PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Abraham Kurse (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Dan Stall (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Kurse's entrance music is My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up) - Fall Out Boy. A fine choice. The crowd seem to be enjoying Stall's choice of entrance music: Subtle People - Let's Ride. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Kurse
vs
Stall

186 cm
20
199 lbs
8 - 3 - 0

191 cm
18
203 lbs
5 - 0 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Counter fighter
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Good gas tank

Meet the Future

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the middleweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 8 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Abraham Kurse!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Dan Stall!
The judges for this bout are Luis Engracia, Matheus Silva and Thiago Cunha.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A jab from Stall misses.
Kurse swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Stall has done a lot of speed work in the buildup to this fight.
Kurse moves out of range of the strikes.
Kurse throws a body punch but Stall moves out of range.
Stall defending well as Kurse loads up on a big left hand.
Kurse fails to land the takedown.
Stall jabs Kurse right on the nose. Kurse blinks but takes it well.
Stall cracks Kurse with a good jab.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kurse throws a looping overhand right but Stall ducks down to avoid it.
Kurse misses with a straight left.
Both fighters are looking to counter, which isn't making for the most exciting fight in the world.
Kurse throws the left hand but Stall avoids the punch easily.
Kurse waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Stall.
Stall throws a combination. Kurse tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
Kurse is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Stall.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Stall!
Dan Stall is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Kurse uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Stall.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stall throws a jab but it's blocked by Kurse.
Kurse misses the shot to the body.
Kurse misses the shot to the body.
Stall avoids the body shot from Kurse.
Stall lands a jab to the nose.
Stall connects with a good right hand that stumbles Kurse. Kurse circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
Stall throws the left hand but Kurse avoids the punch easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stall throws a lazy uppercut

and Kurse counters with a nice double leg into side control. Stall won't be happy with that.

Kurse wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Stall, who protects the arm well.

Kurse is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Stall has escaped the position, nice work there.
Stall struggling a bit here.

Kurse goes for an armbar! This could be all over! Wait, no, Stall rolls with the submission and now he's on top in Kurse's guard! Nice work there by Stall!
Stall postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stall pushing down on Kurse's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Stall content to control rather than advance.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Kurse moves into full guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dan Stall dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Stall displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Kurse.
Kurse uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Stall.
A jab from Stall misses.
Kurse looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Stall swings widly with a right hand

and Kurse counters with a shoot takedown. Stall fights it but they end up in guard.
Stall pulls Kurse in close to his closed guard and prevents Kurse from doing any damage or advancing position.
Kurse is working Stall over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kurse preventing the sweep.
Kurse lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.

Kurse is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Stall is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Stall has escaped and now he's on top!

Kurse has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Stall can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Stall stays in close to Kurse's body and controls the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Dan Stall was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Stall lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stall tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Kurse was well out of range. Poor timing from Stall.
Stall lands a nice looking body shot.
Stall lands a jab to the nose.
A swing and a miss from Stall.
Stall misses with a hook.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Kurse.
Stall connects with a looping right hand.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stall works over Kurse's head and body with a nice combination.
Stall fails to land with a series of punches.
Kurse darts in trying to clinch
and Stall counters with a nice uppercut.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Kurse pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Stall throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Kurse sees it coming and avoids it easily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dan Stall showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Kurse is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
A big left from Stall misses.
Kurse looks to land a right hand but Stall moved out of range.
A swing and a miss from Stall.
Stall uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Kurse.
Stall scores with a shot to the body.
Kurse takes a jab right on the kisser.
Kurse uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Stall.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kurse shoots in but no luck this time.
A big right from Stall misses.
Kurse looks to land a left hand but Stall moved out of range nicely.
Dan Stall seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Kurse uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Stall.
Stall ducks under a wild hook from Kurse.
Stall throws a right and a left that Kurse avoids nicely.
Stall with a jab.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kurse misses with a looping left.
Kurse staying out of range there.
Kurse defending well as Stall loads up on a big left hand.
Kurse throws a lazy right hand but Stall sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Kurse waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Stall.
Kurse steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Stall.
Kurse slips a jab and a cross from Stall.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kurse misses with an uppercut.
Stall misses with a hook. Kurse ducked under it nicely.
Kurse shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Stall pinned against the cage. Stall gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Kurse walks into a straight right hand from Stall.
Kurse shoots in but no luck this time.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Abraham Kurse. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kurse staying out of range there.
A looping hook to the body misses from Stall. Kurse does a little dance to reset his feet.
Stall ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Stall lands a body shot.
Stall looks to land a left hand but Kurse moved out of range nicely.
Jab by Stall.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Stall's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Stall duly obliges.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dan Stall really 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.

Stall throws a right and a left that Kurse avoids nicely.
Stall throws a right hand that Kurse ducks under and follows up with a left that Kurse also avoids with ease.
Stall tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Kurse was well out of range. Poor timing from Stall.
Stall looks to score with a jab to the body but Kurse is just out of range.
Kurse tries for a takedown but Stall sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Stall throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
The fighters circling - Kurse throws out the jab but it was never going to land.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stall keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Sloppy strikes from Stall. Those never looked like landing.
Stall throws a hook to the side of Kurse's head but Kurse sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Stall throws out a loose jab but Kurse uses good head movement to avoid it.
Kurse looks for a takedown but Stall sprawls well.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Abraham Kurse. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Stall throws a shot from downtown. Kurse moves away and avoids it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stall looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Stall lands a jab.
Stall might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
Stall throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Stall missing with a left hand there. Kurse was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Kurse slips a jab from Stall.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Stall gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Kurse to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Stall trying to control the position.
Kurse looking to pass the guard.
Stall is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Stall lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Kurse!
Kurse is working to get back to half guard.
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kurse is working hard here to advance position.
Stall controlling his opponent.
Kurse is working to get back to half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dan Stall dominated that fourth round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

A punch combination from Stall misses.
Kurse pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Kurse keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Stall misses with an uppercut.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kurse throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Stall sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Stall misses with a two punch combination.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stall misses with a straight left.
Kurse rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Stall counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Kurse bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
A big left from Stall misses.
Stall misses the jab.
Kurse slips a jab from Stall.
Kurse ducks right into an uppercut from Stall.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stall misses with an uppercut. Kurse saw that one coming.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Kurse.
Stall is looking to reverse the position.
You can see the frustration on Stall's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

Kurse thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Stall can't do much from the bottom here.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Kurse thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Kurse working the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kurse tries to move to mount but Stall blocks the move with his legs.
You can see the frustration on Stall's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Stall managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Kurse.

Kurse wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Stall, who protects the arm well.

Kurse goes for an armbar! This could be all over! Wait, no, Stall rolls with the submission and now he's on top in Kurse's guard! Nice work there by Stall!
Stall sitting in guard here, content to control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.

Kurse escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Stall gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Abraham Kurse has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Stall controls from within his opponent's guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Abraham Kurse.
I think Stall has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Luis Engracia scores the fight 46:49
Judge Matheus Silva scores the fight 46:49
Judge Thiago Cunha scores the fight 45:50

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Dan Stall!
Dan Stall is the new middleweight champion!
Dan Stall bigged himself up after the win. The crowd seemed to love it.
Abraham Kurse was interviewed post fight and said 'Maybe it's time to leave this thing. It's disappointing... '.