PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Buddy Brandon (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Estefan Sanchez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Brandon comes into the arena with All Summer Long blaring out of the sound system. Sanchez comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Foo Fighters- My Hero kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Brandon
vs
Sanchez

188 cm
37
210 lbs
11 - 18 - 0

195 cm
32
218 lbs
12 - 17 - 1

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 11 - 18 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Buddy Brandon!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 17 - 1, fighting out of Hilo, Estefan Sanchez!
The judges for this bout are Ryoma Takatsuka, Roger Salmon and Josh West.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sanchez throws a combination that misses

and Brandon counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Sanchez is trying to maintain the position but Brandon is very close to passing his half guard.
Brandon looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Sanchez is looking for a sweep. Brandon is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Sanchez is trying to stand up here but Brandon is controlling him well.
Brandon sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Brandon wants to free his trapped foot but Sanchez is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Sanchez is looking to get back to full guard here but Brandon has managed to pass to side control instead.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Brandon tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Brandon content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Brandon decides to stand up, so the ref orders Sanchez to his feet.
Brandon throws an overhand right that lands on Sanchez's shoulder, as Sanchez tries to avoid the shot.
Sanchez misses with a head kick.
A head kick misses from Sanchez.
Brandon feinted with a counter takedown.
Brandon is looking to score with low kicks.
Sanchez rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Brandon moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Brandon fails with a takedown attempt.
Sanchez throws a right and a left that Brandon avoids nicely.
Sanchez throws a series of punches but Brandon moves out of range.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Brandon is defended easily by Sanchez.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez throws out a leg kick but Brandon moves out of range and Sanchez only half commits.
Sanchez connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Jab from Sanchez.
Sanchez tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Sanchez tries a head kick but it misses.
Sanchez throws a jab but it's blocked by Brandon.
Sloppy strikes from Sanchez. Those never looked like landing.
Estefan Sanchez seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Sanchez misses with a series of wild punches.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Brandon throws a chopping leg kick but Sanchez manages to avoid taking any serious damage.

Brandon drives through with a takedown into Sanchez's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Brandon won't allow Sanchez to get back to his feet.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Sanchez not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Brandon pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Sanchez is keeping the position for now.
Brandon sitting in guard, not really doing much.

Sanchez scrambles and gets back to his feet.
Brandon fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Buddy Brandon. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Brandon slips a jab and a cross from Sanchez.
Brandon seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.
Sanchez darts in trying to clinch
and Brandon counters with a series of strikes. Sanchez will be more careful next time no doubt.
Brandon will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez throws a big shot that misses.
Sanchez keeps the fight on the outside.
A combination from Sanchez does no damage.
Sanchez moves in looking to clinch but Brandon pushes him off.
Brandon delivers a nice body kick.
Brandon shoots for a double leg takedown but Sanchez sprawls well. He's pushed Brandon's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Brandon shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Sanchez manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Sanchez keeping full guard, as Brandon tries to pass.
Sanchez trying to keep a closed guard but Brandon is proving a slippery customer.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Brandon content to stall in guard here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Estefan Sanchez will probably get the nod.
That's time! Back to the action!

Sanchez throws a front kick that sends Brandon stumbling back into the cage.
Sanchez is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Sanchez misses with a series of wild punches.
Sanchez with a nice cross.
Nice straight punches there by Brandon. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Brandon.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Brandon jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Sanchez takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Brandon shoots in for a takedown but Sanchez shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Sanchez scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sanchez throws a right and a left that Brandon avoids nicely.
Estefan Sanchez seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Sanchez tries to bum rush Brandon with a series of wild strikes but Brandon uses good footwork to avoid the assault.

Brandon gets a takedown into half guard.
Brandon trying to control the pace.
Sanchez slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Brandon slips nicely into half guard.
Brandon perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez trying to hold on to Brandon's head to control him but Brandon postures up.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Sanchez tries to kick Brandon off but Brandon keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Sanchez trying to control from the bottom.
Sanchez is looking to improve his position.
Brandon wants to control but Sanchez is keeping him busy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Brandon not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Brandon controlling the pace.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Sanchez throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Brandon.

Brandon looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Sanchez!
Brandon controlling from side mount.
Sanchez struggling a bit here.
Brandon lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Brandon taking a breather here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sloppy strikes there by Brandon.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.
Sanchez is looking for a sweep.
Sanchez is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Brandon asserts his dominance and retains side control.
Sanchez looking for a sweep but Brandon has passed into full mount! Oh no!
Brandon controlling from the full mount.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Sanchez is desperately trying to improve his position but Brandon has a good base and remains in mount.

Brandon has hold of Sanchez's left arm, perhaps looking for a submission. The two fighters tussle over control of the isolated limb and Sanchez manages to get his arm back to his side and away from danger.
Brandon sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Buddy Brandon dominated that second 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. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Brandon is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Sanchez's half guard.
Brandon prevents Sanchez from improving his position.
Sanchez looks like he's trying to stand up.
Brandon wants to pass the guard but Sanchez is defending well.
Buddy Brandon overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Brandon trying to control the pace.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Brandon is keen to just control but Sanchez is a slippery customer.
Sanchez tries to roll over but Brandon keeps him under control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Brandon controlling the action here.
Brandon wants to free his trapped foot but Sanchez is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Sanchez wants to improve his position but Brandon is controlling well.
Sanchez is looking to control Brandon's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Sanchez avoid being mounted?
Brandon sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Sanchez desperately trying to maintain half guard.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Sanchez is trying to stand up here but Brandon is controlling him well.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
A jab from Brandon finds it's way through Sanchez's defenses.
Brandon goes for a double leg but Sanchez avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Sanchez continues to drive forward.
Sanchez throws a series of punches but Brandon avoids them all with ease.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Brandon.
Buddy Brandon is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Sanchez misses with a leg kick.

Brandon scores with a takedown into Sanchez's guard.
Brandon trying to control the position from guard on top but Sanchez is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Brandon seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Sanchez is trying to control the position but Brandon postures up.
Sanchez looking to hit a scissor sweep but Brandon is one step ahead there.
Brandon stops Sanchez from standing up.
Brandon postures up.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

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.
Sanchez scores with a one two! Brandon had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
Brandon fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Buddy Brandon. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Sloppy strikes from Sanchez. Those never looked like landing.

Brandon looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Sanchez!
Brandon wants to lay and pray for a moment but Sanchez keeps working.
Brandon looks up at the clock and then as Sanchez takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Brandon smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Sanchez trying to remain calm as Brandon controls from the top position.

Brandon is trying to get an arm triangle but Sanchez is defending well.
Sanchez tries to get back to half guard but can't.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Buddy Brandon.
I think Brandon 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 Ryoma Takatsuka scores the fight 28:29
Judge Roger Salmon scores the fight 29:28
Judge Josh West scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Buddy Brandon!
Buddy Brandon thanked the fans post fight for their support.