PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Mike Obrien (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Martin Safic (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Safic has chosen Papa Roach - Last Resort (Uncensored Version) as his entrance music. 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?

Obrien
vs
Safic

189 cm
25
195 lbs
2 - 6 - 0

195 cm
23
185 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid boxing
Granite chin

BJJ White Belt
Good kicks
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 6 - 0, fighting out of New York, Mike Obrien!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, Martin Safic!
The judges for this bout are Joseph Jones, Anthony Taglia and Alyssa Summers.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Obrien changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Safic looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Safic looks really tired already! That doesn't bode well for a good, competitive fight!

Obrien tries for a kimura but Safic is defending well.
Obrien is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Safic will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.

Obrien tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Obrien has knee on belly and now moves to full mount! Trouble for Safic!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Obrien controlling his opponent.
Obrien's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Obrien throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.

That's two 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.
Obrien tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Safic is really trying hard to get back to his feet.
Obrien controlling the pace for now.

Obrien get's back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Obrien closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Safic to the mat! Safic manages to get full guard.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Mike Obrien.

Safic gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Obrien to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Obrien pushes down on Safic's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Obrien slows the pace down in half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Obrien seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Safic for as long as he can get away with.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mike Obrien dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Safic gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Obrien to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Obrien seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Mike Obrien.
No luck for Obrien with that takedown attempt.

Obrien closes the distance and clinches.

Obrien escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Obrien shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Obrien showed some decent athleticism there.
Obrien moves nicely into side control.
Safic is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Obrien thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Mike Obrien overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Obrien scores with a couple of short elbows.
Obrien working the ground and pound.
Obrien controlling the position from side mount.

Obrien working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Obrien working the ground and pound.

Obrien decides to stand up, so the ref orders Safic to his feet.
Obrien shoots in but Safic avoids the takedown attempt easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Obrien changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Safic looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
The referee asks Obrien politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Obrien prefers to stall for the moment though.

Obrien decides to stand back up. Obrien steps back and let's Safic get back to his feet.

Obrien shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.

Obrien stands up from half guard... He's had enough of that ground malarky for the time being.
Obrien misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Martin Safic is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Safic throws a sloppy head kick

and Obrien counters with a shoot takedown. Safic fights it but they end up in guard.
Safic really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Obrien. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Obrien sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Safic's guard.
Obrien is figuring out what he wants to do next.

Obrien decides to stand and escape the position.

Obrien feints and as Safic raises his hands in defense, Obrien changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Obrien gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
Safic is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Safic throws a lazy head kick

so Obrien counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mike Obrien dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

A head kick by Safic misses
and Obrien counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Mike Obrien is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Obrien shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Safic as he jumps to the side.

Obrien clinches up against the cage.
Safic on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Obrien changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Safic fights it off and pushes away nicely.

Obrien looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Safic is wriggling around but Obrien manages to pass to half guard.
Obrien perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Safic is trying to stand back up but Obrien is controlling him

Obrien is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Safic pushes Obrien off but Obrien dives into side control.
Obrien controls the position.

Obrien tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.

Obrien stands up and we're back to a striking position.

Obrien closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Safic to the mat! Safic manages to get full guard.
Obrien works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Obrien working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Obrien throwing shots but Safic is blocking nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Obrien slows the pace down in half guard.

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.

Obrien is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Safic defends it well.
Nice strikes from Obrien there.

And that's the end of the fight!
Mike Obrien showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Obrien, 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 Joseph Jones scores the fight 30:26
Judge Anthony Taglia scores the fight 30:25
Judge Alyssa Summers scores the fight 30:26

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