PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight kickboxing rules bout between Ubaldo Cortez (ranked 5651 p4p, 3796 weight class) and Miguel Sandoval (ranked 553 p4p, 456 weight class). Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Cortez
vs
Sandoval

186 cm
26
180
10 - 10 - 0

179 cm
30
171
16 - 14 - 1

World class boxer
Insanely flexible

World class boxer
Good gas tank

Conviction
Conquer

HELLBENT

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 10 - 10 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Ubaldo Cortez!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 16 - 14 - 1, fighting out of Helsinki, Miguel Sandoval!
The judges for this bout are Tatsuya Matsuyama, Sosuke Kotani and Yasuomi Hirokawa.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Cortez keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Sandoval misses with an uppercut
and Cortez cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Cortez throws a body shot but no joy.
Sandoval rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Cortez moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Cortez tried to counter with a leg kick but Sandoval avoided it.
Miguel Sandoval seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Cortez dodges the punch combination from Sandoval.
Sandoval throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Cortez looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
A big right from Sandoval misses.
A swing and a miss from Sandoval.
Cortez feinted there with a counter leg kick.
Sandoval misses with a lunging right hand
and Cortez counters with a low kick, right behind Sandoval 's knee.
Cortez moves into range and lands a nice body kick.
Cortez ducks under a wild hook from Sandoval.
Cortez throws a body kick despite being completely out of range
and Sandoval counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Nice uppercut lands for Cortez. That snapped Sandoval's head back.
A slow jab from Sandoval misses its intended target.
Sandoval walks forward, straight into a front kick from Cortez.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Cortez looks to land a body kick but Sandoval moved away.
Cortez throws the kick towards the body but Sandoval avoids it.
Sandoval misses the jab.
Sandoval lands a jab to the nose.
Sandoval has been spending a lot of time sparring his boxing in the run up to the fight, trying to sharpen up those hands and look for a knockout.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cortez throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Sandoval on the side of the head.
Jab from Cortez.
Sandoval waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Cortez.
Cortez lands a leg kick that knocks Sandoval off balance momentarily.
Sandoval avoids the body shot from Cortez.
Cortez slips a jab and a cross from Sandoval.
A quick step to the side and Cortez tries to counter with a shot to the body but it doesn't connect.
Cortez keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Sandoval.
Cortez slips under a jab from Sandoval.
Cortez is looking for a counter combo.
Sandoval swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Cortez counters with a nice body shot.
Sandoval keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Cortez.
Cortez lands a glancing blow to the side of Sandoval's head.
Sandoval might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
Cortez misses with a body shot.
Cortez with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Cortez tries to clinch there but Sandoval circles away.
Cortez moves into range and connects with a jab.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Cortez tries to land a front kick but Sandoval steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Sandoval doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Sandoval fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Cortez manages to avoid it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A shot to the liver by Sandoval. Beautiful body shot.
A slow jab from Sandoval misses its intended target.
Cortez throws an overhand right that lands on Sandoval's shoulder, as Sandoval tries to avoid the shot.
Sandoval looks to score with a jab to the body but Cortez is just out of range.
Cortez looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Sandoval missing with a left hand there. Cortez was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Sandoval cracks Cortez with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
A telegraphed right hand from Cortez misses the target.
Sandoval uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Cortez.
Cortez misses with a wild body shot.
Cortez throws a leg kick which misses Sandoval's front leg but catches the back leg as Sandoval tries to avoid it.
Sandoval throws a big shot that misses.
A big left from Sandoval misses.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Sandoval misses the jab.
A decent looking body kick lands there for Cortez.
Sandoval throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Sandoval misses with a lunging right hand
and Cortez makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Ubaldo Cortez dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the ring so we can get back down to business.

Sandoval swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
An inside leg kick lands from Cortez.
Sandoval throws a jab when Cortez was well out of range.
Cortez ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Cortez thows a leg kick but Sandoval checks it
and Sandoval cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Sandoval uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Cortez.
Cortez takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
A telegraphed right hand from Sandoval misses the target.
Cortez thuds his shin into the meat of Sandoval's side.
Sandoval misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Cortez.
Cortez throws a quick counter kick to the body but Sandoval avoids it.
Sandoval stuns Cortez with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
A big left from Sandoval misses.
Cortez connects with a looping right hand.
Cortez throws a head kick that Sandoval semi-blocks.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Cortez misses with a hook to the body
and Sandoval counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
A low kick lands for Cortez.
Sandoval misses with an uppercut. Cortez saw that one coming.
Sandoval throws the left hand but Cortez avoids the punch easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cortez keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Sandoval.
Cortez takes a swing at Sandoval's ribcage but misses.
Sandoval misses with a hook. Cortez ducked under it nicely.
It looked like Cortez wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Sandoval uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Cortez.
Sandoval looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Cortez takes a swing at Sandoval's ribcage but misses.
Sandoval looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Sandoval scores with a nice head shot.
A looping hook to the body misses from Sandoval. Cortez does a little dance to reset his feet.
Cortez with a nice calf kick.
A slapping body kick lands there for Cortez.
Sandoval looks to score with a jab to the body but Cortez is just out of range.
A big right from Cortez misses.
Sandoval swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
A cross from Sandoval lands.
Cortez misses with a straight left.
Sandoval moves out of range of the body kick from Cortez.
Sandoval misses with an uppercut. Cortez saw that one coming.
Cortez throws the left hand but Sandoval avoids the punch easily.
Sandoval throws an overhand right that lands on Cortez's shoulder, as Cortez tries to avoid the shot.
Cortez with a nice calf kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sandoval throws a looping overhand right but Cortez ducks down to avoid it.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Cortez has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Sandoval swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Cortez listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Cortez moves out of range of the strikes.
Sandoval cracks Cortez with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the ropes.
Good standup being displayed there by Cortez as he connects with a hook.
Cortez tries to land a front kick but Sandoval steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Sandoval throws a body punch but Cortez moves out of range.
Ubaldo Cortez is winning the standup battle so far.
Sandoval misses with a hook.
Sandoval swings for the body but Cortez moves out of range.
Cortez quickly followed up with a counter body kick but doesn't connect.
Sandoval ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Cortez moves away.
Cortez scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Sandoval fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Cortez lands with a thumping leg kick.
A telegraphed right hand from Sandoval misses the target.
Cortez fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Sandoval has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Miguel Sandoval 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. This is the final round!

Sandoval changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Cortez fails in his attempt to clinch.
Cortez gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Sandoval swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Sandoval misses with a body shot.
Cortez misses with a left hand
enabling Sandoval to counter with a crisp jab.
Sandoval's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Nice uppercut lands for Sandoval. That snapped Cortez's head back.
Sandoval throws a jab but it's blocked by Cortez.
Sandoval swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Cortez cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Sandoval avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Cortez defending well as Sandoval loads up on a big left hand.
Cortez misses with a hook.
Cortez jabs at Sandoval's body.
Cortez connects with a leg kick.

Cortez gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Sandoval lands a body shot.
Cortez misses with a short punch on the inside.

Sandoval breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sandoval jabs at Cortez's body.
Cortez ducks under a wild hook from Sandoval.
Cortez bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
A nice combination there by Sandoval.
Sandoval walks forward, straight into a front kick from Cortez.
Sandoval throws a jab when Cortez was well out of range.
Cortez is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
A low kick lands for Cortez.
Cortez scores with a nice right hand.
Cortez avoids the body shot from Sandoval.
Sandoval throws a predictable looking body shot
and Cortez counters with a straight right hand.
Cortez tries to clinch up but Sandoval circles away and keeps his distance.
Cortez digs a good body shot into Sandoval's ribs.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
A looping hook to the body misses from Sandoval. Cortez does a little dance to reset his feet.
Sandoval swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cortez cracks Sandoval with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Cortez pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Cortez on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Cortez misses with a body kick.
Cortez fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Sandoval checks it well.
Cortez walks into a stiff left hand from Sandoval.
Sandoval lands a nice shot to the body.
Sandoval throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Cortez fires out a quick counter leg kick but Sandoval just manages to avoid it.
Cortez uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Sandoval.
Cortez throws a nice inside leg kick.
Cortez throws a leg kick which misses Sandoval's front leg but catches the back leg as Sandoval tries to avoid it.
Cortez connects with a looping right hand.
Sandoval misses with a straight right.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Cortez staying out of range there.
Sandoval takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Cortez lands a jab to Sandoval's midsection.
Decent striking displayed by Sandoval there.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Miguel Sandoval.
I think Sandoval 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 Tatsuya Matsuyama scores the fight 28:29
Judge Sosuke Kotani scores the fight 28:29
Judge Yasuomi Hirokawa scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Miguel Sandoval!