PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Anthony Joseph (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Sota Sankari (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Joseph comes to the cage accompanied by The Rover. Sankari has chosen Die for Metal as his entrance music. This should be a great matchup!

Joseph
vs
Sankari

204 cm
30
232 lbs
10 - 3 - 0

195 cm
28
260 lbs
10 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
Lethal high kicks
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Great elbows
Good gas tank

KAISER Nutrition - Q160/$250

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 10 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Anthony Joseph!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 10 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Sota Sankari!
The judges for this bout are Timothy Bukovac, and Frank Antenori.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Joseph just misses with a punch to the body.
Jab by Sankari.
Joseph thuds a left hand into Sankari's body.
Sankari on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Joseph avoids the head kick by Sankari.
Sankari throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Joseph's head.
Sankari tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Joseph paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Joseph connects with a jab.
Sankari misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Joseph drops his hands momentarily and Sankari takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Nice body kick there by Joseph.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Sankari throws a wild body kick that Joseph sees coming a mile off.
Joseph lands with an overhand left.
Joseph throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
A solid leg kick lands there for Joseph.
Sankari has done a lot of speed work in the buildup to this fight.

Sankari instigates a clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Joseph tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Sankari avoids it.
Joseph manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Sankari is working Joseph over against the cage.
Joseph misses with a hook from the clinch.
Knees in the clinch landing for Joseph.
Sankari comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Sankari has a couple of punches blocked by Joseph.
Joseph is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Joseph looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Joseph lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Sankari comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
A bit of stalling here from Joseph.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Joseph wants to break the clinch but can't.
Sankari tries a body shot but Joseph blocks it.
Sankari goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Sankari misses with a body punch.
A short right from Sankari on the inside.
A right handed body shot lands from Joseph.
Joseph blocking some punches.
Sankari throws a head punch that misses.
Sankari scores with a hook to the body.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Joseph breaks the clinch.
Sankari takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Sankari throws a sloppy head kick and Joseph moves out of range easily.
Crunch! Sankari slams his shin into Joseph's torso.
No joy there for Sankari, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Joseph misses with a wild body shot.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sankari scores with a shot to the body.
Joseph does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
A low kick from Joseph misses
and Sankari counters with a straight right hand.
Sankari misses with a left hand
and Joseph counters with a body kick.
Sankari throws a lazy right hand but Joseph sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Sankari wants to clinch but Joseph slips to the side
and Joseph counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Sankari defending well as Joseph loads up on a big left hand.
Sankari moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Sankari throws a head kick but Joseph moves out of range.
Sankari takes a shot right to the bread basket.

Sankari has Joseph up against the cage in a clinch.
Sankari throws a head punch that misses.
Joseph tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Joseph can't find room to land a body shot as Sankari controls the action.
Sankari goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Joseph pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Joseph throws a quick inside leg kick.
Sankari is looking to land body kicks.
Joseph thinks about countering with a body kick.
Joseph throws a feint and then finishes with a kick to the body.
Sankari throws a hook but Joseph avoids it easily.
Joseph looked to counter that last move with a leg kick but didn't pull the trigger.
Joseph checks the leg kick.
Joseph seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Sankari.
Sankari throws a hook to the side of Joseph's head but Joseph sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Joseph checks a leg kick.
Sankari throws a body kick that misses
letting Joseph counter with a right hand.
Sankari misses with a hook. Joseph ducked under it nicely.
Joseph blocks the body kick.
Joseph is looking to counter with a body kick.
Joseph uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Sankari has time to react.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Sota Sankari will probably get the nod.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Sankari scores with a hook.
Sankari uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Joseph.
Sankari swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
Anthony Joseph is winning the standup battle so far.
Joseph lands with a kick to the temple. Sankari shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"
Joseph throws a push kick but Sankari slaps the foot to one side.
Joseph misses with a kick to the body.
Joseph slips a straight right by Sankari.
Sankari's jab looks to have found its range, popping Joseph under the eye.
A head kick by Sankari misses
and Joseph counters with a low kick, right behind Sankari 's knee.
Sankari looks to score with a jab to the body but Joseph is just out of range.

Sankari fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Joseph, pushing him back against the cage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sankari gets through Joseph's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Joseph avoiding damage.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Joseph.
Joseph working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Sankari.
A left hand lands to the body for Joseph.

Joseph breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Joseph is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Sankari tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Joseph tries to land a body kick
and Sankari counters with a left to the body.
Sota Sankari seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Sankari lands a jab.
Joseph slips under a jab from Sankari.
Sankari misses with an uppercut.
Sankari throws a head kick that misses.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Joseph.

Sankari moves into the clinch successfully.
Joseph tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Sankari's elbow.
Good body shot from Joseph.
Sankari blocks the elbow strike.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Sankari just misses with a elbow thrown towards Joseph's brow.
Sankari working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Joseph lands with a short head shot on the inside.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Joseph goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Sota Sankari seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
A short body shot lands from Joseph as the two fighters clinch.
Sankari lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.

It looks like Anthony Joseph has been cut.
Sankari misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Joseph has not gone for a single takedown so far in this fight, which seems like a very strange tactic when you consider that he has the superior wrestling and BJJ.
Joseph swings wildly with an uppercut but Sankari uses good head movement to avoid it.
Joseph slowing the pace effectively.
Sankari has Joseph pressed against the cage, preventing Joseph from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Sankari blocks a body shot from Joseph.
Sankari blocks an elbow strike from Joseph.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Sankari.
Sankari blocks a couple of punches on the inside.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Joseph blocks the elbow strike.

Joseph breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Nice defenses there by Sankari.
Joseph throws an off balance right hand
and Sankari counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Joseph stuns Sankari with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Sankari throws a front kick that sends Joseph stumbling back into the cage.
Sankari throws a right hand that Joseph ducks under and follows up with a left that Joseph also avoids with ease.
Joseph connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Joseph goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Joseph throws a nice head kick!
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Sankari lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Joseph has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Joseph and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Joseph scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Joseph throws a body shot but no joy.
Sankari wants to counter the offense by Joseph and move into the clinch position.
Nice defenses there by Joseph.
An attempted straight right counter from Joseph misses the target.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Sankari keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Sankari pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Sankari takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Joseph avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Sankari throws a body kick that misses.
Nice body kick there by Sankari.
Sankari throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
The fight stays on the outside here - Sankari looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Joseph throws a jab but it's blocked by Sankari.

Joseph lands a big head kick that sends Sankari tumbling to the mat! Joseph takes a step backwards and waves Sankari back to his feet - he wants the finish!

Sankari is rocked!
Joseph drops a shoulder and throws a monster hook that connects perfectly to the side of Sankari's head, knocking him out cold! Joseph is extatic as he celebrates with his cornermen.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:59 of round 2, we have a winner by way of KO (Punch). Anthony Joseph!
During a confident post fight interview, Anthony Joseph thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.