PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Ezio Franco (ranked 22664 p4p, 821 weight class) and Marshall Sanders (ranked 5911 p4p, 641 weight class). Franco comes to the cage accompanied by BASS. There are an array of beautiful celebrities at ringside tonight! I wonder if any of them paid for their tickets.

Franco
vs
Sanders

190 cm
27
205 lbs
2 - 7 - 0

186 cm
26
215 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Experienced

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Heavy handed

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 2 - 7 - 0, fighting out of New York, Ezio Franco!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, Marshall Sanders!
The judges for this bout are John Kavanagh, Jorge Garcia and Bruno Lombardi.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Franco avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Franco misses with the combination.
Sanders doesn't fully commit to the body shot counter.
Franco staying out of range there.
Franco appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
A jab from Sanders does it's job there.
We've been told by Franco's head coaches at Big Price MMA that he's been working on his takedown defense in preparation for this fight.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Franco uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Sanders.
Franco half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.
Sanders scores with a one two! Franco had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
A looping hook to the body misses from Sanders. Franco does a little dance to reset his feet.
Both fighters are looking to counter, which isn't making for the most exciting fight in the world.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sanders smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Sanders leaves Franco with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Sanders swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
Franco with a poor takedown
and Franco takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Franco takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Nice shot lands for Sanders.
Sanders throws a right and a left that Franco avoids nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Franco staying out of range there.
Franco shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Sanders pinned against the cage. Sanders gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ezio Franco. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Sanders lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A left and a right from Sanders both land. Nice combination.
Sanders scores with a hook.
Franco shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Sanders throws a body shot but no joy.
A jab from Sanders misses.
A kick lands to the mid section there for Franco.
Franco is trying hard to land a takedown here. Sanders sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Sanders swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
Sanders might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sanders misses with a hook. Franco ducked under it nicely.
Nice takedown defense from Sanders. No joy for Franco on that attempt.
Sanders misses the shot to the body.
Franco went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
Sanders looks to score with a jab to the body but Franco is just out of range.
Franco uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Sanders.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Franco shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Sanders defends it nicely.
It seemed like Sanders was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Marshall Sanders dominated that 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.

Franco ducks under a wild hook from Sanders.
Marshall Sanders seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Franco goes for a double leg but Sanders avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Sanders continues to drive forward.
Sanders has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
A slow jab from Sanders misses its intended target.
Franco misses with a takedown attempt - Sanders sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Sanders throws a counter combo.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Franco tries for a takedown but Sanders circles away easily
and Sanders counters with a straight right hand.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ezio Franco. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Sanders throws a right hand that Franco ducks under and follows up with a left that Franco also avoids with ease.
Franco tries to counter with a takedown but Sanders is quick to defend against it.
Marshall Sanders seems to be getting the better of the standup.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Franco misses with a takedown attempt - Sanders sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
This entire fight has taken place on the feet so far and you wonder whether Franco might be better served trying to take this one to the ground because he's losing the standup battle so far.
Franco dodges the punch combination from Sanders.
Franco changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Sanders tries to avoid it but Franco manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Sanders to the ground. Sanders escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Franco goes for a double leg but Sanders avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Sanders continues to drive forward.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Sanders! But no joy.

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.
Franco fails with the takedown
and Sanders counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Sanders lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Franco with a lazy takedown attempt
and Sanders counters with a nice uppercut.
Sanders throws a body shot but no joy.
Franco seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.
Franco misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Franco looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Sanders is fending him off so far but Franco persists. Nope, Sanders circles away and we're back to standing.
Sanders lands with a good body shot.
Sanders digs a good body shot into Franco's ribs.
Sanders defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Franco.
Sanders throws out a counter right but Franco avoids it with no problem.
Sanders connects with a jab.
Franco fails to land the takedown.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sanders comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Sanders goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
A looping hook to the body misses from Sanders. Franco does a little dance to reset his feet.
Franco takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Franco gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Franco shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Marshall Sanders showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! And we move into the final round!

A jab from Sanders does it's job there.
Franco fails with the takedown
letting Sanders counter with a right hand.
Sanders throws a right hand that Franco ducks under and follows up with a left that Franco also avoids with ease.
Sanders lands a head shot.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Franco avoids a punch combination nicely.
Franco attempts a counter takedown but Sanders avoids it well and moves away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Franco avoids the body shot from Sanders.
Sanders fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Franco manages to avoid it.
Franco gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Franco tries for a takedown but Sanders sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Sanders just misses with a punch to the body.
Franco shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Marshall Sanders is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Sanders throws a body shot but no joy.
Ezio Franco has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Marshall Sanders is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sanders wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Franco fails to land the takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ezio Franco. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Sanders throws a nice looking combination but Franco bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Sanders throws a series of strikes that have Franco backpedaling.
Sloppy strikes from Sanders. Those never looked like landing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sanders scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Sanders lands a nice shot that snaps Franco's head back.
Franco throws a body kick that misses.
Sanders now looks to counter with a shot at the body.
Franco dives in and grabs Sanders's left leg, looking for a takedown. Sanders pushes down on Franco's head and hops out.
Franco throws a head kick that misses
and Sanders counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Franco thinking.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Sanders stalks Franco and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Franco's face. Franco staggers backwards, shaken.
Sanders swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Franco.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sanders throws a nice looking combination but Franco bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Sanders bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Franco's head backwards.
Franco shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Franco tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
A head kick by Franco misses
and Sanders makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
This is turning into a torrid day at the office for Franco. He's trying desperately to land a takedown but he's failing miserably and getting slapped silly on the feet to compound his misery.
A lazy left from Sanders finds it's target.

And that's the end of the fight!
Marshall Sanders comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Sanders 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 John Kavanagh scores the fight for Marshall Sanders!
Judge Jorge Garcia scores the fight for Marshall Sanders!
Judge Bruno Lombardi scores the fight for Marshall Sanders!

Marshall Sanders wins by unanimous decision!