PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Tyler Helton (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Marco Sanchez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Sanchez has chosen Streetlight Manifesto - A Moment of Violence as his entrance music. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Helton
vs
Sanchez

188 cm
22
210 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

187 cm
22
205 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Good kicks
Intelligent

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 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Tyler Helton!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Marco Sanchez!
The judges for this bout are Paulo Santos, Emerson Jorge and Leandro Rodrigues.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nice body kick there by Helton.
Helton shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Sanchez as he jumps to the side.
Sanchez misses with a takedown attempt
and Helton counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
The fight stays on the outside here - Helton looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Sanchez shoots in for a takedown but Helton shows good takedown defense.

Sanchez drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Helton controlling the position.
Helton wants to sweep here but Sanchez controlling him for the moment.
Sanchez wants to control from the top but Helton keeps moving.
Sanchez prevents Helton from getting back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sanchez tries to free his leg and advance position but Helton is retaining full guard.
Sanchez postures up in Helton's guard and throws a big left but Helton blocks it.
Helton working a defensive guard here.
Sanchez wants to pass the guard but Helton is keeping the position.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Helton has a takedown stuffed.
Sanchez lands a nice leg kick that just misses Helton's sensitive parts.
Helton has his takedown stuffed

so Sanchez counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Tyler Helton. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez passes Helton's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Sanchez not doing much here.
Sanchez wants to lay and pray for a moment but Helton keeps working.
Helton is breathing heavily.
Sanchez passes the guard and advances to mount!
Helton is squirming around, avoiding Sanchez's attempts to control the action.
Sanchez controlling from mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
I looks like Sanchez might be adopting somewhat of a lay and pray gameplan here, which I'm sure won't go down too well with the paying fans in attendance... Or the ring announcers come to think of it.
Sanchez can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Helton is looking to escape.
Sanchez controlling from mount.
Helton is trying to escape the mount.

Sanchez jumps to side control looking for an arm triangle but Helton manages to avoid the submission attempt.
Sanchez is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Helton will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.

Despite being in the dominant position, Marco Sanchez just isn't active enough and the referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Nice body kick there by Sanchez.
Sanchez shoots and misses

and Helton counters with a shoot takedown. Sanchez fights it but they end up in guard.
Sanchez wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Helton wants to pass the guard but Sanchez is keeping the position.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Sanchez seems keen to control Helton's posture.
Sanchez manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Sanchez throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Sanchez lands with a thumping leg kick.
Helton steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Sanchez.
Helton misses with a combination

and Sanchez counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Sanchez showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sanchez postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Helton can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Sanchez controls the pace.
Helton keeping moving, preventing Sanchez from controlling successfully.
Sanchez trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Sanchez not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Helton keeping moving, preventing Sanchez from controlling successfully.
Helton utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

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.
Sanchez wants to control from the top but Helton keeps moving.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Sanchez shoots in for a takedown but Helton shows good takedown defense.
Both fighters are looking to counter, which isn't making for the most exciting fight in the world.
Sanchez shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Helton but Helton pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Sanchez shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Helton as he avoids it easily.
Tyler Helton has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Marco Sanchez.
Helton misses with a takedown attempt

and Sanchez counters with a nice double leg into half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez content to control rather than advance.
Helton is refusing to be controlled, as Sanchez sits in half guard.
Sanchez looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.

That's four 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.

Helton looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Sanchez is controlling the pace.

Despite being in the dominant position, Marco Sanchez just isn't active enough and the referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Sanchez misses with a looping left.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Marco Sanchez showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Helton's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Sanchez looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Sanchez doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Helton counters with a body kick that stops Sanchez in his tracks momentarily.
Helton darts in trying to clinch
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.

Helton feints and as Sanchez raises his hands in defense, Helton changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Sanchez has Helton pulled in close to control his posture.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Helton sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Sanchez bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Helton's guard.
Sanchez 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.
Sanchez slips nicely into half guard.
Sanchez works his way into full mount!
Sanchez lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez controlling the position easily from mount.
Let's hope that Sanchez has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
Sanchez's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
BOOM! Sanchez connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Sanchez sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Despite being in the dominant position, Marco Sanchez just isn't active enough and the referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Sanchez looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Helton controls Sanchez momentarily but Sanchez frees himself.
Sanchez postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez looking to pass the guard.
Sanchez pushes down on Helton's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Sanchez trying to control from half guard but Helton is working away.
Helton has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Sanchez is working away from the top position though.
Marco Sanchez is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Sanchez controlling the action here.

And that's the end of the fight!
Marco Sanchez comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Sanchez has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Paulo Santos scores the fight 27:30
Judge Emerson Jorge scores the fight 27:30
Judge Leandro Rodrigues scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Marco Sanchez!