PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Brooklyn Harmony (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Tazz Stevens (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Harmony comes into the arena with Human by The Killers blaring out of the sound system. 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.

Harmony
vs
Stevens

175 cm
26
180 lbs
6 - 4 - 0

183 cm
25
182 lbs
7 - 5 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Experienced

Powerful takedowns
Decent boxing
Powerful

Spartan Fight Gear - Tokyo Defiance

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 6 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Brooklyn Harmony!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Tazz Stevens!
The judges for this bout are Shigeki Fujiwara, Hirohito Nitta and Yasuomi Hirokawa.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Harmony decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Harmony is looking to stall here but Stevens recovers full guard.
Harmony working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Harmony in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Harmony wants to control from the top but Stevens keeps moving.
Stevens wants to stand but Harmony is controlling the position.
Harmony throws a big right hand that misses.
Stevens wants to stand but Harmony is controlling the position.
Harmony throws and elbow that misses. Stevens uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Harmony's guard. Nice move by Stevens!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stevens passes into half guard.
Stevens is keen to just control but Harmony is a slippery customer.
The fighters are battling for position here. Harmony manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Stevens pushes down on Harmony's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Harmony is looking for a sweep. Stevens is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Harmony is working hard here to advance position.
Stevens tries to pass the half guard into mount. Harmony knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Harmony wants to improve his position but Stevens is controlling well.
Harmony works his way to full guard. Good work.
Stevens sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Harmony's guard.
Stevens is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!
Stevens wants to take his opponent's back but he's not managed it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Stevens looking for a guillotine from mount but Harmony is having none of it.

Stevens working for a submission but Harmony is keeping him at bay.
Stevens looks gassed!
Harmony has given up his back. Will we see Stevens going for some submissions?
Harmony rolls and manages to get back to half guard. Nicely done.
Stevens prevents Harmony from improving his position.
Stevens wants to pass to mount but Harmony is defending the position.
Harmony slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Harmony is on top in guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Stevens wriggles free and stands up.
A slow jab from Stevens misses its intended target.
Stevens misses with a looping right.
Harmony avoids the body shot from Stevens.
Harmony lands a jab.
Jab from Harmony.
Stevens throws a jab when Harmony was well out of range.
Harmony dodges the punch combination from Stevens.
Stevens swinging wildly here.
Stevens jabs at Harmony's body.
Tazz Stevens is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Harmony misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Harmony avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Stevens misses the shot to the body.
Harmony fails with a takedown attempt.
Stevens throws a body punch but Harmony moves out of range.
Stevens throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

and Harmony counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Harmony not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Stevens pushes Harmony off looking to stand but Harmony dives back in and keeps control.
Harmony throwing shots but Stevens is blocking nicely.
Stevens is trying to stand back up but Harmony is controlling him
Harmony not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
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 Brooklyn Harmony will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Stevens takes a swing at Harmony's ribcage but misses.
Stevens slaps away a takedown attempt from Harmony, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Stevens tries to land a front kick but Harmony steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Harmony tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Stevens swivels and escapes.
Stevens throws a left and a right that both miss
and Harmony counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Harmony fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Stevens avoids it really well and circles away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Brooklyn Harmony. That's going to take a lot out of him.
A swing and a miss from Stevens.

Harmony shoots in and bounces Stevens off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Harmony works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Stevens looks like he's trying to stand up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Harmony misses with a head shot. Stevens uses the momentum to regain guard.
Harmony trying to control but Stevens is working from the bottom.
Harmony is really struggling to control Stevens but he's trying to hold on to the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Harmony throws and elbow that misses. Stevens uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Harmony's guard. Nice move by Stevens!
Stevens stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Harmony swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Stevens preventing the sweep.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Harmony changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Stevens tries to avoid it but Harmony manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Stevens to the ground. Stevens escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Stevens misses with a body punch

and Harmony counters with a shoot takedown. Stevens fights it but they end up in guard.
Harmony trying to control the position from guard on top but Stevens is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Harmony throws a big right hand that misses.
Stevens is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Harmony trying to control the position from guard on top but Stevens is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Harmony has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Stevens wants to stand up but Harmony is controlling him.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Harmony accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Harmony is looking to work some ground and pound but Stevens has wrist control.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Stevens misses with a shot to the body
and Harmony counters with a nice uppercut.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
A swing and a miss from Stevens.
Stevens throws a hook to the side of Harmony's head but Harmony sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Harmony avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Stevens swings for the body but Harmony moves out of range.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Harmony is defended easily by Stevens.
Stevens swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Stevens takes a swing at Harmony's ribcage but misses.
Harmony misses with a few strikes there.
Stevens misses with a hook. Harmony ducked under it nicely.
Stevens tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Harmony was well out of range. Poor timing from Stevens.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Harmony avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
We are yet to see a takedown attempt from Stevens in the fight. On paper you would think he is the more dominant ground fighter so let's see if these unusual tactics pay off.
A shot to the body from Stevens misses

and Harmony counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Stevens looks like he's trying to stand up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Brooklyn Harmony dominated that second round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Stevens will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Stevens waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Harmony.
Stevens misses with a wild body shot.
Harmony scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Harmony keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Stevens.
Nice sprawl there from Stevens as Harmony shoots in.
Stevens throws a left and a right that both miss

so Harmony counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Harmony throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Stevens keeping moving, preventing Harmony from controlling successfully.
Harmony stops Stevens from standing up.
Stevens takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Harmony postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Stevens is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Harmony, into his guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Harmony striking off his back but it's not causing Stevens any problems.
Harmony tries to land a sweep but no joy.

Stevens drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Stevens jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Harmony is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Brooklyn Harmony overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Stevens slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.

Stevens is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Harmony has escaped the position, nice work there.
Stevens working away.

Stevens wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Harmony, who protects the arm well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.

Stevens looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Harmony manages to work his way to half guard, despite Stevens's best efforts.
Harmony wants to improve his position but Stevens is controlling well.
Stevens tries to pass to full mount but Harmony defends it.
Harmony wants to get back to full guard.
Harmony is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Stevens's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Stevens's back!
Stevens grimaces as he takes a shot to the body.
Stevens looking very determined here, making life difficult for Harmony.
Harmony throwing lazy shots from the back mount that aren't doing any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stevens is trying to get back to his feet but Harmony has full control of the position and if anything, Stevens has just worked his way into a worse spot.
Harmony thows a strike but Stevens uses the opportunity to reverse the position! Great move by Stevens as he ends up in Harmony 's guard!
Harmony throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.
Harmony working a defensive guard here.
Stevens passes easily into side control. Nice work.

Stevens tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Stevens has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Harmony can't do much from the bottom here.
Tazz Stevens has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Harmony tries to buck Stevens off but Stevens is having none of it.

Stevens tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Harmony keeps Stevens under control for a moment.
Harmony sneaks back into half guard.

Stevens wants to work for an arm triangle but Harmony is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.

Stevens is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Harmony tries to get to full guard but Stevens has control of the leg.
Brooklyn Harmony is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Stevens not landing any meaningful shots this time.

And that's the end of the fight!
Brooklyn Harmony showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Harmony, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Shigeki Fujiwara scores the fight 30:27
Judge Hirohito Nitta scores the fight 30:27
Judge Yasuomi Hirokawa scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Brooklyn Harmony!