PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Matt Sabre (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Lupe Fiasco (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Fiasco is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: Lupe Back. 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.

Sabre
vs
Fiasco

174 cm
23
178 lbs
4 - 1 - 0

183 cm
21
180 lbs
5 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
KO power

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Powerful

Red Bills clothing
Vandal Fight Boutique (prices $8 - $30)

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 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Matt Sabre!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Lupe Fiasco!
The judges for this bout are Ian Loll, Trevor Gratis and Yves DeLean.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Fiasco pushes Sabre up against the cage in a clinch.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Sabre as Fiasco tries to tie him up.
Sabre swings wildly with an uppercut but Fiasco uses good head movement to avoid it.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Sabre tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Fiasco blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Fiasco tries to land knees in the clinch but Sabre avoids the damage to the body.
Fiasco with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Fiasco tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Sabre avoids it.
Fiasco tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Sabre avoids it.
Sabre misses with a body punch.
Sabre is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Sabre tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Fiasco is pushing Sabre up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Fiasco throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Sabre softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Fiasco using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Sabre has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Fiasco lands a hook that snaps the head of Sabre backwards.

Sabre pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Sabre fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Fiasco is out of range.
Sabre misses with a few strikes there.
Sabre swings widly with a right hand
and Fiasco counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Sabre's corner calls for a 1-2. Sabre obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.

It looks like Lupe Fiasco has been cut.
Fiasco ducks under a wild hook from Sabre.
Fiasco throws a right hand that Sabre ducks under and follows up with a left that Sabre also avoids with ease.

Fiasco clinches up with Sabre and pushes him back against the cage.
Fiasco blocking some punches.
Sabre on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Sabre goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Sabre is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fiasco taking a breather.
Sabre avoiding damage as Fiasco throws knees to the body.
Sabre dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Fiasco prevents Sabre from breaking the clinch.
Fiasco stalling in the clinch.
Sabre misses with the head strike.
Sabre struggles to land a body shot inside as Fiasco controls his hands.
Fiasco is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.

Sabre's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Fiasco keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Sabre.
Fiasco displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Sabre throws out the jab.
Sabre throws a right hand that misses
and Fiasco counters with a head kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sabre misses with a left hand
and Sabre takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Matt Sabre seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Fiasco lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
The fighters circling - Sabre throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Sabre looks to land a left hand but Fiasco moved out of range nicely.
Sabre throws a right hand that Fiasco ducks under and follows up with a left that Fiasco also avoids with ease.
A combination from Fiasco does no damage.

Fiasco gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Sabre is trying to maintain a safe position but Fiasco gets an underhook and turns Sabre into the cage.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Sabre pressing his opponent against the cage.
Sabre wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
A right hand to the body from Sabre.
Sabre is stalling here.
Fiasco scores a nice knee to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sabre tries to stall but Fiasco uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Sabre has a couple of punches blocked by Fiasco.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Fiasco is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Sabre misses with a punch to the body.
Fiasco has Sabre pushed against the cage.
Sabre misses with a hook from the clinch.
Sabre is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Fiasco trying to land knees to the body.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Sabre misses with the head strike.
Sabre swings wildly with an uppercut but Fiasco uses good head movement to avoid it.
Fiasco blocks a punch to the side of the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Matt Sabre will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Lupe Fiasco's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Fiasco slips under a jab.
Sabre lands a right hook to the body.
Sabre swings and misses with a hook to the body.
A punch combination from Fiasco misses.
Fiasco with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Sabre to score with a decent uppercut.
Jab from Sabre.
Sabre uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Fiasco throws a head kick but Sabre moves out of range.
Sabre pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Sabre is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
Sabre misses with a right hand
and Fiasco counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Sabre is lucky that one didn't land flush.
Sabre misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Fiasco.
Sabre falls off balance throwing a combination
and Fiasco counters with a nice uppercut.
Sabre throws a hook but Fiasco blocks it.
Sabre throws a jab but it's blocked by Fiasco.
Sabre has not gone for a single takedown so far in this fight, which seems like a very strange tactic when you consider that he has the superior wrestling and BJJ.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sabre looks to land a body kick but Fiasco moved away.
Fiasco closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.

That has opened up Lupe Fiasco's cut even more.
Sabre throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.

Fiasco pushes Sabre up against the cage in a clinch.
Fiasco tries a knee to the head but Sabre blocks it.
Fiasco blocks an uppercut.
Fiasco looking to slow down the pace here.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Fiasco is looking to control Sabre's arms but Sabre gets an underhook and turns him. Now Fiasco has his back to the cage.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Fiasco as Sabre tries to tie him up.
Fiasco trying to land knees to the body.
Fiasco trying to control the position but instead, Sabre has worked for underhooks and has pushed Fiasco into the cage.

Sabre manages to break the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A chopping leg kick lands by Fiasco.
Matt Sabre is winning the standup battle so far.
A jab from Sabre misses.
Sabre waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Fiasco.
Sabre throws a lazy uppercut
and Fiasco counters with a head kick.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Sabre missing with a left hand there. Fiasco was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Sabre takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Fiasco lands with a nice combination. Sabre backs away looking to recover.
Fiasco slips a jab from Sabre.
Sabre throws a right hand that misses
and Fiasco counters with a left and a right that stings Sabre.

Fiasco gets a clinch.
Sabre is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Sabre tries a body shot but Fiasco blocks it.
Sabre is trying to stall.
Fiasco looking to throw knees to the head but Sabre is blocking nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Fiasco is looking to control Sabre's arms but Sabre gets an underhook and turns him. Now Fiasco has his back to the cage.
Sabre misses with a punch to the body.
Sabre has a couple of punches blocked by Fiasco.
Fiasco misses with an elbow over the top.
Sabre managing to block the knees to the body from Fiasco.
Sabre fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Sabre lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Still in the clinch, Sabre scores with a nice short uppercut.
Sabre tries to throw a body punch but Fiasco avoids it by throwing Sabre back against the cage.
Fiasco is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Sabre throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Fiasco blocks it with crossed arms.
Fiasco misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Sabre.
Sabre misses with a hook from the clinch.
Sabre avoiding damage as Fiasco throws knees to the body.
Fiasco is stalling here.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Sabre.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sabre scores with a nice hook to the head.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Sabre.
Sabre swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Fiasco looking to stall.
Fiasco with an attempt at a knee that misses.
A head punch on the inside from Sabre fails to land.
Fiasco is looking to control Sabre's arms but Sabre gets an underhook and turns him. Now Fiasco has his back to the cage.
Fiasco trying to land knees to the body.
Sabre stalls.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Sabre can't find room to land a body shot as Fiasco controls the action.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Matt Sabre dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Lupe Fiasco's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Fiasco moves out of range as Sabre strikes.
Sabre throws an off balance right hand
and Fiasco counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Sabre throws a wild combination but nothing lands.

Fiasco has Sabre up against the cage in a clinch.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Fiasco as Sabre tries to tie him up.
Sabre is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Fiasco is defending well for now.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Sabre.
Sabre tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Fiasco tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Sabre avoids it.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Sabre.
With the fighters up against the cage, Sabre throws an elbow but misses.
Sabre misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Sabre doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Sabre is really struggling to find his range with his punches. Fiasco's reach advantage is clearly causing him problems.
Fiasco blocks a couple of punches on the inside.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sabre on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Sabre swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Fiasco is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Matt Sabre has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Fiasco struggles to land a body shot inside as Sabre controls his hands.
Sabre misses with a body punch.
Sabre blocks an elbow strike from Fiasco.
Sabre lands with a short shot to the head.
Sabre connects with a knee to the head.
Sabre crunches a lovely knee into Fiasco's ribcage.
Fiasco tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Fiasco tries to land knees in the clinch but Sabre avoids the damage to the body.
Sabre displaying some good clinch control by pressing Fiasco up against the cage.
Fiasco tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fiasco misses with a knee to the head.
Sabre misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Fiasco unloads a knee to the mid-section. Sabre lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Sabre is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Fiasco looking to stall.
Fiasco missing with knees to the body.
Fiasco takes a shot to the head.
Sabre misses with the head strike.
Sabre doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Nice elbow from Fiasco.
Sabre looking to stall.
Sabre working aggressively here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sabre stalling in the clinch but Fiasco improves position.
Sabre misses with a hook to the ribs.
Fiasco blocks an uppercut.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Sabre.
Sabre misses with a hook to the ribs.
Fiasco tries to stall but Sabre uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Sabre misses with a punch to the body.
Sabre stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Fiasco blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Sabre scores with a hook to the body.
Knees to the body from Fiasco.
Sabre managing to block the knees to the body from Fiasco.
Fiasco blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Sabre just leaning against Fiasco, taking a breather.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Fiasco looking to stall.
Fiasco is trying to slow the pace down but that's a couple of times in a row that he's tried to get underhooks and Sabre has denied him.
Sabre has Fiasco pressed against the cage.
Sabre lands a nice uppercut.
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!
Sabre landing knees to the head.
Fiasco is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Fiasco pressing his opponent against the cage.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Sabre.

And that's the end of the fight!
Matt Sabre showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Sabre 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 Ian Loll scores the fight 30:27
Judge Trevor Gratis scores the fight 30:27
Judge Yves DeLean scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Matt Sabre!
A victorious Matt Sabre thanked his army of followers in his post fight interview, telling people to make sure they follow him on Twitter.