PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Isaac Hayford (ranked 563 p4p, 64 weight class) and Kylar Sensei (ranked 851 p4p, 97 weight class). Isaac Hayford has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Hayford
vs
Sensei

179 cm
26
146 lbs
14 - 7 - 1

165 cm
23
153 lbs
12 - 5 - 0

Good wrestling
Lethal high kicks
Granite chin

Excellent grappler
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

Sully's Bar & Grill

RAGS of a RONIN

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 14 - 7 - 1, fighting out of Los Angeles, Isaac Hayford!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Kylar Sensei!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Bishop, Sam Margolis and Andrew Berry.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sensei scores with a nice strike.
Sensei looks to land a right hand but Hayford moved out of range.
Hayford takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Sensei throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Sensei lands with a nice combination. Hayford backs away looking to recover.
Hayford jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Sensei misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Hayford.
Sensei throws the left hand but Hayford avoids the punch easily.
Sensei takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Sensei walks forward, straight into a front kick from Hayford.
Sensei ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Hayford moves away.
Hayford appears to be looking for a counter takedown.

Hayford shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Sensei napping and manages to drive through into side control!
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Sensei takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
You can see the frustration on Sensei's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Sensei tries to get back to half guard but can't.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Hayford working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Sensei tries to slip a leg under to move to half guard but Hayford presses down on the leg and jumps into full mount!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Sensei is desperately trying to improve his position but Hayford has a good base and remains in mount.
Sensei is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Sensei keeps trying to improve his position.
Sensei is squirming around, avoiding Hayford's attempts to control the action.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sensei is looking to get to half guard.
Hayford looking to control and managing it successfully.
Sensei gets back to half guard.
Sensei regains full guard. Nicely done.
Hayford controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Sensei trying to control the position.
Hayford trying to control the position from guard on top but Sensei is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sensei looking to sweep using the butterfly guard but Hayford puts pay to that idea as he passes nicely into half guard.
Hayford looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Sensei with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Hayford in particular looking to stall.
Hayford prevents Sensei from improving his position.
Sensei keeping control of the position.
Sensei tries to get to full guard but Hayford has control of the leg.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Sensei trying to hold on to Hayford's head to control him but Hayford postures up.
Hayford prevents Sensei from improving his position.
Hayford will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Hayford lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Hayford is looking to take a break and control but Sensei is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

Hayford is looking for a kimura here.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Hayford seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Sensei does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Sensei fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Sensei rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Hayford counters with an inside leg kick.
A telegraphed right hand from Sensei misses the target.
Sensei misses with a looping right.
Sensei is really struggling to land any decent head shots against his taller opponent.
Hayford fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Hayford doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Hayford takes a swing at Sensei's ribcage but misses.

Sensei decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Hayford keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Hayford is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Hayford avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Sensei.
Sensei prevents Hayford from improving his position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hayford keeping hold of Sensei's head, controlling as best he can.
Sensei sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Hayford defending well though.
Hayford is pressing down on Sensei's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Sensei keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Hayford's head.
Sensei missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Hayford is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Sensei stopping the sweep attempt from Hayford.
Isaac Hayford overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Hayford looking for a guillotine here but Sensei defends easily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sensei in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Sensei wants to control from the top but Hayford keeps moving.
Hayford not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Sensei wants to control from the top but Hayford keeps moving.
Sensei trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Hayford pulls Sensei in to control the position.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Hayford connects with a single shot there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sensei misses with the combination.
Sensei uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Hayford has time to react.
Sensei tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Hayford was well out of range. Poor timing from Sensei.
Hayford throws a body kick that misses.
Hayford tries to land a front kick but Sensei steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Hayford loads up on a big right hand but Sensei slips the punch.
Sensei throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Sensei misses with a wild body shot.

Hayford shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Hayford showed some decent athleticism there.
Sensei wants to get back to full guard but Hayford has mounted him!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sensei regains half guard.
Hayford wants to take a breather but Sensei is having none of it.
Sensei is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Hayford scores with a couple of nice shots.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Hayford content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Hayford trying to mount his opponent but Sensei defends it.
Sensei is looking to improve his position.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Sensei is not content to let Hayford control the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Kylar Sensei will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Sensei with a nice cross.
Sensei misses with a hook.
Sensei rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Hayford moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Hayford fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Sensei tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Hayford defends well and Sensei ends up having to push Hayford into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Hayford walks into a straight right hand from Sensei.
Hayford shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Sensei pinned against the cage. Sensei gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hayford swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Sensei.
Kylar Sensei seems to be getting the better of the standup.

Sensei decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Sensei seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Hayford does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hayford is looking to improve his position.
Sensei controlling the pace.
Sensei drops an elbow to the side of Hayford's head.
Hayford is staying active underneath Sensei, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Sensei working over Hayford with some ground and pound. Hayford looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Sensei lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Hayford is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Sensei wants to pass the guard but Hayford is defending well.
Sensei throwing shots but Hayford is blocking nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sensei throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Hayford gets back to full guard.
Sensei throws a big elbow that misses.
Hayford seems to have improved his submission grappling technique since last time we saw him. Let's see if he can pull off a submission.
Hayford working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Sensei.
Sensei is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Sensei preventing the sweep.
Sensei throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Hayford preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Sensei pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Hayford is keeping the position for now.
Sensei postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hayford working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Sensei.
Hayford looking for a sweep. Not yet Hayford, not yet.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Sensei misses with a wild body shot.
Hayford attempts a counter takedown but Sensei avoids it well and moves away.
Hayford moves out of range of the strikes.

Hayford closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Sensei quickly recovers to half guard.
Hayford wants to pass the guard but Sensei is defending well.
Sensei has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

Sensei is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Hayford pulls his head out easily.

Sensei looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hayford controlling the action here.
Sensei tries to get to full guard but Hayford has control of the leg.
Sensei tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.
Hayford is taking a breather. Sensei 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.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Sensei looking for submissions off his back.

And that's the end of the fight!
Kylar Sensei comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Sensei has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Daniel Bishop scores the fight 29:29
Judge Sam Margolis scores the fight 28:29
Judge Andrew Berry scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Kylar Sensei!
Kylar Sensei thanked the fans post fight for their support.