PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Svalbard Haudegen (ranked 293 p4p, 269 weight class) and Oscar Blaydes (ranked 34 p4p, 32 weight class). Blaydes comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Black Sunshine - White Zombie kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Haudegen
vs
Blaydes

180 cm
35
161
24 - 9 - 0

171 cm
34
158
19 - 9 - 2

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Granite chin

Olympic wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

BANZAI NUTRITION
NARCOS

Shadow Realm Apparel
NARCOS

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 24 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Svalbard Haudegen!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 19 - 9 - 2, fighting out of Montreal, Oscar Blaydes!
The judges for this bout are Ren Mimura, Shigeki Fujiwara and Tatsuya Matsuyama.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Thud! ouch! good body kick from Blaydes - that will leave a mark!
Haudegen ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Blaydes moves away.
Haudegen comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Blaydes thows a left - swing and a miss!
A jab from Blaydes misses.
Blaydes throws a body punch but Haudegen moves out of range.
Haudegen half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.
Blaydes thows a leg kick but Haudegen checks it

and Haudegen counters with a takedown into side control.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.
Haudegen working away.

Haudegen working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Blaydes manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!

That's one minute gone in the round.

Haudegen looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Blaydes stalling away here and it's allowed Haudegen to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.

Haudegen looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Blaydes is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Blaydes's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Haudegen has momentary wrist control but Blaydes slips an elbow through the middle.
Haudegen preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Blaydes trying to control but Haudegen is working from the bottom.
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Blaydes working his ground and pound in the gym.
Haudegen can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Blaydes controls the pace.

Haudegen looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Blaydes trying to control but Haudegen is working from the bottom.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Haudegen fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Blaydes manages to avoid it.
Blaydes throws out a counter right but Haudegen avoids it with no problem.
Blaydes scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Blaydes is looking to clinch.
Blaydes is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Haudegen doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Haudegen uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Blaydes.
Haudegen takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Blaydes fails to land with a series of punches.
Blaydes on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Blaydes tests Haudegen's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Blaydes swings for the body but Haudegen moves out of range.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Blaydes swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Oscar Blaydes is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Haudegen keeps the fight on the outside.
Blaydes connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Haudegen keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Blaydes misses with a low kick.
Oscar Blaydes seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Haudegen swings for the body but Blaydes moves out of range.
Haudegen checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Blaydes misses with a low kick.
Blaydes wants to clinch.
A nice leg kick lands there from Blaydes.
Blaydes throws a body punch but Haudegen moves out of range.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Oscar Blaydes dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare each other down, ready to get back to the action.

Blaydes lands a jab to Haudegen's midsection.
Haudegen checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Blaydes throws a leg kick that is checked

so Haudegen counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Haudegen stopping the sweep attempt from Blaydes.
Haudegen trying to control but Blaydes is working from the bottom.
Blaydes wants to sweep but no luck.
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.
Haudegen trying to control the position from guard on top but Blaydes is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Haudegen being controlled here momentarily.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Blaydes throws the kick towards the body but Haudegen avoids it.
Blaydes swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Haudegen fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Blaydes on the side of the head.
Blaydes misses with a body shot

and Haudegen counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Blaydes!
You can see the frustration on Blaydes's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Blaydes tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Haudegen wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Blaydes sneaks back into half guard.

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

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Blaydes is looking for a sweep. Haudegen is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

Haudegen is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Blaydes defends it well.
Blaydes is doing well to avoid being mounted. He's controlling the position at the moment.
Blaydes tries to get to full guard but Haudegen has control of the leg.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Blaydes keeps trying to improve his position.

Haudegen is working for a submission of some sort.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Haudegen takes a shot to the body in his stride.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Blaydes pivots, looking for a leg kick but Haudegen is out of range and Blaydes settles back down.
Blaydes is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Blaydes misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Haudegen.
Blaydes ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Haudegen moves away.
Haudegen appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
Nice defenses there by Haudegen.
Haudegen slips under a jab.
Blaydes changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Haudegen shoots in for a double leg but Blaydes sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Blaydes thows a left - swing and a miss!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Haudegen checks a leg kick.
Blaydes is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Haudegen rather than just go for the knockout.
Blaydes throws a poor cross that misses

and Haudegen counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Blaydes looking for a sweep. Not yet Blaydes, not yet.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Svalbard Haudegen 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. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Blaydes lands a leg kick that knocks Haudegen off balance momentarily.
Blaydes jabs at Haudegen's body.
Haudegen stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Blaydes.
Blaydes is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Blaydes takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Haudegen connects with a single shot there.
Blaydes misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Haudegen.

Haudegen gets tackled into the cage by Blaydes. Blaydes maintains the clinch.
Haudegen blocks a body shot from Blaydes.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A head punch on the inside from Blaydes fails to land.
Blaydes misses with a short punch on the inside.
Haudegen blocks a punch to the side of the head.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Blaydes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A head punch on the inside from Blaydes fails to land.
Blaydes misses with a punch on the inside.
Haudegen trying to control the position but instead, Blaydes has worked for underhooks and has pushed Haudegen into the cage.
Haudegen fails to pull guard.
Blaydes pushes Haudegen back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
I was talking to Haudegen's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.
A short body shot lands from Blaydes as the two fighters clinch.
Blaydes misses with a punch to the body.
Haudegen blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Blaydes lands with a left to the head.
Blaydes tries a body shot but Haudegen blocks it.
Haudegen wants to break the clinch but can't.
Blaydes working aggressively here.
Blaydes works on Haudegen's body with a couple of short punches.
Blaydes fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Blaydes tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.

Haudegen breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
A jab from Blaydes finds it's way through Haudegen's defenses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Blaydes on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Blaydes throws a quick inside leg kick.
A thudding body kick lands there by Blaydes!
Blaydes misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Haudegen.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Blaydes is looking to clinch.
Blaydes is looking to chop away at Haudegen's legs.
Blaydes scores with a body shot.
Blaydes tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Haudegen paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Blaydes takes one to the side of the head.
Blaydes has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
A lazy body kick from Blaydes

and Haudegen counters with a nice double leg into side control. Blaydes won't be happy with that.
Blaydes being controlled for a moment.
Blaydes manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Well, if Haudegen 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.
Blaydes slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Blaydes is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Blaydes looking to hit a scissor sweep but Haudegen is one step ahead there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Haudegen stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Blaydes swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Haudegen is working hard here to advance position.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Haudegen passes Blaydes's right leg, so he's now in half guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Oscar Blaydes comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Blaydes 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 Ren Mimura scores the fight 28:29
Judge Shigeki Fujiwara scores the fight 28:29
Judge Tatsuya Matsuyama scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Oscar Blaydes!
Oscar Blaydes thanked the fans post fight for their support.