PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Emil Alvarez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Conan Stevens (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Conan Stevens will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Alvarez
vs
Stevens

160 cm
18
346 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

203 cm
20
297 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Emil Alvarez!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Conan Stevens!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Bishop, Steven Brown and James Atkins.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Stevens tries to close the distance and clinch up but Alvarez swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Nice uppercut there from Stevens.

It looks like Emil Alvarez has been cut.

Stevens scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Alvarez is not content to let Stevens control the position.
Alvarez can't do much from the bottom here.
Alvarez sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Stevens seems to be looking for submissions.
Alvarez is looking for a sweep. Stevens is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Alvarez trying to control here.
Alvarez tries to kick Stevens off but Stevens keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Stevens trying to control the action but Alvarez is working from the bottom.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Alvarez drives through with a takedown into Stevens's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Alvarez trying to stand up but can't free himself from Stevens's guard.
Stevens tries to land a sweep but no joy.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stevens is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Alvarez working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Alvarez postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Stevens looking for a sweep. Not yet Stevens, not yet.
Alvarez cracks Stevens with a solid left hand.
Stevens looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Alvarez with a flurry of punches that miss.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Alvarez is looking to work some ground and pound but Stevens has wrist control.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Stevens throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Alvarez was covering up waiting for the punch and Stevens finishes the takedown easily into guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stevens wants to pass the guard but Alvarez is keeping the position.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Alvarez holds on and takes a little breather.
Stevens wants to control from the top but Alvarez keeps moving.
Stevens not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Stevens trying to control the position from guard on top but Alvarez is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Stevens prevents Alvarez from getting back to his feet.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Stevens throws a series of punches but Alvarez moves out of range.
Alvarez lifts his leg as if looking to counter with a high kick.

Stevens shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Alvarez manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Alvarez might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Stevens preventing the sweep.
Alvarez has a closed guard, preventing Stevens from standing up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Conan Stevens dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Emil Alvarez's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Alvarez keeps the fight on the outside.
Stevens throws a head kick but Alvarez moves out of range.
Alvarez is looking to counter the offense by Stevens and move into the clinch.
Stevens closes the distance looking to clinch

and Alvarez counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Alvarez wants to stand and escape but instead Stevens has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

Alvarez wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Alvarez keeping moving, preventing Stevens from controlling successfully.
Stevens wants to get up but he can't break Alvarez's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Stevens postures up.

Stevens has gone for a leg lock! Alvarez slips out almost immediately though and dives into Stevens's guard.

Alvarez is looking to work some ground and pound but Stevens has wrist control.
Stevens controls Alvarez momentarily but Alvarez frees himself.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Alvarez scoring with some ground and pound.

Stevens is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Alvarez scoring with punches to the head and body.

Alvarez gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.

Stevens drives through with a takedown into guard.
Stevens is breathing heavily.
Alvarez controlling Stevens's posture.
Alvarez is trying to keep Stevens in close.
Stevens must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stevens missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Stevens wants to pass the guard but Alvarez is keeping the position.
Alvarez managing to control the position.
Stevens pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Alvarez is keeping the position for now.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Alvarez takes one on the chin but seems OK.

Stevens shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Alvarez napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Stevens is staying tight to Alvarez's torso, preventing him from escaping.
Alvarez sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
Alvarez could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Alvarez keeps control of the position for the meantime.
Stevens looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Conan Stevens showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Emil Alvarez's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Alvarez shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Alvarez showed some decent athleticism there.

Alvarez is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Stevens has managed to free his arm - good work.
Stevens wants to get back to full guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Stevens keeps trying to improve his position.
Alvarez working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Alvarez is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Stevens has managed to free his arm - good work.
Stevens is trying to control but can't.
Stevens blocking the ground and pound attempt from Alvarez.
Stevens wants to improve his position but Alvarez is controlling well.

Alvarez is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Stevens has managed to free his arm - good work.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Stevens trying to get back to full guard but Alvarez takes advantage of the position and moves to full mount!

Alvarez looking to secure an arm triangle but Stevens defends it well.
Stevens working to try and regain half guard.
The referee warns Stevens that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stevens wants to improve position but instead he's given up his back.
Emil Alvarez overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Alvarez is working the ground and pound here and the referee is taking a close look at Stevens. He must escape soon or this one will be stopped.

Alvarez looking to break Stevens's wrist control so he can sink in the choke. Stevens remaining controlled and patient though - he really has to keep calm otherwise Alvarez will wrap this one up with the rear naked choke!

Stevens fending off the submission attempt from Alvarez.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

Stevens is staying cool under pressure, defending well against the rear naked choke attempt from his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Alvarez scores with punches from the back.
Stevens wants to control his opponent's hands but Alvarez gets his hands free.
Stevens might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Alvarez haven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Stevens is trying to get back to his feet but he's not managed it yet.
Emil Alvarez has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Conan Stevens is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Stevens trying to control but not successfully.

And that's the end of the fight!
Emil Alvarez showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Stevens 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 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Daniel Bishop scores the fight 28:28
Judge Steven Brown scores the fight 28:28
Judge James Atkins scores the fight 28:28

The fight is ruled a draw!