PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Wily Swagger (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Vaas Haas (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Swagger comes to the cage accompanied by Waylon Jennings - Good Ol' Boys. Haas has chosen Małpa - Sztorm as his entrance music. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Swagger
vs
Haas

177 cm
41
200 lbs
27 - 7 - 1

188 cm
27
197 lbs
11 - 4 - 1

Abu Dhabi Champ
Basic striking
KO power

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Museum of Monsters & Madmen
Hellbent

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 - 7 - 1, fighting out of New York, Wily Swagger!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 4 - 1, fighting out of Tokyo, Vaas Haas!
The judges for this bout are Shigeki Fujiwara, Shigeki Sano and Ren Mimura.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nice takedown defense from Haas. No joy for Swagger on that attempt.
Swagger seems to be moving with more speed, compared to his last bout. He must have been working on that in the gym.
Haas blocks a jab.
Swagger takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Swagger misses with a shot to the body
and Haas counters with a thumping low kick.
Haas with a hook.
Swagger tests Haas's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Haas tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Swagger throws a leg kick
and Haas counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Haas throws a half hearted mid kick.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Haas lands a kick to the ribs of his opponent. Nice work there - in and out in a flash.
We can't be sure of the tactics at this early stage but we have heard that Haas has been working on his takedowns a lot in the buildup to the fight and we can only assume he's going to look to take this to the mat.
Haas sizes up Swagger with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Swagger gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Haas.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Swagger shoots and misses
and Haas counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Haas dips to his left and cracks Swagger with an uppercut!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Haas tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Swagger avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Swagger changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Haas tries to avoid it but Swagger manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Haas to the ground. Haas escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Wily Swagger. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Swagger misses with a takedown
and Haas counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Haas is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.
Haas fakes the leg kick and cracks Swagger in the body.
Swagger fails to land the takedown.
Swagger thows a leg kick but Haas checks it
and Haas counters with a nice uppercut.
Haas scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Swagger shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Haas defends it nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Haas scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Haas steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Swagger.
A countering left hand to the body from Haas misses.
Haas throws a nice inside leg kick.
Haas feints and then cracks Swagger's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Swagger down.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Haas lands a front kick.
Swagger shoots for a takedown but Haas saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Haas looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Haas lands a nice shot that snaps Swagger's head back.
Swagger fails with the takedown
and Haas counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.

Swagger shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Haas is trying to defend but Swagger finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Haas trying to control but Swagger postures up.
Haas moves into full guard.
Haas is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Swagger throws a big elbow that misses.
Swagger with a flurry of punches that miss.
Haas pulls Swagger in close to his closed guard and prevents Swagger from doing any damage or advancing position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Haas is trying to keep Swagger in close.

That's four 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.
Haas seems keen to control Swagger's posture.
Haas trying to control the position.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Haas jabs at Swagger's body.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Haas.
Haas lands the left hand.
Swagger takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Vaas Haas dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Swagger with a lazy takedown attempt
and Swagger takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Swagger takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Swagger tries for a takedown but Haas circles away easily
and Haas counters with a thumping low kick.
Haas works Swagger's body with a nice hook.
Swagger changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Haas tries to avoid it but Swagger manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Haas to the ground. Haas escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Wily Swagger. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Haas fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Swagger.
No luck for Swagger with that takedown attempt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Swagger needs to keep his hands up - Haas had a free shot at his head there.
Swagger shoots in looking for a takedown. Haas tries to sprawl out of it but Swagger keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Haas manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Swagger fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Haas sprawls well initially but Swagger persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Swagger thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Haas is looking for a sweep. Swagger is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Haas is staying active underneath Swagger, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Haas regains full guard. Nicely done.
Swagger wants to control from the top but Haas keeps moving.
Haas bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Swagger's guard.

Swagger is trying to control the position but Haas postures up.
Swagger 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.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Haas stays in close to Swagger's body and controls the position.
Let's hope that Haas has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.

Swagger looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Haas trying to control the position from guard on top but Swagger is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Swagger looking for a sweep. Not yet Swagger, not yet.
Swagger is looking to sweep but instead, Haas has passed into half guard.
Swagger is looking to improve his position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Haas is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Swagger!
Haas has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Haas sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Haas lands a big shot there that rocks Swagger but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Swagger is squirming around, avoiding Haas's attempts to control the action.
Swagger really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Swagger tries to lock up and control but Haas gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Haas can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Swagger is looking to escape.
Wily Swagger overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Swagger tries to get back to half guard but can't.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Haas content just to control the position here.
Swagger is looking to improve his position but Haas isn't that keen on the idea.
Haas controlling the position easily from mount.
Swagger tries to get back to half guard but can't.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Haas sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Swagger tries to reverse the position but Haas maintains control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Vaas Haas showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Swagger dives in for a single leg takedown but Haas sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
A little jabbing left from Haas on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.

Swagger drives through with a takedown into guard.
Swagger pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Haas is keeping the position for now.
Swagger controlling from the top position.
Swagger stopping the sweep attempt from Haas.
Haas is trying to control the position from the bottom.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Haas is on top in guard.

Haas looking to pass the guard.
Haas must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Swagger looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Haas passes into side control.
Swagger gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Swagger is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Haas takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Haas is pressing down on Swagger's thigh, looking to free his foot. Swagger is holding on for now.
Swagger is looking to improve his position.
Swagger might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Haas is taking a breather. Swagger says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.

Haas is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Swagger defends it well.
Haas is trying to control. Swagger wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Swagger is looking for a sweep. Haas is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Haas is thwarting Swagger's attempts to control the position.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Haas scores with a leg kick.
Haas has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Haas moves out of range of the strikes.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Swagger.
Vaas Haas seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Swagger fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Wily Swagger. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Haas works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Haas lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Swagger at a distance.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Haas displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Swagger.
Haas raises up his leg as if looking to counter with a high kick.
Swagger looks for the body kick but Haas saw that one coming.
Swagger misses with a leg kick
letting Haas counter with a right hand.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Swagger.
Haas is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Swagger's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Swagger misses with a head shot. Haas uses the momentum to regain guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Haas looking to hit a scissor sweep but Swagger is one step ahead there.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Vaas Haas really dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Swagger throws a right hand that misses
letting Haas counter with a right hand.
Haas clobbers Swagger with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Swagger is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Swagger misses with a right hand
letting Haas counter with a right hand.
Swagger shoots and misses

and Haas counters with a head kick that drops Swagger to the mat! Swagger scrambles across the canvas and gets back to his feet, still wobbly!

Swagger is rocked!
Swagger gets caught by a big overhand right and goes down! Haas gets on top of him and starts throwing some serious punches until the ref intervenes and stops the fight!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:26 of round 4, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Vaas Haas!
Vaas Haas is the new middleweight champion!
Vaas Haas really struggled to get his t-shirt on before his hand was raised. Making sure that Museum of Monsters & Madmen logo gets some air time is pretty tricky when you're all sweaty.