts to control the position.
Corleone taking some punishment here, with Sanderson in his half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.

Corleone looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Sanderson is nestled in close to Corleone, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Corleone is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Sanderson's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Sanderson's back!
Sanderson is trying to get back to his feet but Corleone has full control of the position and if anything, Sanderson has just worked his way into a worse spot.
Corleone trying to control momentarily.

Corleone is persistently looking for the submission but Sanderson is defending it well.
Sanderson is trying to get back to his feet but he's not managed it yet.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Sanderson is in bad spot here.

And that's the end of the fight!
Sam Sanderson comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Sanderson has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 William Peck scores the fight 27:30
Judge Elvis Blanc scores the fight 28:29
Judge Steve Smith scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Sam Sanderson!