PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Funk McTavish (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mihai Matei (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Matei is bouncing up and down as he enters the arena, backed by MitiS & MaHi - Blu. Mihai Matei has the eye of the tiger tonight.

McTavish
vs
Matei

165 cm
23
150 lbs
9 - 10 - 0

169 cm
28
150 lbs
4 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
Good chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent MT
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 9 - 10 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Funk McTavish!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Mihai Matei!
The judges for this bout are Colin Fotheringham, Andrew Berry and James Ackerman.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Matei will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Matei swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.

McTavish scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.

McTavish tries for a kimura but Matei is defending well.

McTavish looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Matei is not content to let McTavish control the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Matei wants to get back to his feet but McTavish drags him back down.
A lull in the action here as McTavish stalls from top position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.

McTavish tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no McTavish has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
McTavish wants to lay and pray for a moment but Matei keeps working.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here.
Matei tries to escape but McTavish is in control.

McTavish goes for an armbar here - this could be all over! But no, Matei has escaped beautifully and is now on top in side control! Oh, that's unlucky for McTavish but great work by Matei.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
McTavish tries to bench press Matei off him but Matei keeps the position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Matei stands up.
Matei thows a body shot but no joy.
Matei swinging wildly here.
Matei closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Matei misses with a double jab.
McTavish with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Matei to score with a decent uppercut.
McTavish tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Matei throws a right and a left that both miss.
Funk McTavish seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Matei swinging wildly here.

McTavish drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Funk McTavish will probably get the nod.
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.

McTavish scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.

McTavish is looking for submissions but instead, Matei has regained full guard.

Matei kicks McTavish off and gets to his feet.
McTavish fails with a takedown attempt.
McTavish looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Matei is fending him off so far but McTavish persists. Nope, Matei circles away and we're back to standing.
Matei misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Matei scores with a one two! McTavish had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.

It looks like Funk McTavish has been cut.

McTavish shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Matei wants to stand up but McTavish is controlling him.
McTavish trying to control the position from guard on top but Matei is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

We're going to have a standup here because Funk McTavish wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
McTavish misses with a hook. Matei ducked under it nicely.
Matei lands a two punch combo.
McTavish changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Matei tries to avoid it but McTavish manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Matei to the ground. Matei escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Funk McTavish. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Matei swinging wildly here.
Matei throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and McTavish counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
McTavish shoots for a takedown but Matei saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
A punch combination from Matei misses.
McTavish tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Matei throws a right and a left that McTavish avoids nicely.
Matei misses with a few strikes there.
McTavish shoots for a takedown but Matei saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Mihai Matei is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
McTavish fails with a takedown attempt.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
McTavish shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Matei sprawls well. Matei wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. McTavish gets slowly back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Matei swinging wildly here.
Matei will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Matei swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
McTavish throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
McTavish pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Mihai Matei is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
McTavish is looking to chop away at Matei's legs.
McTavish misses with a body shot
and Matei connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
McTavish is trying hard to land a takedown here. Matei sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Matei with a hook.

Matei lands a left and a right that send McTavish crashing to the mat, dazed. Matei thinks about following him to the mat but decides to wave him back up to his feet!

McTavish is rocked!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Matei misses with a series of wild punches.
Oh McTavish is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Matei lands with a right that hurts McTavish. McTavish looks to clinch but Matei throws a short knee that drops McTavish. This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:11 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Punch and Knee). Mihai Matei!
An out of breath Mihai Matei thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.