PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between ZaDarius Haden (ranked 1566 p4p, 1116 weight class) and Daniel Spong (ranked 231 p4p, 168 weight class). Haden comes to the cage accompanied by Motï¿½rhead - Orgasmatron. Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Haden
vs
Spong

198 cm
28
249
14 - 8 - 1

179 cm
27
240
8 - 5 - 0

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Granite chin

Excellent grappler
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

Paddy's Enhancing Drugs (160Q)
Urban Fighter

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 14 - 8 - 1, fighting out of Montreal, ZaDarius Haden!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Daniel Spong!
The judges for this bout are Yuuki Gou, Shigeki Fujiwara and Sosuke Kotani.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Horrible takedown attempt by Spong or perhaps it was just good defense by Haden, which made it look bad.
Haden has been working on his boxing with his coaches at Gunner's School of Combat in the buildup to the fight.
Haden fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Spong looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Haden misses with a looping right.

Haden throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Spong tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Haden is in Spong's guard.
Haden content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Haden wants to pass the guard but Spong is keeping the position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Spong looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Haden cracks Spong with a solid left hand.

Spong looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Haden passes into side control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Spong is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Spong is trying to control Haden's posture but Haden avoids it.
Spong is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Spong is trying to get back to half guard.
Spong looking for a sweep but Haden has passed into full mount! Oh no!
Spong is looking to improve his position but Haden isn't that keen on the idea.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Haden wants to control the pace but Spong is squirming around nicely.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Haden cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Spong keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Haden will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Spong is squirming around, avoiding Haden's attempts to control the action.
Haden 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.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Haden cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Spong sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Spong trying to control here.
Haden tries to pass to full mount but Spong defends it.
Haden misses with a head shot. Spong uses the momentum to regain guard.
Haden postures up.
Haden trying to control the position from guard on top but Spong is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Spong wants to control but Haden passes easily into half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Spong tries to get to full guard but Haden has control of the leg.
Spong trying to hold on to Haden's head to control him but Haden postures up.
Well, if Haden is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.

Spong looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Haden performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

ZaDarius Haden dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Spong keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Haden scores with a body shot.
ZaDarius Haden seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Spong throws a right hand that misses
and Haden counters with a stiff right hand.
Spong doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Haden counters with a left to the body.
Spong fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Haden avoids it really well and circles away.
Haden connects with a looping right hand.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Haden keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Spong throws out a loose jab but Haden uses good head movement to avoid it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Spong scores with a jab.

It looks like ZaDarius Haden has been cut.
Haden fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Spong looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Haden is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Spong can do to turn this around?
Spong moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Spong misses with an uppercut. Haden saw that one coming.
Haden swings for the body but Spong moves out of range.
Spong looks like he wants to counter punch here.

Haden darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.

Spong looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Spong moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Spong looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Spong keeping full guard, as Haden tries to pass.
Spong keeping moving, preventing Haden from controlling successfully.
Haden stopping the sweep attempt from Spong.
Haden wants to control from the top but Spong keeps moving.
Haden with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Spong keeping moving, preventing Haden from controlling successfully.
Haden engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
ZaDarius Haden overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Spong lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Haden trying to keep a closed guard but Spong is proving a slippery customer.
Haden lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Haden looking to pass the guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Spong wants to sweep but no luck.
Haden slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Spong is trying to escape the position but Haden is controlling the position.
Haden connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Spong some visible discomfort.
Spong tries to slip a leg under to move to half guard but Haden presses down on the leg and jumps into full mount!
Haden wants to control the pace but Spong is squirming around nicely.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

ZaDarius Haden dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on ZaDarius Haden's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Haden just misses with a punch to the body.
ZaDarius Haden is winning the standup battle so far.
Haden works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Spong avoids the body shot from Haden.
A jab from Haden finds it's way through Spong's defenses.
Nice jab there from Haden.
Haden misses with a body shot.
Haden uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Spong fails to land the takedown.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Haden blocks a jab.
Haden connects with a good right hand that stumbles Spong. Spong circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
Horrible takedown attempt by Spong or perhaps it was just good defense by Haden, which made it look bad.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Haden lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Spong uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Haden.
Spong swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
Spong shoots in for a double leg but Haden sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
ZaDarius Haden has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Daniel Spong.
Spong swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Haden counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Haden.
Spong takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Spong has momentary wrist control but Haden slips an elbow through the middle.
Haden is in close to Spong's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Haden throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Spong trying to control the position.
Spong looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Spong keeping full guard, as Haden tries to pass.
Haden postures up in Spong's guard and throws a big left but Spong blocks it.
Haden trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Spong can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Haden controls the pace.

Spong has his foot on Haden's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Haden works his way back into a safe position though.
Haden chips away with some ground and pound.
Haden slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Haden trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Spong is looking to sweep but instead, Haden has passed into half guard.
Spong is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Haden scores with a couple of nice shots.
Haden trying to pass the guard but Spong defending well.
Haden is looking to take a break and control but Spong is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

Haden moves into side control, avoiding a weak kimura attempt from Spong.
Spong is letting Haden control him for a moment.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Haden lands a few punches from side control.
ZaDarius Haden is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Spong is being controlled here.
Haden lands an elbow.
Spong is looking for a sweep.
Haden is looking to take a break and control but Spong is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Haden moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.

And that's the end of the fight!
ZaDarius Haden showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Haden 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 Yuuki Gou scores the fight 30:26
Judge Shigeki Fujiwara scores the fight 30:26
Judge Sosuke Kotani scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... ZaDarius Haden!
ZaDarius Haden really struggled to get his t-shirt on before his hand was raised. Making sure that Urban Fighter logo gets some air time is pretty tricky when you're all sweaty.