PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Anthony Santiago (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Leo St Denis (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). I can't wait for this one - let's get the fighter introductions out of the way and get this one started!

Santiago
vs
St Denis

190 cm
22
170 lbs
1 - 3 - 0

181 cm
25
180 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Big heart

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Anthony Santiago!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Leo St Denis!
The judges for this bout are Alec Ball, Dillan Fox and Trevor Gratis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

St Denis rushes Santiago and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
St Denis tries to land knees in the clinch but Santiago avoids the damage to the body.
St Denis tries a knee to the head but Santiago blocks it.
St Denis is pressed up against the cage. Santiago has hold of a leg and is looking to drag St Denis down to the mat. St Denis avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
St Denis scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
St Denis lands a high kick!
St Denis goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Santiago looks for the body kick but St Denis saw that one coming.

Santiago fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with St Denis, pushing him back against the cage.
Santiago takes a knee to the side of the body.
St Denis connects with a nasty looking knee right to Santiago's face.
St Denis keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Santiago's efforts to push away.
St Denis lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Santiago wants a takedown but no success here.
Santiago really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
St Denis crunches a lovely knee into Santiago's ribcage.
St Denis with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
St Denis lands a nice knee to the body.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Santiago jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as St Denis walks away with a smile on his face. Santiago gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Anthony Santiago. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Santiago shoots in but no luck this time.
St Denis lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Santiago at a distance.
Santiago is breathing heavily.
St Denis thuds his shin into the meat of Santiago's side.
St Denis lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Santiago fails with a takedown attempt.
St Denis throws a nice inside leg kick.

St Denis rushes Santiago and presses him up against the cage.
St Denis with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
St Denis lands an elbow inside.
St Denis landing knees to the body.
Knees in the clinch landing for St Denis.
A knee to the head by St Denis.
St Denis lands a nice knee to the body.
St Denis lands a nice knee to the body.
St Denis is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
St Denis landing knees to the head.
St Denis landing some nice looking knees to the body.
St Denis unloads a knee to the mid-section.
St Denis scores a nice knee to the body.
St Denis with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
St Denis utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!
St Denis with a knee to the head.
Santiago takes a knee right on the jaw!
St Denis lands a good knee to the midsection. Santiago won't want to take too many of those.
St Denis working Santiago over with knees to the body.
St Denis lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Santiago takes a knee right on the jaw!
St Denis lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Santiago takes an elbow to the forehead.
St Denis lands a good knee to the midsection. Santiago won't want to take too many of those.
Santiago drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
St Denis using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
St Denis crunches a lovely knee into Santiago's ribcage.
St Denis with a knee to the head.
St Denis unloads a knee to the mid-section.
St Denis throws a knee to the head but misses.
St Denis tries to land a knee to the head but Santiago blocks with his arms.
St Denis lands an elbow inside that Santiago shrugs off.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
St Denis tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Santiago jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as St Denis walks away with a smile on his face. Santiago gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Leo St Denis is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

St Denis instigates a clinch.
St Denis crunches a lovely knee into Santiago's ribcage.
St Denis on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
St Denis prevents the takedown attempt.
St Denis landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Santiago takes a knee right on the jaw!
St Denis tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Santiago avoids it.
St Denis comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
St Denis with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
St Denis lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
St Denis lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Santiago tries for a takedown but St Denis manages to get underhooks.
Santiago takes a knee right on the jaw!
St Denis creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Santiago's defenses.
Santiago tries to break the clinch but St Denis is controlling the position.
Knees to the body from St Denis.
St Denis keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Santiago's efforts to push away.

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.
St Denis lands an elbow that stopped Santiago in his tracks for a moment.
St Denis using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Santiago fails to pull the fight into his guard.
St Denis lands an elbow that stopped Santiago in his tracks for a moment.
A knee to the head by St Denis.
St Denis landing knees to the head.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. St Denis obliges.
St Denis putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Santiago in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
St Denis connects with a nasty looking knee right to Santiago's face.
St Denis misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Santiago.
Santiago trying to land knees to the body.
Santiago changes levels and goes for a takedown here. St Denis fights it off and pushes away nicely.

St Denis closes the distance and pushes Santiago back into the cage.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
St Denis working Santiago over with knees to the body.
St Denis is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Leo St Denis dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

St Denis cracks Santiago with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
St Denis throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Santiago shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts St Denis as he jumps to the side.
Santiago looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Santiago blocks a head kick by St Denis.
Santiago misses with a kick to the body

and St Denis counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
St Denis lands a good knee to the midsection. Santiago won't want to take too many of those.
St Denis is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
St Denis lands a knee to the head.
St Denis scores a nice knee to the body.
St Denis putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Santiago in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
St Denis landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
St Denis lands a good knee to the midsection. Santiago won't want to take too many of those.
St Denis scores with a knee to the head.
St Denis lands a knee to the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
St Denis lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Santiago wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but St Denis has him pressed against the cage.
St Denis with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Knees to the body from St Denis.
St Denis lands a nice elbow.
St Denis looking to throw knees to the head but Santiago is blocking nicely.
Santiago is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Anthony Santiago. That's going to take a lot out of him.
St Denis unloads a knee to the mid-section.
St Denis crunches a lovely knee into Santiago's ribcage.
Santiago wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
St Denis misses with a knee to the head.
St Denis unloads a knee to the mid-section.
St Denis scores with a knee to the head.
St Denis prevents Santiago from breaking the clinch.
St Denis landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
St Denis gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Santiago.
Santiago wants to break the clinch but can't.
St Denis putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Santiago in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.

Santiago pulls St Denis into guard.
Santiago is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
St Denis really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Santiago. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
St Denis prevents Santiago from getting back to his feet.
St Denis would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
St Denis wants to stand and escape but instead Santiago has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.
St Denis wants to stand and escape but Santiago is having none of it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
St Denis has momentary wrist control but Santiago slips an elbow through the middle.

Santiago drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Santiago jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Santiago trying to control but St Denis is working from the bottom.
St Denis wants to stand but Santiago is controlling the position.
St Denis keeping moving, preventing Santiago from controlling successfully.
Santiago won't allow St Denis to get back to his feet.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if St Denis can do anything to dispel that myth.
Santiago trying to control the position from guard on top but St Denis is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

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.
Santiago in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
St Denis wants to stand but Santiago is controlling the position.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Anthony Santiago.

St Denis closes the distance and pushes Santiago back into the cage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Leo St Denis showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Santiago closes this distance looking for a takedown but St Denis circles away.
St Denis bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Santiago's head.
St Denis scores with a nice body kick.
St Denis tries a head kick but it misses.

St Denis clinches up with Santiago and pushes him back against the cage.
St Denis unloads a knee to the mid-section. Santiago lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
St Denis working Santiago over with knees to the body.
St Denis lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Santiago takes an elbow to the forehead.
St Denis landing knees to the body.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. St Denis obliges.
St Denis unloads a knee to the mid-section.
St Denis landing knees to the body.
St Denis connects with a nasty looking knee right to Santiago's face.
St Denis is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Santiago is defending well for now.
St Denis lands a knee to the body.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Santiago tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
St Denis lands a knee to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
St Denis lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Knees in the clinch landing for St Denis.
St Denis landing knees to the head.
St Denis landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
St Denis putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Santiago in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
St Denis scores with a knee to the head.
Santiago avoiding damage as St Denis throws knees to the body.
St Denis lands a nice elbow.
St Denis is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Santiago blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
St Denis lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
St Denis lands a good knee to the midsection. Santiago won't want to take too many of those.
Santiago wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
St Denis keeps control of Santiago as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Leo St Denis seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
St Denis blocks the elbow strike.
St Denis using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
St Denis lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Santiago looking for a takedown.
Santiago tries for a takedown. No joy.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Anthony Santiago. That's going to take a lot out of him.

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.
Santiago takes an elbow to the temple.
St Denis connects with a nasty looking knee right to Santiago's face.
St Denis misses with a knee strike.
St Denis connects with a nasty looking knee right to Santiago's face.
Santiago avoiding damage as St Denis throws knees to the body.
St Denis is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Santiago is defending well for now.
St Denis throws a knee to the head but misses.
St Denis lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
St Denis creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Santiago's defenses.
St Denis lands a nice elbow.
Santiago on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Santiago wants to break the clinch but can't.
St Denis tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
St Denis creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Santiago's defenses.
St Denis using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
St Denis gets underhooks to prevent Santiago's takedown attempt.
St Denis lands a knee to the head.
Santiago avoiding damage as St Denis throws knees to the body.
St Denis with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
St Denis lands a knee to the body.
Santiago tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
St Denis landing knees to the body.
Santiago tries to pull guard but St Denis holds him up against the cage and eventually Santiago drops back down to his feet.
St Denis working Santiago over with knees to the body.
Well,Santiago is on his way to losing a decision here. Can he use his experience to pull something off in the closing minutes?
St Denis with an attempt at a knee that misses.
St Denis with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
St Denis tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Santiago is looking to break free of the clinch but St Denis has double underhooks.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. St Denis obliges.
St Denis misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Santiago.
St Denis crunches a lovely knee into Santiago's ribcage.
St Denis tries a knee to the head but Santiago blocks it.
St Denis blocks an elbow strike from Santiago.
St Denis unloads a knee to the mid-section. Santiago lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Santiago jumps guard but St Denis stands there with Santiago around his waist. Santiago gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
St Denis landing knees to the head.
Santiago tries to break the clinch but St Denis is controlling the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
St Denis landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
St Denis crunches a lovely knee into Santiago's ribcage.
Santiago creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through St Denis's defenses.
St Denis lands an elbow that stopped Santiago in his tracks for a moment.
St Denis landing knees to the head.
St Denis lands a knee to the body.
St Denis throws a knee to the head but misses.
St Denis is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
St Denis using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Santiago managing to block the knees to the body from St Denis.
Santiago drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
St Denis tries to land knees in the clinch but Santiago avoids the damage to the body.
Leo St Denis is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Santiago stalling in the clinch but St Denis improves position.
Santiago tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. St Denis smiles and moves away.
Nice cross by St Denis.

And that's the end of the fight!
Leo St Denis comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got St Denis winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Alec Ball scores the fight for Leo St Denis!
Judge Dillan Fox scores the fight for Leo St Denis!
Judge Trevor Gratis scores the fight for Leo St Denis!

Leo St Denis wins by unanimous decision!