PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Michael Hall (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Gregory Steele (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Man, I cannot wait for this one!

Hall
vs
Steele

178 cm
24
184 lbs
6 - 1 - 0

203 cm
25
180 lbs
7 - 5 - 0

Good wrestling
Great elbows
Cardio machine

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the welterweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Michael Hall!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 5 - 0, fighting out of New York, Gregory Steele!
The judges for this bout are Don Winkell, and Jack Bonds.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Hall gets tackled into the cage by Steele. Steele maintains the clinch.
Hall lands on the inside with an uppercut.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Hall.
Hall fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
A short right from Hall.
Still in the clinch, Hall scores with a nice short uppercut.
Hall lands with a right to the head.
Hall lands a nice uppercut.
Hall is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Hall lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Steele takes an elbow to the forehead.
Hall with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Hall misses with a body punch.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Hall lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Steele tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Hall smiles and moves away.
Hall is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Steele.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Steele tries to score a power double leg takedown but Hall sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Steele somewhat.
Hall throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
Hall pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Hall swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Steele avoids the head kick by Hall.
Horrible takedown by Steele or perhaps it was just good defense by Hall which made him look bad.
Michael Hall has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Gregory Steele.
A punch combination from Hall misses.
Steele fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
A decent looking cross lands there for Hall.

Steele clinches.
Hall lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

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

Steele pushes Hall up against the cage in a clinch.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Hall lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Hall comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.

It looks like Gregory Steele has been cut.
Steele wants a takedown but no success here.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Steele tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Hall smiles and moves away.
A combination from Hall does no damage.

Steele fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Hall, pushing him back against the cage.
Hall tries to throw a body punch but Steele avoids it by throwing Hall back against the cage.
Still in the clinch, Hall scores with a nice short uppercut.
Hall throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Steeles head.
Hall lands a hook that snaps the head of Steele backwards.

Hall has double underhooks and is working for a body lock takedown. He's got it. The fighters land in half guard but Steele regains guard immediately.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Hall content to stall in guard here.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Hall decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.

Steele darts in and clinches Hall up against the cage.
Steele fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Hall lands a body shot.
Hall throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Steeles head.
Steele is trying to break free.

Hall pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Michael Hall is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Hall, right into the meat.
Steele with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Hall connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Steele's hands.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Hall misses with an uppercut. Steele saw that one coming.

Steele closes the distance and clinches.
Hall scores with a nice hook to the head.
Hall utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Steele looks gassed!
Steele takes a knee right on the jaw!
Steele tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Hall comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Hall with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Hall lands a body punch.
Hall makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
A right hook to the body lands for Hall.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Michael Hall dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Gregory Steele's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Hall bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
Hall throws a nice outside leg kick.
Steele takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Hall lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Hall explodes with a nice body kick and back out of range. Nice work.
Steele shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Steele lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Nice shot lands for Hall.
Hall lands a nice shot to the body.
Hall with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Steele avoids the head kick by Hall.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Hall lands a jab to the head.

Steele clinches.
Hall displaying some good clinch control by pressing Steele up against the cage.
Nice body punch from Hall.

That's one minute gone in the round.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Hall creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Hall lands an elbow inside.
Steele tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Hall avoids it.
Hall makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Hall scores with a shoulder strike.
A short left from Hall.
Good body shot from Hall.
Steele is breathing heavily.
Hall lands a hook that snaps the head of Steele backwards.
Steele is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Hall lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Hall lands a hook to the side of the head.
Hall lands a knee to the body.
Steele takes an elbow to the forehead.
Hall lands with a light punch inside.
Hall is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Steele can do to turn this around?
Hall scores a nice knee to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Hall lands a shoulder strike.
Hall scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Hall softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Hall lands a hook that snaps the head of Steele backwards.
Hall tries a knee to the head but Steele blocks it.
Hall landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Hall lands a left hand.
Steele takes an elbow to the temple.
Steele's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
A short right from Hall.

Hall pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Hall!
Hall throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Steele on the side of the head.
Hall throws a head kick that Steele semi-blocks.
Steele takes one to the chin there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Steele ducks right into an uppercut from Hall.
Hall throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Steele on the side of the head.
Steele on the wrong end of a nice jab.

Steele drives through and clinches with Hall against the cage.
Hall is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Steele is defending well for now.
Good body shot from Steele.
Steele is trying to force a seperation but Hall has the dominant position.

Hall escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Hall throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Steele.
Steele shoots in looking for a takedown but Hall manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Steele's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Hall looks to land a body kick but Steele moved away.
Michael Hall is winning the standup battle so far.

Hall tries to keep at a distance but Steele has taken the fight into the clinch.
Nice body punch from Hall - that landed with a thud.
Hall looking to throw knees to the head but Steele is blocking nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hall lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Hall lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Steele blocks a body shot from Hall.
Hall lands an elbow inside that Steele shrugs off.
Hall throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Steele tries to pull guard but Hall holds him up against the cage and eventually Steele drops back down to his feet.
Hall with a knee to the head.
Hall lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Hall scores with a nice hook to the head.
A knee to the head by Hall.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

Hall breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Hall tries to land a front kick but Steele steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Hall works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Hall feints a jab promting Steele to slip. Hall then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Steele slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Michael Hall dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Gregory Steele's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Steele closes the distance and pushes Hall back into the cage.
Hall stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.

Steele breaks from the clinch.

Steele moves into range and clinches up with Hall.
Michael Hall has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Hall is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Hall lands a shoulder strike.
Hall working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Hall tries a knee to the head but Steele blocks it.

Hall manages to break the clinch.
Steele doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
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!
Nice cross by Hall.
Steele takes one to the chin there.
A head kick misses from Hall.
Hall scores with a leg kick.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Hall lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Steele has managed to clinch.
Hall scores with a nice hook to the head.
Steele tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Hall just stands there and leans against the cage.
Hall lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Hall pushes Steele back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Hall working some nice short punches in the clinch.
A shot in the inside from Hall.
Hall taking a breather.
Hall tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Steele tries to score a body lock takedown but Hall shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Hall is pressed up against the cage. Steele has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Hall down to the mat. Hall avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Michael Hall has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Gregory Steele.
Hall misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

Hall moves into the clinch successfully.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hall gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Hall lands with a light punch inside.
Hall lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Hall lands a right hand.
Steele takes an elbow to the temple.
Hall lands with a short punch from the clinch.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Hall lands a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Steele is looking to improve his position.

Steele looking for a kimura from the bottom but Hall passes into side control!
Steele is trying to escape the position but Hall is controlling the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Steele is looking to reverse the position.
Hall happy to just control the position for now.

Hall has had enough of the ground for now and decides to stand.
Hall tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Steele was well out of range. Poor timing from Hall.
Steele shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Hall pinned against the cage. Hall gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Hall misses with a few strikes there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Steele shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Hall sprawls well. Hall wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Steele gets slowly back to his feet.
Hall scores with a head kick. Steele tried to block it but didn't get his arm up in time.
Jab, jab by Hall - just one landing.
Hall throws a head kick that misses.
Hall stuffs the takedown.
Hall throws a head kick that misses.

Steele clinches up with Hall and pushes him back against the cage.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Hall lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Hall connects with a nasty looking knee right to Steele's face.

Hall escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Michael Hall clearly takes that round.
The cut man is working on Gregory Steele's cut.
That's time! Back to the action!

No joy there for Hall, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Hall tries a head kick but it misses.
Hall connects with a good right hand that stumbles Steele. Steele circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
Steele keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Hall fails with an attempt to clinch.
Steele takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Hall throws a series of punches but Steele moves out of range.
Steele looks to land a combination but Hall avoids it well.
Sloppy strikes from Hall. Those never looked like landing.

Steele closes the distance and clinches.

Steele is working on a single leg takedown against the cage. Hall can't fight it off and eventually Steele manages to take the fight to the floor. Hall looks annoyed but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Hall preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
It's got to the stage where if one of these guys blows hard enough, the other might fall over.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hall keeping moving, preventing Steele from controlling successfully.
Steele might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Hall kaven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.
Steele is working Hall over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Hall looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Steele tries to free his leg and advance position but Hall is retaining full guard.
Steele is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Hall lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Steele!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Steele tries to reverse the position but Hall maintains control.
Steele bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!
Hall is looking to stand back up... there's a bit of a scramble and Steele dives into side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hall is pushing Steele's head away, looking to escape. Steele manages to hold on to the position though.
Hall wants to control but Steele postures up.
Hall is pushing Steele's head away, looking to escape. Steele manages to hold on to the position though.
Steele working the ground and pound but Hall is defending the strikes.
Hall is trying to get back to half guard.
Steele scores with punches from side control.
Hall might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Steele working the head and body with strikes.

Steele tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Steele has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Steele tries to cartwheel into mount but he doesn't manage it.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Steele is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Hall has escaped the position, nice work there.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gregory Steele dominated that fourth round.
The cut man is working on Gregory Steele's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Hall pushes Steele up against the cage in a clinch.
Steele doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Hall with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Hall lands a damaging elbow.
Hall scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Steele trying to stall but Hall improves his position.

Hall manages to break the clinch.

Steele has closed the distance and engaged Hall in a clinch.
Hall softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Steele is looking to control Hall's arms but Hall gets an underhook and turns him. Now Steele has his back to the cage.
Steele wants a takedown.
Steele wants to stall.
Steele is wobbling all over the place through exhaustion. Will he make it to the final bell?
Still in the clinch, Hall scores with a nice short uppercut.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hall lands a right hand.
Hall scores with a nice hook to the head.
Hall looking to throw knees to the head but Steele is blocking nicely.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Steele just misses with a elbow thrown towards Hall's brow.
Hall stalling in the clinch.
Steele can't find room to land a body shot as Hall controls the action.
Hall lands a hook that snaps the head of Steele backwards.
Steele tries to pull guard but Hall won't allow it.
Hall lands a left hand.
Hall using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Hall taking a breather.

Steele has Hall pressed up against the cage. He's trying to work for a single leg takedown. Steele pulls back from the cage and twists to the side, sending Hall tumbling to the mat - Steele dives into Hall's guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Hall trying to control the position here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Steele prevents Hall from getting back to his feet.
Steele stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Hall swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Hall wants to stand and escape but Steele is having none of it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Michael Hall has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.

Steele clinches with his opponent.
Steele's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Hall tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Hall misses with a knee to the head.
Steele trying to land knees to the body.
Michael Hall is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
A short left from Hall.
Hall lands a right hand that snaps the head of Steele backwards.
Hall tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Steele avoids it.

Hall has double underhooks and is working for a body lock takedown. He's got it. The fighters land in half guard but Steele regains guard immediately.

Steele is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Hall defends well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Steele throws a couple of shots from the bottom but they don't land.

Steele looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Hall stays in close to Steele's body and controls the position.
Gregory Steele has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Steele throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.

And that's the end of the fight!
Michael Hall showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Hall 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 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Don Winkell scores the fight 49:46
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 49:46
Judge Jack Bonds scores the fight 49:46

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Michael Hall!
Michael Hall retains his welterweight title!