PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Enrico Vargas (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Greg Stanhope (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). This should be a great matchup!

Vargas
vs
Stanhope

188 cm
20
179 lbs
2 - 6 - 0

178 cm
26
175 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

Dangerous GnP
Counter striker
Very strong

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Powerful

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 2 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Enrico Vargas!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Greg Stanhope!
The judges for this bout are Anni Minnemäki, Tarja Halkonen and Ben Zyskovitsi.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Stanhope fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Vargas manages to avoid it.
Stanhope slaps away a takedown attempt from Vargas, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Vargas takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Vargas takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Vargas shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Stanhope pinned against the cage. Stanhope gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Stanhope misses with a jab, cross combination.
Stanhope stuffs the takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Enrico Vargas. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Vargas shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Stanhope as he jumps to the side.
Stanhope throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

and Vargas counters with a single leg into guard. Stanhope didn't expect that.
Vargas loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Stanhope looking for a sweep. Not yet Stanhope, not yet.
Vargas working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Stanhope looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Vargas is fighting to break Stanhope's control of his arms but Stanhope is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Vargas distracts Stanhope with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vargas throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Stanhope seems keen to control Vargas's posture.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Vargas postures up in Stanhope's guard and throws a big left but Stanhope blocks it.
Stanhope really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Vargas. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Stanhope wants to sweep but no luck.
Stanhope preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Vargas in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Stanhope has control of Vargas's left arm, preventing Vargas from doing any damage.
Vargas with a flurry of punches that miss.
Stanhope wants to sweep but no luck.
Stanhope working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Vargas.
Vargas throws a big right hand that misses.
Vargas throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Stanhope works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Stanhope looking for a sweep. Not yet Stanhope, not yet.
Vargas postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Vargas with a flurry of punches that miss.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Stanhope striking off his back but it's not causing Vargas any problems.
Stanhope working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Vargas.
Vargas working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Vargas accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Stanhope can do anything to dispel that myth.
Stanhope has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Vargas working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Stanhope wants to stand up but Vargas is controlling him.
Vargas is working Stanhope over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Stanhope looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Vargas tries to free his leg and advance position but Stanhope is retaining full guard.
Vargas is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Stanhope is adopting a defensive guard.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Vargas loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vargas working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Stanhope's head.
Stanhope is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Stanhope preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Stanhope preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Vargas keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Stanhope's head.
Stanhope preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Vargas postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Vargas throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Stanhope works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Stanhope avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Vargas missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Vargas throws a big right hand that misses.
Stanhope wants to get back to his feet but Vargas is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Stanhope working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Vargas.
Vargas throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Vargas in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Vargas throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Vargas with a nice head shot there.
Vargas preventing the sweep.
Stanhope avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Vargas thows a big elbow that misses.
Vargas preventing the sweep.
Stanhope working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Vargas.
Vargas postures up in Stanhope's guard and throws a big left but Stanhope blocks it.
Vargas trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Vargas accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Vargas trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Stanhope is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Vargas has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Vargas with a flurry of punches that miss.
Stanhope wants to sweep here but Vargas controlling him for the moment.
Vargas postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Stanhope looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Enrico Vargas dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Vargas shoots in but no luck this time.
Stanhope lands a head shot.
Vargas gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Vargas shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Stanhope pinned against the cage. Stanhope gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Stanhope pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Vargas has a takedown stuffed.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Enrico Vargas. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Stanhope lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Vargas at a distance.
Vargas tries to score a power double leg takedown but Stanhope sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Vargas somewhat.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stanhope leaves Vargas with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Stanhope throws a sloppy body shot

and Vargas counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Stanhope!
Stanhope tries to reverse the position but Vargas maintains control.
Vargas with shots to the head and body - Stanhope looks very uncomfortable down there.
The referee warns Stanhope that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Stanhope tries to hold on but Vargas postures up.
Vargas scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Stanhope?
Stanhope wants to control but Vargas is having none of it.
Stanhope avoids a series of strikes thrown by Vargas.
Stanhope keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Vargas cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Vargas lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Vargas has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Stanhope's face.
Vargas landing punches.
Stanhope holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Vargas tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Stanhope doing his best to control the position. Can he escape?
Vargas thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!
Stanhope keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Vargas landing strikes, looking to finish!
BOOM! Vargas connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Vargas has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Stanhope's face.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stanhope is wriggling around trying to escape.
Vargas working Stanhope over with strikes here.
Stanhope controls the position.
Vargas scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Stanhope?
Stanhope is in a horrible position here. Vargas smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Vargas raining down hammerfists from mount.

Stanhope is rocked!
Stanhope tries to lock up and control but Vargas gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Vargas with good strikes from the mount here!
Stanhope tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Vargas scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Stanhope?
Vargas lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Stanhope is still in real trouble! Can Vargas finish him?
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!
Vargas dominating with strikes here.
Vargas cracks Stanhope with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Stanhope is looking to improve his position but Vargas isn't that keen on the idea.
Stanhope seems to have recovered his senses.
Stanhope is breathing heavily.
Vargas lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Vargas raining down hammerfists from mount.
Vargas unloading with bombs!
Stanhope takes a big shot to the dome and his eyes have rolled back in his head! Vargas's killer instinct has kicked in as he finishes the fight with more strikes. Impressive finish.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:32 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Enrico Vargas!