PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Saad Sadiq (ranked 1915 p4p, 1146 weight class) and Xavier Dayton (ranked 220 p4p, 138 weight class). Sadiq comes to the cage accompanied by Where Have All The Boot Boys Gone - Slaughter And The Dogs . Dayton has chosen Da Rockwilder as his entrance music. Saad Sadiq has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Sadiq
vs
Dayton

195 cm
34
200
6 - 9 - 2

194 cm
25
190
8 - 9 - 0

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

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 6 - 9 - 2, fighting out of Sydney, Saad Sadiq !
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Xavier Dayton!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Blasius, Patrick Alders and Saam Ante.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Dayton lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Sadiq circles away quickly and effectively.
Dayton misses with a head kick.
Sadiq swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Sadiq looks for a takedown but Dayton sprawls well.

Sadiq shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Sadiq showed some decent athleticism there.
Sadiq thows a huge punch but Dayton dodges it nicely.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Dayton wants to get back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sadiq is looking for the mount but instead finds himself back in full guard.
Sadiq won't allow Dayton to get back to his feet.
Dayton keeping moving, preventing Sadiq from controlling successfully.
Dayton keeping full guard, as Sadiq tries to pass.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Sadiq looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Dayton throws a body kick despite being completely out of range

and Sadiq counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Dayton is in trouble now - Sadiq has advanced to mount!
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.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sadiq trying to control but Dayton is having none of it.

Sadiq with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
Dayton is not a happy chappy… he wants out of there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sadiq punching from mount but Dayton doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Dayton is trying to stand up.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Sadiq throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Sadiq misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.

Sadiq working for a guillotine from mount but Dayton is in no mood to give up.
Sadiq trying to control but Dayton is having none of it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Dayton manages to regain half guard whilst avoiding the strikes.
Sadiq winds up and cracks Dayton with a swinging punch to the side of the head.

Dayton has managed to escape just enough to sneak back to his feet but Sadiq is on him like a limpet, forcing Dayton back against the cage.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Sadiq controlling the action here for a moment.

Dayton manages to break the clinch.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Saad Sadiq dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Sadiq slips under a jab from Dayton.
The fighters circling - Dayton throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Sadiq changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
A big right from Dayton misses.
Dayton fails to land with a series of punches.
Sadiq tries to counter with a takedown but Dayton is quick to defend against it.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Sadiq is defended easily by Dayton.

Dayton gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Dayton is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Saad Sadiq overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sadiq throws a big elbow that misses.
Sadiq with a flurry of punches that miss.
Sadiq 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.

Dayton pushes Sadiq off and scrambles back to his feet.
Dayton throws a body shot but no joy.
Dayton connects with a solid leg kick.
Dayton misses with a left hand

and Sadiq decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Dayton's guard.
Sadiq trying to control the position from guard on top but Dayton is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Sadiq throws an elbow that misses. Dayton uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Sadiq 's guard. Nice move by Dayton!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sadiq managing to control the position.
Dayton trying to stand up but can't free himself from Sadiq 's guard.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Sadiq holds on and takes a little breather.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Sadiq catches Dayton with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Sadiq keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Dayton throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
A head kick misses from Dayton.
Dayton will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Dayton throws a head kick that misses

and Sadiq decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Dayton's guard.

Dayton pushes Sadiq off and gets back to his feet.
Dayton pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Xavier Dayton 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!

Nice body punch from Sadiq .
Dayton throws a lazy head kick

and Sadiq counters with a nice double leg into side control. Dayton won't be happy with that.
Sadiq trying to control the position but Dayton is working away.
Dayton is trying to buck Sadiq off.

Sadiq looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Sadiq is trying to get an arm triangle but Dayton is defending well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dayton defending against the ground and pound.
Sadiq wants to lay and pray for a moment but Dayton keeps working.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

Sadiq tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Sadiq has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Dayton wants to get back to his feet.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Dayton is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Sadiq .
A swing and a miss from Dayton.
Dayton lands a nice looking body shot.
Sadiq avoids the head kick by Dayton.
Dayton misses the shot to the body.
Sadiq keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Dayton scores with a head kick. Sadiq tried to block it but didn't get his arm up in time.

It looks like Saad Sadiq has been cut.
Dayton misses with a straight right.
Sadiq drops down looking for a counter takedown but Dayton sprawls and moves away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sadiq shoots in looking for a takedown. Dayton tries to sprawl out of it but Sadiq keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Dayton manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Dayton throws an overhand right that lands on Sadiq 's shoulder, as Sadiq tries to avoid the shot.
Dayton misses with an uppercut

and Sadiq counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Sadiq pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Dayton is keeping the position for now.
Sadiq is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Sadiq throws a big elbow that misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Dayton is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

Dayton manages to escape and get back to his feet.
Sadiq fails with a takedown attempt.
Dayton misses with a right hand

and Sadiq counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Sadiq .
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Sadiq is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Dayton is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Dayton has escaped and now he's on top!

Sadiq is adopting a defensive guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Xavier Dayton.
I think Dayton has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Daniel Blasius scores the fight 28:29
Judge Patrick Alders scores the fight 28:29
Judge Saam Ante scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Xavier Dayton!
Xavier Dayton decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.