PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Chael Sonnen (ranked 5624 p4p, 0 weight class) and Diego Vazquez (ranked 5494 p4p, 0 weight class). Diego Vazquez will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Sonnen
vs
Vazquez

185 cm
18
205 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

188 cm
23
205 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Intelligent

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Chael Sonnen!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Diego Vazquez !
The judges for this bout are Ryoma Takatsuka, Chris Saunders and Roger Salmon.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Vazquez shoots in for a takedown but Sonnen shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.

Sonnen moves into the clinch.
Sonnen changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Vazquez fights it off and pushes away nicely.

Sonnen closes the distance and clinches.
Sonnen wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Vazquez has him pressed against the cage.
Vazquez is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Sonnen to keep the fight standing.

Sonnen tightens his grip and picks Vazquez up, before dumping him to the ground. Vazquez manages to land in guard.
Sonnen slips nicely into half guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Vazquez won't allow Sonnen to pass to mount.
Vazquez wants to get back to full guard.
Vazquez is looking to get full guard. It looks like he might be successful but at the last minute Sonnen jumps into side control!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sonnen looking to control but instead Vazquez has slipped a leg in, to regain half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Vazquez tries to regain full guard. Instead though, Sonnen has advanced to mount. Uh oh.
Sonnen controlling from mount.
Poor strikes thrown by Sonnen there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Sonnen is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Vazquez tries to hold on but Sonnen postures up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sonnen controlling the position easily from mount.
Sonnen wants to stand but Vazquez is holding on to him, trying to stop him posturing up.
Vazquez wants to control but Sonnen is having none of it.
Vazquez trying desperately to get to his feet.
Sonnen trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Vazquez tries to hold on but Sonnen postures up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sonnen lands a heavy elbow.
Sonnen sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.

The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Sonnen looking to secure an arm triangle but Vazquez defends it well.
Sonnen thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sonnen raining down hammerfists from mount.
Vazquez looks out of his depth in this position - he's holding on tight.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Sonnen cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Vazquez really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Sonnen. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Vazquez is working to get back to half guard.
Vazquez wants to hold on but Sonnen pushes him away.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Sonnen looking to control and managing it successfully.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Chael Sonnen dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Sonnen shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Vazquez as he jumps to the side.
Sonnen fails with the takedown.

Vazquez drives through and clinches with Sonnen against the cage.
Vazquez stalling against the cage.

Sonnen pulls guard successfully.
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.
Vazquez trying to control the position from guard on top but Sonnen is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Vazquez postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Sonnen is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Vazquez , into his guard.

Sonnen trying to control but Vazquez is working from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sonnen is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Sonnen looking to sit in guard and control but Vazquez gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Vazquez is looking to stand up but Sonnen won't let him.

Sonnen is looking for a triangle but Vazquez pushes his legs off easily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Vazquez wants to stand but Sonnen is controlling his posture from full guard.
Vazquez trying to control but Sonnen is working from the bottom.

Vazquez got a little sloppy there for a moment and Sonnen has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Vazquez has managed to get both his arms back between Sonnen's legs - danger averted.
Sonnen pulls Vazquez in close to prevent any damage.
Sonnen is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vazquez wants to pass the guard but Sonnen is keeping the position.
Sonnen is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Vazquez accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Vazquez trying to control but Sonnen is working from the bottom.
Vazquez must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Vazquez prevents Sonnen from getting back to his feet.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Vazquez tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Sonnen manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Vazquez throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Vazquez is looking to clinch.
Chael Sonnen is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Sonnen bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Vazquez is not content to let Sonnen control the position.
Vazquez can't do much from the bottom here.
Vazquez is looking to reverse the position.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Sonnen 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.
Sonnen wants to control but Vazquez is keeping him busy.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Chael Sonnen will probably get the nod.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Vazquez tries to keep at a distance but Sonnen has taken the fight into the clinch.
Sonnen tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Vazquez avoids it.

Sonnen pulls guard.
Sonnen is looking to stand up but Vazquez isn't so interested in that idea.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

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

Vazquez is active off his back here, looking for submissions.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sonnen pushes down on Vazquez 's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Vazquez wants to get back to full guard.
Sonnen trying to control from half guard but Vazquez is working away.
Vazquez is trying to control but can't.
Sonnen seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Vazquez does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Sonnen is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Vazquez can do to turn this around?
Sonnen perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Sonnen trying to control from half guard but Vazquez is working away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Sonnen wants to get back to his feet.
Sonnen is controlling the pace.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Sonnen thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Vazquez 's head.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Vazquez fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vazquez avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Horrible takedown attempt by Vazquez or perhaps it was just good defense by Sonnen, which made it look bad.

Sonnen closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Vazquez did well to prevent Sonnen getting side control.
Sonnen not doing much here.
Chael Sonnen overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Nice strikes from Sonnen there.
Vazquez wants to get back to full guard but Sonnen has mounted him!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sonnen scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Vazquez ?
Vazquez is trying desperately to improve position.
Sonnen controlling the pace for now.

Sonnen swings around for an armbar but it's a sloppy attempt and Vazquez is now in Sonnen's guard. A big mistake from Sonnen there, giving up the dominant position!
Sonnen can't keep his opponent in guard - Vazquez advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Sonnen tries to roll over but Vazquez keeps him under control.

And that's the end of the fight!
Chael Sonnen showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Sonnen 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 Ryoma Takatsuka scores the fight for Chael Sonnen!
Judge Chris Saunders scores the fight for Chael Sonnen!
Judge Roger Salmon scores the fight for Chael Sonnen!

Chael Sonnen wins by unanimous decision!