PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Ash Thomas Jr (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Howard Stern (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Stern is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: The Great American Nightmare. On his way into the cage it seems that Ash Thomas Jr has been attacked by a crazed fan! It looks like it might have been the just bleed guy! Luckily Ash Thomas Jr seems to be OK! I thought that lunatic was in prison!?

Thomas Jr
vs
Stern

187 cm
22
200 lbs
5 - 3 - 0

184 cm
22
199 lbs
10 - 0 - 0

Good wrestling
Lethal high kicks
Cardio machine

Powerful takedowns
Basic striking
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 3 - 0, fighting out of New York, Ash Thomas Jr!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 10 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Howard Stern!
The judges for this bout are Chris Downing, Gwen Towbar and Daniel Franklin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Stern scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Stern uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Stern blocks a head kick by Thomas Jr.
Stern getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Thomas Jr keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Stern misses with a head kick.
A jab from Thomas Jr misses.
Thomas Jr darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Stern ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Thomas Jr moves away.
It appears Thomas Jr was looking to counter with a kick there.
Thomas Jr fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Stern connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Thomas Jr momentarily.
Stern looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Thomas Jr is fending him off so far but Stern persists. Nope, Thomas Jr circles away and we're back to standing.
Thomas Jr moves out of range of the strikes.
Thomas Jr feinted there with a counter leg kick.
Howard Stern seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Stern moves out of range as Thomas Jr throws a body kick.
Stern scores with a nice body kick.
Nice uppercut lands for Stern. That snapped Thomas Jr's head back.
Stern throws a body kick, spinning off balance
and Thomas Jr counters with a straight right hand.
Thomas Jr blocks a head kick by Stern.
Thomas Jr fires out a quick counter leg kick but Stern just manages to avoid it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thomas Jr keeps the fight on the outside.
Thomas Jr is looking to counter with head kicks.
Stern swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Thomas Jr on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Stern misses with a hook.
Stern misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Stern misses with an uppercut
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
The fight stays on the outside here - Stern looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Stern scores with a decent looking hook.
Stern on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
A leg kick checked by Stern.
Stern looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Thomas Jr looks for the body kick but Stern saw that one coming.
Thomas Jr feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Stern's calf.
Stern throws a lazy uppercut
and Thomas Jr counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Stern looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stern looks for the body kick but Thomas Jr saw that one coming.
Ash Thomas Jr is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Stern swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Good leg kick by Thomas Jr there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Stern has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Thomas Jr.
Stern pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Stern tries to clinch there but Thomas Jr circles away.
Stern misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Thomas Jr.
Stern misses the jab.
Stern blocks the body kick.
Nice shot lands for Stern.
Thomas Jr goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Stern wants to counter the offense by Thomas Jr and move into the clinch position.
Thomas Jr displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Stern throws out the jab.
Thomas Jr seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.
Thomas Jr checks a low kick from Stern.
Stern is looking to clinch but Thomas Jr is avoiding it.
Thomas Jr swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Stern misses with a kick to the body.
Thomas Jr looks to throw the jab but Stern is out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nice defenses there by Stern.
Thomas Jr throws out a leg kick but Stern moves out of range and Thomas Jr only half commits.
Thomas Jr steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Stern.
Thomas Jr is looking to counter with head kicks.
A big right from Stern misses.
Stern wants to clinch up but Thomas Jr keeps it at a distance.
Thomas Jr throws the kick towards the body but Stern avoids it.
Stern throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
A nice combination there by Stern.
Thomas Jr moves out of range of the strikes.
That kick from Thomas Jr tenderised Stern's leg. Stern is trying to keep his angry face on.
Stern tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Thomas Jr manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Stern looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Thomas Jr gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Stern misses with a head kick.
Stern misses with a straight left.
A head kick misses from Thomas Jr.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stern pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Stern misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

Stern shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Thomas Jr napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Thomas Jr tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Stern wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.

Stern goes for an armbar! This could be all over! Wait, no, Thomas Jr rolls with the submission and now he's on top in Stern's guard! Nice work there by Thomas Jr!

Stern has his foot on Thomas Jr's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Thomas Jr works his way back into a safe position though.

Thomas Jr got a little sloppy there for a moment and Stern has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Thomas Jr has managed to get both his arms back between Stern's legs - danger averted.
Thomas Jr wants to control from the top but Stern keeps moving.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Stern is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Thomas Jr defends well.

Stern working for submissions but it's allowed Thomas Jr to get to half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Howard Stern dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Thomas Jr avoids a punch combination nicely.
Stern tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Thomas Jr throws the kick towards the body but Stern avoids it.
Stern tries to counter with a clinch but Thomas Jr shakes him off and moves away.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Thomas Jr lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Stern has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Stern and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Stern throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Thomas Jr tried to counter with a leg kick but Stern avoided it.
Thomas Jr tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Stern is able to avoid easily.
Stern throws a body punch but Thomas Jr moves out of range.
Stern lands a lovely overhand right.
Stern throws a looping overhand right but Thomas Jr ducks down to avoid it.
Thomas Jr lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Stern tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Thomas Jr manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
An attempted straight right counter from Thomas Jr misses the target.
Thomas Jr throws a jab but it's blocked by Stern.
Stern with a jab.
Thomas Jr avoids the head kick by Stern.
Thomas Jr works the jab nicely.
Stern misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stern tries to close the distance and clinch up but Thomas Jr swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Stern throws a push kick but Thomas Jr slaps the foot to one side.
Thomas Jr is looking to chop away at Stern's legs.
Thomas Jr throws a push kick but Stern slaps the foot to one side.
Stern fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Thomas Jr misses with a body kick.
Thomas Jr scores with a kick to the midsection.
Thomas Jr tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Thomas Jr misses with a head kick.
Stern scores with a kick to the midsection.
Thomas Jr ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Stern misses with a straight left.
Stern connects with a good right hand that stumbles Thomas Jr. Thomas Jr circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
Thomas Jr throws a front kick that sends Stern stumbling back into the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stern throws a head kick that misses.
A chopping leg kick lands by Thomas Jr.
Stern walks into a left hand.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Stern cracks the inside of Thomas Jr's front leg.
Danga de danga de dang - Thomas Jr scores with a four punch combination!

It looks like Howard Stern has been cut.
Stern lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Thomas Jr keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Thomas Jr does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Good work by Stern as he checks the leg kick.
Stern throws a shot from downtown. Thomas Jr moves away and avoids it.
Thomas Jr lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Stern connects with a crisp jab.
Thomas Jr slips under a jab.
Thomas Jr thinks about countering with a body kick.
Stern will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Thomas Jr defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Stern.
Ash Thomas Jr has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Howard Stern.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stern closes the distance and clinches up with Thomas Jr, looking for a takedown. Stern pushes Thomas Jr against the cage but Thomas Jr circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Thomas Jr.
Thomas Jr connects with a right hand. Stern shakes it off.
Stern shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Thomas Jr as he jumps to the side.
Thomas Jr throws a sloppy head kick and Stern moves out of range easily.
Stern tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Thomas Jr paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Thomas Jr throws a low kick, looking for Stern's leg but Stern calmly moves out of range.
Stern throws a body punch but Thomas Jr moves out of range.
Thomas Jr is looking to counter punch.
Thomas Jr scores with the left hand. Stern knows he should have avoided that one.
Stern tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Thomas Jr manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Stern's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Thomas Jr defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Stern.
Stern tries to score a power double leg takedown but Thomas Jr sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Stern somewhat.
Stern lunges at Thomas Jr with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Thomas Jr's hand.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stern takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Thomas Jr.
Stern shoots in for a takedown but Thomas Jr shows good takedown defense.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Stern works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Stern shoots in for a takedown but Thomas Jr shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Thomas Jr appeared to be looking to counter that last move with a leg kick.
Stern loads up on a big right hand but Thomas Jr slips the punch.
Thomas Jr throws a head kick but Stern moves out of range.
Stern shoots in and drives through. Thomas Jr sprawls well.
Thomas Jr lands with an overhand left.
Thomas Jr ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
It looked like Thomas Jr wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
A head kick misses from Stern.
Stern throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Stern tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ash Thomas Jr dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Howard Stern's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

A chopping leg kick lands by Thomas Jr.
Thomas Jr moves out of range as Stern strikes.
Thomas Jr stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Thomas Jr wants it to stay on the feet.
Thomas Jr half committed to a counter leg kick.
Thomas Jr lands a jab to the head.
Horrible takedown attempt by Stern or perhaps it was just good defense by Thomas Jr, which made it look bad.
Thomas Jr blocks a head kick by Stern.
Stern displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Stern tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Thomas Jr throws a body shot but no joy.
Thomas Jr scores with a head kick. Stern tried to block it but didn't get his arm up in time.
Thomas Jr takes a push kick to the midsection and stumbles backwards.
Stern throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Thomas Jr on the side of the head.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Thomas Jr moves out of range of the body kick.
Jab from Stern.
Stern missing with a left hand there. Thomas Jr was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thomas Jr lands a nice leg kick that just misses Stern's sensitive parts.
Stern lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Thomas Jr attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Stern doesn't manage to clinch there - Thomas Jr circles away.
Stern shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Thomas Jr pinned against the cage. Thomas Jr gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Ash Thomas Jr has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Howard Stern.
Stern throws an off balance right hand
and Thomas Jr counters with a lovely straight right hand!
A nice leg kick lands there from Thomas Jr.
Stern thuds a left hand into Thomas Jr's body.
Stern is looking to land body kicks.
Stern connects with a single shot there.
Stern blocks a head kick by Thomas Jr.
Thomas Jr lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
Stern throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Thomas Jr half committed to a counter leg kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stern misses with a jab, cross combination.
Stern misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Thomas Jr is looking to counter with a body kick.
Stern takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
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!
Thomas Jr lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Stern is defended easily by Thomas Jr.
Stern throws a sloppy head kick and Thomas Jr moves out of range easily.
Thomas Jr avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Thomas Jr bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Thomas Jr throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Stern just misses with a punch to the body.
Thomas Jr throws a wild body kick that Stern sees coming a mile off.
A decent looking body kick lands there for Thomas Jr.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Stern shoots in and bounces Thomas Jr off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Stern trying to pass the guard. He's being very persistent here but Thomas Jr manages to land a sweep and now he's on top!

Thomas Jr is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

Stern working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Thomas Jr doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Thomas Jr manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.

Stern looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Thomas Jr passes into side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thomas Jr tries to advance to mount but can't.
Stern is looking for a sweep.
Stern is trying to get back to his feet.
A lull in the action here as Thomas Jr stalls from top position.
Stern looks to move to half guard but instead Thomas Jr has passed into mount! Damn!
Stern tries to hold on but Thomas Jr postures up.
Thomas Jr controlling his opponent.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ash Thomas Jr showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Thomas Jr 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 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 29:28
Judge Gwen Towbar scores the fight 29:28
Judge Daniel Franklin scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ash Thomas Jr!
Ash Thomas Jr spent the whole post fight interview bigging himself up. It didn't go down that well with the fans after a while as they thought it was a bit arrogant.
Howard Stern was interviewed post fight and said 'I blame Robin and those big G's.'.