PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Daniel Sainty (ranked 6172 p4p, 6383 weight class) and Curtis Rohl (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Daniel Sainty has a significant reach advantage - let's see if he can make it count.

Sainty
vs
Rohl

189 cm
43
150
26 - 33 - 0

173 cm
23
157
4 - 7 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Knockout power

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 26 - 33 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Daniel Sainty!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Curtis Rohl!
The judges for this bout are Cecil Peabody, Chris Downing and Wesley Smith.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A head kick misses from Rohl.
Rohl tries to close the distance and clinch up but Sainty swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Sainty attempts a counter takedown but Rohl avoids it well and moves away.
Sainty circles away from the clinch attempt

and Sainty counters with a single leg into guard. Rohl didn't expect that.
Sainty really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Sainty sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Rohl's guard.

Sainty is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Sainty content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sainty wants to take a breather but Rohl is having none of it.
Rohl really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Sainty. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

Sainty is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rohl is trying to control but can't.
Sainty content to control rather than advance.
Sainty has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.
Rohl moves into full guard.
Rohl looking for a sweep. Not yet Rohl, not yet.
Rohl is controlling Sainty's posture.
Sainty tries to free his leg and advance position but Rohl is retaining full guard.
Sainty not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Sainty trying to control but Rohl is working from the bottom.

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.
Sainty sitting in guard here, content to control.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Sainty will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Rohl wants to sweep but no luck.
Rohl is trying to control the position from the bottom.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Sainty swats away the attempt to clinch by Rohl.
Sainty feinted with a counter takedown.
Rohl is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Rohl wants to clinch up but Sainty keeps it at a distance.
Sainty avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rohl fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Sainty manages to avoid it.
Sainty changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Rohl connects with a leg kick.
Rohl misses with a low kick.
Sainty avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Sainty appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
Rohl throws a leg kick

and Sainty decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Rohl's guard.
Sainty sitting in guard, not really doing much.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Sainty trying to control but Rohl is working from the bottom.
Rohl looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Sainty engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rohl not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Sainty connects with a couple of short punches.
Sainty trying to control but Rohl is working from the bottom.
Rohl can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Sainty controls the pace.
Sainty looking to pass the guard.
Rohl looking for a sweep. Not yet Rohl, not yet.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Sainty trying to control the position from guard on top but Rohl is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Sainty engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Sainty's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Daniel Sainty dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Rohl tries to clinch up but Sainty circles away and keeps his distance.
Sainty attempts a counter takedown but Rohl avoids it well and moves away.
Rohl throws a leg kick but Sainty moved away.
Sainty is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Rohl can do to turn this around?
Sainty avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Rohl tries to clinch up but Sainty circles away and keeps his distance.
Sainty changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Rohl walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Sainty checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.

Sainty tries to keep at a distance but Rohl has taken the fight into the clinch.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Rohl just misses with a elbow thrown towards Sainty's brow.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Sainty as Rohl tries to tie him up.
Rohl is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Sainty is defending well for now.
Rohl stalling the fight.
Rohl pushes off an throws an elbow but Sainty leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sainty blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Sainty on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Sainty fails to pull guard.
Rohl is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Sainty tries to pull guard but Rohl holds him up against the cage and eventually Sainty drops back down to his feet.
Sainty takes an elbow to the temple.
Rohl pushes off an throws an elbow but Sainty leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Rohl will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Sainty up against the cage.
Rohl lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Rohl is trying to maintain a safe position but Sainty gets an underhook and turns Rohl into the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rohl leaning his opponent against the cage.
Sainty misses with a hook to the ribs.
Rohl crunches a lovely knee into Sainty's ribcage.
Rohl unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Sainty blocks an elbow strike from Rohl.
Sainty avoiding damage as Rohl throws knees to the body.
Rohl with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Sainty blocks an elbow strike from Rohl.
Sainty goes for a takedown attempt but Rohl pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Daniel Sainty. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Sainty blocks the body kick.

Rohl moves into the clinch successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rohl using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Sainty has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Sainty tries for a takedown but Rohl manages to get underhooks.
Rohl lands an elbow that stopped Sainty in his tracks for a moment.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Rohl misses with a knee strike.
Sainty is trying to pull guard but Rohl has him pressed against the cage.
Rohl missing with knees to the body.
Sainty fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Rohl holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Sainty struggles to land a body shot inside as Rohl controls his hands.
A bit of stalling here from Sainty.
Sainty avoiding damage as Rohl throws knees to the body.
Rohl tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Sainty avoids it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rohl throws a knee to the head but misses.
Sainty jumps guard but Rohl stands there with Sainty around his waist. Sainty gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Rohl has been looking to improve his clinch game in recent weeks. Sainty seems to have the measure of him in the clinch so far, so let's see if Rohl can turn it around.

Sainty drags the fight down to the ground.

Sainty escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Rohl gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.

Sainty has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Rohl can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Rohl wants to control from the top but Sainty keeps moving.

Sainty has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Rohl can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Sainty is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Sainty is looking for a triangle but Rohl pushes his legs off easily.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Curtis Rohl 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! This is the final round!

Rohl tries to score with a low kick but Sainty moves his leg out of the way.
Sainty swats away the attempt to clinch by Rohl.
Sainty tries to counter with a takedown but Rohl is quick to defend against it.
A clash of legs there as Sainty blocks the low kick.
Rohl wants to land a leg kick but Sainty is out of range.
Sainty uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Rohl.
Sainty changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Curtis Rohl seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A lazy body kick from Rohl

and Sainty counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Sainty.

Rohl pushes Sainty off for just long enough to get back to his feet. Very athletic spring there.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A bone on bone clash there as Sainty blocks the leg kick.
Sainty changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Rohl tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Sainty drops down looking for a counter takedown but Rohl sprawls and moves away.
Sainty circles away from the clinch attempt.
Sainty changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Rohl misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Sainty.
Rohl lands a knee to the body.
Sainty is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Rohl to keep the fight standing.
Sainty blocks the elbow strike.
Sainty is trying to pull guard but Rohl has him pressed against the cage.
Rohl lands an elbow inside.

Sainty pulls Rohl into guard.

Sainty is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.

Sainty escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Rohl gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rohl postures up and lands a big shot to Sainty's brow.

Sainty has his foot on Rohl's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Rohl works his way back into a safe position though.
Daniel Sainty overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Sainty is looking for a triangle but Rohl pushes his legs off easily.

Sainty is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Rohl defends well.

Sainty escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Rohl gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Sainty has managed to work for a loose triangle. I think Rohl should be able to defend this one pretty easily though. Oh, Sainty has tightened it up now! Rohl should have reacted faster there - he's in big trouble and yes, he's tapped out! This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:51 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle). Daniel Sainty!
Daniel Sainty took to the microphone after his victory and thanked his sponsors, Brooklyn Apothecary for their support in the buildup to the fight.