PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Greg St Petersburgh (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Efe Mafusa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). St Petersburgh comes to the cage accompanied by "ne compare pas (Does Not Compare)" by STREET LOURD. Efe Mafusa will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

St Petersburgh
vs
Mafusa

185 cm
22
180 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

190 cm
26
190 lbs
5 - 7 - 1

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Good chin

BJJ White Belt
Good low kicks
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Greg St Petersburgh!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 7 - 1, fighting out of Sydney, Efe Mafusa!
The judges for this bout are Skip Squint, Hugh Johnson and Winston Howard.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Mafusa jabs St Petersburgh right on the nose. St Petersburgh blinks but takes it well.

St Petersburgh gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Mafusa tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. St Petersburgh smiles and moves away.
Mafusa tries to clinch up

so St Petersburgh counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.

St Petersburgh drops back looking for a leg! Mafusa is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Mafusa manages to kick St Petersburgh off! St Petersburgh jumps back into Mafusa's guard.
St Petersburgh is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Mafusa really doesn't want to stay on the ground with St Petersburgh. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
St Petersburgh works over Mafusa with some ground and pound from guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
St Petersburgh trying to control but Mafusa is working from the bottom.
St Petersburgh controlling from the top position.

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.

We're going to have a standup here because Greg St Petersburgh wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.

St Petersburgh shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Mafusa napping and manages to drive through into side control!
St Petersburgh looks up at the clock and then as Mafusa takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, St Petersburgh smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!
St Petersburgh controlling the position from side mount.
St Petersburgh lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.

St Petersburgh stands up.
Mafusa getting the better of the striking in that exchange.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
St Petersburgh lands with a good body shot.
Mafusa wants to clinch

and St Petersburgh counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by St Petersburgh.
St Petersburgh controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

St Petersburgh gets to his feet - Mafusa follows without any prompting.
Mafusa looks gassed!

St Petersburgh has closed the distance and engaged Mafusa in a clinch.
A frustrated look appears on Mafusa's face as he tries to break the clinch.

St Petersburgh pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mafusa throws a push kick but St Petersburgh slaps the foot to one side.
A head kick from Mafusa lands but St Petersburgh takes it in his stride.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
St Petersburgh tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
A head kick misses from Mafusa.
St Petersburgh fails with an attempt to clinch.

St Petersburgh looking to score a takedown here. Mafusa is defending well but St Petersburgh drives through and ends up in Mafusa's guard.
St Petersburgh postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
St Petersburgh makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

St Petersburgh decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Mafusa, up you get!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
St Petersburgh fails in his attempt to clinch.
Mafusa misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Mafusa showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from St Petersburgh.
Mafusa misses with a hook.
Mafusa tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but St Petersburgh paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Mafusa scores with a shot to the body.
St Petersburgh throws a right hand that misses
and Mafusa counters with a flying knee. Nice.
Mafusa stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Mafusa wants it to stay on the feet.
Mafusa tries to clinch up

and St Petersburgh counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Mafusa is working an open guard so St Petersburgh takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
The fight stays on the outside here - Mafusa looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
St Petersburgh shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Mafusa eats them both and turns towards St Petersburgh to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.

That's one minute gone in the round.
St Petersburgh shoots in but Mafusa avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Mafusa throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.

It looks like Greg St Petersburgh has been cut.
Greg St Petersburgh is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Mafusa throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Mafusa scores with a head kick. St Petersburgh tried to block it but didn't get his arm up in time.
This has been an exciting period of action!
A head kick from Mafusa lands but St Petersburgh takes it in his stride.
St Petersburgh tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Mafusa counters with a good, hard body kick but St Petersburgh shrugs it off.
Efe Mafusa is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Mafusa tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
St Petersburgh avoids the head kick by Mafusa.
St Petersburgh fails with an attempt to clinch.
Mafusa works the jab nicely.
No joy there for St Petersburgh, who threw a few shots but didn't land.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
St Petersburgh misses with a body punch
and Mafusa counters with a head kick. That will keep St Petersburgh thinking before he tries any more sloppy attacks!

Mafusa gets a clinch.
St Petersburgh looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Mafusa has had enough of the clinch but St Petersburgh keeps him there for the moment.
Mafusa stalling in the clinch but St Petersburgh improves position.
Mafusa prevents a takedown attempt there.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Greg St Petersburgh. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Mafusa has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Mafusa looking to slow down the pace here.
St Petersburgh fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Mafusa tries to break free but St Petersburgh pushes him back against the cage.
St Petersburgh looking for a takedown.

Mafusa breaks the clinch.
St Petersburgh takes a kick to the side of the head.
Mafusa's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Mafusa duly obliges.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

St Petersburgh moves into the clinch.

Mafusa breaks the clinch.

St Petersburgh shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Mafusa tries to push off, looking to stand up, but St Petersburgh manages to move to mount!
St Petersburgh looking to control and managing it successfully.
St Petersburgh can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Mafusa is looking to escape.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
St Petersburgh takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
St Petersburgh punching from mount but Mafusa doing a good job of avoiding damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Efe Mafusa showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Greg St Petersburgh's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Mafusa tries to clinch up but St Petersburgh circles away and keeps his distance.
Mafusa circles away from the clinch attempt.
St Petersburgh shoots in for a takedown but Mafusa shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
St Petersburgh shoots in for a double leg but Mafusa sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
St Petersburgh keeps the fight on the outside.
Mafusa misses with a series of wild punches.

St Petersburgh drives through and clinches with Mafusa against the cage.
St Petersburgh can't get the takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Greg St Petersburgh. That's going to take a lot out of him.
St Petersburgh tries to pull guard but Mafusa won't allow it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
St Petersburgh is working for takedown but Mafusa is calmly controlling the position for now.

St Petersburgh lands a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Mafusa avoiding damage under a succession of punches from St Petersburgh.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Mafusa is trying to control but St Petersburgh manages to pass to mount!
St Petersburgh 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.

That's one minute gone in the round.

St Petersburgh moves into side control, trying to work for a kimura. That looks painful! Will he finish!!?? No, Mafusa has worked his arm free - good work by Mafusa!
Mafusa regains half guard there - taking advantage of St Petersburgh's attempt to lay and pray for a moment.
St Petersburgh works his way into side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

St Petersburgh is trying to get an arm triangle but Mafusa is defending well.

St Petersburgh is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Mafusa is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
St Petersburgh wants to control but Mafusa is keeping him busy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
St Petersburgh controlling the position from side mount.
St Petersburgh tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

St Petersburgh decides to stand up, so the ref orders Mafusa to his feet.
St Petersburgh throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Mafusa counters with a big head kick but St Petersburgh shrugs it off.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mafusa wants to clinch up but St Petersburgh keeps it at a distance.
Mafusa takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Mafusa throws a combination that misses

and St Petersburgh moves into the clinch.

St Petersburgh breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Mafusa tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
St Petersburgh tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Mafusa manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.

St Petersburgh drives through and clinches with Mafusa against the cage.
St Petersburgh is working Mafusa over against the cage.
St Petersburgh looking for a takedown.

St Petersburgh is working on a single leg takedown against the cage. Mafusa can't fight it off and eventually St Petersburgh manages to take the fight to the floor. Mafusa looks annoyed but at least he's managed to land in guard.
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!
St Petersburgh controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

And that's the end of the fight!
Greg St Petersburgh showed his dominance in that final round.
I think St Petersburgh has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Skip Squint scores the fight 29:28
Judge Hugh Johnson scores the fight 29:28
Judge Winston Howard scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Greg St Petersburgh!