PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Felix Basilan (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kirk St Lazarus (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). St Lazarus is bouncing up and down as he enters the arena, backed by No Worries. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Basilan
vs
St Lazarus

182 cm
36
178 lbs
42 - 18 - 1

169 cm
30
167 lbs
27 - 15 - 0

Good wrestling
Great elbows
Cardio machine

Olympic wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Namunamu Clothing
Pitt Nutrition 160Q@$149

Grand Champion Apparel
Conviction

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the welterweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 42 - 18 - 1, fighting out of Montreal, Felix Basilan!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 27 - 15 - 0, fighting out of New York, Kirk St Lazarus!
The judges for this bout are Yves DeLean, Gregory Folan and Elvis Blanc.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
St Lazarus's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and St Lazarus duly obliges.

It looks like Felix Basilan has been cut.
We've been told by Basilan's head coaches at The Barracks - LOD that he's been working on his takedown defense in preparation for this fight.
Basilan slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
A chopping leg kick lands by Basilan.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Basilan, right into the meat.
Basilan lands a body shot.
Basilan takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
St Lazarus moves out of range of the leg kick from Basilan.
Some wild striking there from St Lazarus.
St Lazarus throws a lazy right hand but Basilan sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
St Lazarus throws a head kick but Basilan moves out of range.
Basilan throws a leg kick
and St Lazarus counters with a straight right hand.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Basilan ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
St Lazarus has done a lot of speed work in the buildup to this fight.
Basilan cracks St Lazarus with an open hand slap.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Basilan throws out a loose jab but St Lazarus uses good head movement to avoid it.
Basilan throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Basilan swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Basilan ducks down and throws a hook to the body but St Lazarus moves away.
Basilan is looking to wear down St Lazarus with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Basilan moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
St Lazarus fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Felix Basilan is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
St Lazarus tries to score with a low kick but Basilan moves his leg out of the way.
St Lazarus takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Basilan throws a jab but it's blocked by St Lazarus.
Basilan is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.
Basilan throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
St Lazarus tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
St Lazarus bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Nice body punch from Basilan.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Basilan takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
A solid leg kick lands there for St Lazarus.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Basilan tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but St Lazarus was well out of range. Poor timing from Basilan.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Basilan, as that shot connected.
St Lazarus lands with a nice body punch.
St Lazarus throws a big shot that misses.
That kick from Basilan tenderised St Lazarus's leg. St Lazarus is trying to keep his angry face on.
St Lazarus lands with a shot to the body.
Basilan throws a lazy right hand but St Lazarus sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Basilan 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.
St Lazarus misses with a leg kick
and Basilan counters with a right hand to the body.
Basilan displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from St Lazarus.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Basilan is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by St Lazarus.
Basilan tries to score with a low kick but St Lazarus moves his leg out of the way.
Basilan avoids a kick to the body.
Basilan lands with a straight right. St Lazarus didn't see that one coming.
Jab from Basilan.
St Lazarus swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Basilan, right into the meat.
Basilan throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
And St Lazarus tries to counter it with a takedown but Basilan pushes his down on his head and steps out.
St Lazarus drops his hands momentarily and Basilan takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Basilan just misses with a punch to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nice shot lands for Basilan.
Basilan ducks down and throws a hook to the body but St Lazarus moves away.

St Lazarus drives through with a takedown into Basilan's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
St Lazarus wants to pass the guard but Basilan is keeping the position.
Basilan wants to sweep but no luck.
St Lazarus is looking to pass into half guard but Basilan pushes him away with his feet and jumps on top - now Basilan is in guard.
Basilan slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
St Lazarus looking to control.
St Lazarus has control of Basilan's left arm, preventing Basilan from doing any damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Felix Basilan dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Felix Basilan's cut.
That's time! Back to the action!

St Lazarus moves out of range as Basilan strikes.
Basilan thows a left - swing and a miss!
Basilan tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Basilan keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.

St Lazarus throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Basilan was covering up waiting for the punch and St Lazarus finishes the takedown easily into guard.
St Lazarus postures up.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
St Lazarus stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Basilan swivels though and keeps the full guard.
St Lazarus scores with a decent looking elbow strike.

That's one minute gone in the round.
St Lazarus throwing strikes from guard but Basilan blocks nicely.
Basilan pulls St Lazarus in close to his closed guard and prevents St Lazarus from doing any damage or advancing position.
St Lazarus postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Basilan preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
St Lazarus with a flurry of punches that miss.
St Lazarus postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
St Lazarus throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Basilan works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Basilan bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in St Lazarus's guard.

St Lazarus looking for a sweep. Not yet St Lazarus, not yet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
St Lazarus working a defensive guard here.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
St Lazarus is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

St Lazarus is keen to just control but Basilan is a slippery customer.
Basilan wants to control but St Lazarus is keeping busy.
Basilan on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
St Lazarus seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
St Lazarus is figuring out what he wants to do next.
St Lazarus looks to score some points with some ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Basilan is looking for a sweep. St Lazarus is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
St Lazarus has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with St Lazarus in particular looking to stall.
St Lazarus is keen to just control but Basilan is a slippery customer.

St Lazarus is trying to work for a kimura but Basilan is defending well.
St Lazarus throws a strike but Basilan avoids it easily and moves to full guard.
St Lazarus passes Basilan's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
St Lazarus missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
St Lazarus 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 four minutes gone in the round.
St Lazarus throwing shots but Basilan is blocking nicely.
St Lazarus not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Basilan works his way to full guard. Good work.
St Lazarus postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Basilan keeping moving, preventing St Lazarus from controlling successfully.
Basilan is controlling St Lazarus's posture.
St Lazarus wants to pass the guard but Basilan is keeping the position.
Kirk St Lazarus has got the better of the ground game so far.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
St Lazarus loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
St Lazarus looking to sit in guard and control but Basilan gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kirk St Lazarus showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Felix Basilan's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Basilan misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Basilan misses with a lunging right hand
and St Lazarus counters with a nice body shot.
Basilan lands a slapping body shot.
A head kick misses from St Lazarus.
St Lazarus throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
St Lazarus throws a feint and then finishes with a kick to the body.
St Lazarus goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Basilan chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before St Lazarus can pounce on him.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
St Lazarus shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Basilan as he jumps to the side.
A nice leg kick lands there from St Lazarus.

That's one minute gone in the round.
St Lazarus buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Basilan connects with a nice looking jab.
Basilan misses with a wild body shot.
St Lazarus tries to counter with a clinch but Basilan shakes him off and moves away.
Basilan lands a two punch combo.
St Lazarus shoots in but no luck this time.
Basilan tried to counter with a leg kick but St Lazarus avoided it.
St Lazarus on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
St Lazarus lands a nice looking kick to the body. Basilan takes a step back to recover.
Basilan throws a lazy right hand but St Lazarus sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Basilan ducks down and throws a hook to the body but St Lazarus moves away.
Basilan sets himself, and St Lazarus steps forward looking for the clinch! Basilan avoids it this time.
Basilan clobbers St Lazarus with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
St Lazarus checks a leg kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
St Lazarus lands with a shot to the body.
This has been an exciting period of action!
St Lazarus wants to slow Basilan down by chopping away at his legs.
A counter left hand to the body from Basilan misses its target.
Basilan connects with a right hand. St Lazarus shakes it off.
St Lazarus lands a nice looking kick to the body. Basilan takes a step back to recover.
St Lazarus throws a lazy head kick
and St Lazarus takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Basilan misses with a looping right.
St Lazarus takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
St Lazarus gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Basilan cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Felix Basilan has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Kirk St Lazarus.
Good leg kick by Basilan there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
St Lazarus takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
St Lazarus misses with a looping left.
St Lazarus shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Basilan sprawls well. Basilan wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. St Lazarus gets slowly back to his feet.
St Lazarus lands with a nice body punch.
Basilan swings and misses with a hook to the body.
St Lazarus steps in looking to counter with the mid kick but it doesn't connect.
Basilan works St Lazarus's body with a nice hook.
Felix Basilan seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
St Lazarus drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Basilan throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Basilan misses with a lunging right hand
and St Lazarus finishes the little exchange by landing a big kick to the body.
St Lazarus on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Basilan digs a good hook to St Lazarus's body.
St Lazarus takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
St Lazarus punishes Basilan's body with a nice straight punch.
St Lazarus dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Basilan. That did some damage!
Basilan misses the shot to the body.
Basilan digs a good body shot into St Lazarus's ribs.
Basilan bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of St Lazarus's head.
Basilan throws an uppercut from half a mile away. St Lazarus sees it coming and avoids it easily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Felix Basilan clearly takes that round.
The cut man is working on Felix Basilan's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Basilan moves out of range as St Lazarus throws a body kick.
Basilan throws a low kick but St Lazarus avoids it.
St Lazarus steps in looking to clinch after the strikes miss from Basilan.
Basilan is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Basilan defending well as St Lazarus loads up on a big left hand.
St Lazarus lands a nice leg kick that just misses Basilan's sensitive parts.
St Lazarus is really struggling to land any decent head shots against his taller opponent.
St Lazarus misses the shot to the body.
St Lazarus looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
St Lazarus throws a looping overhand right but Basilan ducks down to avoid it.

Excellent takedown into side control there by St Lazarus.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Basilan parries the strikes from St Lazarus easily there. St Lazarus is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Basilan to escape.
St Lazarus connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Basilan some visible discomfort.

That's one minute gone in the round.
St Lazarus wants to control but Basilan is keeping him busy.
Basilan is letting St Lazarus control him for a moment.
Basilan is looking for a sweep.
St Lazarus with the ground and pound but Basilan regains half guard under the barage of strikes.
Basilan trying to hold on to St Lazarus's head to control him but St Lazarus postures up.

That's two 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.
Basilan is controlling St Lazarus's position as best he can from this difficult position.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with St Lazarus in particular looking to stall.
St Lazarus thows a huge punch but Basilan dodges it nicely.
Basilan keeps control of the position for the meantime.
St Lazarus throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
St Lazarus is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Basilan tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but St Lazarus was well out of range. Poor timing from Basilan.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
St Lazarus uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Basilan.
St Lazarus checks a low kick from Basilan.
Basilan throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Despite the aggression on St Lazarus's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.
Basilan buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
St Lazarus throws a head kick but Basilan moves out of range.
St Lazarus uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Basilan.
St Lazarus misses with a left hand
and Basilan counters with a three punch combo that has St Lazarus backing up. St Lazarus nods at Basilan to acknowledge the strikes.
Basilan buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
St Lazarus bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Basilan dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Basilan avoids a kick to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
St Lazarus moves into range and lands a nice body kick.
St Lazarus swings for the body but Basilan moves out of range.
St Lazarus tests Basilan's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Basilan misses the jab.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
St Lazarus scores with a head kick.
St Lazarus shoots and misses
and Basilan counters with a nice body shot.
Basilan lands a head shot.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Basilan lands a head shot.
A looping hook to the body misses from Basilan. St Lazarus does a little dance to reset his feet.
Basilan throws a hook but St Lazarus avoids it easily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close fourth round but Kirk St Lazarus will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The cut man is working on Felix Basilan'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. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

St Lazarus uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Basilan.
Basilan misses the shot to the body.
St Lazarus punishes Basilan's body with a nice straight punch.
Basilan looks to throw the jab but St Lazarus is out of range.
The fighters circle momentarily. Basilan darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
St Lazarus listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Nice sprawl there from Basilan as St Lazarus shoots in.
It looked like Basilan wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
St Lazarus has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
St Lazarus moves away from the strike by Basilan.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
St Lazarus takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Basilan misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from St Lazarus.
St Lazarus feints a counter leg kick.
Basilan jabs at St Lazarus's body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Basilan throws a hook but St Lazarus blocks it.
St Lazarus flicks out a counter leg kick but Basilan steps away.
Basilan walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. St Lazarus checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
It seemed like St Lazarus was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
St Lazarus misses with a straight right.
Basilan misses the shot to the body.
Basilan connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Basilan throws a body shot but no joy.
St Lazarus misses with an uppercut. Basilan saw that one coming.
St Lazarus keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Basilan misses with a left hand
and St Lazarus counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
St Lazarus tries a low kick but Basilan avoids it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

St Lazarus shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Basilan's guard.
St Lazarus trying to control but Basilan is working from the bottom.
Basilan looking to control.
Basilan will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
St Lazarus wants to control from the top but Basilan keeps moving.
St Lazarus throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Basilan works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
St Lazarus trying to control the position from guard on top but Basilan is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
St Lazarus trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
St Lazarus trying to control but Basilan is working from the bottom.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
St Lazarus stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Basilan swivels though and keeps the full guard.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
St Lazarus dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Basilan. That did some damage!
St Lazarus slips a straight right by Basilan.
Basilan moves out of range of the body kick from St Lazarus.
Basilan just misses with a punch to the body.
A nice side step and St Lazarus releases a counter shot to the body, but it doesn't find it's home.
Basilan has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from St Lazarus.
St Lazarus throws a head kick but Basilan moves out of range.
St Lazarus swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
enabling Basilan to counter with a crisp jab.
St Lazarus keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Felix Basilan is winning the standup battle so far.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
St Lazarus fakes the leg kick and cracks Basilan in the body.
St Lazarus slips a straight right by Basilan.
Basilan missing with a left hand there. St Lazarus was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.

St Lazarus drives through and clinches with Basilan against the cage.
Basilan tries to work over St Lazarus's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Basilan throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Basilan misses with a short punch on the inside.
Basilan throws an elbow but it misses.
St Lazarus blocks a body shot from Basilan.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
St Lazarus doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
A short right from St Lazarus.
This has been an exciting period of action!
St Lazarus scores with a shoulder strike.
St Lazarus jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Basilan walks away with a smile on his face. St Lazarus gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Kirk St Lazarus.
I think St Lazarus 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 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Yves DeLean scores the fight 47:48
Judge Gregory Folan scores the fight 48:48
Judge Elvis Blanc scores the fight 48:48

The fight is ruled a majority draw!
Felix Basilan retains his title. It's always disappointing when a championship fight ends as a draw but that's what happens when you leave the fight in the judges hands!