PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Mantak Garuda (ranked 514 p4p, 78 weight class) and Jan Sobieski (ranked 1035 p4p, 140 weight class). Garuda's entrance music is Djiin. A fine choice. Well, the cameraman is lingering on a pretty young lady for a bit too long there. Keep your eyes on the prize buddy or you'll miss the fighter intros!

Garuda
vs
Sobieski

190 cm
22
210 lbs
6 - 1 - 0

199 cm
22
215 lbs
6 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
Lethal high kicks
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

Destructive Striking Clothing

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 6 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Mantak Garuda!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Jan Sobieski!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Bishop, Donald Grub and James Glass.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sobieski scores with a push kick.
Sobieski throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Garuda throws a big shot that misses.
Garuda has been working on his boxing with his coaches at The Wild Beasts Zoo in the buildup to the fight.

Sobieski shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Sobieski showed some decent athleticism there.
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Sobieski working his ground and pound in the gym. He isn't landing a great percentage of his ground strikes so far though.
Garuda is trying to get back to full guard.
Sobieski not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Garuda manages to get to full guard.
Sobieski trying to control but Garuda is working from the bottom.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sobieski postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Sobieski throws a big elbow that misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Garuda pulls Sobieski in to control the position.
Sobieski stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Garuda swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Sobieski stands and throws Garuda's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Garuda is trying to improve his position.
Sobieski looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Garuda is avoiding damage well.

Sobieski is trying to get an arm triangle but Garuda is defending well.
Garuda tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Sobieski wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.

Sobieski is trying to get an arm triangle but Garuda is defending well.
Garuda is trying to control Sobieski's posture but Sobieski avoids it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sobieski controls the position from side control.
Garuda is trying to improve his position.
Sobieski throws a strike aimed at the side of Garuda's head but Garuda avoids it well.
Garuda tries to bench press Sobieski off him but Sobieski keeps the position.
Garuda is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Sobieski off and has taken his back!
I really don't envy Sobieski right now.
Sobieski is very frustrated here, being controlled quite effectively by Garuda.
Sobieski is defending well here and trying to improve his position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sobieski has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Garuda avoiding Sobieski 's attempts to control his hands.
Sobieski is in bad spot here.
Sobieski is still trying to improve position.
Garuda has good solid back control here.
Sobieski is really stuck here.
Sobieski manages to reverse the position and now he's in Garuda's guard. Nice work there by Sobieski.
Sobieski trying to control the position from guard on top but Garuda is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sobieski controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Sobieski landing with the ground and pound.
Sobieski throwing strikes from guard but Garuda blocks nicely.
Sobieski controls from within his opponent's guard.
Sobieski lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Sobieski trying to control the position from guard on top but Garuda is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Garuda pulls Sobieski in close to prevent any damage.
Sobieski wants to pass the guard but Garuda is keeping the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jan Sobieski dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

A jab from Garuda misses.
Sobieski takes a swing at Garuda's ribcage but misses.
Sobieski scores with a kick to the body.
Garuda tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Sobieski is able to avoid easily.
Sobieski misses the shot to the body.
Garuda swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Garuda scoring well with a low kick there.
Sobieski chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Garuda can pounce on him.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sobieski scores with a push kick.
Sobieski throws a body shot but no joy.
Garuda moves out of range of the body kick.
Sobieski tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sobieski slips a jab from Garuda.
Garuda sets himself, and Sobieski steps forward looking for the clinch! Garuda avoids it this time.
Sobieski gets off balance looking for a body kick
and Garuda counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Garuda throws a series of punches but Sobieski avoids them all with ease.
Sobieski misses with a kick to the body
and Garuda connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Garuda lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Garuda has a nice red mark on his side after a thudding body kick by Sobieski.
Garuda misses the jab.
Sobieski wants to counter the offense by Garuda and move into the clinch position.
Sobieski tries a head kick but it misses.
Sobieski misses with a head kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sobieski tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
It looked like Garuda wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Garuda connects with an inside leg kick.

Sobieski rushes Garuda and presses him up against the cage.
Garuda goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Garuda tries to work over Sobieski's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Sobieski working some nice short punches in the clinch.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Garuda goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Garuda throws a head punch that misses.
A head punch on the inside from Sobieski fails to land.
Sobieski lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Garuda backwards.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Sobieski.
Garuda tries to throw a body punch but Sobieski avoids it by throwing Garuda back against the cage.
Garuda is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Garuda lands a body shot.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Garuda lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Sobieski wants to take the fight to the mat but Garuda manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
Sobieski blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Garuda has a couple of punches blocked by Sobieski.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Garuda lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Garuda can't find room to land a body shot as Sobieski controls the action.
Sobieski prevents a body shot from Garuda.
Sobieski blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Sobieski scores with a shoulder strike.
Garuda is really struggling to find his range with his punches. Sobieski's reach advantage is clearly causing him problems.

Sobieski's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Garuda misses with an uppercut. Sobieski saw that one coming.
Sobieski goes for a double leg but Garuda avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Garuda continues to drive forward.
It looked like Garuda was trying to counter with a body shot coming off that last attack from Sobieski.
Garuda throws a hook but Sobieski avoids it easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sobieski misses with a body kick.
Sobieski throws a body kick that sends a sickening thudding noise reverberating around the arena.
Sobieski throws a sloppy head kick and Garuda moves out of range easily.
Mantak Garuda is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Garuda bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Sobieski's head backwards.
Garuda avoids a kick to the body.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Garuda tries to move into range but Sobieski moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Garuda throws a body kick that sends a sickening thudding noise reverberating around the arena.
Garuda throws a chopping leg kick but Sobieski manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Sobieski is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.
Garuda throws out a loose jab but Sobieski uses good head movement to avoid it.
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 Mantak Garuda 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. 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.

Sobieski ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Sobieski.
Garuda is looking to counter punch.
Sobieski lands a head kick. Garuda smiles back at him and beckons him forward.

It looks like Mantak Garuda has been cut.
Sobieski shoots and misses
and Garuda counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Garuda throws a hook but Sobieski blocks it.
Garuda throws a leg kick

and Sobieski counters with a nice double leg into half guard.

Garuda kicks off Sobieski and gets to his feet.
This has been an exciting period of action!
That kick from Garuda tenderised Sobieski's leg. Sobieski is trying to keep his angry face on.
Garuda throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Sobieski sees it coming and avoids it easily.
A left lands for Garuda.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Both fighters circling a little - Sobieski finishes the exchange with a kick to the body.
Sobieski on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Sobieski lands with a kick to the ribs.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Sobieski fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Garuda manages to avoid it.
Nice body kick from Sobieski.
Sobieski throws a body kick that misses.

Sobieski clinches up against the cage.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Sobieski.
Sobieski blocks a body shot from Garuda.
Garuda misses with a short punch on the inside.
Sobieski tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Garuda is trying to break the clinch but Sobieski is controlling him.
Sobieski blocks a punch to the side of the head.

Garuda manages to break the clinch.
A low kick from Garuda is predictable there

and Sobieski counters with a takedown into side control.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Garuda is not content to let Sobieski control the position.
Garuda can't do much from the bottom here.
Garuda is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Sobieski wants to lay and pray for a moment but Garuda keeps working.
Jan Sobieski has got the better of the ground game so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Sobieski thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Sobieski throws a strike aimed at the side of Garuda's head but Garuda avoids it well.
Sobieski wants to lay and pray for a moment but Garuda keeps working.

Sobieski wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Garuda, who protects the arm well.
Sobieski connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Garuda some visible discomfort.
Garuda regains half guard, as Sobieski was trying to land strikes.
Sobieski prevents Garuda from improving his position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Sobieski is looking for a kimura but Garuda is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Sobieski to get the leverage.
Sobieski is looking to take a break and control but Garuda is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Sobieski missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Sobieski sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Garuda defending well though.
Sobieski working over Garuda with some ground and pound. Garuda looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Sobieski throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Sobieski seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.

Sobieski is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Garuda is trying to control but can't.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Jan Sobieski.
I think Sobieski 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 Daniel Bishop scores the fight 28:29
Judge Donald Grub scores the fight 28:29
Judge James Glass scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Jan Sobieski!
Jan Sobieski took to the microphone after his victory and thanked his sponsors, Destructive Striking Clothing for their support in the buildup to the fight.
The defeated Mantak Garuda had this to say: 'Congratulations for tonight. I hope we meet in a cage again so I can extract my revenge!'.