PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Steven Stepp (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jiroy Parayan (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Stepp
vs
Parayan

193 cm
31
218 lbs
18 - 10 - 1

181 cm
30
205 lbs
6 - 2 - 1

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

BJJ Purple Belt
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Milwaukee's Best 160 (85% laundry)

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 18 - 10 - 1, fighting out of St Petersburg, Steven Stepp!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 2 - 1, fighting out of Amsterdam, Jiroy Parayan!
The judges for this bout are Aafke Stam, Albert Achterberg and Radbod Blank.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Parayan misses with a two punch combination.
Stepp shoots in and drives through. Parayan sprawls well.
Stepp looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Parayan is fending him off so far but Stepp persists. Nope, Parayan circles away and we're back to standing.
Stepp fails with an attempt to clinch.

Stepp throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Parayan tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Stepp is in Parayan's guard.
Parayan utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Stepp cracks Parayan with a solid left hand.
Stepp with a flurry of punches that miss.
Stepp throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Parayan works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Stepp 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.
Stepp postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Parayan wants to stand up but Stepp is controlling him.
Stepp working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Stepp throwing strikes but missing.
Parayan wants to get back to his feet but Stepp is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Stepp will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Stepp postures up in Parayan's guard and throws a big left but Parayan blocks it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stepp postures up in Parayan's guard and throws a big left but Parayan blocks it.
Stepp in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Parayan wants to stand and escape but Stepp is having none of it.
Stepp throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Stepp lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Stepp won't allow Parayan to get back to his feet.
Stepp throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Parayan uses the cage to get back to his feet.
Jiroy Parayan is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Stepp fails with a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Steven Stepp. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Stepp doesn't manage to clinch there - Parayan circles away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Stepp scores with a takedown into Parayan's guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Stepp in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Stepp cracks Parayan with a solid left hand.
Stepp cracks Parayan with a solid left hand.
Stepp postures up in Parayan's guard and throws a big left but Parayan blocks it.
Stepp throws a big right hand that misses.
Parayan is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Stepp throws a big elbow that misses.
Stepp in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Stepp in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Parayan is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Stepp loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Stepp working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Stepp content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Stepp postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Stepp trying to control but Parayan is working from the bottom.
Stepp postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Parayan utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Stepp's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Parayan is looking to stand up but Stepp isn't so interested in that idea.

Parayan uses the cage to get back to his feet.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stepp connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.

Stepp shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Parayan is trying to defend but Stepp finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Parayan felt the need to train up his defensive grappling in the buildup to the fight. Presumably he was expecting to be in a difficult position like this, so let's see if he can get out of it.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Stepp is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Parayan pushes Stepp off looking to stand but Stepp dives back in and keeps control.
Parayan keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Stepp throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Stepp throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Stepp missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Stepp missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Stepp throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Parayan keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Parayan blocking the ground and pound attempt from Stepp.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Steven Stepp dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Stepp shoots in looking for a takedown but Parayan manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Stepp's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Parayan takes a swing at Stepp's ribcage but misses.
Parayan swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Stepp shoots in and drives through. Parayan sprawls well.
Stepp doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Parayan counters with a nice double leg into side control. Stepp won't be happy with that.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Steven Stepp. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Parayan decides to stand up, so the ref orders Stepp to his feet.
Stepp shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Parayan sprawls well. Parayan wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Stepp gets slowly back to his feet.
Nice uppercut lands for Parayan. That snapped Stepp's head back.
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!
Stepp fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Stepp darts in looking for a takedown but Parayan gets double underhooks and turns Stepp into the cage.
Stepp tries for a takedown but Parayan manages to get underhooks.
Parayan working hard to break the clinch.

Stepp breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Parayan connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.

It looks like Steven Stepp has been cut.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Horrible takedown attempt by Stepp or perhaps it was just good defense by Parayan, which made it look bad.

Stepp shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Parayan is trying to defend but Stepp finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Parayan looks like he's trying to stand up.
Stepp thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Parayan's head.
Stepp throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.

Parayan manages to create a bit of space in order to work his way back to his feet. Stepp keeps hold of his opponent and drives him back against the cage.
Parayan is trying to push Stepp away but Stepp has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Stepp is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Parayan pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Stepp tries for a takedown but Parayan manages to get underhooks.

Stepp pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Sloppy strikes from Parayan. Those never looked like landing.
Parayan throws a right hand that Stepp ducks under and follows up with a left that Stepp also avoids with ease.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
No luck for Stepp with that takedown attempt.
Stepp fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Stepp's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Stepp duly obliges.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Parayan lands a jab to the head.
Parayan listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.

Stepp scores with a takedown into Parayan's guard.
Stepp throwing strikes from guard but Parayan blocks nicely.
Parayan avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Stepp with a flurry of punches that miss.
Parayan is looking to stand up but Stepp isn't so interested in that idea.
Stepp with a flurry of punches that miss.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Parayan wants to stand up but Stepp is controlling him.
Stepp postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Stepp missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Stepp is looking to work some ground and pound but Parayan has wrist control.
Stepp is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Stepp throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Parayan works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

Parayan wriggles free and stands up.
Parayan displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Stepp.
Stepp has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Parayan lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Parayan.
Steven Stepp seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Stepp fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Parayan looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Stepp slips a jab and a cross from Parayan.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stepp avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Parayan stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Parayan wants it to stay on the feet.
Parayan swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Parayan throws a body punch but Stepp moves out of range.

Stepp dives in and scores a takedown into Parayan's guard.
Stepp working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Stepp throws an elbow that misses. Parayan uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Stepp's guard. Nice move by Parayan!
Stepp scores with a nice shot.
Stepp striking off his back but it's not causing Parayan any problems.
Parayan wants to stand but Stepp is controlling his posture from full guard.
Stepp wants to sweep here but Parayan controlling him for the moment.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Parayan tries to stand but Stepp is controlling from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jiroy Parayan showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Steven Stepp's cut.
That's time! Stepp's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Parayan throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Parayan wants to slow Stepp down by chopping away at his legs.

Stepp fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Parayan to the ground. Stepp is now in Parayan's guard.
Steven Stepp overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Parayan manages to escape and get back to his feet.
Stepp tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Parayan manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Stepp fails to land the takedown.
Stepp dives in and grabs Parayan's left leg, looking for a takedown. Parayan pushes down on Stepp's head and hops out.
Parayan with a nice cross.

Stepp shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Parayan manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Parayan preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Stepp postures up in Parayan's guard and throws a big left but Parayan blocks it.
Stepp landing with the ground and pound.
Stepp throws a big elbow that misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stepp stops Parayan from standing up.
Stepp with a flurry of punches that miss.

Parayan wriggles free and stands up.
Stepp fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Steven Stepp. That's going to take a lot out of him.
No luck for Stepp with that takedown attempt.
Stepp has a takedown stuffed.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Stepp dives in for a single leg takedown but Parayan sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.

Parayan breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Stepp shoots in looking for a takedown but Parayan manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Stepp's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Stepp fails with a takedown attempt.
Parayan chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Parayan lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Parayan throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Parayan looks to score with a jab to the body but Stepp is just out of range.
Parayan throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Parayan slaps away a takedown attempt from Stepp, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Parayan misses the shot to the body.
Parayan looks to throw the jab but Stepp is out of range.
Jiroy Parayan is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Stepp wants to clinch up but Parayan keeps it at a distance.
Stepp lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.

Stepp closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Parayan is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Stepp asserts his dominance and retains side control.
Stepp in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Stepp postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Parayan pushes Stepp away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Stepp gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sloppy strikes there by Stepp.
Stepp in side control, throwing shots but Parayan defends.
Parayan is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Stepp asserts his dominance and retains side control.
Stepp in side control, throwing shots but Parayan defends.
Stepp misses with the ground and pound.
Parayan dodges the ground and pound from Stepp.
Parayan is trying to get back to his feet.
Stepp misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Stepp postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Stepp tries to move into full mount but can't pass Parayan's legs.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Parayan is trying to get back to his feet.
Stepp in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Stepp working the ground and pound.
Parayan wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
Parayan takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Stepp wants to control but Parayan is keeping him busy.
Parayan pushes Stepp away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Stepp gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Stepp lands some shots froms side control.
Parayan is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Steven Stepp clearly takes that round.
The cut man is working on Steven Stepp's cut.
That's time! Back to the action!

Parayan tries to keep at a distance but Stepp has taken the fight into the clinch.
A frustrated look appears on Parayan's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Stepp tries to score a body lock takedown but Parayan shows good agility there to stay on his feet.

Stepp pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

Parayan gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Parayan wants to stand and escape but Stepp is having none of it.

Parayan has managed to wall walk up one of the corner posts to get back to his feet. Stepp is pushing him up against the cage, looking to control the position.

Stepp pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

Parayan gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Stepp to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Stepp is looking to work some ground and pound but Parayan has wrist control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stepp chips away with some ground and pound.
Stepp loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Stepp scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Parayan preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Stepp distracts Parayan with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Parayan preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Stepp working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Parayan's head.
Parayan avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Stepp stops Parayan from standing up.
Stepp stands up over Parayan, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Stepp scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Stepp in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stepp won't allow Parayan to get back to his feet.
Stepp postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Parayan utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Stepp wants to control from the top but Parayan keeps moving.
Stepp throws a big elbow that misses.
Parayan is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Stepp is looking to work some ground and pound but Parayan has wrist control.
Stepp in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Stepp with a flurry of punches that miss.
Parayan is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Stepp is controlling him.

Parayan has his feet on Stepp's hips. He pushes off and gets to his feet. Nice work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stepp uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Parayan.

Stepp shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Stepp thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Parayan is looking to escape.
Stepp thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Parayan keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Stepp sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Parayan defending well though.
Stepp throwing shots but Parayan is blocking nicely.
Stepp takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Parayan looks like he's trying to stand up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Stepp gets to his feet - back to striking we go!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Stepp looks for a takedown but Parayan sprawls well.
Stepp fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Steven Stepp. That's going to take a lot out of him.
A punch combination from Parayan misses.
Stepp checks a leg kick nicely.
Parayan slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Stepp fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Parayan throws a leg kick that misses.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Parayan misses with a low kick as Stepp jumps back.
Stepp shoots in for a takedown but Parayan shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Stepp shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Parayan as he avoids it easily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Steven Stepp had his way with Jiroy Parayan in that round.
The cut man is working on Steven Stepp's cut.
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. This is the final round!

Stepp shoots and misses

and Parayan decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Stepp's guard.
Stepp trying to keep a closed guard but Parayan is proving a slippery customer.
Stepp thows some rabbit punches from the bottom but they don't do any damage.
Parayan wants to stand but Stepp is controlling his posture from full guard.

Parayan gets to his feet. Stepp looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!
Stepp throws a hook to the side of Parayan's head but Parayan sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Stepp fails in his attempt to clinch.
Stepp on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Stepp fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Parayan, pushing him back against the cage.
Stepp drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Parayan gets the underhooks and prevents it.

Parayan breaks the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The fighters circle momentarily. Stepp darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Parayan tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Stepp was well out of range. Poor timing from Parayan.
Parayan wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Stepp walks into a jab.

Stepp fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Parayan sprawls well initially but Stepp persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Stepp missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Stepp stops Parayan from getting back to his feet.
Parayan keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Stepp sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Parayan defending well though.
Stepp thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Stepp missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Stepp thows a huge punch but Parayan dodges it nicely.
Stepp missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Stepp is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Stepp thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Stepp thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Parayan's head.
Parayan is looking to escape.
Stepp looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Parayan with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Stepp throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Stepp throwing shots but Parayan is blocking nicely.
Parayan taking some punishment here, with Stepp in his half guard.
Parayan avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Stepp.
Stepp not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Parayan is trying to stand.
Stepp throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stepp scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Parayan is looking to escape.
Parayan is wobbling all over the place through exhaustion. Will he make it to the final bell?
Stepp missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Stepp thows a huge punch but Parayan dodges it nicely.
Nice strikes from Stepp there.
Stepp looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Parayan wants to get back to his feet.

Parayan manages to create a bit of space in order to work his way back to his feet. Stepp keeps hold of his opponent and drives him back against the cage.

Stepp pulls Parayan into guard.
Stepp is trying to control the position from the bottom.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Parayan stands up from Stepp's guard - Parayan perhaps looking for a knockout.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Parayan throws an overhand right that lands on Stepp's shoulder, as Stepp tries to avoid the shot.
Parayan throws a right and a left that Stepp avoids nicely.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Stepp.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Steven Stepp. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Parayan stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Parayan wants it to stay on the feet.
Parayan stuffs the takedown attempt from Stepp. Stepp gets slowly back to his feet.
Jiroy Parayan has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Parayan connects with the punch.
Stepp shoots for a double leg takedown but Parayan sprawls well. He's pushed Stepp's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Parayan looks to land a combination. Stepp sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Stepp shoots for a double leg takedown but Parayan sprawls well. He's pushed Stepp's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Stepp tries to clinch up.
Stepp tries to clinch up.

Stepp forces Parayan back against the cage and clinches.

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 Steven Stepp.
I think Stepp 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 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Aafke Stam scores the fight 49:46
Judge Albert Achterberg scores the fight 49:46
Judge Radbod Blank scores the fight 49:46

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Steven Stepp!
Steven Stepp decided to hype himself up post fight. It was going well but he went on about it a bit too long and the crowd turned on him a little.