Flair 52 PBP Commentary

Undercard bout

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Sota Sankari (ranked 10970 p4p, 23858 weight class) and Curtis Tate Iii (ranked 274 p4p, 275 weight class). Sota Sankari looks tired to me. Hopefully he has got enough gas left in the tank to put in a good performance.

Sankari
vs
Tate Iii

195 cm
55
260
14 - 32 - 0

185 cm
22
215
29 - 6 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Basic striking
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 14 - 32 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Sota Sankari!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 29 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Curtis Tate Iii!
The judges for this bout are Frank Dennis, Daniel Franklin and Tiny Johnson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Tate Iii throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Sankari stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Tate Iii lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.

It looks like Sota Sankari has been cut.

A jab-cross combination lands for Tate Iii and sends Sankari crashing to the mat! Tate Iii follows him down to the mat - Sankari regains half guard but he's not out of trouble yet!

Sankari is rocked!
Sankari is breathing heavily.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Tate Iii lands a big elbow - Sankari is out of it! He's waving his arms around but his eyes are closed and he's not intelligently defending himself - the ref has no choice but to jump in and stop the fight! This one is in the books! A TKO win for Tate Iii!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:27 of round 1, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Curtis Tate Iii!

C
A

C
B

energy
A | B

hype
A | B

pop
A | B

mgr
A | B

FIGHT
RATING
100%

Co-main event

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Javier Martinez (ranked 181 p4p, 18749 weight class) and Jax Thomas (ranked 29 p4p, 598 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Martinez
vs
Thomas

188 cm
28
200
23 - 3 - 0

175 cm
40
211
47 - 27 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
KO power

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Heavy handed

Brooklyn Threads
Brooklyn Apothecary

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, for the light heavyweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 23 - 3 - 0, fighting out of New York, Javier Martinez!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 47 - 27 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Jax Thomas!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Franklin, Alan Glass and Wesley Smith.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Thomas takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Martinez lands a jab.
Martinez lands a jab to the head.

Martinez closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Thomas did well to prevent Martinez getting side control.
Martinez will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Martinez stops Thomas from getting back to his feet.
Martinez throws a big elbow that misses, also allowing Thomas to regain full guard.
Martinez throws a strike but Thomas rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Thomas gets to his feet. Martinez looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!
Nice sprawl there from Martinez as Thomas shoots in.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Martinez closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Martinez lands in his opponent's guard.
Martinez throwing strikes but missing.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Martinez accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Martinez trying to control but Thomas is working from the bottom.
Martinez working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Martinez controlling from the top position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Martinez trying to control but Thomas is working from the bottom.
Martinez throwing strikes from guard but Thomas blocks nicely.
Martinez throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Thomas works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Martinez trying to control the position from guard on top but Thomas is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Martinez 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.
Thomas tries for a takedown but Martinez sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Martinez half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.
Thomas closes this distance looking for a takedown but Martinez circles away.
Martinez appears to be looking for a big counter.
Javier Martinez has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jax Thomas.
Martinez slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.

Martinez shoots in and bounces Thomas off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Martinez controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Martinez's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Thomas looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Martinez throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Thomas works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Martinez has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Martinez wants to control from the top but Thomas keeps moving.
Martinez content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Martinez definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.

Thomas is working an open guard so Martinez takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
Martinez keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Martinez thuds his right hand into Thomas's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Thomas tries for a takedown but Martinez sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.

Thomas fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Martinez sprawls well initially but Thomas persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Thomas tries to stand but his hand is stuck under Martinez.
Martinez trying to hold on to Thomas's head to control him but Thomas postures up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thomas tries to stand but his hand is stuck under Martinez.
Thomas is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.

Thomas decides to stand up and try his luck on the feet.

Martinez shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Martinez was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Martinez working the body and head with strikes.
Martinez wants to control but Thomas is keeping him busy.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Javier Martinez 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.

Martinez sizes up Thomas with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Martinez is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.
Thomas misses with a takedown
and Martinez counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Martinez lands a jab to Thomas's midsection.
Javier Martinez is winning the standup battle so far.
Thomas misses with a takedown
and Martinez counters with a lovely straight right hand!

Martinez manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Thomas on his heels. He'll look to pass Thomas's guard now, I'm sure.
Martinez throwing strikes from guard but Thomas blocks nicely.
Martinez slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Thomas avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thomas being controlled here, momentarily.
Martinez working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Thomas's head.
Martinez throwing strikes but missing.
Martinez is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Martinez wants to control from the top but Thomas keeps moving.
Martinez lands a couple of digs.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.

Thomas scrambles and gets back to his feet.
Thomas with a lazy takedown attempt
and Martinez counters with a three punch combo that has Thomas backing up. Thomas nods at Martinez to acknowledge the strikes.
Javier Martinez has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jax Thomas.
Thomas changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Martinez tries to avoid it but Thomas manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Martinez to the ground. Martinez escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Thomas shoots in and drives through. Martinez sprawls well.
Martinez appears to be looking for a big counter.
Martinez is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Thomas is breathing heavily.
Thomas tries for a takedown but Martinez circles away easily
and Martinez cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Thomas takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Martinez swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Thomas.
Thomas with a lazy takedown attempt
and Martinez counters with a series of strikes. Thomas will be more careful next time no doubt.

Thomas is rocked!

Martinez drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Thomas is still in real trouble! Can Martinez finish him?
A big shot lands for Martinez! That's hurt Thomas! Will he recover? Martinez fires away with more strikes and the referee has to step in to stop the fight!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:53 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Javier Martinez!
Javier Martinez retains his light heavyweight title!
After the fight, Javier Martinez was humble in paying tribute to his opponent but made it clear he wants to go on to bigger and better things. It seemed to go down well with the crowd who cheered him loudly.

C
A

C
B

energy
A | B

hype
A | B

pop
A | B

mgr
A | B

FIGHT
RATING
50%

Main event

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between William Tate (ranked 23941 p4p, 23870 weight class) and Craig Long Lang (ranked 509 p4p, 528 weight class). Both fighters look pumped up here. Let's hope this is a good fight!

Tate
vs
Lang

180 cm
21
210
5 - 19 - 0

183 cm
22
225
6 - 16 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Experienced

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 19 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, William Tate!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 16 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Craig Long Lang!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Franklin, Tiny Johnson and Chris Downing.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Lang bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.

Lang darts in and clinches Tate up against the cage.

Lang has moved round to his opponent's back and is looking for a suplex! Oh snap! He's tossed Tate clear over his head and slammed him to the mat!

Tate showing good submission defense here.
Lang trying to secure his dominant position for a moment - making sure Tate doesn't escape.

Tate defends a rear naked choke attempt by controlling one of Lang's arms.
Lang is riding his opponent, not letting Tate buck him off.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lang has Tate flattened out and is raining down punches.

It looks like William Tate has been cut.

Lang is looking for the choke from the back position but Tate is controlling his hands well.

Lang is remaining active here, looking for the choke. The more discerning members of the crowd will appreciate his efforts.
Lang is looking cool and calm here, just waiting for a good opportunity to attack and finish the fight from this dominant position.
Lang is punishing Tate with strikes - can he finish him?!
You know, I was talking to some of our celebrities at ringside tonight and they were split right down the middle on who was going to win this fight.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Lang sinks in the hooks and is looking for the choke. He's got it! Tate taps out!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:52 of round 1, we have a winner by way of Submission (RNC). Craig Long Lang!