PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between SaÃºl Tacoronte (ranked 1574 p4p, 1592 weight class) and Luther Jackson (ranked 211 p4p, 214 weight class). Jackson has chosen Come As You Are - Nirvana as his entrance music. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Tacoronte
vs
Jackson

190 cm
38
208
21 - 15 - 2

185 cm
40
212
36 - 25 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Powerful

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 21 - 15 - 2, fighting out of Las Vegas, SaÃºl Tacoronte!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 36 - 25 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Luther Jackson!
The judges for this bout are Damien Edna, Francis DeMontford and Chris Dean.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Good standup being displayed there by Tacoronte as he connects with a hook.

It looks like Luther Jackson has been cut.
Jackson looks to land a combination. Tacoronte sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Tacoronte cracks Jackson with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Jackson fails with a takedown attempt.
Jackson has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Tacoronte.
No luck for Jackson with that takedown attempt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Jackson chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Tacoronte can pounce on him.
Jackson closes this distance looking for a takedown but Tacoronte circles away.
SaÃºl Tacoronte has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Luther Jackson.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tacoronte looks to land a body kick but Jackson moved away.
Tacoronte slaps away a takedown attempt from Jackson, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Jackson fails with a takedown attempt.
Jackson tries to close the distance and clinch up but Tacoronte swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Tacoronte pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
SaÃºl Tacoronte is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Jackson gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Tacoronte counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Good shot there by Tacoronte.
Jackson shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
letting Tacoronte counter with a right hand.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nice uppercut lands for Tacoronte. That snapped Jackson's head back.

Jackson drives through with a takedown into Tacoronte's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Tacoronte manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Jackson manages to get himself to full guard.

Tacoronte slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Jackson looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Tacoronte is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Jackson trying to keep a closed guard but Tacoronte is proving a slippery customer.
Jackson looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Jackson is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Jackson seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Jackson is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Tacoronte wants to improve his position but Jackson is controlling well.

Jackson is looking for a kimura here.
Tacoronte preventing any damage for now, controlling his opponent's head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Jackson trying to mount his opponent but Tacoronte defends it.
Jackson stalling.

Jackson is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Tacoronte has managed to free his arm - good work.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Tacoronte is trying to get back to full guard.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

SaÃºl Tacoronte dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Luther Jackson's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Tacoronte stuffs the takedown.
It looked like Tacoronte wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.

Jackson shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Tacoronte keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Jackson is just content to waste time from the top position. Tacoronte takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.
Jackson is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Jackson advances to half guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Jackson trying to mount his opponent but Tacoronte defends it.
Tacoronte moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Jackson looking to pass the guard.
Tacoronte pulls Jackson in close to prevent any damage.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Jackson postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Tacoronte is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Jackson, into his guard.

Luther Jackson has got the better of the ground game so far.
Tacoronte postures up.

That's two 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.
Tacoronte controlling from the top position.
Jackson is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Tacoronte is defending against the submission attempts here by Jackson.
Jackson is just content to waste time from the top position. Tacoronte takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.
Jackson pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Tacoronte is keeping the position for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tacoronte pulls Jackson in close to prevent any damage.
Jackson trying to pass the guard. He's being very persistent here but Tacoronte manages to land a sweep and now he's on top!

Jackson manages to wriggle out and sneak his way back up to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched up against the cage.
Tacoronte tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Tacoronte goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
A nice left hand lands by Tacoronte.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Tacoronte.
Tacoronte lands a hook to the side of the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tacoronte lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Tacoronte swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Jackson jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Tacoronte walks away with a smile on his face. Jackson gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Jackson gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Tacoronte counters with a good low kick that Jackson was not able to check.
SaÃºl Tacoronte has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Luther Jackson.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
A low kick lands for Tacoronte.
Tacoronte throws a head kick but Jackson moves out of range.
Jackson with a poor takedown
and Tacoronte counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Tacoronte's corner calls for a 1-2. Tacoronte obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Tacoronte buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Jackson shoots in for a double leg but Tacoronte sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Jackson is defended easily by Tacoronte.
Tacoronte feinted there with a counter leg kick.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

SaÃºl Tacoronte dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Luther Jackson's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Jackson gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Tacoronte counters with a straight right hand.
That kick from Tacoronte tenderised Jackson's leg. Jackson is trying to keep his angry face on.
Jackson fails in his attempt to clinch.
Tacoronte throws a body kick that misses.
Jackson throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Tacoronte looks to land a left hand but Jackson moved out of range nicely.
Nice defenses there by Jackson.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Tacoronte lands with a thumping leg kick.
Jackson shoots in but Tacoronte avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Jackson shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Tacoronte as he avoids it easily.
SaÃºl Tacoronte has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Luther Jackson.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Jackson fails with the takedown.

Jackson looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.

Jackson is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Tacoronte is concentrating on defense, preventing Jackson from advancing position.
Tacoronte trying to control from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Jackson is stalling here. Tacoronte is in no mood to hang around though. He's locked up a kimura from the bottom! Jackson seems to be keeping calm but he's forced to roll out of the hold and Tacoronte has ended up in side control on the top. Nice work.
Jackson tries to buck Tacoronte off but Tacoronte is having none of it.
Jackson is trying to control Tacoronte's posture but Tacoronte avoids it.
Jackson is being controlled here.
Jackson is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Jackson is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tacoronte working away.
Tacoronte taking a break here but Jackson is having none of it and regains half guard.
Tacoronte trying to mount his opponent but Jackson defends it.
Luther Jackson has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Tacoronte trying to control from half guard but Jackson is working away.
Jackson has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Tacoronte is working away from the top position though.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Jackson wants to get back to full guard but Tacoronte has passed into side control.
Jackson is looking to slip a leg under and get half guard but Tacoronte is one step ahead and moves to full mount!
Jackson is squirming around, avoiding Tacoronte's attempts to control the action.
Jackson is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Tacoronte can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Jackson is looking to escape.
Jackson gets back to half guard.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Jackson tries to roll over but Tacoronte keeps him under control.

And that's the end of the fight!
SaÃºl Tacoronte showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Tacoronte, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Damien Edna scores the fight 30:27
Judge Francis DeMontford scores the fight 30:27
Judge Chris Dean scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... SaÃºl Tacoronte!
An out of breath SaÃºl Tacoronte thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.