PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Michael Carter (ranked 450 p4p, 61 weight class) and Yen Askren (ranked 1114 p4p, 148 weight class). Askren comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Hello from the Askren Side kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Carter
vs
Askren

186 cm
21
188 lbs
10 - 1 - 0

178 cm
21
185 lbs
8 - 3 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Good gas tank

BuriedAlive// Fight Gear

Freebok (85% Laundry)

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the middleweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 10 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Michael Carter!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Yen Askren!
The judges for this bout are Roger Salmon, Ryoma Takatsuka and Chris Saunders.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Askren bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Askren swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
Carter with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Askren to score with a decent uppercut.
Carter misses with an uppercut. Askren saw that one coming.
Askren keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Carter.
Askren misses with a looping left.
Askren misses with a lunging right hand
letting Carter counter with a right hand.
Askren throws an off balance right hand
letting Carter counter with a right hand.
Askren throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Carter stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Carter takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Askren misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Michael Carter is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Askren tries to score a power double leg takedown but Carter sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Askren somewhat.
Carter turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
A big left from Askren misses.
Askren takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Carter uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Askren.
Askren shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Carter defends it nicely.
Michael Carter has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Yen Askren.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Carter throws an ugly left hook that misses
enabling Askren to counter with a crisp jab.
Askren throws a right hand that misses
and Carter counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Askren throws a right hand that misses
and Carter counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Askren takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Nice defenses there by Carter.
Askren on the wrong end of a nice hook.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Askren misses with a looping left.
It looks like Carter has been trying to sharpen up his punching technique, as it looks crisper than last time we saw him.

Carter lands a big head kick that sends Askren tumbling to the mat! Carter takes a step backwards and waves Askren back to his feet - he wants the finish!

Askren is rocked!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Askren rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Carter moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Askren is still on wobbly legs! Can Carter finish him?
Askren gets clipped by a big right hand and goes down spinning to the canvas! Carter gets the back mount and begins to drop bombs on his rocked foe! Askren is too out of it to defend against the strikes and the referee jumps in to save him from the beatdown!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:10 of round 1, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Michael Carter!
Michael Carter retains his middleweight title!
Michael Carter was full of energy after the big win and talked about how he thinks he can do big things in this sport. The crowd were appreciative of his determination to succeed.
Yen Askren spoke after the fight, saying 'I blame Bjorn and the Egg.'.