PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Brandon Dahlen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Sexton Hardcastle (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Hardcastle has chosen How I Could Just Kill a Man- Rage Against the Machine as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Dahlen
vs
Hardcastle

170 cm
25
160 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

175 cm
19
151 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

Good takedowns
Basic striking
Granite chin

Good takedowns
Brawler
Solid chin

Voodoo Nutrition

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Brandon Dahlen!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Sexton Hardcastle!
The judges for this bout are Illya Tyunina, Aleksandr Martynov and Ivan Kurochkin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Dahlen looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Hardcastle is fending him off so far but Dahlen persists. Nope, Hardcastle circles away and we're back to standing.
Dahlen tries to bum rush Hardcastle with a series of wild strikes but Hardcastle uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Hardcastle looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Dahlen tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Hardcastle throws a head kick but Dahlen moves out of range.
Dahlen wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
Dahlen has been working on his boxing with his coaches at Canadian Dragon MMA in the buildup to the fight.
Hardcastle moves away from the strike by Dahlen.
Sloppy strikes from Dahlen. Those never looked like landing.
Hardcastle misses with a head kick.
Brandon Dahlen seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Hardcastle throws a body punch but Dahlen moves out of range.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Hardcastle lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Dahlen has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Dahlen and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Hardcastle misses with a leg kick

so Dahlen counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Hardcastle wants to stand up but Dahlen is controlling him.
Hardcastle keeping full guard, as Dahlen tries to pass.
Dahlen passes Hardcastle's right leg, so he's now in half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dahlen is taking a breather. Hardcastle says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Hardcastle really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Dahlen. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Dahlen prevents Hardcastle from standing back up.

Dahlen is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.

Hardcastle kicks off Dahlen and gets to his feet.
Hardcastle throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Dahlen throws a counter high kick but Hardcastle was just alert enough to avoid it.
No joy there for Dahlen, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Dahlen goes for a double leg but Hardcastle avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Hardcastle continues to drive forward.
Dahlen shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Hardcastle but Hardcastle pushes him off and we're back to square one.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Brandon Dahlen. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Dahlen avoids the body shot from Hardcastle.
Hardcastle goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Dahlen scores with a takedown into Hardcastle's guard.
Dahlen is standing up over Hardcastle. Hardcastle looks to escape but Dahlen dives into side control.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Hardcastle is trying to get back to his feet.

Hardcastle explodes and escapes back to his feet! Nice escape there!
Dahlen fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Sexton Hardcastle is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Hardcastle.
Dahlen misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

Dahlen shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Dahlen's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Hardcastle wants to stand up but Dahlen is controlling him.
Dahlen throwing strikes but missing.
Both fighters have adopted an aggressive gameplan on the ground!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dahlen postures up in Hardcastle's guard and throws a big left but Hardcastle blocks it.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Dahlen accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Dahlen trying to control the position from guard on top but Hardcastle is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Dahlen is really struggling to control Hardcastle but he's trying to hold on to the position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Hardcastle working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Dahlen.

Dahlen thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Dahlen looking to control the position here, rather than advance.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Dahlen misses with a takedown attempt - Hardcastle sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Despite the aggression on Hardcastle's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.
Dahlen throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Hardcastle.
Dahlen throws a head kick that misses
and Hardcastle counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Hardcastle is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Dahlen doesn't succeed with the takedown
enabling Hardcastle to counter with a crisp jab.
Hardcastle moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Hardcastle lands with a shot to the body.
Dahlen is breathing heavily.
Dahlen showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Hardcastle.
Dahlen shoots in for a takedown but Hardcastle shows good takedown defense.
Dahlen throws a series of punches but Hardcastle moves out of range.
Dahlen takes one on the button.
Dahlen shoots in and drives through. Hardcastle sprawls well.
Dahlen misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sexton Hardcastle dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Hardcastle tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Hardcastle stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Hardcastle wants it to stay on the feet.
Dahlen has a takedown stuffed.
Dahlen needs to keep his hands up - Hardcastle had a free shot at his head there.
Hardcastle throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Dahlen.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Brandon Dahlen. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Dahlen with a lazy takedown attempt
and Hardcastle counters with a series of strikes that really hurt Dahlen! The ref looks into his eyes and sees nobody home - he's called the fight! This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:39 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Sexton Hardcastle!
An out of breath and clearly excited Sexton Hardcastle thanked Voodoo Nutrition for their help and support (and free stuff they sent him).