PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Devon Sage (ranked 1345 p4p, 1646 weight class) and Dave Thompson (ranked 142 p4p, 175 weight class). Thompson has chosen Emmure - Nemesis as his entrance music. Devon Sage has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Sage
vs
Thompson

170 cm
27
157
11 - 1 - 0

177 cm
25
155
7 - 2 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Basic striking
KO power

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

Bondi MMA ðŸï¸

SynCity Fightwear
Seventh Circle Clothing

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 11 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Devon Sage!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Dave Thompson!
The judges for this bout are Ivan Kurochkin, Illya Tyunina and Aleksei Zolotukhin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Sage closes the distance and clinches.
Sage blocking some punches.
Sage blocks an uppercut.
Sage is trying to pull guard but Thompson turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Sage tries to pull guard but Thompson forces him back to his feet, against the cage.

Sage has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Thompson uses from the top position.
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.
Thompson stopping the sweep attempt from Sage.

Sage looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Sage lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Thompson is looking to stand up but Sage isn't so interested in that idea.
Sage trying to control the position from guard on top but Thompson is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Sage is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.

Thompson pushes Sage off for just long enough to get back to his feet. Very athletic spring there.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Sage takes the fight into the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sage is trying to pull guard but Thompson turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Devon Sage. That's going to take a lot out of him.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Sage.
Sage tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Sage is trying to pull guard but Thompson has him pressed against the cage.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Thompson creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Sage tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Thompson just stands there and leans against the cage.
Thompson throws a punch but it's blocked by Sage.
Thompson misses with a short punch on the inside.
Thompson misses with the head strike.

Sage successfully pulls guard.

Thompson avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Sage is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Thompson wants to get back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thompson really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Sage. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

Sage is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.

Sage is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Sage seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Thompson does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Sage trying to pass the guard but Thompson defending well.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Thompson is trying to stand.

The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Sage looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Thompson is trying to stand back up but Sage is controlling him
Sage looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Sage seems to be working for a kimura but Thompson defends the submission attempt.
We've been hearing that Sage has been drilling a lot of ground and pound in training, so let's see if he get the finish.

Sage seems to be working for a kimura but Thompson defends the submission attempt.
Sage stops Thompson from getting back to his feet.

Sage is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Thompson is trying to stand back up but Sage is controlling him
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Thompson scrambles, trying to get to his feet, but Sage manages to mount him!

Sage working for a submission but Thompson is keeping him at bay.
Thompson wants to get back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sage trying to control but Thompson is having none of it.
Thompson is trying to escape but when you're mounted that's not too easy.
Sage controlling his opponent.
Sage is looking to work his way around to Thompson's back. He needs to be careful though, as he's in danger of losing this dominant position.

Sage has hold of Thompson's left arm, perhaps looking for a submission. The two fighters tussle over control of the isolated limb and Thompson manages to get his arm back to his side and away from danger.

Sage working for a submission but Thompson is keeping him at bay.

Sage looks like he's working for a submission but he's not found anything just yet.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Sage is working for a guillotine from mount but Thompson frees his head quite easily.
Sage can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Thompson is looking to escape.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Devon Sage dominated that round.
That's time! Sage's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Sage moves into the clinch.
Sage tries to pull guard but Thompson won't allow it.
Sage is trying to pull guard but Thompson turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Sage fails to pull guard.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Devon Sage. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Sage pulls guard successfully.
Thompson must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Thompson wants to stand but Sage has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Sage looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Sage is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Thompson looks like he's trying to stand up.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Sage is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Thompson defends it well.
Sage is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Sage seems to be working for a kimura but Thompson defends the submission attempt.
Sage trying to mount his opponent but Thompson defends it.
Sage stops Thompson from getting back to his feet.
Sage is taking a breather. Thompson says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Sage stops Thompson from getting back to his feet.

Sage is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.

Sage is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Devon Sage overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Thompson wants to get back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sage trying to control from half guard but Thompson is working away.
Sage is taking a breather. Thompson says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Thompson is trying to stand.

Sage is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Thompson is trying to stand up here but Sage is controlling him well.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Sage is working for a kimura but Thompson is defending it quite comfortably.

Sage is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Thompson is looking to escape.

Sage is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Thompson wants to get back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sage controlling the action here.

Sage wants to work for an arm triangle but Thompson is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Thompson tries to kick Sage off but Sage keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Sage trying to control the action but Thompson is working from the bottom.
Sage is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Thompson can do to turn this around?
Sage is really struggling to control Thompson but he's trying to hold on to the position.

Sage is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Thompson has managed to free his arm - good work.
Sage is keen to just control but Thompson is a slippery customer.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Thompson can do anything to dispel that myth.

Sage is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Thompson looks like he's trying to stand up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Sage is trying for a kimura here. Thompson looks like he's in a lot of pain... and he's tapping out! Sage wins by kimura!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:28 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). Devon Sage!
After winning the bout, Devon Sage thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.