PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Arturo Gatti (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Thiago Sanchez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Arturo Gatti had a look across the cage there at his opponent. He definitely means business

Gatti
vs
Sanchez

176 cm
34
180 lbs
17 - 24 - 1

185 cm
36
184 lbs
17 - 20 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
Very quick

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Good gas tank

Merciless Gladiators

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 17 - 24 - 1, fighting out of Amsterdam, Arturo Gatti!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 17 - 20 - 0, fighting out of London, Thiago Sanchez!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Bishop, Colin Fotheringham and Phil Schofield.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sanchez fails with a takedown attempt.
Gatti looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Sanchez fails in his attempt to clinch.
Sanchez slaps away a takedown attempt from Gatti, before circling back to the center of the mat.

Sanchez scores with a takedown into Gatti's guard.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Sanchez missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Sanchez distracts Gatti with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Gatti looking for a sweep. Not yet Gatti, not yet.

Sanchez decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Gatti, up you get!
Sanchez moves in looking to clinch but Gatti pushes him off.
Sanchez fails with the takedown.
Gatti misses with a jab, cross combination.
Sanchez fails with a takedown attempt.
Arturo Gatti has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Thiago Sanchez.
Sanchez checks a low kick from Gatti.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gatti misses with the combination.

Gatti tries to keep at a distance but Sanchez has taken the fight into the clinch.

Gatti breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
We've been informed that Sanchez has been sparring a lot of Muay Thai in the buildup to this fight so let's see if that has an impact on the result.
Gatti looking to land some kicks to the body here.
No luck for Sanchez with that takedown attempt.
Sanchez dodges the punch combination from Gatti.
Gatti closes this distance looking for a takedown but Sanchez circles away.
Gatti looks to score with a jab to the body but Sanchez is just out of range.
Gatti displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Sanchez.
Gatti throws a right hand that Sanchez ducks under and follows up with a left that Sanchez also avoids with ease.
Gatti lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Sanchez circles away quickly and effectively.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Sanchez dodges the punch combination from Gatti.
Gatti cracks the inside of Sanchez's front leg.
Gatti throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Sanchez shoots in for a double leg but Gatti sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Gatti thows a body shot but no joy.
Sanchez has a takedown stuffed.
A right-left combo lands from Gatti.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Sanchez goes for a double leg but Gatti avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Gatti continues to drive forward.

Sanchez has double underhooks and is working for a body lock takedown. He's got it. The fighters land in half guard but Gatti regains guard immediately.
Sanchez stopping the sweep attempt from Gatti.
Sanchez is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez lands a couple of elbows.
Sanchez works over Gatti with some ground and pound from guard.
Sanchez won't allow Gatti to get back to his feet.
Sanchez stopping the sweep attempt from Gatti.
Sanchez postures up and lands a big shot to Gatti's brow.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Sanchez scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Sanchez chips away with some ground and pound.
Sanchez scores with a decent looking elbow strike.

Sanchez thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Gatti throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Sanchez stands and steps away. Gatti gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Gatti throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Gatti stuffs the takedown attempt from Sanchez. Sanchez gets slowly back to his feet.
Gatti swats away the attempt to clinch by Sanchez.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Gatti scores with a three punch combo!
Sanchez closes this distance looking for a takedown but Gatti circles away.
Sanchez shoots for a takedown but Gatti saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Gatti scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Sanchez fails with a takedown attempt.
Gatti tests Sanchez's chin there with a solid looking shot.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Gatti throws a series of punches but Sanchez avoids them all with ease.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Thiago Sanchez dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Sanchez changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Gatti looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Sanchez tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Sanchez has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Gatti wants to get back to his feet but Sanchez drags him back down.

Sanchez working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Gatti is trying to buck Sanchez off.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Sanchez wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Gatti, who protects the arm well.
Gatti knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Sanchez on the ground.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Gatti is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Sanchez is controlling him well.
Check out the look on Sanchez's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!

That's one minute gone in the round.

Sanchez decides to stand back up. Sanchez steps back and let's Gatti get back to his feet.
Sanchez misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Gatti misses with a jab, cross combination.
Arturo Gatti is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Gatti.
Nice sprawl there from Gatti as Sanchez shoots in.

Sanchez closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Gatti to the mat! Gatti manages to get full guard.
Gatti not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Sanchez chips away with some ground and pound.
Sanchez is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Sanchez scoring with punches to the head and body.
Sanchez lands a couple of elbows.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Sanchez drops back looking for a leg! Gatti is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Gatti manages to kick Sanchez off! Sanchez jumps back into Gatti's guard.
Sanchez working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez won't allow Gatti to sweep him here.
Sanchez content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Sanchez passes into half guard.
Sanchez scoring with strikes to the body and head.

Sanchez is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Gatti is just riding it out for now. Sanchez eventually gives up the hold.
Sanchez lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Sanchez working over Gatti with some ground and pound. Gatti looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gatti has hold of Sanchez's hands but Sanchez slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Gatti wants to get back to his feet.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Sanchez connects with a nice short shot to Gatti's temple.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Sanchez lands a nice short elbow.
Gatti is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Sanchez scores with a couple of nice shots.
Sanchez 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.
Ground and pound from Sanchez.
Gatti wants to get back to his feet.
Gatti has hold of Sanchez's hands but Sanchez slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.

Sanchez is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Gatti sees it coming and defends easily.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Gatti won't allow Sanchez to pass to mount.
Gatti tries to kick Sanchez off but Sanchez keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

Sanchez is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Gatti defends it well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Sanchez is looking for a kimura here.

Sanchez is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Gatti sees it coming and defends easily.
Gatti taking some punishment here, with Sanchez in his half guard.
Nice strikes from Sanchez there.
Gatti is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Sanchez scores with a couple of nice shots.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

Sanchez is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Gatti defends it well.
Gatti is looking to escape.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Thiago Sanchez showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Sanchez shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Gatti pinned against the cage. Gatti gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Thiago Sanchez seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Sanchez fails miserably with a takedown attempt.

Gatti gets caught napping as Sanchez dives in and scores a takedown. Gatti manages to retain guard.
Sanchez working some strikes from top position.
Gatti wants to stand and escape but Sanchez is having none of it.
Sanchez cracks Gatti with a solid left hand.
Sanchez postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Sanchez prevents Gatti from getting back to his feet.
Sanchez keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Gatti's head.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Sanchez works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Sanchez winds up and cracks Gatti with a swinging punch to the side of the head.

Gatti is rocked!

Sanchez is working for a submission here. He's got hold of the far side arm and he's looking for a kimura. He's cranking on the arm and he's got it! Gatti is tapping out! Ouch, that looked like it hurt!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:57 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). Thiago Sanchez!
Thiago Sanchez managed to slip a mention for his sponsors, Merciless Gladiators, into his post fight interview.