PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Avery Sanders (ranked 9588 p4p, 0 weight class) and Samuel Hayward (ranked 6502 p4p, 0 weight class). Hayward has chosen Kari Sigurdsson - Beyond the Horizon as his entrance music. 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.

Sanders
vs
Hayward

189 cm
21
177 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

181 cm
20
166 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Avery Sanders!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Samuel Hayward!
The judges for this bout are Phil Schofield, James Ackerman and Sam Margolis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Hayward darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.

Hayward looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.

Hayward is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.

Hayward is looking for a kimura. It's pretty deep but Sanders still has the half guard so he's probably OK. Oh, Sanders has exploded into a beautiful escape there and after a quick scramble, he's ended up in side control on top! Nice work!
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sanders cracks Hayward with an elbow. That is naaassty.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sanders throwing shots but missing, from side control.
Sanders just content to control the position.
Sloppy strikes there by Sanders.
The ground and pound from Sanders seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.

Sanders goes for an armbar! This could be all over! Wait, no, Hayward rolls with the submission and now he's on top in Sanders's guard! Nice work there by Hayward!

Hayward drops back, looking for a kneebar! Sanders looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Sanders looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Sanders!

Sanders tries to get to his feet but he's trapped momentarily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sanders throwing ground and pound but whilst doing so, he forgets to control position and Hayward works his way back to half guard. Good composure under pressure.
Hayward is doing well to avoid being mounted. He's controlling the position at the moment.
Sanders thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Hayward's head.
Sanders not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Hayward regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Sanders.
Sanders throws a strike but Hayward rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hayward stopping the sweep attempt from Sanders.
Sanders is adopting a defensive guard.

Hayward is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Sanders is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Sanders has escaped and now he's on top!

The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Sanders throwing strikes from guard but Hayward blocks nicely.
Sanders lands a couple of digs.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hayward not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Hayward avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Sanders sitting in guard here, content to control.
Sanders scoring with some ground and pound.
Sanders throws an elbow that misses. Hayward uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Sanders's guard. Nice move by Hayward!

Hayward pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Sanders is keeping the position for now.
Hayward looks winded!
Hayward stops Sanders from standing up.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Hayward drops back for a leg but he's not going to get it - he lets go and Sanders dives on top into guard.

Hayward is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Sanders looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Hayward!
Sanders misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Sanders throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.
Sanders takes a little break here. Hayward wants to take advantage but he is being controlled well.
Sanders wants to control but Hayward is keeping him busy.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Sanders tries for a kimura but Hayward is defending well.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sanders landing a few strikes.
Sanders lands a few punches from side control.

Sanders decides to stand up, so the ref orders Hayward to his feet.

Hayward gets a takedown into half guard.
Avery Sanders overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Hayward is breathing heavily.

Sanders has one foot on Hayward's thigh - he pushes off and manages to get back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Sanders drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Sanders in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Sanders wants to lay and pray for a moment but Hayward keeps working.
Sanders scoring with punches and elbows.
The strikes coming from Sanders are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
Hayward tries to bench press Sanders off him but Sanders keeps the position.
Sanders fails to land a wild elbow strike.
Sloppy strikes there by Sanders.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sanders cracks Hayward with a big right hand but Hayward just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Sanders controlling the position.
Sanders lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Sanders cracks Hayward with a big elbow.
Sanders creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Hayward sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
Sanders is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Hayward can do to turn this around?
Sanders in side control lands a decent elbow.
Sanders working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.
Sanders creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Hayward sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sanders taking a breather here.
Hayward on the wrong end of some ground and pound.

Sanders tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Sanders has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Sanders working the ground and pound but Hayward is defending the strikes.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Sanders remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.
Sanders throws a strike aimed at the side of Hayward's head but Hayward avoids it well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Avery Sanders dominated that second round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Sanders gets a takedown into half guard.
Hayward avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Sanders.
Sanders is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Sanders missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sanders working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Sanders lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sanders throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Sanders throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Sanders scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Hayward takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Sanders throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Sanders thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.

Sanders seems to be working for a kimura but Hayward defends the submission attempt.
Sanders working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Sanders landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sanders missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Hayward taking some punishment here, with Sanders in his half guard.
Sanders thows a huge punch but Hayward dodges it nicely.

Hayward is defending against the submission attempts here by Sanders.
Sanders missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Sanders not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Sanders working the head and body with strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sanders thows a huge punch but Hayward dodges it nicely.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Sanders connects with a nice short shot to Hayward's temple.

Sanders is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Hayward has managed to free his arm - good work.

Sanders is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Hayward doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Sanders.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

Sanders scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Check out the look on Sanders's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
Sanders wants to stand but Hayward is controlling his arm.
Sanders scoring with punches from side control.

Sanders has had enough of the ground for now and decides to stand.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Hayward enables Sanders to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Hayward manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Samuel Hayward has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Avery Sanders is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Sanders is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

And that's the end of the fight!
Avery Sanders showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Sanders has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Phil Schofield scores the fight 30:26
Judge James Ackerman scores the fight 30:26
Judge Sam Margolis scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Avery Sanders!