PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Antonio Hendricks (ranked 7340 p4p, 0 weight class) and Hank Sager (ranked 25397 p4p, 0 weight class). Hank Sager is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Hendricks
vs
Sager

151 cm
24
178 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

188 cm
25
180 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Solid chin

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 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Antonio Hendricks!
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, Hank Sager!
The judges for this bout are Franklyn Lucas, Columbo Gatti and Bruno Lombardi.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sager tries for a takedown but Hendricks sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Sager scores with a hook to the body. Hendricks takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Hendricks could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.

Hendricks clinches up against the cage.

Sager breaks the clinch.
A low kick from Sager misses

and Hendricks counters with a nice double leg into side control. Sager won't be happy with that.
Hendricks tries to get to his feet but he's trapped momentarily.

Hendricks looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Hendricks is staying tight to Sager's torso, preventing him from escaping.

Hendricks tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Hendricks fails to land a wild elbow strike.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hendricks prevents Sager from escaping the position.
Hendricks creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Sager sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.

Hendricks stands up.
Sager scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Sager gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Hendricks moves into the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hendricks fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Hendricks jumps guard but Sager stands there with Hendricks around his waist. Hendricks gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Hendricks lands a body punch in the clinch.
Sager avoiding damage as Hendricks throws knees to the body.
Hendricks tries to pull guard but Sager holds him up against the cage and eventually Hendricks drops back down to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Antonio Hendricks. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Hendricks stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Hendricks is trying to pull guard but Sager has him pressed against the cage.
Sager tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Sager tries to pull guard but Hendricks holds him up against the cage and eventually Sager drops back down to his feet.

Hendricks pulls guard.

Hendricks is looking for a triangle but Sager pushes his legs off easily.
Sager has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Hendricks is proving hard to escape from.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Sager stands up and waves to Hendricks to follow him.
Hendricks leaves Sager with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.

Hendricks instigates a clinch.
Hendricks is trying to pull guard but Sager has him pressed against the cage.

Sager breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Hendricks is looking to clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sager dives in for a single leg takedown but Hendricks sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.

Hendricks clinches up with Sager and pushes him back against the cage.

Sager breaks from the clinch.
Sager dives in for a single leg takedown but Hendricks sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Sager scores with a decent looking hook.
A decent looking cross lands there for Hendricks.
Sager throws a leg kick but Hendricks checks it.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Hendricks throws a hook to the side of Sager's head but Sager sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Sager misses with a takedown attempt
and Hendricks counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Hendricks displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Sager.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Antonio Hendricks dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Sager shoots and misses

and Hendricks counters by moving into the clinch.
Sager blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Hendricks lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.

Sager gets control of Hendricks's arms and successfully pulls guard. Sager will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Hendricks missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Sager utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

Sager scrambles and gets back to his feet.
Hank Sager seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Sager fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Sager shoots in for a double leg but Hendricks sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Antonio Hendricks has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Hank Sager.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sager tries for a takedown but Hendricks circles away easily

and Hendricks counters with a shoot takedown. Sager fights it but they end up in guard.
Sager is breathing heavily.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Hendricks lands a couple of decent looking shots.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hendricks trying to control but Sager is working from the bottom.
Antonio Hendricks overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Sager is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Hendricks is controlling him.
Hendricks is looking to stand up but Sager won't let him.
Sager wants to stand and escape but Hendricks is having none of it.
Sager has momentary wrist control but Hendricks slips an elbow through the middle.

Hendricks decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Sager, up you get!
A looping hook to the body misses from Hendricks. Sager does a little dance to reset his feet.

Hendricks has managed to clinch.

Hendricks pulls guard.
Sager wanted to stand there but Hendricks had control of the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sager preventing the sweep.

Hendricks is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Hendricks tries to land a sweep but no joy.
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Hendricks holds on and takes a little breather.
Hendricks tries to land a sweep but no joy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sager has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Hendricks is proving hard to escape from.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Hendricks moves into range and clinches up with Sager.
Hendricks is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Sager can do to turn this around?
Sager jumps guard but Hendricks stands there with Sager around his waist. Sager gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Hendricks trying to land knees to the body.

Hendricks pulls guard.
Hendricks tries to land a sweep but no joy.

Sager stands and steps away. Hendricks gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hendricks throws a looping overhand right but Sager ducks down to avoid it.
Sager shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Hendricks sprawls well. Hendricks wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Sager gets slowly back to his feet.
Hendricks stuffs the takedown.
Hendricks appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
Sager throws a body kick, spinning off balance
and Hendricks counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Hendricks stuffs the takedown.
A punch combination from Sager misses.
Hendricks went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
Sager throws a body kick that misses

and Hendricks counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Hendricks works over Sager's head and body with a nice combination.
Sager shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Hendricks counters with a straight right hand.

Hendricks clinches up against the cage.

Hendricks lands a takedown into guard.
Hendricks trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Hendricks looking to pass the guard.
Sager wants to stand and escape but Hendricks is having none of it.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Sager scrambles and gets back to his feet.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Sager misses with a low kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sager shoots in for a takedown but Hendricks shows good takedown defense.
Hendricks tries to counter by moving into the clinch but Sager manages to circle out of the way.
Sager takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Hendricks clinches up against the cage.

Hendricks has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Sager uses from the top position.
Sager wants to stand and escape but instead Hendricks has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

Hendricks with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.

Sager has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Hendricks off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.
Sager just misses with a punch to the body.
Some wild striking there from Hendricks.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sager fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Hendricks manages to avoid it.
Hendricks tries to clinch up but Sager circles away and keeps his distance.
Sager throws a feint and then finishes with a kick to the body.

Hendricks throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Sager was covering up waiting for the punch and Hendricks finishes the takedown easily into guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Hendricks postures up in Sager's guard and throws a big left but Sager blocks it.

Sager uses the cage to get back to his feet.
Sager throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Hendricks's waist but Hendricks gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Sager off to one side.
Antonio Hendricks has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Hank Sager.

Hendricks clinches with his opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hendricks tries to pull guard but Sager holds him up against the cage and eventually Hendricks drops back down to his feet.
Hendricks is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Sager to keep the fight standing.
Hendricks is trying to pull guard but Sager has him pressed against the cage.

Hendricks has clasped his hands together around Sager's back... aaand, he's got a takedown into side control. Nicely done.
Sager is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
Hendricks is putting a hurting on Sager here, landing some big shots from side control.
Sager is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Sager is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Hendricks asserts his dominance and retains side control.
Hendricks wants to control but Sager is keeping him busy.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sager pushes Hendricks away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Hendricks gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.
Hendricks trying to control the position but Sager is working away.
Sager is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Hendricks asserts his dominance and retains side control.
Hendricks works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
Hendricks trying to control the action but Sager is working from the bottom.
Hank Sager has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Antonio Hendricks is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

Hendricks decides to stand back up. Hendricks steps back and let's Sager get back to his feet.

And that's the end of the fight!
Antonio Hendricks showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Hendricks 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 Franklyn Lucas scores the fight 30:27
Judge Columbo Gatti scores the fight 30:27
Judge Bruno Lombardi scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Antonio Hendricks!