PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Michael Garibaldi (ranked 1708 p4p, 1630 weight class) and Denny Sideman (ranked 222 p4p, 210 weight class). Garibaldi's entrance music is Resist and Bite - Sabaton. A fine choice. Both fighters look pumped up here. Let's hope this is a good fight!

Garibaldi
vs
Sideman

190 cm
35
186
25 - 21 - 0

183 cm
35
195
23 - 19 - 2

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Olympic wrestler
World class boxer
Granite chin

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 25 - 21 - 0, fighting out of New York, Michael Garibaldi!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 23 - 19 - 2, fighting out of Las Vegas, Denny Sideman!
The judges for this bout are Yasuomi Hirokawa, Shigeki Fujiwara and Tatsuya Matsuyama.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Garibaldi walks into a stiff left hand from Sideman.
Sideman misses with a kick to the body.
And Garibaldi counters with a quick kick to the body but Sideman blocks it.
Garibaldi avoids the head kick by Sideman.
Garibaldi appears to be looking for a counter punch to the body.
Sideman has been spending a lot of time sparring his boxing in the run up to the fight, trying to sharpen up those hands and look for a knockout.
Sideman rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Garibaldi counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Sideman scores with a leg kick.
Sideman swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Sideman connects with a good right hand that stumbles Garibaldi. Garibaldi circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
Garibaldi avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Garibaldi moves out of range of the body kick.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Garibaldi blocks a low kick nicely.
Sideman misses with a double jab.
Garibaldi is looking to counter with head kicks.
Sideman connects with an inside leg kick.
Sideman misses with an uppercut
and Sideman takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Garibaldi slips a jab from Sideman.
Garibaldi takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Sideman fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Garibaldi is out of range.
Garibaldi throws a counter high kick but Sideman was just alert enough to avoid it.
Sideman dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Garibaldi. That did some damage!
A chopping leg kick lands by Sideman.
Sideman swings away with a body shot that misses
and Sideman takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Sideman falls off balance throwing a combination
and Garibaldi counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Sideman with a nice calf kick.
Sideman feints a jab promting Garibaldi to slip. Sideman then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Garibaldi slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.
Sideman lands an overhand right.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Garibaldi moves out of range of the leg kick from Sideman.
Sideman fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Garibaldi checks it well.
Garibaldi is looking to counter the offense by Sideman and move into the clinch.
Sideman swings widly with a right hand
and Garibaldi counters with a straight right hand.
A lazy left from Sideman finds it's target.
Garibaldi uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Sideman.
Denny Sideman seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Sideman fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Garibaldi has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Garibaldi stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Sideman.
Sideman throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Garibaldi avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Garibaldi is looking to counter punch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
That kick from Sideman tenderised Garibaldi's leg. Garibaldi is trying to keep his angry face on.
Sideman misses with an uppercut. Garibaldi saw that one coming.
Sideman chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Sideman throws a leg kick but Garibaldi sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Sideman feints and then cracks Garibaldi's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Garibaldi down.
Garibaldi tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
That kick from Sideman tenderised Garibaldi's leg. Garibaldi is trying to keep his angry face on.
Sideman feints and then cracks Garibaldi's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Garibaldi down.
A slapping leg kick lands for Sideman.
A solid leg kick lands there for Sideman.
Sideman throws a nice outside leg kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Garibaldi checks a low kick from Sideman.
Sideman with a nice calf kick.
Sideman throws a series of strikes that have Garibaldi backpedaling.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Nice defenses there by Garibaldi.
Garibaldi lifts his leg as if looking to counter with a high kick.
Garibaldi takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Sideman looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Garibaldi seemed to be looking to counter by closing the distance.
Sideman lands with a nice body punch.
Sideman throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Garibaldi sees it coming and avoids it easily.
As Sideman tries to get set, Garibaldi tries to push him back and clinch up but Sideman manages to avoid the attempt.
Garibaldi is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Sideman pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Sideman ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Garibaldi moves away.
An attempted straight right counter from Garibaldi misses the target.
Sideman fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Denny Sideman dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Garibaldi takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Sideman has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Garibaldi takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Sideman misses with a low kick.
Sideman misses with a straight right.
Garibaldi was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Sideman chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Sideman chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Sideman lands with a slapping head kick.
Sideman fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sideman tries a head kick but it misses.
Garibaldi's legs have taken a beating and he's really slowing down as a result.
Sideman throws a leg kick that misses.
Garibaldi is looking to counter punch.
Denny Sideman seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Sideman clobbers Garibaldi with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Garibaldi blocks a head kick by Sideman.
Garibaldi was looking to counter that last move with a shot to the body but he didn't commit.
A low kick lands for Sideman.
Garibaldi looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Sideman throws a predictable looking body shot
and Garibaldi counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Sideman thinking.
Sideman lands a nice shot to the body.
The crowd cheers as Sideman lands an impressive looking overhand right. Garibaldi doesn't seem phased though.
Sideman lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Sideman misses the jab.
It looked like Garibaldi was trying to counter with a body shot coming off that last attack from Sideman.
Sideman throws a jab but it's blocked by Garibaldi.
Sideman throws a poor cross that misses
and Garibaldi counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Sideman is looking to chop away at Garibaldi's legs.
Sideman throws a low kick but Garibaldi moves out of range easily.
As Sideman backs away, Garibaldi returns fire with a leg kick that just misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sideman looks to throw the jab but Garibaldi is out of range.
Garibaldi tried to counter with a leg kick but Sideman avoided it.
Sideman throws a solid leg kick but Garibaldi takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Sideman.
Sideman throws a leg kick
and Garibaldi counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Sideman is lucky that one didn't land flush.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Sideman lands a front kick.
Sideman thuds a mid kick into his opponent's body. That will wear on Garibaldi if he has to take too many more of those.
Sideman buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Sideman scores with a head kick.
Sideman cracks a nice hook into Garibaldi's ribs.
This entire fight has taken place on the feet so far and you wonder whether Garibaldi might be better served trying to take this one to the ground because he's losing the standup battle so far.
A leg kick checked by Garibaldi.
Sideman lands with a thumping leg kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sideman thows a left - swing and a miss!
Garibaldi throws a counter high kick but Sideman was just alert enough to avoid it.
Sideman throws a sloppy head kick and Garibaldi moves out of range easily.
Sideman with a nice calf kick.
Sideman chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Garibaldi slips under a jab from Sideman.
Garibaldi was looking to counter that last move with a shot to the body but he didn't commit.
Sideman looks to land a right hand but Garibaldi moved out of range.
Sideman pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
It looked like Garibaldi was trying to counter with a body shot coming off that last attack from Sideman.
Garibaldi takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Sideman jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Garibaldi lifts his leg as if looking to counter with a high kick.
Sideman swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Garibaldi tries to counter by clinching up but Sideman breaks away and moves out of range.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sideman throws the left hand but Garibaldi avoids the punch easily.
A little feinted left hand from Garibaldi on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Sideman lands with a good body shot.
Sideman takes a swing at Garibaldi's ribcage but misses.
Garibaldi checks a low kick from Sideman.
Garibaldi is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Sideman throws a low kick but Garibaldi avoids it.
Garibaldi looked to counter with a high kick but didn't commit.
Sideman throws a front kick aimed at Garibaldi's knee but Garibaldi avoids it well.
Garibaldi moves out of range of the leg kick from Sideman.
Sideman misses with a low kick.
Sideman throws a lazy uppercut
and Garibaldi connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Sideman misses with a leg kick
and Garibaldi counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Sideman looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Denny Sideman showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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!

Sideman misses with a body shot.
Sideman throws a jab but it's blocked by Garibaldi.
Garibaldi was looking to counter that last move with a shot to the body but he didn't commit.
Garibaldi stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Sideman.
Sideman misses with an uppercut
enabling Garibaldi to counter with a crisp jab.
Sideman tried to score with a low kick but Garibaldi checks it.
Sideman misses with a head kick.
Garibaldi seemed to be looking to counter by closing the distance.
Sideman swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Garibaldi counters with a thumping low kick.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sideman lands with a nice body kick.
Sideman swings away with a body shot that misses

and Garibaldi counters by clinching up.
Garibaldi lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Sideman blocking some punches.
Sideman working aggressively here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A short right from Garibaldi on the inside.
Garibaldi pushes Sideman back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Garibaldi misses with a punch to the body.
Sideman stalling in the clinch.
Garibaldi throws a punch but it's blocked by Sideman.
Sideman blocks an uppercut.
Garibaldi throws a punch but it's blocked by Sideman.
Garibaldi misses with a hook from the clinch.
Sideman blocking some punches.
Garibaldi tries to pull guard but Sideman holds him up against the cage and eventually Garibaldi drops back down to his feet.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Garibaldi.
Garibaldi working aggressively here.
Garibaldi lands a body punch in the clinch.
Garibaldi misses with a hook from the clinch.
Garibaldi working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Garibaldi throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Sidemans head.
Michael Garibaldi has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Garibaldi is leaning against Sideman and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Sideman takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Sideman is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Garibaldi lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Garibaldi is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Sideman to keep the fight standing.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Garibaldi lands a hook that snaps the head of Sideman backwards.
Garibaldi jumps guard but Sideman stands there with Garibaldi around his waist. Garibaldi gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Michael Garibaldi. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Garibaldi lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Sideman backwards.
Garibaldi has Sideman pressed against the cage, preventing Sideman from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Sideman misses with the head strike.
Garibaldi prevents Sideman from breaking the clinch.
Garibaldi misses with a punch on the inside.

Sideman decides to pull guard.
Garibaldi pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Sideman is keeping the position for now.
Garibaldi sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Sideman's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Sideman looking for a kimura from the bottom but Garibaldi passes into side control!
Sideman prevents Garibaldi from moving into mount.

Garibaldi is working for what looks like an arm triangle here. Sideman is trying to escape and Garibaldi transitions quickly into an armbar! He's slapped it on tight and Sideman is forced to tap! Nice work there by Garibaldi! Very nice indeed!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:47 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Michael Garibaldi!
Michael Garibaldi seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.