PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Masa Sanada (ranked 131 p4p, 22 weight class) and Ira Wright (ranked 67 p4p, 10 weight class). Wright has chosen Get Back as his entrance music. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Sanada
vs
Wright

180 cm
24
174 lbs
11 - 0 - 0

185 cm
26
175 lbs
16 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Aspire Clothing
Urban Fighter

Conviction
IniTech Nutrition

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 11 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Masa Sanada!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 16 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Ira Wright!
The judges for this bout are Tatsuya Matsuyama, Shirou Masuda and Shigeki Fujiwara.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sanada ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Wright tries to score with a low kick but Sanada moves his leg out of the way.
Wright has been working on his striking defense in training and it's paying off as Sanada is landing a low percentage of strikes.
Sanada swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Nice shot lands for Sanada.

It looks like Ira Wright has been cut.
Wright looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Wright throws a big shot that misses.
Sanada walks into a left hand.
Sanada missing with a left hand there. Wright was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Sanada throws a big shot that misses.
Wright attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Wright fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Sanada is out of range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Wright throws a leg kick but Sanada moved away.
Sanada throws a shot from downtown. Wright moves away and avoids it.
Sanada looks to land a right hand but Wright moved out of range.
Wright scores with a jab.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sanada misses with a wild body shot.
Sanada throws out a powerful jab.
Ira Wright seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A head kick by Wright misses
and Sanada connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Nice defenses there by Wright.
Wright fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Sanada looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Sanada moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Wright misses with an uppercut
and Sanada connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Wright pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Wright throws a body punch but Sanada moves out of range.
Sanada swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
No joy there for Wright, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Wright defending well as Sanada loads up on a big left hand.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Wright! But no joy.
Sanada scores with a jab to the head.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Wright misses with a low kick as Sanada jumps back.
Wright throws out a token jab with nothing on it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wright throws a solid leg kick but Sanada takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Wright.
Wright has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Wright there as he acknowledges the shot.
Sanada misses the shot to the body.
Good shot there by Wright.
Wright defending well as Sanada loads up on a big left hand.
Wright ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Some wild striking there from Wright.
Sanada slips a jab from Wright.
Wright connects with an inside leg kick.
A thudding body kick lands there by Wright!
Wright walks into a jab.
Wright uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Sanada.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Wright throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Sanada is really peppering his opponent's head with punches.
Wright throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Sanada sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Sanada is looking to counter punch.
Sanada lands with a nice body punch.
Wright tries to land a leg kick but Sanada saw it coming and moves away.
A good leg kick by Wright.
Wright throws a lazy body kick
enabling Sanada to counter with a crisp jab.
Wright thuds his shin into the meat of Sanada's side.
Sanada scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Sanada, as that shot connected.

That has opened up Ira Wright's cut even more.
Wright misses with a left hand
and Sanada makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Wright throws a looping overhand right but Sanada ducks down to avoid it.
A counter left hand to the body from Sanada misses its target.
Wright misses with an uppercut. Sanada saw that one coming.
Sanada misses with a wild body shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wright tests Sanada's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Wright misses with a right hand
and Sanada counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Wright wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Sanada swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Sanada checks a leg kick nicely.
A looping hook to the body misses from Sanada. Wright does a little dance to reset his feet.
Wright lunges at Sanada with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Sanada's hand.
Wright gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Wright throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Sanada uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Wright.
Sanada throwing a counter right hand but Wright manages to avoid it.
Wright lands a kick to the ribs of his opponent. Nice work there - in and out in a flash.
Wright steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Sanada.
Wright moves into range and connects with a jab.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Masa Sanada will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Ira Wright's cut.
That's time! Sanada's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Sanada works Wright's body with a nice hook.
Wright keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Sanada connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Sanada blocks a head kick by Wright.
Sanada appears to be looking for a counter punch to the body.
Wright ducks under a wild hook from Sanada.
Wright uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Sanada.
Sanada fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Wright fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Sanada has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Sanada blocks a jab.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Wright throws a low kick but Sanada avoids it.
Sanada catches Wright with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Wright tries a head kick but it misses.
Wright connects with a leg kick. Sanada looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sanada misses with a looping right.
Sanada thows a left - swing and a miss!
Sanada takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Masa Sanada is winning the standup battle so far.
Sanada takes a swing at Wright's ribcage but misses.
Sanada cracks Wright with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
A solid leg kick lands there for Wright.
Sanada throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Sanada looks to score with a jab to the body but Wright is just out of range.
A looping hook to the body misses from Sanada. Wright does a little dance to reset his feet.
A chopping leg kick lands by Wright.
Sanada moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Sanada connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Wright momentarily.
Sanada on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
No joy there for Wright, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Wright fakes the leg kick and cracks Sanada in the body.
Wright misses with a low kick.
An attempted straight right counter from Sanada misses the target.
Wright lands with a thumping leg kick.
Wright pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Sanada misses with an uppercut. Wright saw that one coming.
Wright lands a slapping body shot.
Wright takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Sanada lands a nice hook to Wright's body. Wright takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Wright gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Sanada fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Wright manages to avoid it.
Sanada on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Wright. Wright obviously looking to wear him down.
Sanada moves out of range of the body kick from Wright.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Wright scoring well with a low kick there.
Wright lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Wright swings for the body but Sanada moves out of range.
Sanada throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Wright throws a big shot that misses.
Sanada misses with a shot to the body
and Wright counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Sanada throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Sanada lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Sanada throws a lazy right hand but Wright sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Sanada blocks a leg kick.
Wright throws a sloppy head kick and Sanada moves out of range easily.
Wright scores with a slapping inside leg kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wright lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Sanada at a distance.
Wright lands with a nice body kick.
This has been an exciting period of action!
A solid leg kick lands there for Wright.
Sanada on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Wright scores with a kick to the midsection.
Sanada connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Wright's hands.

The cut above Ira Wright's eye is starting to cause him problems now.
Wright drops his hands momentarily and Sanada takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Wright tries a head kick but it misses.
Sanada throwing a counter right hand but Wright manages to avoid it.
Wright uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Sanada.
It seemed like Wright was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Sanada slips a straight right by Wright.
An attempted straight right counter from Sanada misses the target.
Wright steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Sanada.
Wright lands a jab to the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Ira Wright will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The cut man is working on Ira Wright's cut.
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!

Wright throws a push kick but Sanada slaps the foot to one side.
Sanada is looking to counter punch.
Sanada getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Wright waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Sanada.
Sanada appears to be looking for a counter punch to the body.
Wright lunges at Sanada with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Sanada's hand.
Sanada has not gone for a single takedown so far in this fight, which seems like a very strange tactic when you consider that he has the superior wrestling and BJJ.
Sanada takes a nasty kick to the mid section... That should keep him thinking. Does he try and block and risk a head kick landing?
Sanada lands with a hook. Wright tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Wright misses with a straight right.
Wright connects with a right hand. Sanada shakes it off.
A telegraphed right hand from Sanada misses the target.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Wright goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
Wright throws a lazy right hand but Sanada sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
A jab from Wright does it's job there.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Sanada misses the shot to the body.
Wright was about to counter that last move with a leg kick but changes his mind.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Wright with a nice cross.
Wright missing with a left hand there. Sanada was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Wright connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Sanada momentarily.
Wright on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Wright keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Wright appears to be waiting to throw a counter punch to the body.
Wright keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Wright misses with an uppercut.
Wright scores with a shot to the body.
Sanada throws a lazy uppercut
and Wright counters with a stiff right hand.
Wright throws a body shot but no joy.
Sanada misses with a looping left.
Wright looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Wright keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sanada on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Wright. Wright obviously looking to wear him down.
Wright lands a nice hook to Sanada's body. Sanada takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Wright throws a body shot but no joy.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Wright lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Wright avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
The fighters circling - Sanada throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Sanada misses with an uppercut. Wright saw that one coming.
Wright throws a lazy head kick
and Sanada counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Sanada with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Wright to score with a decent uppercut.
Wright scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Sanada swings for the body but Wright moves out of range.
Wright takes a swing at Sanada's ribcage but misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Wright feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Sanada's calf.
Wright is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Sanada.
Wright throws a nice outside leg kick.
Sanada just misses with a punch to the body.
Wright tries a quick counter leg kick but Sanada is wise to it.
Sanada will be looking to protect his midsection after taking some solid kicks to the body.
Sanada catches Wright with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Wright ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Wright throws a leg kick
and Sanada counters with a nice uppercut.

Ira Wright's cut is absolute horrible now. This looks like something out of a horror film with blood covering both fighters.
Wright connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Wright drops his hands momentarily and Sanada takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Wright lands an overhand right.
Wright throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Sanada throws out a loose jab but Wright uses good head movement to avoid it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wright walks into a left hand.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Wright avoids a punch combination nicely.
Wright takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.

Wright is rocked!

The referee calls the doctor in to look at Ira Wright's cut. Oh no, the doctor has called an end to the bout!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:32 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Cut). Masa Sanada!
After the big win, Masa Sanada made sure to do all the important stuff like thanking his sponsors Aspire Clothing and telling the interviewer how much he loves him.