PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Alf Stewart (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Shamil Zavurov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd seem to be enjoying Zavurov's choice of entrance music: Empire Of The Sun – Alive. Alf Stewart has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Stewart
vs
Zavurov

205 cm
25
180 lbs
4 - 0 - 0

172 cm
25
169 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid boxing
Good chin

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Granite chin

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 4 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Alf Stewart!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Shamil Zavurov!
The judges for this bout are Ben Hemmingworth, Topper Green and Donatello Bradman.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A left and a right from Stewart both land. Nice combination.
Stewart takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Zavurov uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Stewart.
Stewart takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Zavurov lands with a straight right. Stewart didn't see that one coming.
A jab lands there for Stewart.
Zavurov dodges the punch combination from Stewart.

Stewart has taken the fight to the clinch.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
The referee is keeping an eye on Zavurov - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Zavurov working aggressively here.
Zavurov makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Zavurov is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Zavurov pushes Stewart back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Zavurov makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stewart on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Zavurov gets through Stewart's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Zavurov lands a nice uppercut.
Zavurov keeps control of Stewart as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Zavurov stalling.
Zavurov lands a shoulder strike.
Zavurov scores with a shot to the side of Stewart's head.
Zavurov throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
A nice left hand lands by Zavurov.
Zavurov lands with a left to the head.

Zavurov escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Stewart swings for the body but Zavurov moves out of range.
Zavurov tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Stewart throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Zavurov stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Stewart feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Zavurovs jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Zavurov takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Zavurov throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Stewart really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Zavurov on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Zavurov misses with a low kick.
Stewart checks a leg kick nicely.
Zavurov misses with a hook to the body

and Stewart counters by moving into the clinch.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Zavurov blocks an uppercut.
Stewart is trying to push Zavurov away but Zavurov has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Stalling in the clinch from Zavurov.
Stewart wants to break free but Zavurov has control.
Zavurov lands with a short shot to the head.
Zavurov slows down the pace here.
Stewart wants to break free but Zavurov has control.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Zavurov.
Stewart wants to break free but Zavurov has control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zavurov digs a right hand into Stewart's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Stewart's gas tank.
Stewart avoiding damage as Zavurov throws knees to the body.
Stewart tries to break free but Zavurov pushes him back against the cage.
Zavurov controlling the action here for a moment.
Stewart misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Zavurov.
Stewart wants to stall.
Zavurov pushes off an throws an elbow but Stewart leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Zavurov tries to work over Stewart's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Zavurov lands a right hand that snaps the head of Stewart backwards.
Zavurov has a couple of punches blocked by Stewart.
Stewart tries for a takedown. No joy.
Stewart trying to land knees to the body.
Stewart is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Zavurov scores with a nice hook to the head.
The referee is keeping an eye on Zavurov - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
We've been informed that Zavurov has been working hard on his conditioning in the buildup to the fight.
Zavurov blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Stewart working hard to break the clinch.
Stewart letting Zavurov take a breather here.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Zavurov takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
The crowd are getting on Zavurov's back here. They're not happy about his lack of aggression in the clinch.
Zavurov manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Stewart dodges an elbow strike from Zavurov.
Zavurov pushes Stewart back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Stewart tries to break free but Zavurov pushes him back against the cage.
A frustrated look appears on Stewart's face as he tries to break the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Shamil Zavurov dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Stewart throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Zavurov on the side of the head.
Zavurov swings for the body but Stewart moves out of range.
Zavurov looks to throw the jab but Stewart is out of range.
Stewart moves out of range of the strikes.
Stewart takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Alf Stewart seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Stewart ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Zavurov moves away.
Zavurov moves out of range as Stewart throws a body kick.
A head kick by Zavurov misses
and Stewart cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Some wild striking there from Stewart.
It seemed like Zavurov was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Zavurov throws a low kick but Stewart moves out of range easily.
Stewart is looking to clinch but Zavurov is avoiding it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Stewart checks a leg kick.
Zavurov avoids a punch combination nicely.
Zavurov uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Stewart.
Zavurov looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Stewart misses with a body shot.
Zavurov motions for Stewart to come forward. Zavurov throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zavurov takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Zavurov scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Stewart cracks Zavurov with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Stewart throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Stewart thuds a left hand into Zavurov's body.
Zavurov swings widly with a right hand
and Stewart connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Stewart throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Stewart keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Stewart walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Zavurov checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Stewart connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Stewart takes one on the button.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Stewart throws an overhand right that lands on Zavurov's shoulder, as Zavurov tries to avoid the shot.
Stewart looks to score with a jab to the body but Zavurov is just out of range.
Shamil Zavurov is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Zavurov finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Zavurov takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Stewart has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Zavurov.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Zavurov cracks a nice hook into Stewart's ribs.
Stewart is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Zavurov lands a nice hook to Stewart's body. Stewart takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Zavurov scores with a jab to the body.
Stewart has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Stewart there as he acknowledges the shot.
Alf Stewart is winning the standup battle so far.
Zavurov throws a sloppy head kick and Stewart moves out of range easily.
Zavurov connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Zavurov throws a front kick aimed at Stewart's knee but Stewart avoids it well.
Zavurov moves away from the strike by Stewart.
A nice side step and Zavurov releases a counter shot to the body, but it doesn't find it's home.
Stewart keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Zavurov lands an overhand right.
A head kick misses from Stewart.
A little jabbing left from Zavurov on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Zavurov ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Zavurov has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Zavurov is looking to chop away at Stewart's legs.
A decent looking cross lands there for Zavurov.
Zavurov throws the left hand but Stewart avoids the punch easily.
As Zavurov tries to get set, Stewart tries to push him back and clinch up but Zavurov manages to avoid the attempt.
Stewart is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.
Zavurov scores with a punch to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zavurov swings widly with a right hand
and Stewart counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Zavurov with a jab.
Stewart checks a low kick from Zavurov.
Stewart gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Stewart scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Stewart slips under a jab from Zavurov.
Zavurov defending well as Stewart loads up on a big left hand.
A little jabbing left from Zavurov on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
A jab from Stewart does it's job there.
Zavurov lands a jab to the head.
Stewart is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Stewart tries to clinch but Zavurov is having none of it.
Stewart misses with a few strikes there.
Nice shot lands for Zavurov.

Stewart is rocked!
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!
Zavurov stuns Stewart with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Oh Stewart is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Zavurov scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Stewart misses with a body punch
and Zavurov counters with a straight punch to the midsection.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Zavurov fakes a right and follows up with a big left that drops Stewart to one knee - oooooh, he's wobbly! Stewart looks to clinch but Zavurov throws him off and pummels him into the canvas! Stewart taps out under the strikes! The fight is over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:07 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Strikes). Shamil Zavurov!
In his post fight interview, Shamil Zavurov started talking himself up. Luckily his charisma kept the crowd on side and gave him a good reception.