PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Leszek Sobota (ranked 3455 p4p, 362 weight class) and Craig Patton (ranked 21101 p4p, 670 weight class). Patton has chosen Heart of a Champion - Nelly as his entrance music. Leszek Sobota has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Sobota
vs
Patton

180 cm
26
180 lbs
7 - 2 - 0

174 cm
29
174 lbs
3 - 5 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
KO power

BJJ Purple Belt
Decent boxing
Determined

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 7 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Leszek Sobota!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Craig Patton!
The judges for this bout are Tiny Johnson, Cecil Peabody and Stewart Dunkirk.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Sobota forces Patton back against the cage and clinches.
Sobota on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Patton jumps guard but Sobota stands there with Patton around his waist. Patton gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Sobota presses Patton against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Sobota scores with a shoulder strike.
Sobota fails to land with a short punch on the inside.

Patton pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Patton scores with a spinning back kick!
Sobota throws a front kick aimed at Patton's knee but Patton avoids it well.
No joy there for Patton, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Patton fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
A counter left hand to the body from Sobota misses its target.
Sobota lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Patton misses with the body kick

and Sobota counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Sobota.
Sobota misses with a body punch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sobota lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Patton or not.
Patton will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Sobota up against the cage.
Sobota misses with the head strike.
Sobota can't find room to land a body shot as Patton controls the action.
Patton tries to throw a body punch but Sobota avoids it by throwing Patton back against the cage.

Patton pulls guard successfully.

Sobota got a little sloppy there for a moment and Patton has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Sobota has managed to get both his arms back between Patton's legs - danger averted.
Sobota controlling from the top position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

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

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sobota advances position into side control!
Patton wants to get back to his feet.
Patton tries to improve position but can't.
Patton wants to control but Sobota postures up.
Sobota knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Patton on the ground.
Patton misses with a strike from the bottom.
Sobota controlling the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Patton is trying to get back to half guard.
Patton struggling a bit here.
Patton regains half guard.
Patton is looking for a sweep. Sobota is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Sobota trying to mount his opponent but Patton defends it.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Sobota in particular looking to stall.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Patton trying to control from the bottom.
Patton controlling the position for now.
Patton is trying to control but can't.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Sobota misses with a wild body shot.
Patton moves out of range of the strikes.
Sobota uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Patton.
A little feinted left hand from Sobota on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
A nice combination there by Patton.

Sobota moves into range and clinches up with Patton.
Nice body punch from Patton.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Patton is looking for a takedown.
Leszek Sobota has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Craig Patton.
Patton fails to pull guard.
Patton tries to break free but Sobota pushes him back against the cage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Leszek Sobota will probably get the nod.
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.

Patton shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Sobota as he jumps to the side.
Patton looking to land some kicks to the body here.

Sobota darts in and clinches Patton up against the cage.
Patton throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Sobotas head.

Patton breaks from the clinch.
Sobota wants to clinch.
Patton tries to close the distance and clinch but Sobota swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Patton tries to bum rush Sobota with a series of wild strikes but Sobota uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
A shot to the body from Patton misses

and Sobota counters by moving into the clinch.
Patton is trying to pull guard but Sobota has him pressed against the cage.
Sobota swings wildly with an uppercut but Patton uses good head movement to avoid it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Patton tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Sobota's elbow.
Sobota misses with a punch to the body.
Patton is trying to push Sobota away but Sobota has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Sobota keeps control of Patton as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Sobota lands a right hand that snaps the head of Patton backwards.
Patton looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Sobota tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Sobota working aggressively here.
Patton has had enough of the clinch but Sobota keeps him there for the moment.

Patton breaks the clinch.
Patton tries to clinch up
and Sobota counters with a stiff right hand.
Craig Patton is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sobota is looking to clinch but Patton is avoiding it.
Patton misses with a looping left.

Sobota has closed the distance and engaged Patton in a clinch.
Patton tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Sobota's elbow.
Patton blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Patton blocks a couple of punches on the inside.

Patton drags the fight down to the ground.

Patton escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Sobota gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Patton controls Sobota momentarily but Sobota frees himself.
Patton trying to strike off his back.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Patton is trying to keep Sobota in close.
Patton lands an upkick as Sobota stands over him.
Sobota is fighting to break Patton's control of his arms but Patton is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Patton is trying to control the position but Sobota postures up.
Patton is pulling down on Sobota's head to control his posture.
Patton can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Sobota controls the pace.
Patton is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Leszek Sobota seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Patton throws a series of punches but Sobota avoids them all with ease.
Patton throws the kick towards the body but Sobota avoids it.
A punch combination from Patton misses.
Patton shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Sobota as he jumps to the side.
Leszek Sobota has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Craig Patton.
Patton misses the shot to the body.
Sobota swung with a counter punch to the body but it didn't connect.
A right-left combo lands from Patton.
A looping hook to the body misses from Sobota. Patton does a little dance to reset his feet.
Leszek Sobota is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Patton throws a leg kick
and Sobota counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Patton is breathing heavily.
Patton takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Patton looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
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 Leszek Sobota will probably get the nod.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Patton doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Sobota counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Sobota throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Pattons head.
Patton lands a body punch.
Sobota doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Sobota has Patton pressed against the cage, preventing Patton from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Patton struggles to land a body shot inside as Sobota controls his hands.
Patton has been looking to improve his clinch game in recent weeks. Sobota seems to have the measure of him in the clinch so far, so let's see if Patton can turn it around.
Sobota misses with a hook to the ribs.
Sobota lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sobota goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Sobota throws a head punch that misses.
Patton is trying to force a seperation but Sobota has the dominant position.
Patton tries to pull guard but Sobota won't allow it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Patton's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!

It looks like Craig Patton has been cut.
A nice left hand lands by Sobota.

Patton is rocked!
Sobota goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Patton blocks a punch to the side of the head.

Patton breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Sobota looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Patton fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Sobota avoids it really well and circles away.
Leszek Sobota has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Craig Patton.
Patton takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Sobota throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Sobota swats away the attempt to clinch by Patton.
Patton changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Sobota tries to avoid it but Patton manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Sobota to the ground. Sobota escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Patton throws a sloppy head kick

and Sobota counters by clinching up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Patton looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Sobota keeps control of Patton as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Sobota is working Patton over against the cage.
Patton prevents a body shot from Sobota.
Sobota lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Patton backwards.
Sobota misses with a hook to the ribs.
Sobota struggles to land a body shot inside as Patton controls his hands.
Sobota misses with a punch to the body.
Sobota misses with a punch on the inside.
Sobota lands a shot to the body.
A short left from Sobota.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Sobota cracks Patton with a nice body shot.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sobota throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Pattons head.
Sobota scores with a hook to the body.
Sobota lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Patton is still on wobbly legs! Can Sobota finish him?
A left hand lands to the body for Sobota.
Sobota lands with a left to the head.
Sobota lands a big right hand that drops Patton! The killer instinct kicks in and Sobota finishes his opponent with a series of strikes from mount. A dominating finish by Sobota!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:36 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Leszek Sobota!
Leszek Sobota was full of energy after the big win and talked about how he thinks he can do big things in this sport. The crowd were appreciative of his determination to succeed.
The defeated Craig Patton had this to say: 'He was the better fighter tonight. I'll be back. '.