PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Liam Minard (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Sazh Blaskey (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Minard comes into the arena with Walk blaring out of the sound system. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Minard
vs
Blaskey

183 cm
23
215 lbs
11 - 4 - 0

184 cm
25
205 lbs
9 - 3 - 1

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Very strong

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Powerful

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 11 - 4 - 0, fighting out of New York, Liam Minard!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 3 - 1, fighting out of New York, Sazh Blaskey!
The judges for this bout are Franklyn Lucas, Jonathan Paton and John Kavanagh.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Blaskey throws a hook but Minard avoids it easily.
Blaskey misses with a hook.
Blaskey shoots in but no luck this time.
Blaskey keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Nice defenses there by Minard.
Blaskey throws a right and a left that both miss.
Minard uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Blaskey.
Minard staying out of range there.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Blaskey misses with an uppercut. Minard saw that one coming.
Blaskey throws a lazy right hand but Minard sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Blaskey throws the left hand but Minard avoids the punch easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Minard showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Blaskey.
Blaskey shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Minard tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Blaskey was well out of range. Poor timing from Minard.
Minard avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Blaskey lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Blaskey misses with a hook.
A solid leg kick lands there for Minard.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Blaskey.
Minard misses with a straight left.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Blaskey fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Minard avoids it really well and circles away.
Liam Minard has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Sazh Blaskey.
Minard throws a hook but Blaskey blocks it.
Minard tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Blaskey was well out of range. Poor timing from Minard.
Minard throws a jab when Blaskey was well out of range.
Blaskey ducks under a wild hook from Minard.
Blaskey fails to land the takedown.
Minard shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Blaskey counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Minard slips a straight right by Blaskey.
A punch combination from Blaskey misses.
Blaskey might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
Blaskey misses with a takedown

and Minard counters with a single leg into guard. Blaskey didn't expect that.
Minard trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Blaskey wants to sweep here but Minard controlling him for the moment.
Minard stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Blaskey swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Blaskey is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Blaskey looking to control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Minard content to stall in guard here.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Blaskey moves away from the strike by Minard.
Minard blocks a jab.
Blaskey throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Minard counters with a nice body shot.
Blaskey shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Minard counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Blaskey looks gassed!
Blaskey misses with a looping right.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Liam Minard dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Minard chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Nice defenses there by Minard.
Blaskey has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Blaskey there as he acknowledges the shot.

It looks like Sazh Blaskey has been cut.
Blaskey looks to land a left hand but Minard moved out of range nicely.
Minard sizes up Blaskey with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Blaskey thows a left - swing and a miss!
Minard slips a straight right by Blaskey.
Blaskey thows a body shot but no joy.
Blaskey defending well as Minard loads up on a big left hand.

Minard throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Blaskey was covering up waiting for the punch and Minard finishes the takedown easily into guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Minard lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Blaskey tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Minard trying to control but Blaskey is working from the bottom.
Blaskey looking for a sweep. Not yet Blaskey, not yet.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Blaskey holds on and takes a little breather.
Blaskey trying to control the position.
Minard 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.
Minard would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Minard throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Blaskey counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Minard thinking.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Blaskey walks into a straight right hand from Minard.
Good leg kick by Minard there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Minard swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Blaskey throws a series of punches but Minard moves out of range.
Blaskey slips under a jab.
A chopping leg kick lands by Minard.
Minard misses with a body shot.
Minard lands the left hand.
A head kick misses from Minard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Blaskey has his takedown stuffed
and Minard cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Blaskey throws a big shot that misses.
Minard swings for the body but Blaskey moves out of range.
A big right from Blaskey misses.
Minard swings for the body but Blaskey moves out of range.
Minard misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Blaskey.
Blaskey checks a low kick from Minard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Blaskey ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Minard moves away.
Minard steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Blaskey.
Minard shoots in but no luck this time.
Liam Minard is winning the standup battle so far.
Blaskey missing with a left hand there. Minard was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Blaskey with a poor takedown

and Minard counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Minard trying to control the position from guard on top but Blaskey is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Minard in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Minard wants to control from the top but Blaskey keeps moving.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Liam Minard dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Sazh Blaskey's cut.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. This is the final round!

Minard displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Blaskey throws out the jab.
Blaskey throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Minard counters with a stiff right hand.
Minard throws a head kick that misses.
Blaskey takes a shot right to the bread basket.

Minard shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Minard is fighting to break Blaskey's control of his arms but Blaskey is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Blaskey preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Blaskey managing to control the position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Minard tries to stand but Blaskey is controlling from the bottom.
Blaskey is trying to keep Minard in close.
Blaskey looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

Sazh Blaskey has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Blaskey gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Minard connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Blaskey defending well as Minard loads up on a big left hand.
Minard misses the shot to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Minard swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Blaskey fails with the takedown
and Minard cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Blaskey throws a hook but Minard avoids it easily.
Minard throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Blaskey swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Blaskey swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Minard takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Blaskey throws a looping overhand right but Minard ducks down to avoid it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A slow jab from Blaskey misses its intended target.
Minard ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Blaskey throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Minard sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Minard lands with a kick to the temple. Blaskey shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"
Minard steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Blaskey.
Blaskey misses with a double jab
and Minard counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Blaskey thinking.
Sazh Blaskey has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Blaskey chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Minard can pounce on him.
Blaskey takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Minard cracks Blaskey with a right hand to the side of the head.
A decent looking cross lands there for Minard.
Minard moves out of range of the strikes.
Sazh Blaskey seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Nice takedown defense from Minard. No joy for Blaskey on that attempt.
Liam Minard has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Sazh Blaskey.
Blaskey misses with a hook. Minard ducked under it nicely.
Blaskey loads up on a big right hand but Minard slips the punch.

Minard fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Blaskey, pushing him back against the cage.
Blaskey misses with some punches.
Blaskey working aggressively here.
Minard lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Minard lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Blaskey backwards.

And that's the end of the fight!
Liam Minard showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Minard 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 Franklyn Lucas scores the fight 30:27
Judge Jonathan Paton scores the fight 30:27
Judge John Kavanagh scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Liam Minard!