PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Sundar Thapa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Lennart Stahlhandske (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). I'm sure you'll be fascinated to know that I was talking to some pointless Z list celebrity before the fight and he thought that Lennart Stahlhandske was going to win. Let's see if he was right.

Thapa
vs
Stahlhandske

187 cm
23
245 lbs
8 - 1 - 0

188 cm
26
228 lbs
6 - 6 - 0

Good wrestling
Counter fighter
Insanely flexible

BJJ Brown Belt
World class boxer
Powerful

Milwaukee's Best 160 SALE $140

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 8 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Sundar Thapa!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Lennart Stahlhandske!
The judges for this bout are Johanna Lukiainen, Ben Zyskovitsi and Marco Blurström.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nice takedown defense from Thapa. No joy for Stahlhandske on that attempt.
Thapa gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Stahlhandske.
Stahlhandske tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Stahlhandske fails to land the takedown.
Lennart Stahlhandske seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Stahlhandske takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Stahlhandske fails with the takedown

and Thapa counters by moving into the clinch.
Sundar Thapa has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Lennart Stahlhandske.
Stahlhandske wants a takedown but no success here.
Stahlhandske tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Thapa smiles and moves away.
Stahlhandske shoots in for a double leg but Thapa sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.

Stahlhandske has Thapa up against the cage in a clinch.
Stahlhandske is working for takedown but Thapa is calmly controlling the position for now.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Thapa misses with an elbow over the top.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Stahlhandske escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stahlhandske shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Thapa but Thapa pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Thapa slaps away a takedown attempt from Stahlhandske, before circling back to the center of the mat.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Thapa.
Thapa tries to work over Stahlhandske's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Thapa stops a takedown attempt from Stahlhandske.

Stahlhandske wants the takedown. Thapa is fighting it off but Stahlhandske persists and manages to bring the fight to the ground, ending up in Thapa's guard against the cage.
Thapa manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Thapa throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Stahlhandske because Thapa loaded up on that one.
Thapa tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thapa tries to control but Stahlhandske wriggling away.
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!
Thapa is landing with some decent strikes but Stahlhandske is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Thapa 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.
Thapa thowing shots but they're missing.
Thapa avoids the attempt from Stahlhandske to control.
Thapa thowing shots but they're missing.
Thapa looking to control but Stahlhandske is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Thapa working Stahlhandske over with strikes here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stahlhandske regains half guard.
Thapa trying to control the pace.
Thapa tries to pass the half guard into mount. Stahlhandske knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Thapa content to control rather than advance.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

We're going to have a standup here because Sundar Thapa wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Thapa takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Stahlhandske throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Thapa's waist but Thapa gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Stahlhandske off to one side.
Stahlhandske doesn't manage to clinch there - Thapa circles away.
Stahlhandske shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Thapa but Thapa pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Stahlhandske circles away from the clinch attempt.
Stahlhandske scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
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!
Stahlhandske wants to clinch up but Thapa keeps it at a distance.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Stahlhandske tries for a takedown but Thapa sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Stahlhandske with a poor takedown

and Thapa counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Thapa content to stall in guard here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sundar Thapa dominated that 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.

Stahlhandske keeps the fight on the outside.
Thapa checks a low kick from Stahlhandske.
Stahlhandske scores with a nice head shot.
Stahlhandske fails in his attempt to clinch.

Stahlhandske closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Thapa misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Stahlhandske is trying to break free.
Thapa swings wildly with an uppercut but Stahlhandske uses good head movement to avoid it.
Thapa gets through Stahlhandske's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Stahlhandske goes for a takedown in the clinch but Thapa prevents it.
Stahlhandske goes for a takedown attempt but Thapa pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Stahlhandske fails with an attempt to clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Thapa fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Stahlhandske to the ground. Thapa is now in Stahlhandske's guard.
Stahlhandske wants to get back to his feet but Thapa is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Thapa looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Thapa preventing the sweep.
Thapa throwing strikes but missing.
Thapa trying to control but Stahlhandske is working from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thapa with a flurry of punches that miss.
Thapa prevents Stahlhandske from getting back to his feet.
Stahlhandske is trying to control the position but Thapa postures up.
Thapa working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Stahlhandske's head.
Thapa won't allow Stahlhandske to get back to his feet.
Thapa works a leg free and moves into half guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Thapa is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Sundar Thapa overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Stahlhandske is in trouble now - Thapa has advanced to mount!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thapa landing punches.
Stahlhandske is bucking up trying to escape but Thapa cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Stahlhandske is bucking up trying to escape but Thapa cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Thapa cracks Stahlhandske with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Stahlhandske is trying desperately to improve position.
Stahlhandske wants to control but Thapa is having none of it.
Thapa content just to control the position here.
Thapa has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stahlhandske regains half guard.
Thapa seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Thapa content to control rather than advance.
Thapa trying to control from half guard but Stahlhandske is working away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sundar Thapa dominated that second round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Thapa throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Stahlhandske's waist but Stahlhandske gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Thapa off to one side.
Stahlhandske scores with a nice strike.

Stahlhandske shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Thapa tries to get to full guard but Stahlhandske has control of the leg.

Thapa looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Thapa moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Stahlhandske has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Thapa is proving hard to escape from.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thapa is trying to keep Stahlhandske in close.
Stahlhandske trying to control but Thapa is working from the bottom.
Thapa is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Stahlhandske content to stall in guard here.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Lennart Stahlhandske was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Stahlhandske avoids a punch combination nicely.
Good shot there by Stahlhandske.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stahlhandske tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Stahlhandske tries to clinch up but Thapa circles away and keeps his distance.
Stahlhandske slips a jab from Thapa.
Thapa is looking to clinch.
Thapa's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Stahlhandske connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Thapa scrambles back to his feet.
Jab from Stahlhandske.
Stahlhandske changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Stahlhandske throws a leg kick but Thapa sees it coming and moves out of range.
Stahlhandske shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Thapa defends it nicely.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Thapa stuffs the takedown attempt from Stahlhandske. Stahlhandske gets slowly back to his feet.

Thapa shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Stahlhandske napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Stahlhandske regains half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thapa working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Thapa seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Thapa is trying to control the action in half guard but Stahlhandske is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Thapa thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Stahlhandske's head.
Thapa missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Thapa is looking to pass Stahlhandske's guard but actually Stahlhandske recovers to full guard.
Stahlhandske trying to keep a closed guard but Thapa is proving a slippery customer.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thapa controlling from the top position.
Lennart Stahlhandske has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Stahlhandske is looking to stand up but Thapa isn't so interested in that idea.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Sundar Thapa wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Thapa tries a head kick but it misses.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Lennart Stahlhandske.
I think Thapa 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 Johanna Lukiainen scores the fight 29:28
Judge Ben Zyskovitsi scores the fight 30:28
Judge Marco Blurström scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Sundar Thapa!
A very excited looking Sundar Thapa made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.