PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Josh Kurt (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Roderick Stevenson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Kurt
vs
Stevenson

190 cm
25
180 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

177 cm
22
178 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
KO power

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Granite chin

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Josh Kurt!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Roderick Stevenson!
The judges for this bout are , and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Stevenson tries for a takedown but Kurt sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.

Kurt clinches.
Kurt will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Stevenson up against the cage.
Stevenson can't get the takedown.
Kurt lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Kurt has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Stevenson is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.

Stevenson drags the fight down to the ground.
Kurt has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Kurt in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Kurt wants to stand but Stevenson is controlling his posture from full guard.
Kurt slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kurt pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Stevenson is keeping the position for now.
Stevenson being controlled here, momentarily.

Josh Kurt has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Kurt.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Kurt shoots for a double leg takedown but Stevenson sprawls well. He's pushed Kurt's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Josh Kurt. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Kurt has a takedown stuffed.
Stevenson will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Kurt lands with a nice body kick.

Kurt drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Kurt controls from within his opponent's guard.
Kurt is breathing heavily.
Kurt pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Stevenson is keeping the position for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stevenson wants to control the position but Kurt says "no thanks buddy" and passes to half guard.
Kurt tries to stand and escape but Stevenson is controlling the position.
Kurt takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Josh Kurt just wasn't active enough.

Stevenson moves into the clinch.

Kurt breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Kurt throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Stevenson's waist but Stevenson gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Kurt off to one side.
Kurt fails to land the takedown.
Kurt stuffs the takedown.
Kurt shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Stevenson as he jumps to the side.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Kurt throws a head kick that Stevenson semi-blocks.
Stevenson shoots for a double leg takedown but Kurt sprawls well. He's pushed Stevenson's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Josh Kurt dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Kurt shoots in looking for a takedown. Stevenson tries to sprawl out of it but Kurt keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Stevenson manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Stevenson shoots in looking for a takedown but Kurt manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Stevenson's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.

Kurt clinches.
Come on Kurt - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Stevenson wants a takedown.
Stevenson tries for a takedown but Kurt manages to get underhooks.
Josh Kurt has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Roderick Stevenson.
Stevenson is breathing heavily.

Kurt decides to pull guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Kurt is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Stevenson is aware though and is defending well.
Stevenson stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Kurt swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Kurt looking for a sweep. Not yet Kurt, not yet.
Stevenson being controlled here momentarily.
Kurt wants to stand and escape but Stevenson is having none of it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kurt looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Josh Kurt.

Kurt fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Stevenson, pushing him back against the cage.
Stevenson fails to pull guard.
Stevenson is looking for a takedown.

Kurt has picked Stevenson up - he's going for a ride! Kurt dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard.
Kurt content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.

Kurt is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kurt throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Kurt controlling the action here.
Kurt missing with the ground and pound from half guard.

That's four 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.

Kurt is looking for a kimura but Stevenson is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Kurt to get the leverage.
Kurt performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.

Josh Kurt has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Kurt changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Stevenson tries to avoid it but Kurt manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Stevenson to the ground. Stevenson escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Josh Kurt 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!

Stevenson tries to clinch

and Kurt counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Kurt.
Stevenson is working for takedown but Kurt is calmly controlling the position for now.
Kurt lands with a right to the head.
Kurt tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Stevenson just stands there and leans against the cage.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Kurt has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Stevenson is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Stevenson tries to pull guard but Kurt forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Kurt connects with a knee to the head.

Kurt pulls guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Kurt wants to stand up but Stevenson is controlling him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kurt is striking but Stevenson is not phased and passes to half guard.
Stevenson wants to pass the guard but Kurt is defending well.
Kurt regains full guard. Nicely done.
Stevenson trying to control the position from guard on top but Kurt is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Kurt lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Stevenson!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kurt sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
Josh Kurt overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Kurt controlling from the full mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Kurt is standing up, even though he is in mount.

Kurt clinches up with Stevenson and pushes him back against the cage.
Kurt tries for a takedown but Stevenson manages to get underhooks.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Josh Kurt. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Kurt tries for a takedown. No joy.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Kurt ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Kurt no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Kurt is looking to sweep but instead, Stevenson has passed into half guard.
Stevenson is stalling here. Kurt is in no mood to hang around though. He's locked up a kimura from the bottom! Stevenson seems to be keeping calm but he's forced to roll out of the hold and Kurt has ended up in side control on the top. Nice work.
Kurt is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.
Kurt's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.

And that's the end of the fight!
Josh Kurt showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Kurt has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Andi Peters scores the fight 30:27
Judge Gordon Ramsey scores the fight 30:27
Judge Frank Skinner scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Josh Kurt!
Our winner, Josh Kurt, made sure he spent some time buttering up the crowd during his post fight interview, which will no doubt bring him a few more fans.