PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Sepp Maier (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ray Mancine (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Maier comes to the cage accompanied by Apaga mas não bate. Both fighter's entrance songs getting the crowd jumping here.

Maier
vs
Mancine

187 cm
29
192 lbs
27 - 18 - 0

192 cm
25
193 lbs
10 - 3 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Olympic wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

5th Round Clothing
KAISER

GTI - 1337 sponsors VERSUS

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 27 - 18 - 0, fighting out of London, Sepp Maier!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 10 - 3 - 0, fighting out of London, Ray Mancine!
The judges for this bout are William Gold, Daniel Bishop and Andrew Berry.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Mancine is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Maier.
Maier tries to score a power double leg takedown but Mancine sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Maier somewhat.
Mancine throws a hook but Maier blocks it.
Maier has a takedown stuffed.
Nice sprawl there from Mancine as Maier shoots in.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Sepp Maier. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Maier looks for a takedown but Mancine sprawls well.
Maier gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Mancine.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Maier tries to clinch but Mancine is having none of it.
Mancine throws a left and a right that both miss
and Maier counters with a one-two to the body.
Mancine shoots in for a double leg but Maier sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Maier uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Mancine.
Maier has a takedown stuffed.
Mancine lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Mancine tries to close the distance and clinch but Maier swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Maier will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Mancine attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Mancine swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Mancine attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Mancine throws a low kick but Maier moves out of range easily.

Maier clinches up against the cage.
Mancine lands with a left to the head.
Mancine throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Maiers head.
Maier tries to pull guard but Mancine won't allow it.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Mancine stops a takedown attempt from Maier.
Mancine has a couple of punches blocked by Maier.
Maier misses with a punch to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Maier has picked Mancine up - he's going for a ride! Maier dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard.
Mancine is looking to escape.
Mancine is looking for a sweep. Maier is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Mancine wants to control but Maier is keeping busy and won't allow it.

Maier is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Mancine sees it coming and defends easily.
Mancine is looking to improve his position.

Maier wants to work for an arm triangle but Mancine is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.

Maier is working for a kimura but Mancine is defending it quite comfortably.
Mancine moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Maier accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Maier missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Maier tries to free his leg and advance position but Mancine is retaining full guard.
Maier working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Maier distracts Mancine with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Mancine wants to sweep here but Maier controlling him for the moment.

Mancine escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Maier gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Mancine is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Mancine wants to sweep but no luck.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Mancine is on top in guard.

Maier has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Mancine can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Maier looking for a sweep. Not yet Maier, not yet.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Mancine landing some decent shots from guard.
Mancine missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Ray Mancine will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Maier moves in looking to clinch but Mancine pushes him off.
Mancine throws a leg kick

and Maier counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Maier.
Maier tries for a takedown but Mancine manages to get underhooks.

Maier escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Ray Mancine seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Maier tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Maier moves out of range as Mancine strikes.
Maier closes this distance looking for a takedown but Mancine circles away.
Mancine stuffs the takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Sepp Maier. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Mancine scores with a jab to the jaw.
Mancine keeps the fight on the outside.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Maier drops his hands momentarily and Mancine takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Mancine throws a chopping leg kick but Maier manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Maier keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Mancine paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Maier misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.

Maier tries to keep at a distance but Mancine has taken the fight into the clinch.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Maier jumps guard but Mancine stands there with Maier around his waist. Maier gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Mancine cracks Maier with a nice body shot.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Mancine creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.

Mancine has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Maier uses from the top position.

Mancine has his foot on Maier's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Maier works his way back into a safe position though.
Maier postures up.

Mancine looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Maier stopping the sweep attempt from Mancine.
Maier sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Mancine's guard.

Maier is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Maier wants to free his trapped foot but Mancine is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Mancine is looking to improve his position.

Mancine actively working from the bottom here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Maier seems to be looking for submissions.
Maier scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Maier is thwarting Mancine's attempts to control the position.

Mancine actively working from the bottom here.
Mancine gets back to full guard.
Maier trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

Mancine looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.

Mancine has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Maier can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Mancine wants to sweep but no luck.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Maier keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Mancine's head.
Maier throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Maier pushes down on Mancine's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Mancine tries to roll over but Maier keeps him under control.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Mancine keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.

Maier is working for a kimura but Mancine is defending it quite comfortably.
Sepp Maier overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Mancine gets back to full guard.
Mancine looking to hit a scissor sweep but Maier is one step ahead there.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Mancine is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.

Mancine has his feet on Maier's hips. He pushes off and gets to his feet. Nice work.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ray Mancine showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Mancine shoots in for a takedown but Maier shows good takedown defense.
Mancine shoots and misses

and Maier counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Mancine!

Maier looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
Maier looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.

It looks like Ray Mancine has been cut.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Maier lands a heavy elbow.
Maier prevents Mancine from getting the reversal.
Maier landing shots from mount.
Mancine is in all sorts of trouble here.
Mancine regains half guard.
Mancine trying to control but Maier postures up.
Maier working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Mancine is defending against the submission attempts here by Maier.

Maier is looking for a kimura but Mancine is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Maier to get the leverage.
Mancine avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Maier.

Maier looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.

Maier is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Mancine tries to roll over but Maier keeps him under control.

Maier is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Mancine defends it well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mancine moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Mancine trying to control the position.

Mancine manages to escape and get back to his feet.
A big right from Mancine misses.
Maier takes one to the chin there.
Ray Mancine seems to be getting the better of the standup.

Maier bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Mancine is trying to get back to half guard.

Maier working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mancine is looking to reverse the position.
Mancine manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
Mancine is looking to advance position but Maier won't allow it.
Maier wants to improve his position but Mancine is controlling well.
Mancine with the ground and pound but Maier uses the opportunity to regain guard.
Mancine lands a couple of elbows.

Maier working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Mancine doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Mancine manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Mancine content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.

Mancine avoids a guillotine attempt easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mancine in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Maier wants to sweep but no luck.

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

Maier is working an open guard so Mancine takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
Sepp Maier has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Mancine has managed to clinch.

Mancine manages to break the clinch.
Mancine scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Maier is defended easily by Mancine.
Horrible takedown by Mancine or perhaps it was just good defense by Maier which made him look bad.

And that's the end of the fight!
Sepp Maier showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Mancine has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 William Gold scores the fight 28:29
Judge Daniel Bishop scores the fight 28:29
Judge Andrew Berry scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ray Mancine!
Ray Mancine really struggled to get his t-shirt on before his hand was raised. Making sure that GTI - 1337 sponsors VERSUS logo gets some air time is pretty tricky when you're all sweaty.