PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Itchy Sinclair (ranked 2061 p4p, 2010 weight class) and Nate Masvidal (ranked 284 p4p, 281 weight class). Nate Masvidal is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Sinclair
vs
Masvidal

179 cm
18
182
6 - 0 - 0

188 cm
23
185
9 - 8 - 1

Powerful takedowns
Solid boxing
Cardio machine

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

UN-KAGED SAVAGE PEDS

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 6 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Itchy Sinclair!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 8 - 1, fighting out of London, Nate Masvidal!
The judges for this bout are Albert Achterberg, Daniel Blasius and Radbod Blank.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Masvidal defending well as Sinclair loads up on a big left hand.
Sinclair keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
A big left from Sinclair misses.
No joy there for Masvidal, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
The fighters circling - Masvidal throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Sinclair slips a straight right by Masvidal.
Masvidal defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Sinclair.
The fighters circling - Masvidal throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Masvidal just misses with a punch to the body.
Sinclair misses with a hook.
Sinclair takes a swing at Masvidal's ribcage but misses.
Sinclair just misses with a punch to the body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sinclair shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Masvidal as he avoids it easily.
Sinclair fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Masvidal throws out a counter right but Sinclair avoids it with no problem.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Itchy Sinclair. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Masvidal misses with a hook. Sinclair ducked under it nicely.
Masvidal misses with a straight left.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Masvidal misses with a two punch combination.
Sinclair fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Masvidal manages to avoid it.
Masvidal waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Sinclair.
Sinclair changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Masvidal tries to avoid it but Sinclair manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Masvidal to the ground. Masvidal escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Masvidal has worked on his takedown defense in the runup to this fight and it is paying off so far.
Sinclair gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Masvidal's jab looks to have found its range, popping Sinclair under the eye.
Sinclair keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Masvidal.
Nice sprawl there from Masvidal as Sinclair shoots in.
Sinclair swings widly with a right hand
and Masvidal connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Masvidal slips under a jab from Sinclair.
Masvidal lets it all go there with a big combo counter but none of the punches connected.
Masvidal takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Masvidal throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Sinclair steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Masvidal.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Masvidal enables Sinclair to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Masvidal manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Sinclair throws a big elbow that misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sinclair stopping the sweep attempt from Masvidal.
Masvidal seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Masvidal is edging up against the cage. He's using the cage to get back to his feet. Nice work there - the fighters are clinched.

Masvidal breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Nate Masvidal is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Masvidal throws a poor cross that misses

and Sinclair counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Masvidal!
Sinclair working the head and body with strikes.
Sinclair creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Masvidal sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.

Sinclair is trying to get an arm triangle but Masvidal is defending well.
Sinclair throwing strikes but missing, from side control.
Masvidal wants to get back to his feet but Sinclair drags him back down.
Sinclair lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Masvidal is trying to buck Sinclair off.
Masvidal is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.
Sinclair working the body and head with strikes.
Sinclair throws a strike aimed at the side of Masvidal's head but Masvidal avoids it well.
Masvidal is looking for a sweep.
Masvidal parries the strikes from Sinclair easily there. Sinclair is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Masvidal to escape.
Masvidal wants to get back to his feet but Sinclair drags him back down.
Masvidal is looking for a sweep.
Sinclair misses with an attempted head punch from side control.

Sinclair tries for a kimura but Masvidal is defending well.
Masvidal is working to avoid the ground and pound but Sinclair connects with a decent elbow.
Masvidal can't do much from the bottom here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Masvidal pushes Sinclair away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Sinclair gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.
Masvidal manages to get back to half guard.
Masvidal trying to control from the bottom.
Sinclair thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Masvidal's head.
Masvidal tries to kick Sinclair off but Sinclair keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Sinclair is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.

Sinclair is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Masvidal sees it coming and defends easily.
Masvidal tries to get to full guard but Sinclair has control of the leg.
Masvidal keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Sinclair wants to control but Masvidal is keeping him busy.
Masvidal tries to kick Sinclair off but Sinclair keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Itchy Sinclair will probably get the nod.
That's time! Back to the action!

Sinclair moves out of range as Masvidal strikes.
Sinclair throwing a counter right hand but Masvidal manages to avoid it.
Masvidal might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
A jab from Masvidal does it's job there.

Sinclair gets a takedown into half guard.
Masvidal is looking for a sweep. Sinclair is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Sinclair not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Masvidal is trying to maintain the position but Sinclair is very close to passing his half guard.
Sinclair prevents Masvidal from standing back up.
Masvidal wants to control but Sinclair is keeping busy.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Masvidal is defending against the submission attempts here by Sinclair.
Sinclair wants to control but Masvidal is keeping him busy.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Masvidal trying to control from the bottom.
Masvidal wants to get back to his feet.
Sinclair seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Masvidal does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Sinclair is really struggling to control Masvidal but he's trying to hold on to the position.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Masvidal missing with a left hand there. Sinclair was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Sinclair misses with a wild combination.
Sinclair uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Masvidal.
Masvidal avoids the body shot from Sinclair.
It seemed like Masvidal was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Sinclair dives in and grabs Masvidal's left leg, looking for a takedown. Masvidal pushes down on Sinclair's head and hops out.
Nate Masvidal seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Masvidal takes a shot to the body in his stride.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sinclair doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Sinclair takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Masvidal looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Sinclair scores with a nice strike.
Sinclair dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Sinclair fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Masvidal unleashes a big counter combination but Sinclair bobs and weaves and avoids any damage.
Masvidal swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Sinclair throws a right and a left that both miss.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Sinclair closes this distance looking for a takedown but Masvidal circles away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Itchy Sinclair. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Sinclair ducks under a wild hook from Masvidal.
Masvidal throws out a loose jab but Sinclair uses good head movement to avoid it.
Sinclair digs a good hook to Masvidal's body.
Masvidal misses with an uppercut.
Itchy Sinclair is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Sinclair misses with a wild combination.
Masvidal looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sinclair blocks a jab.
Masvidal throws a series of punches but Sinclair moves out of range.
Masvidal misses with a left hand
and Sinclair counters with a right hand to the body.
Sinclair staying out of range there.
Sinclair swings widly with a right hand
and Masvidal makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Sinclair looks to land a combination but Masvidal avoids it well.
Good shot there by Sinclair.
Itchy Sinclair seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Sinclair avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Sinclair throws out a loose jab but Masvidal uses good head movement to avoid it.
Sinclair uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Masvidal.
Sinclair lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Sinclair shoots in but Masvidal avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Masvidal waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Sinclair.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A looping hook to the body misses from Sinclair. Masvidal does a little dance to reset his feet.

Sinclair feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Masvidal wants to stand but Sinclair is controlling the position.
Masvidal has his hands on Sinclair's head, controlling the position.
Masvidal wants to stand but Sinclair is controlling the position.
Sinclair landing with the ground and pound.
Sinclair postures up.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Itchy Sinclair 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!

Masvidal misses with a looping left.
Sinclair misses with a double jab.
Sinclair throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Masvidal counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Sinclair with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Masvidal throws a hook but Sinclair blocks it.
Sinclair slips a jab from Masvidal.
Masvidal misses the shot to the body.
Nice jab there from Masvidal.
Sinclair tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Masvidal was well out of range. Poor timing from Sinclair.
Masvidal misses with a hook.
A punch combination from Sinclair misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Masvidal throws a hook to the side of Sinclair's head but Sinclair sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Sinclair misses with a straight right.
Sinclair throws a jab when Masvidal was well out of range.

Masvidal gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Sinclair to score an easy takedown into full guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Masvidal preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Itchy Sinclair overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Masvidal wants to get back to his feet but Sinclair passes into half guard.
Sinclair uses his free foot to push down on Masvidal's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Masvidal.
Masvidal is trying to escape the mount.
Masvidal in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Sinclair working away from the top, dropping strikes.
You get the feeling that Masvidal really doesn't like being in this position too much.
Nate Masvidal has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Masvidal is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Masvidal takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Sinclair lands a couple of good shots and Masvidal has given up his back, trying to escape the position!
I really don't envy Masvidal right now.
Masvidal grimaces as he takes a shot to the body.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Sinclair trying to control momentarily.
Masvidal is trying to get back to his feet but he's not managed it yet.
Sinclair lands an elbow to the side of the head.

Masvidal is rocked!
Sinclair is not going to allow Masvidal to sit and survive in this position.
Masvidal is still in real trouble! Can Sinclair finish him?

Masvidal defending nicely against the rear naked choke attempt.

Sinclair patiently working for the choke. Which fighter will keep their nerve here?

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sinclair punishes Masvidal with strikes from the back mount.
Masvidal is trying to stand back up.
Sinclair punishes Masvidal with strikes from the back mount.
Sinclair has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Masvidal gets cracked with a huge elbow and he's out cold! Possibly KO of the night from the back? Unusual but possible!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:40 of round 3, we have a winner by way of KO (Strikes). Itchy Sinclair!
Itchy Sinclair decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.