PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Kirk St Lazarus (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Peter Knapp (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). St Lazarus comes to the cage accompanied by No Worries. Knapp is bouncing up and down as he enters the arena, backed by Go to Sleep. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

St Lazarus
vs
Knapp

169 cm
29
167 lbs
23 - 14 - 0

180 cm
40
180 lbs
31 - 12 - 0

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Beaver Jooce!

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 23 - 14 - 0, fighting out of New York, Kirk St Lazarus!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 31 - 12 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Peter Knapp!
The judges for this bout are Alec Ball, Robert Douchet and Dillan Fox.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
St Lazarus throws a nice inside leg kick.
Knapp fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
St Lazarus with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Knapp to score with a decent uppercut.
Sloppy strikes from Knapp. Those never looked like landing.
Knapp lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.

It looks like Kirk St Lazarus has been cut.
St Lazarus slips a jab from Knapp.
St Lazarus keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
St Lazarus is looking to land body kicks.
Knapp misses with a right hand
and St Lazarus counters with a thumping low kick.
St Lazarus throws a sloppy head kick and Knapp moves out of range easily.
St Lazarus takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Knapp misses with an uppercut

and St Lazarus counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Knapp!
St Lazarus tries to score with some ground and pound. Knapp controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
St Lazarus throwing strikes but missing, from side control.
St Lazarus scores with a couple of short elbows.

That's one minute gone in the round.
St Lazarus throwing shots but missing, from side control.
St Lazarus connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Knapp some visible discomfort.
St Lazarus throwing strikes but Knapp manages to buck up and roll into a nice reversal - now he's on top in side control!
St Lazarus tries to improve position but can't.
St Lazarus is working hard here to advance position.
Knapp wants to stand but St Lazarus has his arm trapped.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
St Lazarus tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Knapp tries to get to his feet but he's trapped momentarily.
St Lazarus tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Knapp wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
St Lazarus is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Knapp's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Knapp prevents St Lazarus from improving his position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Knapp throws a head kick that misses.
Knapp throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck St Lazarus on the side of the head.
Knapp walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Knapp jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Knapp uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before St Lazarus has time to react.
St Lazarus ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
St Lazarus defending well as Knapp loads up on a big left hand.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Good standup being displayed there by St Lazarus as he connects with a hook.
Knapp misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
St Lazarus attempts a counter takedown but Knapp avoids it well and moves away.
Knapp fails with a takedown attempt.
Kirk St Lazarus has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Peter Knapp.
St Lazarus gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Knapp throws out a leg kick but St Lazarus moves out of range and Knapp only half commits.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Knapp tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Knapp wants to clinch up but St Lazarus keeps it at a distance.
Knapp wants to clinch
and St Lazarus counters with a left to the body.
Knapp misses with a combination
and St Lazarus counters with a lovely straight right hand!
St Lazarus on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
St Lazarus bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Knapp's head.
Knapp cracks St Lazarus with a right hand to the side of the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Peter Knapp will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Kirk St Lazarus's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

A head kick misses from Knapp.

St Lazarus shoots in and gets a takedown into Knapp's guard.
Knapp is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst St Lazarus is controlling him.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
St Lazarus throwing strikes but missing.
St Lazarus throws an elbow that misses. Knapp uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in St Lazarus's guard. Nice move by Knapp!

We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

St Lazarus throws his legs up looking to secure a triangle. Oh, that looks pretty tight, I gotta say! Knapp escapes and throws St Lazarus's legs to the side, diving into side control!
St Lazarus 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.
St Lazarus tries to buck Knapp off but Knapp is having none of it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
St Lazarus regains half guard.
St Lazarus tries to get to full guard but Knapp has control of the leg.
Knapp tries to stand and escape but St Lazarus is controlling the position.
St Lazarus wants to improve his position but Knapp is controlling well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Knapp wants to stand but St Lazarus has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.
Knapp is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.
St Lazarus works his way to full guard. Good work.

St Lazarus looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Knapp passes into side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
St Lazarus tries to improve position but can't.
Knapp wants to stand but St Lazarus is controlling his arm.
St Lazarus tries to bench press Knapp off him but Knapp keeps the position.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Knapp throws a series of punches but St Lazarus avoids them all with ease.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Knapp.
Knapp is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Knapp misses with a kick to the body.
St Lazarus tried to counter with a leg kick but Knapp avoided it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
St Lazarus moves out of range of the strikes.
St Lazarus works Knapp's body with a nice hook.
A big right from Knapp misses.
A little feinted left hand from St Lazarus on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
St Lazarus takes one to the chin there.
St Lazarus lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
St Lazarus scores with a kick to the body.
Knapp shoots in but St Lazarus avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Knapp throws a lazy head kick

so St Lazarus counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Knapp is breathing heavily.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
St Lazarus trying to control but Knapp is working from the bottom.
St Lazarus might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.

Knapp has scooted to the edge of the canvas and used the cage to get back to his feet. St Lazarus has stuck on his opponent and is forcing him back against the cage.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
St Lazarus works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Kirk St Lazarus will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Kirk St Lazarus'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. And we move into the final round!

Knapp shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with St Lazarus but St Lazarus pushes him off and we're back to square one.
St Lazarus is looking to counter with head kicks.

Knapp takes the fight into the clinch.
Knapp has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
St Lazarus lands an uppercut.
Knapp doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
St Lazarus scores with a shot to the side of Knapp's head.
St Lazarus lands a body shot in the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
St Lazarus lands a shoulder strike.
St Lazarus throws a head punch that misses.
Knapp is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
St Lazarus tries to work over Knapp's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.

That's one minute gone in the round.
St Lazarus misses with a punch to the body.

Knapp breaks the clinch.
Peter Knapp seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Knapp swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
St Lazarus throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Knapp throws a shot from downtown. St Lazarus moves away and avoids it.
St Lazarus with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Knapp to score with a decent uppercut.
Knapp pulls out of a head kick attempt.
St Lazarus connects with the punch.

It looks like Peter Knapp has been cut.
St Lazarus throws a push kick but Knapp slaps the foot to one side.
Jab, jab by Knapp - just one landing.
Knapp throws a nice head kick!
Knapp scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Knapp tries to close the distance and clinch up but St Lazarus swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Knapp misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from St Lazarus.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Knapp keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Knapp on the wrong end of a kick to the body.
Knapp takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
St Lazarus connects with a body shot.
Knapp wants to clinch but St Lazarus slips to the side

and St Lazarus counters with a shoot takedown. Knapp fights it but they end up in guard.
St Lazarus trying to pass the guard. He's being very persistent here but Knapp manages to land a sweep and now he's on top!

St Lazarus looking to hit a scissor sweep but Knapp is one step ahead there.
Kirk St Lazarus overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Knapp wanted to stand there but St Lazarus had control of the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

St Lazarus is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Knapp won't allow St Lazarus to sweep him here.

Knapp gets to his feet. St Lazarus looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!
Knapp fails with an attempt to clinch.
St Lazarus throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
St Lazarus cracks a nice hook into Knapp's ribs.
Knapp misses with a wild combination.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
St Lazarus feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Knapps jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
St Lazarus has a takedown stuffed.
St Lazarus slips a jab and a cross from Knapp.
Peter Knapp seems to be getting the better of the standup.
St Lazarus dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
The fighters circling - Knapp throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
It looks like St Lazarus has been trying to sharpen up his punching technique, as it looks crisper than last time we saw him.
Knapp pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
St Lazarus displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Knapp throws out the jab.
St Lazarus thows a body kick. Knapp tries to catch it but that hurt him.
Knapp loads up on a big right hand but St Lazarus slips the punch.

St Lazarus closes the distance and clinches.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Knapp misses with some punches.

St Lazarus has dropped down and is working for a takedown. Knapp is trying to keep an underhook but St Lazarus manages to get the takedown into half guard.
St Lazarus is looking to stand up but he'll have to free his leg first. Instead, Knapp manages to get to full guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Kirk St Lazarus showed his dominance in that final round.
I think St Lazarus 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 Alec Ball scores the fight 29:28
Judge Robert Douchet scores the fight 30:27
Judge Dillan Fox scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Kirk St Lazarus!
Kirk St Lazarus decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.