PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Clinton Hessler (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nolan Sackett (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Hessler
vs
Sackett

190 cm
31
197 lbs
24 - 8 - 2

182 cm
30
200 lbs
25 - 6 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Granite chin

Bullet Proof System

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 24 - 8 - 2, fighting out of Los Angeles, Clinton Hessler!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 25 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nolan Sackett!
The judges for this bout are Timothy Bukovac, and Don Winkell.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sackett feints and then cracks Hessler's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Hessler down.
Hessler misses with a double jab
enabling Sackett to counter with a crisp jab.
Sackett lands with a shot to the body.
Sackett lands a head shot.
Sackett feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Hessler's calf.
Sackett takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
A solid leg kick lands there for Sackett.
Sackett has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Hessler.
Hessler looks to land a left hand but Sackett moved out of range nicely.
Some bone on bone action there as Sackett checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Clinton Hessler seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Hessler connects with a solid leg kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hessler scoring well with a low kick there.
Hessler lands with a nice combination. Sackett backs away looking to recover.
Hessler tries a low kick but Sackett avoids it.
Sackett has been spending a lot of time sparring his boxing in the run up to the fight, trying to sharpen up those hands and look for a knockout.
Hessler throws a shot to the body.
Hessler gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Sackett.
Sackett takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.

Sackett steps into range and cracks Hessler with a monster punch that buckles his knees! Hessler flops backwards and Sackett dives into his guard looking to finish!

Hessler is rocked!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Hessler 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.
Oh Hessler is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Both fighters have adopted an aggressive gameplan on the ground!
Hessler wants to improve his position but instead Sackett has moved into half guard.
Sackett wants to take a breather but Hessler is having none of it.
Hessler seems to have got his legs back now.
Hessler gets back to full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hessler lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Sackett is adopting a defensive guard.
Sackett is continuing to stall.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Hessler accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Hessler accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Hessler has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Sackett has control of Hessler's left arm, preventing Hessler from doing any damage.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Hessler loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Sackett looking for a sweep. Not yet Sackett, not yet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hessler cracks Sackett with a solid left hand.
Hessler trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Sackett bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Hessler's guard.

The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Sackett postures up in Hessler's guard and throws a big left but Hessler blocks it.

Hessler looking for a guillotine here but Sackett defends easily.
Sackett trying to control but Hessler is working from the bottom.
Sackett preventing the sweep.
Sackett throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Hessler works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Sackett postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sackett missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Sackett has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Hessler wants to sweep but no luck.

Hessler looking for subs off his back but Sackett has passed one foot through into half guard.
Hessler is trying to control but can't.
Sackett is trying to control. Hessler wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Sackett looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Hessler with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Hessler is looking for a sweep. Sackett is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Hessler is working hard here to advance position.
The fighters are battling for position here. Hessler manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Hessler looking to control.
Sackett stands and throws Hessler's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Hessler is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nolan Sackett dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Sackett staying out of range there.
Nice uppercut there from Sackett.
Hessler throws a hook to the side of Sackett's head but Sackett sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Hessler just misses with a punch to the body.
Hessler looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Hessler rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Sackett counters with a nice low kick that buckles Hessler's knee momentarily.
Hessler tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hessler throws a low kick but Sackett avoids it.
Hessler is looking to score with low kicks.
Sackett has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Hessler misses with a left hand
and Sackett counters with a low kick, right behind Hessler 's knee.
Hessler scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hessler swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Hessler tries to clinch up but Sackett circles away and keeps his distance.
Hessler misses with a body shot.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Sackett! But no joy.
Hessler takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Sackett misses with a hook
and Hessler counters with a straight right hand.
Hessler pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Hessler scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Hessler getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Sackett throws a big shot that misses.
Hessler throws a low kick but it's checked well by Sackett.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sackett drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Sackett dodges the punch combination from Hessler.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Sackett, right into the meat.
A looping hook to the body misses from Hessler. Sackett does a little dance to reset his feet.
Sackett blocks a jab.
Sackett bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Hessler fails to land with a series of punches.
Sackett throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Hessler looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hessler has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Sackett.
Hessler throws the kick towards the body but Sackett avoids it.
Hessler fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Sackett looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Sackett just misses with a punch to the body.
Sackett scores with a nice body kick.
Sackett throws a poor cross that misses
and Hessler counters with a straight right hand.
Sackett takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Sackett moves away from the strike by Hessler.
Sackett jabs Hessler right on the nose. Hessler blinks but takes it well.
Hessler throws a body kick that digs right into the meat.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hessler checks the leg kick nicely there.
A jab from Sackett misses.
Sackett throws a looping overhand right but Hessler ducks down to avoid it.
Hessler is looking to counter the offense by Sackett and move into the clinch.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Hessler takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.
Sackett gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Hessler.
Hessler throws a lazy uppercut
and Sackett counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Hessler looks to throw the jab but Sackett is out of range.
Sackett throws out a counter right but Hessler avoids it with no problem.
Sackett on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Hessler bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Hessler is looking to counter with a body kick.
Sackett throws a big shot that misses.
Hessler swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Clinton Hessler dominated that second round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! 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.

Sackett ducks under a wild hook from Hessler.
A left lands for Hessler.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Hessler, right into the meat.
Sackett cracks Hessler with an open hand slap.
Hessler misses with a hook.
Sackett misses with a left hand
and Hessler counters with a nice uppercut.
Sackett misses with an uppercut.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sackett looks to throw the jab but Hessler is out of range.
Hessler buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Hessler scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sackett throws a lazy uppercut
and Hessler counters with a slapping leg kick.
Good shot there by Hessler.
Hessler looks to score with a jab to the body but Sackett is just out of range.
Hessler throws a leg kick that is checked
and Sackett finishes the little exchange by landing a big kick to the body.
A slow jab from Sackett misses its intended target.
Sackett looks to land a body kick but Hessler moved away.
The crowd cheers as Hessler lands an impressive looking overhand right. Sackett doesn't seem phased though.
Hessler dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Sackett. That did some damage!
Hessler throws a half hearted mid kick.
A looping hook to the body misses from Sackett. Hessler does a little dance to reset his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ooooh, nice body kick lands from Sackett. Hessler shrugs it off though.
Sackett's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Sackett throws a low kick but Hessler moves out of range easily.
A little feinted left hand from Hessler on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Hessler fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Sackett checks it well.
Hessler uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Sackett.
Sackett pivots, looking for a leg kick but Hessler is out of range and Sackett settles back down.
Hessler throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Hessler fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Sackett.
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!
Hessler misses with a straight left.
A jab from Sackett finds it's way through Hessler's defenses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hessler throws a leg kick but Sackett checks it.
Sackett takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Hessler throws a series of punches but Sackett moves out of range.
Clinton Hessler is winning the standup battle so far.
Hessler takes a swing at Sackett's ribcage but misses.
Hessler 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.
A big left from Hessler misses.
A kick lands to the mid section there for Hessler.
Hessler throws a lazy right hand but Sackett sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
That kick from Sackett tenderised Hessler's leg. Hessler is trying to keep his angry face on.
Hessler moves out of range as Sackett strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A low kick from Sackett misses
and Sackett takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Sackett throws a leg kick
letting Hessler counter with a right hand.
Hessler connects with the punch.
Sackett takes a swing at Hessler's ribcage but misses.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Sackett throws a wild body kick that Hessler sees coming a mile off.
Sackett looks to land a right hand but Hessler moved out of range.
Hessler tried to counter with a leg kick but Sackett avoided it.
Hessler punishes Sackett's body with a nice straight punch.
Sackett swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Hessler appeared to be looking to counter that last move with a leg kick.
Sackett throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Hessler tries to counter by moving into the clinch but Sackett manages to circle out of the way.

And that's the end of the fight!
Clinton Hessler showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Hessler has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 29:28
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 29:28
Judge Don Winkell scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Clinton Hessler!
An intense looking Clinton Hessler took to the microphone post fight and gave a little speech: 'Boom! '.