PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Gene Saunders (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and James Ortan (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Saunders
vs
Ortan

223 cm
21
177 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

185 cm
22
180 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Determined

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Gene Saunders!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, James Ortan!
The judges for this bout are Frank Antenori, and Don Winkell.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ortan misses with a few strikes there.
Ortan with a poor takedown

and Saunders counters with a nice double leg into side control. Ortan won't be happy with that.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Saunders working the head with strikes.
Ortan tries to improve position but can't.
Saunders working the ground and pound from side control.
Saunders lands a decent elbow from side control.
Saunders looks up at the clock and then as Ortan takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Saunders smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!
Saunders trying to control the position but Ortan is working away.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Ortan is trying to get back to half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Saunders lands a decent elbow from side control.
Saunders really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

That's one minute gone in the round.
You can see the frustration on Ortan's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Ortan takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Saunders throwing shots but missing, from side control.
Saunders will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Saunders gets to mount! Ortan was on the offensive and wasn't defending properly.
Saunders pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Saunders has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Ortan wants to hold on but Saunders pushes him away.
Saunders scoring with strikes but Ortan is staying in there.
Saunders lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ortan can't escape the position.
Saunders lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Ortan is trying desperately to improve position.
Saunders lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Ortan hang on?
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Saunders cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Ortan really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Ortan taking shots to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ortan can't escape the position.
A nice elbow there by Saunders.
Saunders dominating with strikes here.
Ortan is desperately trying to improve his position but Saunders has a good base and remains in mount.
Ortan looks winded!
Saunders lands a big shot there that rocks Ortan but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Ortan really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Saunders. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Saunders cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Saunders has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Ortan's face.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Ortan is working to get back to half guard.
Ortan wants to control but Saunders is having none of it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Saunders putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Ortan is desperately trying to improve his position but Saunders has a good base and remains in mount.
Saunders landing strikes, looking to finish!
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Saunders controlling the position easily from mount.
Ortan takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Ortan connects with a looping right hand.
Saunders tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

Ortan clinches.

Ortan escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Saunders dodges the punch combination from Ortan.
Ortan closes this distance looking for a takedown but Saunders circles away.
Saunders circles away from the clinch attempt.

Saunders darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Ortan avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Saunders.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ortan keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Saunders throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Saunders is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.

Ortan actively working from the bottom here.
Ortan taking some punishment here, with Saunders in his half guard.
Ortan is trying to get back to full guard.

Ortan has guillotine here! It looks pretty tight! Could this be all over! No, Saunders escapes and passes into side control at the same time. Nice work there by Saunders!
Ortan is breathing heavily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Saunders lands a few punches from side control.
Ortan taking punishment in the form of punches.
Ortan tries to control the position but he's not in luck - Saunders easily slips into full mount!
Saunders breaks from Ortan's wrist control and lands an elbow.
BOOM! Saunders connects with a massive shot to the dome!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Saunders fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Saunders with a couple of short strikes.
Saunders looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Saunders working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Ortan wants to control but Saunders is having none of it.
Ortan really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Saunders scores with a couple of good head shots there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ortan tries to hold on but Saunders postures up.
BOOM! Saunders connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Saunders pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Saunders putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Saunders lands a nice shot to the head.
Saunders landing shots from mount.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
A nice elbow there by Saunders.
Saunders is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Ortan can do to turn this around?
Saunders cracks Ortan with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gene Saunders dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Ortan wants to clinch up but Saunders keeps it at a distance.
Saunders bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Ortan's head.
Saunders throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Ortan rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Saunders moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Ortan swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Saunders counters with a nice body shot.
Ortan goes for a double leg but Saunders avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Saunders continues to drive forward.
Saunders is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Ortan to keep the fight standing.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Saunders wants to get back to striking at distance but Ortan won't allow it.
Ortan changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Saunders fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Ortan takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Ortan closes the distance but Saunders moves to the side

and Saunders counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Ortan!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ortan takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Ortan looking for a sweep but Saunders has passed into full mount! Oh no!
Saunders with the ground and pound from mount.
Saunders fails to move to back control.
Saunders landing strikes, looking to finish!
Saunders lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Saunders scoring with strikes but Ortan is staying in there.
Saunders with good strikes from the mount here!
Saunders lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Saunders wants to control the pace but Ortan is squirming around nicely.
Saunders working away from the top, dropping strikes.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Saunders takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Ortan takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Saunders landing strikes from the mount.
Ortan tries to hold on but Saunders pushes him away.
Saunders is landing with some decent strikes but Ortan is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Ortan really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Saunders breaks from Ortan's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Ortan is in a horrible position here. Saunders smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Saunders has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Ortan's face.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ortan is looking to improve his position but Saunders isn't that keen on the idea.
Ortan tries to hold on but Saunders postures up.
Saunders lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Saunders lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Saunders lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
James Ortan has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Gene Saunders is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Ortan wants to get back to his feet.

And that's the end of the fight!
Gene Saunders showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Saunders, 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 Frank Antenori scores the fight 30:27
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 30:27
Judge Don Winkell scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Gene Saunders!