PBP Commentary

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

Taylor
vs
Sanchez

191 cm
21
205 lbs
3 - 4 - 0

192 cm
18
217 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Determined

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 3 - 4 - 0, fighting out of New York, Mike Taylor!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Pedro Sanchez!
The judges for this bout are Jorge Garcia, Lou da Vinci and Bruno Lombardi.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Taylor showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Sanchez.
Sanchez tries to clinch but Taylor is having none of it.
Sanchez loads up on a big right hand but Taylor slips the punch.

Taylor moves into the clinch successfully.
Sanchez prevents the takedown attempt.
Sanchez wants to break the clinch but can't.
Sanchez is trying to break the clinch but Taylor has him pressed against the cage.
Taylor has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Sanchez avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Stalling in the clinch from Taylor.
A looping hook to the body misses from Taylor. Sanchez does a little dance to reset his feet.
Sanchez misses with a double jab.
Sanchez lands with a nice combination. Taylor backs away looking to recover.

It looks like Mike Taylor has been cut.
Taylor lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.

It looks like Pedro Sanchez has been cut.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Sanchez lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Taylor throws a nice inside leg kick.
Sanchez lands a two punch combo.
Taylor looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Sanchez misses with a few strikes there.
Sanchez looks gassed!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sanchez tries to bum rush Taylor with a series of wild strikes but Taylor uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Sanchez misses with a series of wild punches.

Taylor has Sanchez up against the cage in a clinch.
Sanchez wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Taylor has him pressed against the cage.
Taylor tries to pull guard but Sanchez won't allow it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mike Taylor. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Taylor jumps guard but Sanchez stands there with Taylor around his waist. Taylor gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.

Taylor gets control of Sanchez's arms and successfully pulls guard. Taylor will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Sanchez preventing the sweep.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Taylor manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Sanchez wants to get back to his feet.
Taylor can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Sanchez is looking to escape.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
You get the feeling that Sanchez really doesn't like being in this position too much.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Taylor controlling from the full mount.
Taylor tries to control but Sanchez wriggling away.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Taylor working the ground and pound effectively.

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.
Taylor scoring with strikes but Sanchez is staying in there.
Taylor tries to control but Sanchez wriggling away.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
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 Mike Taylor will probably get the nod.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Sanchez misses with a combination

and Taylor counters by clinching up.
Taylor keeps control of Sanchez as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Taylor using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Taylor unloads a knee to the mid-section. Sanchez lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.

Taylor jumps guard.
Sanchez won't allow Taylor to sweep him here.

Taylor pushes Sanchez off and scrambles back to his feet.

Taylor moves into the clinch.
Sanchez is breathing heavily.

Taylor is trying to trip Sanchez. He has hold of a leg but Sanchez is hopping around, keeping his balance for the moment. Taylor persists though and gets the takedown into guard.
Taylor controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Taylor wants to control from the top but Sanchez keeps moving.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Taylor gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
Taylor closes the distance and clinches up with Sanchez, looking for a takedown. Taylor pushes Sanchez against the cage but Sanchez circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
An inside leg kick lands from Sanchez.
Taylor lands with a slapping head kick.
Taylor uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Sanchez.
Sanchez throws a body kick despite being completely out of range

and Taylor counters by clinching up.
Taylor stalling the fight.

Taylor's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Pedro Sanchez seems to be getting the better of the standup.

Taylor rushes Sanchez and presses him up against the cage.
Taylor drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Sanchez gets the underhooks and prevents it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez wants to break the clinch but can't.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Taylor.
Sanchez gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Taylor.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mike Taylor. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Taylor has had enough of the clinch but Sanchez keeps him there for the moment.
Taylor lands a knee to the body.
Taylor has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Sanchez is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Sanchez is trying to break the clinch but Taylor has him pressed against the cage.
Taylor tries to land knees in the clinch but Sanchez avoids the damage to the body.
Sanchez has a couple of punches blocked by Taylor.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Sanchez tries to break the clinch but Taylor is controlling the position.
Sanchez takes an elbow to the forehead.
Sanchez misses with the head strike.
Taylor prevents Sanchez from breaking the clinch.

Taylor pulls guard successfully.
Sanchez wants to get up but he can't break Taylor's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Sanchez wants to stand and escape but instead Taylor has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.
Taylor controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Taylor stops Sanchez from standing up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mike Taylor dominated that second round.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Taylor rushes Sanchez and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Sanchez is trying to break the clinch but Taylor has him pressed against the cage.
Sanchez is trying to break the clinch but Taylor has him pressed against the cage.
A right handed body shot lands from Taylor.
Sanchez wants to break free but Taylor has control.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.

Taylor escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Taylor lands a glancing blow to the side of Sanchez's head.
Sanchez misses with a double jab

and Taylor holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Sanchez takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Taylor leaning against his opponent.

Taylor has picked Sanchez up - he's going for a ride! Taylor dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Taylor tries to pass to full mount but Sanchez defends it.
Sanchez is not content to let Taylor control the position.
Taylor passes the guard and advances to mount!
Taylor can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Sanchez is looking to escape.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Taylor is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Sanchez is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Sanchez is trying to escape but when you're mounted that's not too easy.
Taylor breaks from Sanchez's wrist control and lands an elbow.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Taylor is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Sanchez can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Taylor trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Pedro Sanchez has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Taylor takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.

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.
Taylor seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Sanchez for as long as he can get away with.

The referee stands the fighters back up. Mike Taylor just wasn't active enough from the dominant position.
Taylor fails with a takedown attempt from distance.

Taylor gets a clinch.
Taylor is working for takedown but Sanchez is calmly controlling the position for now.
Taylor tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Sanchez smiles and moves away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mike Taylor. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Sanchez throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.

And that's the end of the fight!
Mike Taylor showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Taylor has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Jorge Garcia scores the fight 29:28
Judge Lou da Vinci scores the fight 30:28
Judge Bruno Lombardi scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Mike Taylor!