PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Sam Assad (ranked 1626 p4p, 192 weight class) and Hsing Yi (ranked 1932 p4p, 227 weight class). Yi has chosen Power of thy Sword as his entrance music. I'm sure you'll be fascinated to know that I was talking to some pointless Z list celebrity before the fight and he thought that Hsing Yi was going to win. Let's see if he was right.

Assad
vs
Yi

189 cm
25
186 lbs
7 - 6 - 0

180 cm
24
180 lbs
5 - 3 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Organic Nutrition

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 6 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Sam Assad!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 3 - 0, fighting out of London, Hsing Yi!
The judges for this bout are Dean Styles, Alyssa Summers and Jorge Garcia.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Assad cracks Yi with an open hand slap.
Yi slips a straight right by Assad.
Yi appears to be waiting to throw a counter punch to the body.
Assad darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Yi keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Assad.
Assad misses with a body shot
and Yi counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Yi uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Assad.
Yi looks to throw the jab but Assad is out of range.
Yi lands a jab.
Assad misses with a wild body shot.
Yi looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Yi misses with a few strikes there.
Assad was looking to counter that last move with a shot to the body but he didn't commit.
Assad drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Yi moves out of range of the strikes.
A swing and a miss from Assad.
Yi uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Assad.
Assad looks to land a left hand but Yi moved out of range nicely.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Yi throws a right hand that Assad ducks under and follows up with a left that Assad also avoids with ease.
Assad takes a swing at Yi's ribcage but misses.
Assad misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Yi.
Yi misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Assad.
Assad lands a jab to the nose.
Assad throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Assad misses with a wild body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nice straight punches there by Assad. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Assad.
A telegraphed right hand from Assad misses the target.
Assad keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Yi.
Assad scores with a jab. Yi acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Assad swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Assad tests Yi's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Yi cracks Assad with an open hand slap.
Assad comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Assad lunges at Yi with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Yi's hand.
Yi bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
A nice side step and Yi releases a counter shot to the body, but it doesn't find it's home.
A big right from Assad misses.
Yi swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
Assad scores with a jab to the body.
Assad swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Assad lands with a shot to the body.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Assad cracks Yi with an open hand slap.
Assad throws out a loose jab but Yi uses good head movement to avoid it.
Yi now looks to counter with a shot at the body.
Assad throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Yi cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Assad lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Yi misses the jab.
Yi ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Assad moves away.
Assad looks to land a left hand but Yi moved out of range nicely.
Yi throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Assad on the side of the head.
Yi takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Assad misses with a hook. Yi ducked under it nicely.
Assad closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Assad looks to score with a jab to the body but Yi is just out of range.
Yi throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Yi uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Assad.
Nice body punch from Yi.
Assad looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
A slow jab from Yi misses its intended target.
Yi thows a left - swing and a miss!
Assad looks to land a right hand but Yi moved out of range.
Assad is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Yi.
A slow jab from Yi misses its intended target.
Yi scores with a crisp jab that stopped Assad in his tracks.
Yi swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Assad.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Yi uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Assad.
Assad throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Yi uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Assad.
Yi moves away from the strike by Assad.
Assad throws a big shot that misses.
Assad misses the shot to the body.
Yi fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Assad manages to avoid it.
Yi throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Assad jabs Yi right on the nose. Yi blinks but takes it well.
Yi uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Assad.
Assad misses with a jab to the body
and Yi counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Sam Assad seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Donk. Assad catches Yi right on the button with a cross.
Yi fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Assad looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Yi lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Assad at a distance.
Assad throws a right hand that Yi ducks under and follows up with a left that Yi also avoids with ease.
Yi scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Assad jabs Yi to the body, keeping him at a distance.
A big right from Yi misses.
Assad is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Yi.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Assad tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Yi was well out of range. Poor timing from Assad.
Yi staying out of range there.
Yi looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Yi throws a big shot that misses.
Yi lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Assad at a distance.
Yi throws an overhand right that lands on Assad's shoulder, as Assad tries to avoid the shot.
Assad throwing a counter right hand but Yi manages to avoid it.
Assad lands a jab to Yi's midsection.
Assad waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Yi.
A looping hook to the body misses from Assad. Yi does a little dance to reset his feet.
Yi misses with a double jab.
Some wild striking there from Yi.
Yi throws a series of punches but Assad moves out of range.
Yi moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
A swing and a miss from Yi.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Yi takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Assad scores with a jab to the jaw.
Assad lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Assad staying out of range there.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Sam Assad will probably get the nod.
That's time! Assad's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Yi scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Assad doesn't seem bothered though.
Assad just misses with a punch to the body.
A swing and a miss from Yi.
Sam Assad is winning the standup battle so far.
Assad jabs at Yi's body.
Assad sizes up Yi with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Yi pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Assad misses with an uppercut.
Assad lands with an overhand left.
Yi steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Assad.
Yi throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Assad misses with an uppercut.
Yi defending well as Assad loads up on a big left hand.
Assad walks into a straight right hand from Yi.
Yi punishes Assad's body with a nice straight punch.
Assad lands a nice looking body shot.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Yi scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Assad scores with the left hand. Yi knows he should have avoided that one.
Assad pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Yi jabbing away but nothing is landing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yi walks into a left hand.
Assad scores with a three punch combo!
Yi uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Assad.
Yi misses with a few strikes there.
Yi takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Yi misses with a double jab.
Yi ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Yi looks to throw the jab but Assad is out of range.
Assad moves out of range of the strikes.
Yi slips under a jab.
Assad throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Assad swings and misses with a hook to the body.
A little jabbing left from Yi on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Assad throws a jab but it's blocked by Yi.
Assad throws out a loose jab but Yi uses good head movement to avoid it.
Yi is clearly trying to counter these attacks from Assad with a body shot.
Yi takes one to the side of the head.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Assad waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Yi.
Assad throws a shot from downtown. Yi moves away and avoids it.
Assad missing with a left hand there. Yi was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Assad scores with a jab. Yi acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Nice defenses there by Yi.
Assad rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Yi moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Both these guys seem content to just stand up and trade with eachother but Yi might want to think about changing up his gameplan a bit because over the course of the fight, Assad has got the better of the exchanges.
Yi throws a hook but Assad blocks it.
Yi misses with a looping left.
Assad lands with an uppercut that bounces Yi off the cage and back into range.
Yi takes a swing at Assad's ribcage but misses.
Assad will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Assad tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Yi was well out of range. Poor timing from Assad.
Yi scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Assad doesn't seem bothered though.
Yi lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Assad missing with a left hand there. Yi was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Yi looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Assad moves out of range as Yi strikes.
Assad misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Yi.
Yi takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Assad throws a hook but Yi blocks it.
A combination from Assad does no damage.
A nice combination there by Yi.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Yi throws a body shot but no joy.
Assad throws a body shot but no joy.
Yi throws out a counter right but Assad avoids it with no problem.
Assad gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Assad throws a shot to the body.
Assad throws a jab when Yi was well out of range.
Assad waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Yi.
A big right from Assad misses.
Assad swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Yi misses with a hook.
Yi fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Assad on the side of the head.
Assad missing with a left hand there. Yi was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Yi keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Yi keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Assad.
Assad bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Yi's head.
The fighters circling - Yi throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
A swing and a miss from Yi.
Assad moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Assad swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Assad throws a hook to the side of Yi's head but Yi sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Assad missing with a left hand there. Yi was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Assad misses with a hook.
The fighters circling - Yi throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Assad keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Assad with a hook.
Yi misses the shot to the body.
Yi throws a hook to the side of Assad's head but Assad sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Yi lands a jab to the nose.
Assad misses with a hook. Yi ducked under it nicely.
Assad keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Assad tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Yi was well out of range. Poor timing from Assad.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Assad throws an off balance right hand
and Yi counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Yi swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Assad ducks under a wild hook from Yi.
Yi slips a jab and a cross from Assad.
Yi takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sam Assad dominated that second 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. This is the final round!

A swing and a miss from Yi.
Yi throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Yi has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Yi there as he acknowledges the shot.
Yi misses with a hook.
A big right from Assad misses.
Yi takes a swing at Assad's ribcage but misses.
A lazy left from Yi finds it's target.
Assad lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Yi circles away quickly and effectively.
Yi throws the left hand but Assad avoids the punch easily.
Assad was looking to counter that last move with a shot to the body but he didn't commit.
Assad listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Assad lands with a good body shot.
Assad throws a lazy right hand but Yi sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Yi ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Yi swings for the body but Assad moves out of range.
Assad scores with a jab to the head.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Yi steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Assad.
Yi looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
A jab from Yi misses.
Assad with a nice cross.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yi just misses with a punch to the body.
Assad misses with a right hand
enabling Yi to counter with a crisp jab.
Yi has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
Assad fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Yi manages to avoid it.
Yi swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Assad is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Assad lands a body shot.
Assad misses with a straight left.
Yi takes one to the chin there.
Yi's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Assad connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Yi scrambles back to his feet.
Assad misses the shot to the body.
Assad slips under a jab from Yi.
Assad connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Assad just misses with a punch to the body.
Assad throws a lazy right hand but Yi sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
A looping hook to the body misses from Yi. Assad does a little dance to reset his feet.
Yi lands with a shot to the body.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Yi drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Assad misses with a wild body shot.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A telegraphed right hand from Assad misses the target.
The fighters circle momentarily. Yi darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Yi takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Assad avoids the body shot from Yi.
Assad swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Assad swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Yi cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Yi misses with a two punch combination.
Assad rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Yi counters with a straight right hand.
Yi takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Assad ducks under a wild hook from Yi.
Yi's corner calls for a 1-2. Yi obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Yi punishes Assad's body with a nice straight punch.
Assad scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Yi doesn't seem bothered though.
Yi throws out a powerful jab.
Assad takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Assad throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Yi sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Yi doesn't fully commit to the body shot counter.
Yi slips under a jab from Assad.
Yi scores with a jab to the jaw.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Assad takes one to the side of the head.
Assad swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
It seemed like Yi was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Yi takes one on the button.
Assad misses with a wild combination.
Yi's jab looks to have found its range, popping Assad under the eye.
Assad misses the shot to the body.
Yi is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Assad.
Yi misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Assad.
Yi takes a swing at Assad's ribcage but misses.
Yi walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Yi swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Yi takes a swing at Assad's ribcage but misses.
Assad connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Yi misses with a hook. Assad ducked under it nicely.
Hsing Yi has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Yi moves away from the strike by Assad.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Assad blocks a jab.
Nice defenses there by Assad.
It looked like Assad wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Yi loads up on a big right hand but Assad slips the punch.
Assad swung with a counter punch to the body but it didn't connect.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Assad throws the left hand but Yi avoids the punch easily.
Yi moves out of range as Assad strikes.
Assad misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Yi.
Assad misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Assad keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Yi slips a jab from Assad.
Yi takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Assad moves out of range as Yi strikes.
Assad looks to throw the jab but Yi is out of range.
Yi with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
A jab from Assad misses.
Assad scores with a crisp jab that stopped Yi in his tracks.
Assad throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Yi is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
Assad throws a shot from downtown. Yi moves away and avoids it.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Sam Assad.
Well Assad 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 Dean Styles scores the fight 30:27
Judge Alyssa Summers scores the fight 30:27
Judge Jorge Garcia scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Sam Assad!
An out of breath and clearly excited Sam Assad thanked Organic Nutrition for their help and support (and free stuff they sent him).