PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Bilbo Baggins (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Donald Stewart (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Stewart has chosen Celly cel - Its Goin Down Tonight as his entrance music. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Baggins
vs
Stewart

180 cm
33
192 lbs
12 - 2 - 0

183 cm
28
193 lbs
14 - 10 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Granite chin

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 12 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Bilbo Baggins!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 14 - 10 - 0, fighting out of London, Donald Stewart!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Bishop, Paul Tew and James Ackerman.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Baggins shoots in for a double leg but Stewart sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Baggins thows a body shot but no joy.
Baggins looks to land a left hand but Stewart moved out of range nicely.
Baggins finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Stewart stuffs the takedown attempt from Baggins. Baggins gets slowly back to his feet.
Stewart goes for a high kick. It partially lands.

It looks like Bilbo Baggins has been cut.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Baggins shoots in looking for a takedown. Stewart tries to sprawl out of it but Baggins keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Stewart manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Bilbo Baggins. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Baggins fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Stewart slaps away a takedown attempt from Baggins, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Baggins lands a jab to the nose.
Stewart wants to clinch up but Baggins keeps it at a distance.
Baggins fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Stewart avoids it really well and circles away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Baggins throws a lazy right hand but Stewart sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Baggins lands a body shot.
Baggins darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Stewart takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Baggins avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

Baggins is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Stewart's half guard.
Baggins is looking to take a break and control but Stewart is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Stewart is looking to improve his position.
Baggins 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.
Baggins 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.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Baggins is looking for a kimura but Stewart is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Baggins to get the leverage.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Baggins seems to be looking for submissions.
Baggins is trying to control the action in half guard but Stewart is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Baggins has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.
Stewart blocking the ground and pound attempt from Baggins.
Baggins has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Stewart keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Stewart slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
Stewart works his way to full guard. Good work.
Baggins works a leg free and moves into half guard.

Baggins is looking for a kimura here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Baggins trying to mount his opponent but Stewart defends it.
Baggins lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.

Baggins is looking for a kimura but Stewart is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Baggins to get the leverage.
Stewart missing with punches from the bottom.
Baggins throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Baggins not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Stewart wants to get back to full guard.
Baggins takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.

Baggins is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Stewart doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Baggins.
Stewart wants to improve his position but Baggins is controlling well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Baggins controlling the action here.
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. Baggins connects with a nice short shot to Stewart's temple.
Stewart moves into full guard.

Stewart working for a triangle but Baggins defends it easily.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Stewart utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Baggins working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Baggins 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.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Baggins loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Baggins tries to free his leg and advance position but Stewart is retaining full guard.
Baggins makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Baggins wants to control from the top but Stewart keeps moving.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Baggins landing with the ground and pound.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bilbo Baggins dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Bilbo Baggins's cut.
That's time! Back to the action!

Stewart stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Stewart wants it to stay on the feet.
Nice straight punches there by Baggins. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Baggins.
Baggins missing with a left hand there. Stewart was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.

Baggins feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Baggins is pushing down on Stewart's leg trying to pass to half guard. Stewart is fighting to maintain full guard but Baggins has managed to sneak the leg through.
Baggins looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Bilbo Baggins overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Stewart wants to improve his position but Baggins is controlling well.

Stewart looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Baggins winds up and cracks Stewart with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Baggins scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Stewart is staying active underneath Baggins, who seems content to just control the action from this position.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Baggins is trying to work for a kimura but Stewart is defending well.

Baggins wants to work for an arm triangle but Stewart is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Stewart tries to roll over but Baggins keeps him under control.
Stewart avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Baggins.
Baggins wants to free his trapped foot but Stewart is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Baggins missing with the ground and pound from half guard.

Baggins is trying to work for a kimura but Stewart is defending well.
Stewart tries to roll over but Baggins keeps him under control.
Baggins lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Baggins decides he's had enough of the ground and stands up.
Baggins fails to land the takedown.
Baggins throws a shot from downtown. Stewart moves away and avoids it.
Jab by Baggins.
Bilbo Baggins is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Baggins connects with a nice looking jab.
Stewart keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Baggins.
Baggins shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Stewart but Stewart pushes him off and we're back to square one.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Bilbo Baggins. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Baggins shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Stewart napping and manages to drive through into side control!

Baggins is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Stewart knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stewart throws an elbow to the body but it doesn't land.
Baggins misses with an attempted head punch from side control.
Baggins landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.

Baggins working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Stewart manages to work his way to half guard, despite Baggins's best efforts.
Stewart is looking to improve his position.
Baggins lands with a punch from half guard.
Baggins lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Baggins not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Baggins trying to control the action but Stewart is working from the bottom.
Stewart wants to get back to full guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Baggins is keen to just control but Stewart is a slippery customer.
Baggins is thwarting Stewart's attempts to control the position.

Baggins is looking for a kimura here.
Baggins takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Stewart trying to hold on to Baggins's head to control him but Baggins postures up.
The fighters are battling for position here. Stewart manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bilbo Baggins dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Bilbo Baggins'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. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Baggins shoots and misses
enabling Stewart to counter with a crisp jab.
Bilbo Baggins seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Baggins tries for a takedown but Stewart circles away easily
and Stewart counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Baggins tries for a takedown but Stewart circles away easily
and Stewart counters with a lovely straight right hand!
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Bilbo Baggins. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Baggins doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Stewart counters with a left to the body.
Stewart walks into a stiff left hand from Baggins.
Baggins will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Baggins throws a right and a left that both miss.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Baggins goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Stewart uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Baggins.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stewart misses with a jab, cross combination.
Baggins lands a head shot.
Stewart fails to land the takedown.
Baggins will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.

Baggins gets caught flat footed, as Stewart shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.

Baggins looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.

Baggins working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Stewart doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Stewart manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Baggins tries to land a sweep but no joy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stewart slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.

Stewart avoids a guillotine attempt easily.

Baggins working for a triangle but Stewart defends it easily.
Baggins avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Donald Stewart has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Stewart with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
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!
Stewart throwing strikes but missing.
Stewart in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Baggins not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Stewart lands a couple of elbows.
Baggins has his hands on Stewart's head, controlling the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Baggins wants to improve his position but instead Stewart has moved into half guard.
Stewart tries to pass the half guard into mount. Baggins knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Baggins is looking to improve his position.

Baggins looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Baggins is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Stewart scores with a couple of nice shots.
Stewart working Baggins over with strikes.
Stewart throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Stewart lands with a punch from half guard.
Stewart is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Baggins!
Baggins is looking to get to half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
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!
Stewart avoids the attempt from Baggins to control.
Baggins tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Stewart dominating with strikes here.
Baggins tries to hold on but Stewart postures up.
Stewart scoring with strikes but Baggins is staying in there.
Stewart scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Baggins?
Baggins is wriggling around trying to escape.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Baggins is working hard here to advance position.
Stewart lands a big elbow.

And that's the end of the fight!
Donald Stewart comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Baggins 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 Daniel Bishop scores the fight for Bilbo Baggins!
Judge Paul Tew scores the fight for Bilbo Baggins!
Judge James Ackerman scores the fight for Bilbo Baggins!

Bilbo Baggins wins by unanimous decision!