PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Sean Murthy (ranked 4304 p4p, 4430 weight class) and Bob Sanders (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Murthy
vs
Sanders

176 cm
23
206
0 - 0 - 0

185 cm
20
210
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Sean Murthy!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Bob Sanders!
The judges for this bout are Winston Alpacca, Bart Greer and Sandra Marshall.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Murthy fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Sanders avoids it really well and circles away.
Murthy is looking to clinch.
Sanders throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.

Sanders moves into the clinch.

Sanders manages to pull guard.

Sanders is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Murthy defends well.
Murthy could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.

Sanders had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Murthy defends it easily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sanders looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Murthy wants to control from the top but Sanders keeps moving.
Murthy postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters, thinking about a standup.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's two 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.
Murthy trying to control the position from guard on top but Sanders is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.

Sanders has Murthy up against the cage in a clinch.
Murthy tries to pull guard but Sanders holds him up against the cage and eventually Murthy drops back down to his feet.

Sanders breaks the clinch.

Murthy tries to keep at a distance but Sanders has taken the fight into the clinch.

Murthy jumps into guard, dragging Sanders to the mat.
Sanders tries to free his leg and advance position but Murthy is retaining full guard.

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

Sanders is adopting a defensive guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Murthy trying to stand up but can't free himself from Sanders's guard.
Murthy trying to control but Sanders is working from the bottom.
Murthy trying to pass the guard. He's being very persistent here but Sanders manages to land a sweep and now he's on top!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Sanders with a flurry of punches that miss.

Murthy manages to escape and get back to his feet.
Murthy with a poor takedown

and Sanders counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Sean Murthy. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Sanders turns his hips and lands a very nice judo throw into side control!

Murthy throws his opponent off and manages to get back to his feet! Nicely done!
A head kick misses from Sanders.
A punch combination from Sanders misses.
Murthy attempts a counter takedown but Sanders avoids it well and moves away.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Sanders throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Sanders stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Sanders wants it to stay on the feet.

Sanders instigates a clinch.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Bob Sanders dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Sanders decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Murthy trying to control from the bottom.
Sanders is pressing down on Murthy's thigh, looking to free his foot. Murthy is holding on for now.
Murthy trying to control here.
Murthy tries to get to full guard but Sanders has control of the leg.
Sanders lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sanders is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Murthy is trying to get back to full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sanders is trying to control. Murthy wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.

Sanders is looking for a kimura here.
Murthy won't allow Sanders to pass to mount.
Murthy trying to control here.
Sanders throws a big elbow that misses, also allowing Murthy to regain full guard.
Murthy is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

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.
Murthy trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Murthy tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Sanders manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Sanders stuffs the takedown.

Murthy shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Murthy showed some decent athleticism there.
Murthy trying to control from half guard but Sanders is working away.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Murthy wants to pass to mount but Sanders is defending the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Murthy is looking to take a break and control but Sanders is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Murthy passes to side control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Sanders is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Murthy's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.

Murthy is looking for a kimura here.
Sanders is doing well to control the position and prevent Murthy from advancing to side control.

That's four 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.
Sanders is continuing to stall.

Murthy seems to be looking for submissions.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Murthy is looking for the mount but instead finds himself back in full guard.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Sean Murthy will probably get the nod.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Sanders moves into the clinch.

Murthy ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Murthy no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Murthy working a defensive guard here.
Sanders tries to free his leg and advance position but Murthy is retaining full guard.
Murthy wants to get back to his feet but Sanders is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Murthy trying to keep a closed guard but Sanders is proving a slippery customer.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sanders looking to pass the guard.
Murthy controlling Sanders's posture.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sanders wants to stand but Murthy is controlling his posture from full guard.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Sanders advances to half guard.
Sanders keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Ground and pound from Sanders.
Murthy is looking to escape.
Sanders trying to pass the guard but Murthy defending well.
Sanders takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.

Sanders is working for a submission of some sort.
Sanders seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Murthy trying to control here.

Sanders stands up out of the half guard.
Murthy shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Sanders but Sanders pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

Sanders decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sanders is pressing down on Murthy's thigh, looking to free his foot. Murthy is holding on for now.
Sanders has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Sanders in particular looking to stall.

Sanders looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Murthy is not content to let Sanders control the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Sanders looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Murthy missing with punches from the bottom.
Murthy moves into full guard.
Murthy wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Sanders trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Sanders won't allow Murthy to sweep him here.

And that's the end of the fight!
Bob Sanders comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Sanders 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 Winston Alpacca scores the fight 28:29
Judge Bart Greer scores the fight 28:29
Judge Sandra Marshall scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Bob Sanders!