PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Mitchell Stehling (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Sergio Souza (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Stehling comes to the cage accompanied by Turmion Kätilöt - Minä MÄÄRÄÄN!. Mitchell Stehling had a look across the cage there at his opponent. He definitely means business

Stehling
vs
Souza

191 cm
32
261 lbs
40 - 17 - 0

196 cm
28
243 lbs
16 - 6 - 0

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Granite chin

Perkele!
Conviction

Fury Nutrition Inc.
Crippler's Corner

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 40 - 17 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Mitchell Stehling!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 16 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Sergio Souza!
The judges for this bout are Frank Antenori, Jack Bonds and Timothy Bukovac.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Souza throws a hook but Stehling blocks it.
Stehling swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Stehling thows a body shot but no joy.
Souza throws an ugly left hook that misses
enabling Stehling to counter with a crisp jab.
Stehling displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.

It looks like Sergio Souza has been cut.
Souza fails with an attempt to clinch.
Souza scores with a hook to the body. Stehling takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Stehling uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Souza.
Souza tries to clinch up but Stehling circles away and keeps his distance.
Stehling closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Stehling misses with a body kick.
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!
Souza moves out of range as Stehling throws a body kick.
Souza scores with a jab to the body.
Souza on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Souza stuffs the takedown.

Stehling gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stehling tries to throw a body punch but Souza avoids it by throwing Stehling back against the cage.
Souza lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Souza tries a body shot but Stehling blocks it.
Stehling stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Stehling swings wildly with an uppercut but Souza uses good head movement to avoid it.

Stehling gets double underhooks and manages to take the fight to the ground.
Souza is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Stehling throws an elbow that misses. Souza uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Stehling's guard. Nice move by Souza!
Souza tries to stand but Stehling is controlling from the bottom.
Souza preventing the sweep.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Souza is stalling in the full guard.
Stehling 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.
Souza wants to stand but Stehling has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
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!
Stehling wants to sweep here but Souza controlling him for the moment.
Stehling has his hands on Souza's head, controlling the position.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Sergio Souza hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Stehling throws a front kick that sends Souza stumbling back into the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Souza is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Souza leaves Stehling with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Souza fails with an attempt to clinch.
Souza lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Souza moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Souza uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Stehling.

Souza closes the distance and clinches.
Stehling misses with a short punch on the inside.
Souza has a couple of punches blocked by Stehling.
Souza throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Stehlings head.
Stehling goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Stehling misses with the head strike.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stehling goes for a takedown attempt but Souza pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mitchell Stehling. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Souza takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Souza slips a straight right by Stehling.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Souza scores with a punch to the head.
Stehling uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Souza.
Stehling lands a body shot.
Mitchell Stehling seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Souza avoids the body shot from Stehling.
Stehling takes one to the side of the head.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Stehling lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Souza at a distance.
Stehling drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Souza lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Stehling circles away quickly and effectively.
Stehling displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Souza throws out the jab.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mitchell Stehling dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Sergio Souza's cut.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Stehling misses the shot to the body.

Stehling closes the distance and clinches.
Stehling working aggressively here.
Stehling swings away with an uppercut that misses.
A head punch on the inside from Souza fails to land.
Stehling swings wildly with an uppercut but Souza uses good head movement to avoid it.
Souza blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Souza swings away with an uppercut that misses.

Stehling has clasped his hands together around Souza's back... aaand, he's got a takedown into side control. Nicely done.
Stehling throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Stehling content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.
Souza is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Stehling has just dragged him back down to the mat.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stehling sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Souza is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
Stehling trying to control the position but Souza is working away.
Stehling sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Souza is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
Stehling looks up at the clock and then as Souza takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Stehling smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!
Souza wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
Souza is trying to get back to half guard.
Stehling trying to control the action but Souza is working from the bottom.
Stehling is chipping away with strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stehling tries to move into full mount but can't pass Souza's legs.
Stehling scores with a couple of short elbows.
Mitchell Stehling overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Stehling wants to lay and pray for a moment but Souza keeps working.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Stehling lands a nice forearm strike.
Souza manages to work his way to half guard, despite Stehling's best efforts.
Souza is trying to stand back up but Stehling is controlling him
Souza taking some punishment here, with Stehling in his half guard.
Souza is trying is best to control the position here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stehling is looking to take a break and control but Souza is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Stehling sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Souza defending well though.
Souza tries to roll over but Stehling keeps him under control.
Stehling seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Souza does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Stehling trying to control the pace.
Souza tries to roll over but Stehling keeps him under control.
Stehling not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Stehling connects with a nice short shot to Souza's temple.
Stehling keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Stehling lands with a punch from half guard.
Ground and pound from Stehling.
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!
Stehling throwing shots but Souza is blocking nicely.
Stehling is keen to just control but Souza is a slippery customer.
Stehling is pressing down on Souza's thigh, looking to free his foot. Souza is holding on for now.
Souza is trying to escape back to his feet but Stehling uses the scramble to pass into side control.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Souza tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Stehling working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mitchell Stehling dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Sergio Souza's cut.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Stehling lands a nice hook to Souza's body. Souza takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.

Stehling clinches up with Souza and pushes him back against the cage.
Souza blocking some punches.
Stehling misses with a punch to the body.
Stehling throws a punch but it's blocked by Souza.
Souza misses with a punch to the body.
Souza blocks a body shot from Stehling.
Stehling lands with a light punch inside.
Stehling misses with a short punch on the inside.
Stehling tries to work over Souza's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Souza has a couple of punches blocked by Stehling.
Stehling has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Souza avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Stehling blocks a body shot from Souza.
Stehling has a couple of punches blocked by Souza.
Souza goes for a body shot but it's blocked.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stehling drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
A body shot lands from Stehling.
Souza throws a head punch that misses.
Souza lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
A short body shot lands from Stehling as the two fighters clinch.
Stehling tries a body shot but Souza blocks it.
A hook to the body from Stehling.
Stehling lands with a light punch inside.
Souza takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Stehling tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Souza misses with some punches.
Stehling misses with a punch on the inside.
Good body shot from Stehling.
Stehling scores with a shot to the side of Souza's head.
Mitchell Stehling is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stehling misses with a hook to the ribs.
Stehling is working for takedown but Souza is calmly controlling the position for now.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mitchell Stehling. That's going to take a lot out of him.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Stehling.
Souza throws a head punch that misses.
Souza doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Souza misses with the head strike.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Stehling.
Sergio Souza has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
A head punch blocked on the inside by Stehling.
Stehling lands with a short head shot on the inside.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Souza tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Souza misses with a punch on the inside.
Souza misses with a punch to the body.
Souza tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Souza tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Souza fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Stehling blocks an uppercut.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Stehling.
Stehling misses with a hook to the ribs.
Souza lands a hook to the side of the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Souza misses with a short punch on the inside.
Souza goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Stehling blocking some punches.
Stehling lands a left hand.
Souza throws a head punch that misses.
Souza tries to work over Stehling's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Souza misses with a body punch.
Stehling lands with a right to the head.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Souza prevents a body shot from Stehling.
Souza misses with a body punch.
Stehling lands a body shot in the clinch.

And that's the end of the fight!
Mitchell Stehling showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Stehling 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 Frank Antenori scores the fight 30:27
Judge Jack Bonds scores the fight 30:27
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Mitchell Stehling!
After winning the bout, Mitchell Stehling thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.