PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Damian Nitschke (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Brian Stanson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Stanson has chosen Until The End as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Nitschke
vs
Stanson

181 cm
32
184 lbs
27 - 20 - 1

174 cm
30
178 lbs
15 - 7 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Great elbows
Good gas tank

BeastMode

Fury Nutrition Inc.

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 27 - 20 - 1, fighting out of Sydney, Damian Nitschke!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 15 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Brian Stanson!
The judges for this bout are Winston Howard, Ben Watson and Ben Hemmingworth.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nitschke tries for a takedown but Stanson circles away easily
and Stanson cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Nitschke throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Stanson's waist but Stanson gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Nitschke off to one side.
Stanson uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Nitschke has time to react.

It looks like Damian Nitschke has been cut.
Stanson misses with an uppercut.
Nitschke will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Stanson thows a body shot but no joy.
Nitschke with a poor takedown
and Stanson counters with a stiff right hand.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Damian Nitschke. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Stanson throws a right hand that misses

and Nitschke counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Stanson's guard now.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Stanson wants to stand up but Nitschke is controlling him.
Stanson is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Nitschke is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.

Stanson has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Nitschke can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Nitschke 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.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Nitschke's corner. There ya go! There ya go!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nitschke throwing strikes but missing.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Nitschke with a flurry of punches that miss.
Stanson is pulling down on Nitschke's head. It's preventing any offense from Nitschke, at least for the moment.
Nitschke passes into half guard.
Stanson wants to control but Nitschke is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Stanson blocking the ground and pound attempt from Nitschke.
Nitschke looks to land a strike but Stanson avoids it nicely and regains full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nitschke trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Nitschke connects with a couple of short punches.
Nitschke throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Stanson works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

Stanson escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Nitschke gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Nitschke makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Nitschke wants to control from the top but Stanson keeps moving.
Stanson is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Nitschke in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Nitschke working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stanson is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Nitschke working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Stanson's head.
Stanson working a defensive guard here.

Stanson has thrown up a leg looking for a triangle. Nitschke doesn't defend quickly enough and Stanson has managed to lock this one up! Can Nitschke escape?! NO! He's tapping out! Damn, that was a quick submission - congrats to Stanson on a fantastic submission victory.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:39 of round 1, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle). Brian Stanson!
During a confident post fight interview, Brian Stanson thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.
In defeat, Damian Nitschke stepped up to the mic, saying 'He was a tough opponent and was the better man tonight. Best of luck to him in his future fights.'.