PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Johnny Sanders (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Steve Ficken (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Johnny Sanders has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Sanders
vs
Ficken

192 cm
18
198 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

185 cm
18
205 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Very strong

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Enjoys gardening

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Johnny Sanders!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Steve Ficken!
The judges for this bout are Luis Engracia, Leandro Rodrigues and Matheus Silva.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ficken stuffs the takedown attempt from Sanders. Sanders gets slowly back to his feet.
Sanders shoots in and drives through. Ficken sprawls well.
Ficken throws a head kick that misses.

Ficken shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Sanders is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Ficken controlling his opponent.
Sanders wants to hold on but Ficken pushes him away.
Ficken tries to control but Sanders wriggling away.
Sanders wants to try and get back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sanders is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Sanders can't escape the position.
Sanders is working hard here to advance position.
Ficken looking to control but Sanders is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Sanders tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Sanders has worked his way to half guard, taking advantage of Ficken's lack of action.
Ficken is looking to stall here but Sanders recovers full guard.
Ficken really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Sanders. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Sanders looking to hit a scissor sweep but Ficken is one step ahead there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Sanders is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Ficken is aware though and is defending well.
Sanders keeping moving, preventing Ficken from controlling successfully.
Sanders seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Ficken trying to control but Sanders is working from the bottom.

Sanders working for a triangle but Ficken defends it easily.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Sanders had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Ficken defends it easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ficken tries to free his leg and advance position but Sanders is retaining full guard.

Sanders looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Sanders looking for a sweep. Not yet Sanders, not yet.
Sanders wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Ficken throws a big elbow that misses.
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.
Sanders managing to control the position.
Ficken looking to pass the guard.

Sanders is active off his back here, looking for submissions.

Sanders working for submissions but it's allowed Ficken to get to half guard.
Ficken is trying to control. Sanders wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Sanders trying to control here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Sanders changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Ficken tries to avoid it but Sanders manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Ficken to the ground. Ficken escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.

Ficken shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Sanders tries to get to full guard but Ficken has control of the leg.
Sanders is trying to maintain the position but Ficken is very close to passing his half guard.
Sanders is looking to get back to is feet but Ficken passes into side control.
Sanders is positioning himself to get back to half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ficken looking to control but instead Sanders has slipped a leg in, to regain half guard.
The fighters are battling for position here. Sanders manages to regain full guard. Nice work.

Sanders is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Ficken is aware though and is defending well.
Sanders has his hands on Ficken's head, controlling the position.
Sanders is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sanders is trying to control the position but Ficken postures up.
Sanders wants to sweep but no luck.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Ficken trying to control but Sanders is working from the bottom.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Steve Ficken.
Sanders throws a leg kick

and Ficken counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Sanders wants to improve his position but Ficken is controlling well.
Sanders gets back to full guard.
Sanders is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Ficken trying to control the position from guard on top but Sanders is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Steve Ficken was stalling too much, according to the referee.

Ficken closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Ficken lands in his opponent's guard.

Sanders is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Ficken trying to control but Sanders is working from the bottom.
Sanders avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ficken is fighting to break Sanders's control of his arms but Sanders is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Ficken stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Sanders swivels though and keeps the full guard.

Sanders had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Ficken defends it easily.
Sanders wants to sweep here but Ficken controlling him for the moment.
Sanders has a closed guard, preventing Ficken from standing up.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Sanders is pulling down on Ficken's head to control his posture.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Johnny Sanders will probably get the nod.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Sanders fails with the takedown
and Ficken counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Sanders throws a right and a left that Ficken avoids nicely.
Sanders wants to clinch.
Sanders closes the distance and clinches up with Ficken, looking for a takedown. Sanders pushes Ficken against the cage but Ficken circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ficken moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Sanders tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Ficken swivels and escapes.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Johnny Sanders. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Ficken scores with a three punch combo!
Ficken throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Sanders.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sanders shoots in but Ficken avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Ficken tries to clinch up.
Sanders dives in and grabs Ficken's left leg, looking for a takedown. Ficken pushes down on Sanders's head and hops out.
Sanders closes the distance and clinches up with Ficken, looking for a takedown. Sanders pushes Ficken against the cage but Ficken circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Johnny Sanders seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Ficken drives through with a takedown into guard.
Ficken trying to control but Sanders is working from the bottom.
Ficken working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Sanders looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sanders has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Johnny Sanders just wasn't active enough.
Sloppy strikes from Ficken. Those never looked like landing.
Ficken avoids a kick to the body.
Sanders looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Ficken is fending him off so far but Sanders persists. Nope, Ficken circles away and we're back to standing.

Ficken looking to score a takedown here. Sanders is defending well but Ficken drives through and ends up in Sanders's guard.
Ficken must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Sanders is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Ficken is aware though and is defending well.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Sanders is pulling down on Ficken's head. It's preventing any offense from Ficken, at least for the moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ficken looking to sit in guard and control but Sanders gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Sanders stands and throws Ficken's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Sanders tries to advance to mount but Ficken denies him.
Sanders is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Johnny Sanders is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Johnny Sanders.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Sanders, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Luis Engracia scores the fight 28:29
Judge Leandro Rodrigues scores the fight 30:27
Judge Matheus Silva scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Johnny Sanders!