2nd round
Sipe tries to get more active with the jab to start, but he’s out of reach. As he drives forward, Usman lands a direct left, but Sipe carries him well. Sipe lands a clean shot and Smith warns them again with their fingertips.
Sipe’s right eye bulges from that earlier left hand, but he doesn’t seem bothered by it, landing two nice shots. Usman rushes in and lands a nice uppercut, prompting Sipe to taunt him, firing a “Don’t do that, Mitchell” from Nunes in his corner. Usman throws a heavy forehand that is caught in the hands, and Sipe points his chin at the Team Pena fighter again.
They trade blows before Sipe lands a kick to the body, Usman responding with a nice body kick just before the mid-round. Sipe does a little “Ali Shuffle”, but he doesn’t offer much in terms of attack during the first half of the round. Usman isn’t either, but he’s been more successful with his limited production run.
Usman lands another jab and Sipe counters with a low kick before slapping his chest and throwing his hands in the air several times. The Team Pena fighter rushes forward, but can’t land, and a “corner camera” shot shows White telling Griffin he likes to talk and be crazy.
Usman lands an outside low kick, Sipe points the finger and White laughs. “This guy is ****** crazy,” he tells Griffin.
Sipe lands a right hand, but Usman responds instantly with his two-piece, followed by a stiff jab as the clock ticks down to one minute remaining in the round. Smith fingers Sipe twice within 10 seconds and his corner and teammates implore him to stick to the game plan and attack, but he offers little.
Usman throws a looping right which is blocked, followed by a free kick. And even.
The horn sounds and Sipe comes face to face with Usman, chewing on him like he’s done something remarkable or won the fight. Smith gets between them and directs them to their corners, as there could be a third round on deck.
Sipe says, “That big boy isn’t scary; I’m just getting started,” drawing a chuckle from White, who makes the universal “This guy is crazy” hand gesture toward the camera.
Usman recovers in the corner and listens to advice from Pena, while Smith informs both sides that we are going to a third round.
Sipe looks surprised that there is a third round as Nunes tries to give him some direction, again reminding him that the low kick is there.
