PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Mustaffa Spliff (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Athan Stamatis (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Stamatis has chosen Lose Yourself as his entrance music. Athan Stamatis has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Mustaffa Spliff's chin.

Spliff
vs
Stamatis

188 cm
35
185 lbs
41 - 33 - 0

176 cm
36
184 lbs
39 - 23 - 0

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Lethal high kicks
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 41 - 33 - 0, fighting out of London, Mustaffa Spliff!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 39 - 23 - 0, fighting out of New York, Athan Stamatis!
The judges for this bout are John Roberts, Joseph Jones and Reed Andrews.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Spliff staying out of range there.
Spliff moves in looking to clinch but Stamatis pushes him off.
Stamatis throws a right and a left that both miss.
Stamatis misses with an uppercut.
Stamatis circles away from the clinch attempt.
Spliff closes the distance looking to clinch
and Stamatis counters with a low kick, right behind Spliff 's knee.
Stamatis chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Stamatis scoring well with a low kick there.
Spliff tries to clinch up.
Spliff slips under a jab from Stamatis.
Athan Stamatis seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Stamatis misses with a wild body shot.
Stamatis looks to land a combination but Spliff avoids it well.
Spliff moves in looking to clinch but Stamatis pushes him off.

Spliff gets caught napping as Stamatis dives in and scores a takedown. Spliff manages to retain guard.
Stamatis loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Spliff preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Spliff is looking to stand up but Stamatis isn't so interested in that idea.
Stamatis throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Spliff works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Spliff wants to stand and escape but Stamatis is having none of it.
Stamatis wants to control from the top but Spliff keeps moving.
Spliff is looking to stand up but Stamatis isn't so interested in that idea.
Stamatis looking to pass the guard.
Spliff wants to stand but Stamatis is controlling the position.
Stamatis lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Spliff is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stamatis throwing strikes from guard but Spliff blocks nicely.
Stamatis prevents Spliff from getting back to his feet.
Spliff will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Stamatis landing with the ground and pound.
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!
Stamatis slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Spliff is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Stamatis is controlling him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Spliff wriggles free and stands up.
Spliff tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
A telegraphed right hand from Stamatis misses the target.
Stamatis goes for a double leg but Spliff avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Spliff continues to drive forward.
Spliff lands a hook that snaps the head of Stamatis backwards.
Spliff tries to break free but Stamatis pushes him back against the cage.
Spliff jumps guard but Stamatis turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Spliff leaning against his opponent.
Spliff lands a left hand that snaps the head of Stamatis backwards.
Spliff tries to throw a body punch but Stamatis avoids it by throwing Spliff back against the cage.
Stamatis stalling.
Spliff swings wildly with an uppercut but Stamatis uses good head movement to avoid it.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Spliff creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Spliff's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Stamatis goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Stamatis throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Spliff's head.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Spliff checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Stamatis thuds a mid kick into his opponent's body. That will wear on Spliff if he has to take too many more of those.
Stamatis misses with a jab, cross combination.
Spliff tries to clinch but fails miserably

and Stamatis counters with a shoot takedown. Spliff fights it but they end up in guard.
Spliff is looking to stand back up but Stamatis counters by passing into half guard. Oops... bit sloppy there by Spliff.
Spliff wants to get back to his feet.
Stamatis thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Spliff's head.
Spliff looks like he's trying to stand up.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Stamatis with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Athan Stamatis 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.

Stamatis looks to land a body kick but Spliff moved away.
Stamatis throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Spliff tries to close the distance and clinch up but Stamatis swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Spliff takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Spliff tries to grapple but his opponent circles
letting Stamatis counter with a right hand.
Stamatis lands a body shot.
Stamatis ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Spliff moves away.
Stamatis fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

Spliff closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Spliff tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Stamatis goes for a takedown in the clinch but Spliff prevents it.
Stamatis blocks a couple of punches on the inside.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stamatis is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.

Stamatis's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Spliff closes the distance looking to clinch

and Stamatis counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Spliff's guard now.
Spliff wants to stand up but Stamatis is controlling him.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Stamatis accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Stamatis prevents Spliff from getting back to his feet.
Stamatis in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Spliff is looking to stand up but Stamatis isn't so interested in that idea.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stamatis trying to control but Spliff is working from the bottom.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Stamatis with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Stamatis won't allow Spliff to get back to his feet.
Stamatis scoring with some ground and pound.
Stamatis's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Spliff keeping moving, preventing Stamatis from controlling successfully.
Stamatis must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stamatis won't allow Spliff to get back to his feet.
Stamatis trying to control the position from guard on top but Spliff is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Athan Stamatis hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.

Spliff moves into the clinch.

Stamatis manages to break the clinch.
Stamatis keeps Spliff at a distance using the push kick.

Stamatis fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Spliff to the ground. Stamatis is now in Spliff's guard.
Spliff is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Stamatis trying to control the position from guard on top but Spliff is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Stamatis throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Athan Stamatis has got the better of the ground game so far.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Spliff wants to get back to his feet but Stamatis is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Spliff wants to get back to his feet but Stamatis passes into half guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Spliff is looking to escape.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Stamatis wants to control but Spliff is keeping him busy.
Stamatis throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Stamatis is figuring out what he wants to do next.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Stamatis wants to take a breather but Spliff is having none of it.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Athan Stamatis hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
A leg kick checked by Spliff.
Spliff checks the leg kick nicely there.
A solid body kick from Stamatis.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Athan Stamatis showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Spliff's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Stamatis throws a sloppy head kick and Spliff moves out of range easily.
Spliff tries to close the distance and clinch but Stamatis swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Spliff tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Stamatis manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Stamatis lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Stamatis throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.

Stamatis closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Spliff's guard.
Stamatis working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Spliff is looking to stand up but Stamatis isn't so interested in that idea.
Stamatis missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Spliff wants to stand up but Stamatis is controlling him.
Stamatis looking to pass the guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stamatis prevents Spliff from getting back to his feet.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Stamatis wants to control from the top but Spliff keeps moving.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Spliff takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Stamatis lands a slapping body shot.
Stamatis shoots in but Spliff avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Mustaffa Spliff is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Spliff is looking to clinch.
Stamatis cracks Spliff with a good jab.
Spliff looks to clinch
and Stamatis counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Spliff fails with an attempt to clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Spliff ducks under a wild hook from Stamatis.
Stamatis misses with a wild body shot.
Stamatis avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Stamatis avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Spliff tries to clinch up.
The fighters circling - Stamatis throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Stamatis looks for the body kick but Spliff saw that one coming.
Stamatis lands a glancing blow to the side of Spliff's head.
Stamatis lands a jab.
Spliff tries to close the distance and clinch but Stamatis swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Stamatis shoots in looking for a takedown but Spliff manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Stamatis's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.

Spliff gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Stamatis blocks an uppercut.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Spliff misses with the head strike.
A shot in the inside from Spliff.
Stamatis misses with a hook from the clinch.
Stamatis misses with a punch on the inside.
Spliff tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Stamatis's elbow.
Mustaffa Spliff has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Stamatis pushes Spliff back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
The referee calls for Spliff to work.
Spliff misses with some punches.
Athan Stamatis is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Spliff tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Stamatis's elbow.
Nice body punch from Spliff.
Spliff has a couple of punches blocked by Stamatis.
Spliff looking to stall.

Stamatis breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Spliff chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Stamatis can pounce on him.
Stamatis avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

Spliff clinches.
Spliff with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Spliff working aggressively here.
Stamatis blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Spliff misses with a hook from the clinch.
Spliff misses with a hook to the ribs.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Spliff misses with a hook from the clinch.
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!
Stamatis avoiding damage.
Spliff misses with a body punch.

And that's the end of the fight!
Athan Stamatis comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Stamatis winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 John Roberts scores the fight 27:30
Judge Joseph Jones scores the fight 27:30
Judge Reed Andrews scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Athan Stamatis!
Athan Stamatis was full of energy after the big win and talked about how he thinks he can do big things in this sport. The crowd were appreciative of his determination to succeed.