PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Bledge Stevenson (ranked 23158 p4p, 4273 weight class) and Roddy Banner (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Bledge Stevenson looks tired to me. Hopefully he has got enough gas left in the tank to put in a good performance.

Stevenson
vs
Banner

200 cm
23
250
3 - 10 - 0

200 cm
20
260
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Good chin

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 10 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Bledge Stevenson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Roddy Banner!
The judges for this bout are Francis DeMontford, Donatello Bradman and Eliza Hachem.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Stevenson chopping away at his opponent's legs.

Banner closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Stevenson to the mat! Stevenson manages to get full guard.
Banner chips away with some ground and pound.
Stevenson definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Banner throws a big elbow that misses.
Banner loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Stevenson can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Banner controls the pace.
Banner wants to stand and escape but instead Stevenson has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

Banner wants to stand up but Stevenson is controlling him.
Stevenson is breathing heavily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Banner wants to get back to his feet but Stevenson passes into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Banner is controlling Stevenson's trapped leg to prevent Stevenson from advancing to side control.
Banner wants to stand back up but Stevenson manages to pass into side control.
Banner tries to bench press Stevenson off him but Stevenson keeps the position.
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.
Stevenson prevents Banner from escaping the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Banner is holding Stevenson down, trying to stall.
Banner tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Stevenson is working Banner over with some ground and pound from side control.
Banner tries to improve position but can't.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Banner tries to get back to his feet but has found himself mounted instead. Damn, that's gotta suck.
Banner in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Stevenson sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
Banner tries to hold on but Stevenson pushes him away.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stevenson is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Banner can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Stevenson avoids the attempt from Banner to control.
Banner can't escape the position.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Banner wants to hold on but Stevenson pushes him away.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

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

Banner slaps away a takedown attempt from Stevenson, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Bledge Stevenson is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Banner shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Stevenson sprawls well. Stevenson wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Banner gets slowly back to his feet.

Oooooh!!! Banner has knocked Stevenson down with a huge combo! Banner steps away and waves a wobbly Stevenson back to his feet! This one might not go much longer!

Stevenson is rocked!

It looks like Bledge Stevenson has been cut.

Banner instigates a clinch.
Oh Stevenson is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!

Banner's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

Stevenson gets tackled into the cage by Banner. Banner maintains the clinch.
Stevenson is pressed against the cage. Banner pushes back and unleashes a big elbow that really hurts Stevenson! Two more big strikes from Banner and Stevenson crumples to the mat and taps out furiously due to the strikes!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:47 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Strikes). Roddy Banner!
A relieved looking Roddy Banner thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.