PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between hank the tank (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and ivan sandman (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). This should be a great matchup!

the tank
vs
sandman

178 cm
18
170 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

185 cm
18
180 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Basic striking
Very confident

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, hank the tank!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, ivan sandman!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Franklin, Wesley Smith and Tiny Johnson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
sandman slips a jab and a cross from the tank.
the tank tries to clinch up but sandman circles away and keeps his distance.
A clash of legs there as the tank blocks the low kick.

the tank has taken the fight to the clinch.
the tank has sandman pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. sandman manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.

the tank manages to pull guard.

the tank had isolated an arm as going for an omaplata. sandman is defending the submission well but is in a very vulnerable position. the tank Is leaning forward trying to finish the omaplata but decides to abandon it, and take sandman's back instead.

the tank is working for the rear naked choke. He has one arm under the chin but sandman has hold of the other arm. A bit of a stalemate here.
the tank controlling from the back.
the tank controlling well, preventing sandman from escaping the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
sandman tries to escape the position - he's now mounted. Is that better or worse? Hard to tell!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
sandman avoids a series of strikes thrown by the tank.
sandman is in all sorts of trouble here.
the tank misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.
the tank wants to control the pace but sandman is squirming around nicely.
sandman is in all sorts of trouble here.
the tank with a couple of short strikes.

That's two 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.
the tank prevents sandman from getting the reversal.
the tank throws some wild stikes that sandman manages to avoid easily.
sandman working to try and regain half guard.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
the tank won't let sandman get back to his feet... He wants to keep the fight where it is for now.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if sandman can do anything to dispel that myth.
the tank is breathing heavily.
the tank wants to control but instead sandman manages to regain half guard.
sandman tries to roll over but the tank keeps him under control.
sandman gets back to full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
the tank not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
sandman bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in the tank's guard.
the tank trying to keep a closed guard but sandman is proving a slippery customer.

sandman gets to his feet - the tank follows without any prompting.
sandman shoots for a double leg takedown but the tank sprawls well. He's pushed sandman's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
the tank misses with a takedown attempt - sandman sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
the tank shoots in looking for a takedown. sandman tries to sprawl out of it but the tank keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. sandman manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for hank the tank. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
sandman fails to land the takedown.
the tank takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
An inside leg kick from sandman misses.
sandman throws a leg kick that misses.
sandman throws a leg kick but the tank moved away.
sandman shoots and misses

and the tank counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by the tank.
sandman wants to sweep but no luck.
sandman is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

hank the tank dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

sandman lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
the tank shoots for a takedown but sandman saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
the tank shoots in for a takedown but sandman shows good takedown defense.
sandman tries to work over the tank's front leg with a kick but the tank checks it.
sandman throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around the tank's waist but the tank gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing sandman off to one side.

sandman shoots in and bounces the tank off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
sandman preventing the sweep.
sandman works a leg free and moves into half guard.
sandman trying to pass the guard but the tank defending well.

sandman 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.

That's one minute gone in the round.
sandman tries to pass to full mount but the tank defends it.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

sandman is trying to work for a kimura. He's got his hands clasped together - this could be trouble! No, the tank has managed to free his arm - good work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
sandman wants to get back to his feet.
sandman wants to pass the guard but the tank is defending well.
sandman is trying to advance to mount but he's lost his balance and the tank reverses the position - he's now on top in sandman's guard.
sandman bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in the tank's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

the tank is working an open guard so sandman takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
sandman shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with the tank but the tank pushes him off and we're back to square one.
the tank shoots and misses
and sandman counters with a straight right hand.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for hank the tank. That's going to take a lot out of him.
the tank shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with sandman but sandman pushes him off and we're back to square one.
sandman doesn't succeed with the takedown

and the tank counters with a shoot takedown. sandman fights it but they end up in guard.
sandman keeping moving, preventing the tank from controlling successfully.
sandman is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst the tank is controlling him.
the tank with a flurry of punches that miss.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

sandman working for a triangle but the tank defends it easily.
the tank landing with the ground and pound.
the tank slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
sandman is looking for a sweep.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but ivan sandman will probably get the nod - 10:9.
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. 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.

Nice sprawl there from the tank as sandman shoots in.
the tank shoots in and drives through. sandman sprawls well.
sandman throws a leg kick but the tank moved away.
the tank shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has sandman pinned against the cage. sandman gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.

the tank looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for sandman!
the tank with the ground and pound from mount.
sandman tries to reverse the position but the tank maintains control.
the tank pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
sandman is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
sandman in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
sandman tries to get back to half guard but can't.
the tank landing strikes from the mount and sandman is in trouble!
the tank looking to ground and pound but sandman is blocking nicely.
hank the tank overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
sandman really wants to buck the tank off and get back to his feet.
sandman sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.
sandman is trying to get back to full guard.
sandman won't allow the tank to pass to mount.

That's two 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.
sandman is looking for a sweep. the tank is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. the tank lands a nice short elbow.
the tank thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
the tank is nestled in close to sandman, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
the tank seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
the tank with the ground and pound but sandman uses the opportunity to regain guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
sandman has momentary wrist control but the tank slips an elbow through the middle.
the tank landing with the ground and pound.
the tank lands a couple of digs.
the tank trying to control but sandman is working from the bottom.

sandman isolates an arm and boxes in a triangle. the tank stacks sandman on his neck as he steps over and passes to the side. He's now in a much more dominant position where he can look to do some serious damage. Nice move by the tank!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
the tank lands a nice forearm strike.
the tank cracks sandman with an elbow. That is naaassty.

the tank has had enough of the ground for now and decides to stand.
the tank tries to clinch but sandman moves out of range.
Nice sprawl there from sandman as the tank shoots in.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for hank the tank. That's going to take a lot out of him.
sandman throws a leg kick but the tank sees it coming and checks it nicely.
the tank tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but sandman swivels and escapes.
A cross from sandman lands.
sandman shoots in looking for a takedown. the tank tries to sprawl out of it but sandman keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. the tank manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.

And that's the end of the fight!
hank the tank showed his dominance in that final round.
I think the tank has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Daniel Franklin scores the fight 29:28
Judge Wesley Smith scores the fight 29:28
Judge Tiny Johnson scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... hank the tank!