PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between James Sanchez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Marcos Romero (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Romero has chosen Perry Mason as his entrance music. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Sanchez
vs
Romero

165 cm
18
153 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

171 cm
22
140 lbs
2 - 8 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

Win Nutritional

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, James Sanchez!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Marcos Romero!
The judges for this bout are Edson Gomes, Seu Braga and Alexandre Firmino.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Sanchez pushes Romero up against the cage in a clinch.

Romero pulls guard.
Sanchez stops Romero from standing up.
Sanchez trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Sanchez postures up.
Romero keeping moving, preventing Sanchez from controlling successfully.
Sanchez is looking to stand up but Romero won't let him.
Romero is trying to keep Sanchez in close.
Sanchez wants to control from the top but Romero keeps moving.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Romero shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Sanchez pulls Romero in close to his closed guard and prevents Romero from doing any damage or advancing position.
Romero prevents Sanchez from getting back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sanchez has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Romero trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Sanchez tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Romero postures up.
Romero throwing strikes from guard but Sanchez blocks nicely.
Sanchez keeping moving, preventing Romero from controlling successfully.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Romero looks for a takedown but Sanchez sprawls well.
Romero looks gassed!

Sanchez shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Romero is looking for a sweep. Sanchez is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Romero keeping control of the leg, stopping his opponent passing to mount.
Romero is not content to let Sanchez control the position.
Romero taking some punishment here, with Sanchez in his half guard.
Sanchez wants to free his trapped foot but Romero is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Sanchez is working hard here to advance position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Romero is trying to control but can't.
Romero is looking to improve his position.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Sanchez closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Romero to the mat! Romero manages to get full guard.

Sanchez avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Romero is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Sanchez trying to control but Romero is working from the bottom.
Romero is trying to control the position but Sanchez postures up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez is stalling in the full guard.
Romero is looking to stand up but Sanchez isn't so interested in that idea.
Sanchez has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Sanchez wants to pass the guard but Romero is keeping the position.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Romero misses with a takedown

and Sanchez counters with a takedown into side control.
Sanchez controlling the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

James Sanchez dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Romero displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Sanchez.
Romero has his takedown stuffed

and Sanchez counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Sanchez controlling the action here.
Sanchez working Romero over with strikes.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Sanchez has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Romero is trying to stand up here but Sanchez is controlling him well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sanchez content to control rather than advance.
Sanchez is looking to take a break and control but Romero is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Romero trying to control here.
Sanchez not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Sanchez is taking a breather. Romero 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.
Sanchez's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.

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.
Sanchez trying to pass the guard but Romero defending well.
Sanchez wants to take a breather but Romero is having none of it.
Sanchez trying to control the pace.
James Sanchez overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

The referee stands the fighters back up. James Sanchez just wasn't active enough from the dominant position.
Romero gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Sanchez counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.

Sanchez has closed the distance and engaged Romero in a clinch.
Sanchez tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Sanchez wants to get back to striking at distance but Romero won't allow it.
Sanchez is looking to control Romero's arms but Romero gets an underhook and turns him. Now Sanchez has his back to the cage.
Romero tries to pull guard but Sanchez holds him up against the cage and eventually Romero drops back down to his feet.
James Sanchez has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Marcos Romero.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez tries for a takedown but Romero manages to get underhooks.
Romero lands a right hand that snaps the head of Sanchez backwards.
Sanchez wants to break free but Romero has control.
Sanchez holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Romero wants a takedown but no success here.
Sanchez has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.

Romero successfully pulls guard.
Sanchez controlling from the top position.

Romero working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Sanchez doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Sanchez manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Romero wants to get back to his feet but Sanchez is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

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.
Romero is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Sanchez gets full guard.

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

Sanchez has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Romero uses from the top position.
Romero is fighting to break Sanchez's control of his arms but Sanchez is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Romero won't allow Sanchez to sweep him here.
Sanchez trying to control the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

James Sanchez dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Romero tries for a takedown but Sanchez circles away easily

and Sanchez counters with a single leg into guard. Romero didn't expect that.
Sanchez sitting in guard here, content to control.

Sanchez stands up from guard. Let's bang!

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

Romero makes some distance and scrambles quickly back to his feet. Nice work!
Romero shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Sanchez counters with a single leg into guard. Romero didn't expect that.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Sanchez wants to control from the top but Romero keeps moving.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Romero is trying to control the position but Sanchez postures up.
Sanchez wants to pass the guard but Romero is keeping the position.
Romero is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Sanchez looking to sit in guard and control but Romero gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Sanchez looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

That's two 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.
Romero trying to control the position from guard on top but Sanchez is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.

Sanchez feints and as Romero raises his hands in defense, Sanchez changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Romero has his hands on Sanchez's head, controlling the position.
Sanchez looking to pass the guard.
Romero has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez advances position into side control!
Romero struggling a bit here.
Sanchez advances to full mount.
Romero is trying desperately to improve position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Romero tries to hold on but Sanchez pushes him away.
Sanchez putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Sanchez scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Romero?
Romero is trying to escape the mount.
Sanchez controlling his opponent.
Romero wants to hold on but Sanchez pushes him away.
Marcos Romero has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
James Sanchez is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Romero flailing away with punches but nothing is landing.

And that's the end of the fight!
James Sanchez showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Sanchez 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 Edson Gomes scores the fight 30:27
Judge Seu Braga scores the fight 30:27
Judge Alexandre Firmino scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... James Sanchez!