PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Sonatane Veainu (ranked 3775 p4p, 3506 weight class) and Diego Sanchez (ranked 498 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighter's entrance songs getting the crowd jumping here.

Veainu
vs
Sanchez

177 cm
34
210
28 - 16 - 0

190 cm
27
205
3 - 5 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Very quick

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Granite chin

PWNAGE™

Urban Fighter

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 28 - 16 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Sonatane Veainu!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Diego Sanchez!
The judges for this bout are Yasuomi Hirokawa, Yukihiro Shimada and Taro Takaoka.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Veainu shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Sanchez defends it nicely.
Sanchez smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Veainu tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Sanchez defends well and Veainu ends up having to push Sanchez into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Sanchez with the counter takedown but Veainu avoids it easily.
Veainu misses with a short punch on the inside.
Sanchez lands a body punch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sanchez can't find room to land a body shot as Veainu controls the action.
Veainu looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Sanchez misses with a hook to the ribs.
Sanchez misses with a punch on the inside.
Sanchez has a couple of punches blocked by Veainu.
Veainu looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sanchez keeps control of Veainu as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.

Sanchez pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Veainu moves out of range as Sanchez strikes.
Veainu misses the shot to the body.
A little jabbing left from Sanchez on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Sanchez fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Veainu on the side of the head.
Veainu goes for a double leg but Sanchez avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Sanchez continues to drive forward.
Sanchez drops down looking to force a counter takedown but Veainu defends it well.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Sonatane Veainu. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Sanchez working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Veainu has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Sanchez lands with a short shot to the head.
Sanchez tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Veainu's elbow.
A bit of stalling here from Sanchez.
A right hook to the body lands for Sanchez.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Sanchez takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
A right handed body shot lands from Sanchez.
Sanchez lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Veainu backwards.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez misses with the head strike.
Veainu blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Veainu swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Sanchez tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Sanchez on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Veainu is trying to break the clinch but Sanchez has him pressed against the cage.
Sanchez prevents Veainu from breaking the clinch.
Sanchez makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Sanchez lands a nice shot to the body.
Sanchez cracks Veainu with a nice body shot.
Veainu is breathing heavily.
Sanchez pushes Veainu back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Veainu blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Sanchez scores with a shoulder strike.
Sanchez fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Sanchez misses with a punch to the body.
Sanchez gets through Veainu's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Sanchez misses with some punches.
Sanchez manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez lands with a short shot to the head.
Sanchez scores with a shot to the side of Veainu's head.
Veainu is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Sanchez gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Sanchez has Veainu pressed against the cage.
Sanchez has a couple of punches blocked by Veainu.
A head punch on the inside from Veainu fails to land.
Sanchez gets through Veainu's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Sanchez lands a body shot in the clinch.
Veainu tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Veainu controlling the action here for a moment.
Sanchez tries to throw a body punch but Veainu avoids it by throwing Sanchez back against the cage.
A short uppercut from Sanchez.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Sanchez lands a shot to the body.
Sanchez taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
A shot in the inside from Sanchez.
Sanchez softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
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!
Sanchez dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Sanchez lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Veainu backwards.
Sanchez scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Sanchez swings wildly with an uppercut but Veainu uses good head movement to avoid it.
Sanchez working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Veainu tries to pull guard but Sanchez forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Sanchez softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Sanchez fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
A right hand to the body from Sanchez.
Sanchez misses with a punch to the body.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Diego Sanchez dominated that round.
That's time! Veainu's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Sanchez dips down and scores with a jab to the body.

Sanchez has managed to clinch.
Sanchez misses with a body punch.
Sanchez lands a body punch.
Sanchez lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Sanchez swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Sanchez lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Veainu takes a shot to the head.
Sanchez lands a left hand that snaps the head of Veainu backwards.
Sanchez misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Sanchez lands a shoulder strike.
Sanchez scores with a hook to the body.
Sanchez scores with a shoulder strike.
Diego Sanchez seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Sanchez breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Veainu on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Veainu walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Veainu on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Sanchez just misses with a punch to the body.
Sanchez thumps Veainu with a low kick.

Sanchez moves into range and clinches up with Veainu.
Sanchez misses with a punch on the inside.
Sanchez tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Sanchez gets through Veainu's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Veainu letting Sanchez take a breather here.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Sanchez.
Sanchez has a couple of punches blocked by Veainu.
Sanchez lands with a left to the head.
Sanchez can't find room to land a body shot as Veainu controls the action.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez misses with the head strike.
Veainu prevents a body shot from Sanchez.
Veainu looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.

Veainu pulls guard.
Sanchez is looking to stand up but Veainu won't let him.
Sanchez has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Veainu has a butterfly guard looking to sweep but Sanchez has passed into side control.
Sanchez tries to get to his feet but he's trapped momentarily.
Sanchez is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Veainu throws an elbow to the body but it doesn't land.
Sanchez wants to stand but Veainu is controlling his arm.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Sanchez lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Sanchez has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Nice takedown defense from Sanchez. No joy for Veainu on that attempt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Sanchez dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Veainu moves forwards but Sanchez connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Veainu has his takedown stuffed
and Sanchez counters with a good low kick that Veainu was not able to check.
Veainu tries for a takedown but Sanchez sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Sonatane Veainu. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Sanchez lands with a shot to the body.
Veainu walks into a stiff left hand from Sanchez.
Sanchez lands a leg kick that knocks Veainu off balance momentarily.
Sanchez throws a shot to the body.
Sanchez misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Veainu.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Diego Sanchez showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Veainu's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Sanchez fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Veainu has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.

Veainu gets a clinch.
Veainu blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Veainu is working for takedown but Sanchez is calmly controlling the position for now.
Sanchez can't find room to land a body shot as Veainu controls the action.
Sanchez lands on the inside with an uppercut.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Sanchez takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Still in the clinch, Sanchez scores with a nice short uppercut.
Sanchez tries a body shot but Veainu blocks it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sanchez lands a body shot in the clinch.
Sanchez misses with some punches.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Sanchez creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Sanchez presses Veainu against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.

Sanchez escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Veainu on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Sanchez has been working on his striking defense in training and it's paying off as Veainu is landing a low percentage of strikes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sanchez connects with a body shot that sends Veainu's belly button to the back.
Sanchez dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Sanchez fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.

Sanchez gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Sanchez tries a body shot but Veainu blocks it.
Sanchez throws a punch but it's blocked by Veainu.
Veainu is looking to break free of the clinch but Sanchez has double underhooks.
A short body shot lands from Sanchez as the two fighters clinch.
Sanchez lands a hook to the side of the head.
Sanchez lands a shoulder strike.
Sanchez lands a body punch in the clinch.
Sanchez working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Sanchez misses with a hook from the clinch.
Diego Sanchez 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.
Veainu has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Sanchez after a bit of a struggle.
Sanchez lands with a light punch inside.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Sanchez cracks Veainu with a nice body shot.
Sanchez lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Veainu has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
A short right from Sanchez on the inside.

Sanchez escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Nice uppercut lands for Sanchez. That snapped Veainu's head back.
Sanchez throws a leg kick which misses Veainu's front leg but catches the back leg as Veainu tries to avoid it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Veainu at a distance.
Sanchez scoring well with a low kick there.
Sanchez turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Sonatane Veainu is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Sanchez digs a good hook to Veainu's body.
Sanchez scores with a nice right hand.
Veainu takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Sanchez moves out of range as Veainu throws a body kick.
Sanchez feints the counter takedown.
Sonatane Veainu seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Veainu is looking to chop away at Sanchez's legs.
Sanchez looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Veainu takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Veainu shoots for a takedown but Sanchez saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Sonatane Veainu. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.

Sanchez tries to keep at a distance but Veainu has taken the fight into the clinch.
Sanchez pushes Veainu back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Veainu is trying to force a seperation but Sanchez has the dominant position.
Veainu wants to get back to striking at distance but Sanchez won't allow it.
Sanchez tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Veainu's elbow.
Veainu wants a takedown but no success here.

And that's the end of the fight!
Diego Sanchez comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Sanchez has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Yasuomi Hirokawa scores the fight 25:30
Judge Yukihiro Shimada scores the fight 25:30
Judge Taro Takaoka scores the fight 24:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Diego Sanchez!