PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Tom Jones (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and John Sagat (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Jones
vs
Sagat

193 cm
24
193 lbs
10 - 5 - 1

177 cm
30
197 lbs
12 - 3 - 1

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class MT
Granite chin

Down Under! - Supplements (AXES)
-OVERDOSE Factory-

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the middleweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 10 - 5 - 1, fighting out of Helsinki, Tom Jones!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 3 - 1, fighting out of Tokyo, John Sagat!
The judges for this bout are Anni Minnemäki, Roosa Järviläinen and Tarja Halkonen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Jones thows a left - swing and a miss!
Nice defenses there by Jones.
Sagat thows a body shot but no joy.
Sagat lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Sagat fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Jones.

Jones closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Jones with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Sagat is trying to stand.
Jones seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Sagat does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Sagat wants to get back to full guard.
Well, if Jones 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.
Sagat is looking to improve his position.
Jones controlling the action here.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Sagat trying to control here.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Tom Jones just wasn't active enough.
Jones ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Sagat misses with a body kick.

Jones moves into the clinch.
Sagat misses with a knee to the head.
Jones misses with a body punch.
Jones drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.

Sagat is fighting off a takedown attempt but Jones is just too persistent for him and manages to trip Sagat to the mat. Sagat regains guard as soon as the fighters hit the mat.
Sagat is trying to keep Jones in close.
Sagat keeping moving, preventing Jones from controlling successfully.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Jones missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Jones wants to control from the top but Sagat keeps moving.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.

Sagat is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Sagat pulls Jones in close to prevent any damage.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Sagat looks to throw the jab but Jones is out of range.
Jones tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Jones throws a looping overhand right but Sagat ducks down to avoid it.
Sagat avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Jones throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Sagat stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Sagat displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Jones throws out the jab.
Sagat throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sagat scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Sagat misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Jones.
Sagat tries to clinch up.
John Sagat is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Nice straight punches there by Sagat. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Sagat.
Sagat is looking to clinch but Jones is avoiding it.
Sagat throws a leg kick

and Jones counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Sagat throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Jones blocks it with crossed arms.
Jones scores with a shot to the side of Sagat's head.
Jones swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Jones can't find room to land a body shot as Sagat controls the action.
Sagat tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Sagat tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Jones avoids it.
Jones tries to score a body lock takedown but Sagat shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Sagat lands a hook that snaps the head of Jones backwards.
Sagat scores with an uppercut up the middle.

It looks like Tom Jones has been cut.
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!
Jones gets through Sagat's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Jones makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Sagat lands a good knee to the midsection. Jones won't want to take too many of those.
Sagat using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Jones is breathing heavily.
Sagat tries a body shot but Jones blocks it.
Sagat tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Sagat throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Still in the clinch, Jones scores with a nice short uppercut.
Jones misses with a body punch.
Sagat misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Sagat misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Jones.
Jones tries to work over Sagat's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
A right handed body shot lands from Sagat.
Sagat throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Jones swings wildly with an uppercut but Sagat uses good head movement to avoid it.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Sagat lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Jones misses with a punch to the body.
Jones misses with the head strike.
Jones managing to block the knees to the body from Sagat.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but John Sagat will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Tom Jones's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Jones digs a good hook to Sagat's body.
Sagat rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Jones moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Sagat swings for the body but Jones moves out of range.
Jones ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Jones misses with a body shot.
Jones thows a body shot but no joy.
Sagat keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Jones throws a low kick but Sagat moves out of range easily.
Sagat buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Jones throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Jones ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Jones tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Sagat was well out of range. Poor timing from Jones.
Jones tries to clinch up but Sagat circles away and keeps his distance.
Jones will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Sagat drops his hands momentarily and Jones takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Jones doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Jones ducks under a wild hook from Sagat.
Jones avoids a punch combination nicely.
Sagat misses with a body kick.
Sagat scores with a sloppy right hand. Jones should have avoided that one.
Sagat scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
John Sagat seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Sagat checks a low kick from Jones.
Jones keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Sagat.
Sagat connects with a solid leg kick.
Sagat misses with a head kick.
Sagat tries to score with a low kick but Jones moves his leg out of the way.
Sagat slips under a jab from Jones.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sagat throws a leg kick but Jones checks it.
Sagat scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Sagat swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Sagat throws a sloppy head kick and Jones moves out of range easily.
A bone on bone clash there as Jones blocks the leg kick.
Sagat lands with a good body shot.
Jones is looking to wear down Sagat with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Jones checks the leg kick nicely there.

Sagat tries to keep at a distance but Jones has taken the fight into the clinch.
Sagat landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Sagat lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
John Sagat seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Sagat digs a right hand into Jones's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Jones's gas tank.
Jones goes for a takedown attempt but Sagat pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Sagat misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Jones.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sagat fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Sagat lands with a shot to the body.
A big left from Sagat misses.
Sagat lands with a thumping leg kick.
Decent striking displayed by Sagat there.
A head kick by Sagat misses
and Jones counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Jones misses with an uppercut. Sagat saw that one coming.
Jones lands a body shot.
Sagat looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Sagat jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Sagat uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Jones.
Jones throws a front kick aimed at Sagat's knee but Sagat avoids it well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sagat uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Jones uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Sagat.
Sagat bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Jones's head.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Jones is looking to clinch but Sagat is avoiding it.
Jones tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Sagat jabbing away but nothing is landing.
A bone on bone clash there as Jones blocks the leg kick.
Jones throws a jab but it's blocked by Sagat.
Jones takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.

Tom Jones's cut is getting worse.
Sagat slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Jones feints and then cracks Sagat's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Sagat down.
Jones misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Sagat connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Jones walks into a jab.
Sagat misses with a kick to the body
and Jones counters with a good low kick that Sagat was not able to check.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John Sagat showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Tom Jones's cut.
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.

A telegraphed right hand from Sagat misses the target.
Jones misses with a wild body shot.
Jones throws a feint and then finishes with a kick to the body.
Jones fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Jones moves out of range of the strikes.
Nice body punch from Sagat.
Sagat looks to score with a jab to the body but Jones is just out of range.
The fight stays on the outside here - Sagat looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Jones chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Sagat connects with a solid leg kick.
A jab from Sagat misses.
Jones with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Sagat to score with a decent uppercut.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Jones scores with a sloppy right hand. Sagat should have avoided that one.
Sagat ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Sagat fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Jones checks a leg kick nicely.
Jones slips a straight right by Sagat.
Sagat swinging wildly here.
Jones scores with a nice right hand.
Jones with a nice cross.
Jones misses the body punch
enabling Sagat to counter with a crisp jab.
Sagat throws a jab but it's blocked by Jones.
John Sagat seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Sagat jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Sagat throws a jab but it's blocked by Jones.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A telegraphed right hand from Sagat misses the target.
A telegraphed right hand from Jones misses the target.
Sagat takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Jones scores with a jab.
Jones fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Sagat manages to avoid it.
Jones shoots for a double leg takedown but Sagat sprawls well. He's pushed Jones's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Sagat bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Jones lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Sagat throws a wild body kick that Jones sees coming a mile off.
Sagat swings for the body but Jones moves out of range.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Jones, right into the meat.
Sagat looks to throw the jab but Jones is out of range.
Jones lands a jab to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sagat throws a chopping leg kick but Jones manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Jones uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Sagat.
Sagat waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Jones.
Jones throws a leg kick which misses Sagat's front leg but catches the back leg as Sagat tries to avoid it.
Jones looks to land a right hand but Sagat moved out of range.
Good leg kick by Jones there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Jones connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Jones checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Jones swings for the body but Sagat moves out of range.
Sagat tries to clinch but Jones moves out of range.
Jones shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Sagat as he jumps to the side.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Tom Jones. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Jones takes a swing at Sagat's ribcage but misses.
Sagat slips a jab from Jones.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sagat looks to land a body kick but Jones moved away.
Jones lands a head shot.
Jones slips under a jab from Sagat.
Sagat misses with a hook
and Jones connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Jones throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Sagat connects with a leg kick. Jones looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Sagat misses with a looping left.
Sagat throws a push kick but Jones slaps the foot to one side.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Jones takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Jones avoids the head kick by Sagat.
Jones throws a jab but it's blocked by Sagat.
Sagat misses with a straight right.
Sagat stuns Jones with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close third round but John Sagat just about did enough to take it.
The cut man is working on Tom Jones's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Jones throws a body punch but Sagat moves out of range.
Jones misses with a hook to the body
letting Sagat counter with a right hand.
Jones throws out a leg kick but Sagat moves out of range and Jones only half commits.
Sagat looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Sagat throws out a loose jab but Jones uses good head movement to avoid it.
Sagat moves out of range of the body kick from Jones.
Sagat keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
A nice leg kick lands there from Jones.
Jones misses with a hook. Sagat ducked under it nicely.
Jones with a jab.
Sagat slips a jab from Jones.
Sagat throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Jones connects with the punch.
A big left from Jones misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Jones misses with an uppercut. Sagat saw that one coming.
Sagat takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Jones dives in and grabs Sagat's left leg, looking for a takedown. Sagat pushes down on Jones's head and hops out.
Sagat ducks under a wild hook from Jones.
Jab by Sagat.
Sagat scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Sagat doesn't manage to clinch there - Jones circles away.
Jones misses with a hook.
Sagat with a nice cross.
Sagat misses with a looping right.
Sagat misses with a body shot.
The fighters circle momentarily. Jones darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Sagat wants to clinch up but Jones keeps it at a distance.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Jones thows a body shot but no joy.
Sagat misses the jab.
Sagat takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Jones tries to clinch there but Sagat circles away.
Jones takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
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!
Jones tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Jones connects with a looping right hand.
Jones misses the shot to the body.
Donk. Jones catches Sagat right on the button with a cross.

Jones moves into the clinch.
Good body shot from Sagat.
It's got to the stage where if one of these guys blows hard enough, the other might fall over.
Sagat misses with some punches.
Sagat stalling in the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Jones tries to work over Sagat's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Jones blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Sagat comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Jones tries a body shot but Sagat blocks it.
Still in the clinch, Sagat scores with a nice short uppercut.
Sagat lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Sagat taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Jones blocks a body shot from Sagat.
Sagat is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Jones tries to work over Sagat's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Sagat blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Jones tries to work over Sagat's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Jones is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Jones is trying to break free.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Sagat.
Jones is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A nice left hand lands by Jones.
Jones throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Sagats head.
Sagat lands a body punch in the clinch.
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!
Jones blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
A body shot lands from Sagat.
Sagat can't find room to land a body shot as Jones controls the action.
Sagat tries to land a knee to the head but Jones blocks with his arms.
Sagat scores a nice knee to the body.

Jones escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Sagat misses with a wild body shot.
Jones moves out of range as Sagat throws a body kick.
Sagat misses with the body kick
and Jones counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Sagat is looking to chop away at Jones's legs.
Jones takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Sagat.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John Sagat dominated that fourth round.
The cut man is working on Tom Jones's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Sagat tries to clinch up.
Jones throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Jones takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Jones misses with a kick to the body.
Sagat cracks Jones with a good jab.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Sagat, as that shot connected.
Sagat bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Jones swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Jones lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Sagat throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Sagat misses with a kick to the body
and Jones counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Sagat misses with an uppercut. Jones saw that one coming.
Sagat swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sagat misses with a body kick.
Jones fails to land with a series of punches.
A big right from Sagat misses.
Sagat is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Nice shot lands for Jones.
Jones takes a nasty kick to the mid section... That should keep him thinking. Does he try and block and risk a head kick landing?
Sagat shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Sagat lands with an uppercut that bounces Jones off the cage and back into range.
Sagat looks to clinch
and Jones counters with a nice low kick that buckles Sagat's knee momentarily.
Sagat connects with a solid leg kick.
Jones wants to clinch
and Sagat counters with an inside leg kick.
Tom Jones has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
John Sagat is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sagat throws a jab when Jones was well out of range.
Jones misses with a takedown attempt - Sagat sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Jones looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Sagat missing with a left hand there. Jones was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Sagat has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
Jones misses with an uppercut. Sagat saw that one coming.

Sagat gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Sagat is on top in guard.
Both of our modern day gladiators look out of it here - an gruelling 5 rounds of action taking it's toll on them, no doubt.
Jones wants to get back to his feet but Sagat is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Sagat pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Jones is keeping the position for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sagat seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.

Jones working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Sagat doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Sagat manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Sagat looking to sit in guard and control but Jones gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Sagat trying to keep a closed guard but Jones is proving a slippery customer.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Sagat is on top in guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sagat sitting in guard here, content to control.
Sagat throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Jones works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Sagat content to stall in guard here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Sagat prevents Jones from getting back to his feet.

And that's the end of the fight!
John Sagat comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Sagat 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 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 45:50
Judge Roosa Järviläinen scores the fight 45:50
Judge Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 45:50

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... John Sagat! John Sagat retains his middleweight title!
John Sagat managed to slip a mention for his sponsors, -OVERDOSE Factory-, into his post fight interview.