PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Chael Sonnen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ryan Baber (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Ryan Baber acknowledges the crowd's support as he enters the cage.

Sonnen
vs
Baber

187 cm
22
212 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

188 cm
22
208 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Granite chin

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Very confident

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Chael Sonnen!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Ryan Baber!
The judges for this bout are Shigeki Fujiwara, Tatsuya Matsuyama and Shigeki Sano.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Baber throws a right hand that Sonnen ducks under and follows up with a left that Sonnen also avoids with ease.

Sonnen closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Sonnen lands in his opponent's guard.
Baber avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Sonnen throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Baber wants to stand up but Sonnen is controlling him.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sonnen knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Baber on the ground.
Sonnen working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
A punch combination from Baber misses.
Baber rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Sonnen moves out of range and avoids them all easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Sonnen decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Baber looks like he's trying to stand up.
Sonnen trying to mount his opponent but Baber defends it.
Sonnen winds up and cracks Baber with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Baber avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Sonnen.
Sonnen is trying to control the action in half guard but Baber is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Sonnen is nestled in close to Baber, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Baber blocking the ground and pound attempt from Sonnen.
Sonnen with the ground and pound but Baber uses the opportunity to regain guard.
Sonnen wants to control from the top but Baber keeps moving.
Baber is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Sonnen loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sonnen makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Sonnen trying to control the position from guard on top but Baber is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Sonnen keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Baber's head.
Baber wants to get back to his feet but Sonnen is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Sonnen missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Sonnen wants to control from the top but Baber keeps moving.
Sonnen has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Baber utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Baber is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Sonnen is controlling him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Baber throws a jab when Sonnen was well out of range.

Sonnen closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Sonnen lands in his opponent's guard.
Baber wants to stand but Sonnen is controlling the position.
Sonnen trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Sonnen postures up in Baber's guard and throws a big left but Baber blocks it.
Baber working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Sonnen.
Sonnen stops Baber from standing up.
Baber has momentary wrist control but Sonnen slips an elbow through the middle.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sonnen throws and elbow that misses. Baber uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Sonnen's guard. Nice move by Baber!
Baber wants to stand but Sonnen is controlling his posture from full guard.
Baber looks gassed!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Sonnen is looking to stand up but Baber isn't so interested in that idea.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Chael Sonnen dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Sonnen feints and as Baber raises his hands in defense, Sonnen changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Sonnen throwing strikes from guard but Baber blocks nicely.
Sonnen trying to control the position from guard on top but Baber is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Baber is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sonnen is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Sonnen postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sonnen stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Baber swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Sonnen landing with the ground and pound.
Sonnen lands a couple of elbows.
Sonnen lands a couple of digs.
Sonnen wants to control from the top but Baber keeps moving.
Sonnen is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Baber is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Sonnen is controlling him.
Sonnen thows a big elbow that misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Baber wants to stand and escape but Sonnen is having none of it.
Sonnen loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Sonnen with a flurry of punches that miss.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Baber throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Sonnen.
Baber is breathing heavily.
Baber lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Sonnen circles away quickly and effectively.
Sonnen shoots in but Baber avoids the takedown attempt easily.

Sonnen scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Baber wants to get back to his feet but Sonnen drags him back down.
Sonnen wants to lay and pray for a moment but Baber keeps working.
Sonnen creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Baber sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
Baber wants to get back to his feet but Sonnen drags him back down.
Sloppy strikes there by Sonnen.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Baber is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Sonnen has just dragged him back down to the mat.
Baber is working to avoid the ground and pound but Sonnen connects with a decent elbow.
Sonnen in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.

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

Sonnen changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Baber looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Baber is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Sonnen cracks Baber with an elbow. That is naaassty.
An elbow from Sonnen crashes against the mat.
The strikes coming from Sonnen are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
Baber is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Sonnen is controlling him well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

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

Sonnen shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Baber wants to stand up but Sonnen is controlling him.
Baber utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Baber wants to stand and escape but Sonnen is having none of it.
Sonnen lands a couple of digs.
Sonnen postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Sonnen prevents Baber from getting back to his feet.
Sonnen working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Chael Sonnen dominated that second round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. 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.

Baber dips to his left and cracks Sonnen with an uppercut!
Baber misses with the combination.
Baber loads up on a big right hand but Sonnen slips the punch.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Baber misses with a series of wild punches.
Sonnen slips under a jab from Baber.

Sonnen closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Baber to the mat! Baber manages to get full guard.
Baber has momentary wrist control but Sonnen slips an elbow through the middle.
Baber is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Sonnen is controlling him.
Sonnen distracts Baber with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Baber wants to stand but Sonnen is controlling the position.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Sonnen postures up in Baber's guard and throws a big left but Baber blocks it.
Baber is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sonnen cracks Baber with a solid left hand.
Baber keeping moving, preventing Sonnen from controlling successfully.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Sonnen accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Baber wants to stand and escape but Sonnen is having none of it.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.

Sonnen scores with a takedown into Baber's guard.
Sonnen prevents Baber from getting back to his feet.
Sonnen with a nice head shot there.
Sonnen postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Baber wants to stand up but Sonnen is controlling him.
Sonnen loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Sonnen prevents Baber from getting back to his feet.
Sonnen missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Baber wants to stand but Sonnen is controlling the position.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.

Sonnen is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Baber's half guard.
Sonnen stops Baber from getting back to his feet.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Sonnen connects with a nice short shot to Baber's temple.
Sonnen stops Baber from getting back to his feet.
Sonnen seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Baber makes some distance and scrambles quickly back to his feet. Nice work!
Baber misses with a two punch combination.
Baber lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Sonnen circles away quickly and effectively.

Sonnen gets a takedown into half guard.
Sonnen landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Sonnen thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Baber tries to push off, looking to stand up, but Sonnen manages to move to mount!
Baber is looking to get back to his feet - it's going to be hard from this position.
Sonnen putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sonnen won't let Baber get back to his feet... He wants to keep the fight where it is for now.
Sonnen lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Baber hang on?
Sonnen tries to control but Baber wriggling away.
Sonnen is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Sonnen thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!
Baber wants to try and get back to his feet.
Sonnen fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Ryan Baber has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Chael Sonnen is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Sonnen scoring with strikes but Baber is staying in there.

And that's the end of the fight!
Chael Sonnen showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Sonnen, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Shigeki Fujiwara scores the fight 30:27
Judge Tatsuya Matsuyama scores the fight 30:27
Judge Shigeki Sano scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Chael Sonnen!