PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Julio Sanchez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Marcus Hawthorn (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Sanchez comes to the cage accompanied by Gladiator Main Theme. Hawthorn has chosen Sam & Dave - Soul Man as his entrance music. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Sanchez
vs
Hawthorn

185 cm
18
170 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

175 cm
19
170 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
Good in bed

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Powerful

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 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Julio Sanchez!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Marcus Hawthorn!
The judges for this bout are Chris Edwards, James Atkins and William Gold.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
No joy there for Hawthorn, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Hawthorn throws out a leg kick but Sanchez moves out of range and Hawthorn only half commits.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Sanchez checks a leg kick.
Sanchez takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Hawthorn throws a right hand that Sanchez ducks under and follows up with a left that Sanchez also avoids with ease.
A left and a right from Hawthorn both land. Nice combination.
Hawthorn throws a series of punches but Sanchez avoids them all with ease.
Hawthorn throws a right and a left that Sanchez avoids nicely.
A combination from Hawthorn does no damage.
Hawthorn fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Hawthorn connects with a nice looking jab.
Sanchez keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Hawthorn looks to score with a jab to the body but Sanchez is just out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hawthorn fails to land with a series of punches.
Hawthorn stalks Sanchez and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Sanchez's face. Sanchez staggers backwards, shaken.
Hawthorn throws a right and a left that both miss.
Hawthorn attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Hawthorn throws a series of punches but Sanchez moves out of range.
Hawthorn throws a right and a left that both miss.
Sanchez dodges the punch combination from Hawthorn.
Hawthorn throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Hawthorn throws a right and a left that Sanchez avoids nicely.
Marcus Hawthorn seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Hawthorn misses with a two punch combination.
Hawthorn misses with a series of wild punches.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Sanchez checks a leg kick nicely.
Sanchez displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Hawthorn throws out the jab.
Hawthorn rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Sanchez moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Hawthorn tries to bum rush Sanchez with a series of wild strikes but Sanchez uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Hawthorn misses with a few strikes there.
Hawthorn throws a right and a left that Sanchez avoids nicely.
Sanchez slips a jab and a cross from Hawthorn.
Marcus Hawthorn is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Some wild striking there from Hawthorn.
Hawthorn misses with a wild combination.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez needs to keep his hands up - Hawthorn had a free shot at his head there.
Hawthorn misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Sanchez avoids the head kick by Hawthorn.
Sanchez moves away from the strike by Hawthorn.
Hawthorn misses with a two punch combination.
Hawthorn misses with the combination.
Hawthorn throws a right hand that Sanchez ducks under and follows up with a left that Sanchez also avoids with ease.
A combination from Hawthorn does no damage.
Sanchez misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Sanchez has a takedown stuffed.

That's four 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.
Hawthorn moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
Sanchez dodges the punch combination from Hawthorn.
Sanchez slips a jab and a cross from Hawthorn.
Sanchez looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Julio Sanchez. That's going to take a lot out of him.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Hawthorn fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Sanchez checks it well.
No joy there for Hawthorn, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Marcus Hawthorn dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Hawthorn throws a right and a left that both miss.
Sanchez dodges the punch combination from Hawthorn.
Sanchez shoots in but Hawthorn avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Hawthorn swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Hawthorn connects with a looping right hand.
Sanchez shoots in for a takedown but Hawthorn shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hawthorn misses with a jab, cross combination.
Hawthorn lands a jab-cross combination.
Hawthorn throws a series of punches but Sanchez moves out of range.
Hawthorn throws a right and a left that Sanchez avoids nicely.
Marcus Hawthorn is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sanchez avoids a punch combination nicely.
Nice takedown defense from Hawthorn. No joy for Sanchez on that attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Julio Sanchez. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Hawthorn misses with a head kick.
Hawthorn misses with a series of wild punches.
Hawthorn throws a series of punches but Sanchez avoids them all with ease.
Sanchez blocks a leg kick.
Hawthorn displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
A big right from Hawthorn misses.
Hawthorn works over Sanchez's head and body with a nice combination.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hawthorn throws a series of strikes that have Sanchez backpedaling.

Hawthorn lands a left and a right that send Sanchez crashing to the mat, dazed. Hawthorn thinks about following him to the mat but decides to wave him back up to his feet!

Sanchez is rocked!
Hawthorn ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Oh Sanchez is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Hawthorn throws a series of punches but Sanchez moves out of range.
Hawthorn misses with a two punch combination.
Sanchez seems to have got his legs back now.
Hawthorn throws a nice looking combination but Sanchez bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Hawthorn misses with a wild combination.
Hawthorn throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Hawthorn cracks a nice hook into Sanchez's ribs.
Hawthorn throws out a loose jab but Sanchez uses good head movement to avoid it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Sanchez shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Hawthorn is looking to escape.
Hawthorn really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Sanchez. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Hawthorn is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Hawthorn's head.

Hawthorn makes his way to full guard, as Sanchez worked for a kimura.
Sanchez in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

Hawthorn manages to escape and get back to his feet.
Marcus Hawthorn seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Sloppy strikes from Hawthorn. Those never looked like landing.
Hawthorn misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Hawthorn lunges at Sanchez with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Sanchez's hand.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Marcus Hawthorn showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! And we move into the final round!

Sanchez is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Sanchez is defended easily by Hawthorn.
Hawthorn fails to land with a series of punches.
Hawthorn's corner calls for a 1,2 combination and Hawthorn duly obliges.
Sanchez slips a jab and a cross from Hawthorn.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Hawthorn.
Hawthorn lands with a good body shot.
Hawthorn lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Sanchez circles away quickly and effectively.
A combination from Hawthorn does no damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hawthorn lands with a cross.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Hawthorn misses with a hook. Sanchez ducked under it nicely.
Hawthorn throws a right and a left that Sanchez avoids nicely.
Hawthorn swinging wildly here.
Hawthorn tries to bum rush Sanchez with a series of wild strikes but Sanchez uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Hawthorn throws a right hand that Sanchez ducks under and follows up with a left that Sanchez also avoids with ease.
Hawthorn pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Sanchez avoids the head kick by Hawthorn.
Hawthorn keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Hawthorn fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Hawthorn tries a head kick but it misses.
Hawthorn tries to bum rush Sanchez with a series of wild strikes but Sanchez uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Sanchez showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Hawthorn.
Hawthorn lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!

It looks like Julio Sanchez has been cut.
Hawthorn tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Sanchez is able to avoid easily.
Hawthorn scores with a crisp jab that stopped Sanchez in his tracks.
Hawthorn swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Hawthorn throws a right and a left that Sanchez avoids nicely.
No joy there for Hawthorn, who threw a few shots but didn't land.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hawthorn throws a series of strikes that have Sanchez backpedaling.
Hawthorn throws a series of punches but Sanchez moves out of range.
Hawthorn lands a leg kick that knocks Sanchez off balance momentarily.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Sanchez.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Julio Sanchez. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Hawthorn misses with a two punch combination.
A combination from Hawthorn does no damage.
Hawthorn throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Hawthorn will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Sanchez avoids a punch combination nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hawthorn throws a nice outside leg kick.

Oooooh!!! Hawthorn has knocked Sanchez down with a huge combo! Hawthorn steps away and waves a wobbly Sanchez back to his feet! This one might not go much longer!
Hawthorn throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Sanchez.
Hawthorn is working the combinations to good effect here.
Hawthorn scores with a jab.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
A punch combination from Hawthorn misses.
Hawthorn lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Sanchez circles away quickly and effectively.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Hawthorn will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Sanchez takes a jab right on the kisser.
Julio Sanchez has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Sanchez looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Hawthorn rushes Sanchez with punches - Sanchez moves straight backwards instead of circling and gets clipped by the second strike... and the third... and the fourth! Oh, Sanchez goes down! Hawthorn follows up with more strikes and the ref steps in to end the bout!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:57 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Marcus Hawthorn!