PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Francisco Holder (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and George Stylianopoulos (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd seem to be enjoying Stylianopoulos's choice of entrance music: The game . We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Holder
vs
Stylianopoulos

197 cm
18
151 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

175 cm
18
150 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Inexperienced

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Francisco Holder!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, George Stylianopoulos!
The judges for this bout are Sergei Dronov, Dmitry Maklakov and Fedor Mirinova.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Stylianopoulos bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.

Holder throws his opponent off and manages to get back to his feet! Nicely done!

Stylianopoulos shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Holder is staying active underneath Stylianopoulos, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Holder wants to control but Stylianopoulos is keeping busy and won't allow it.

Stylianopoulos seems to be looking for submissions.
Holder is concentrating on defense, preventing Stylianopoulos from advancing position.
Stylianopoulos is trying to control the action in half guard but Holder is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stylianopoulos throws a strike but Holder avoids it easily and moves to full guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Holder controlling Stylianopoulos's posture.
Holder lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Holder lands a couple of digs.
Holder sitting in guard, not really doing much.

Stylianopoulos has managed to wall walk up one of the corner posts to get back to his feet. Holder is pushing him up against the cage, looking to control the position.

Stylianopoulos pulls Holder into guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Holder sitting in guard here, content to control.
Holder postures up.
Stylianopoulos utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Holder working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Stylianopoulos's head.
Holder controls from within his opponent's guard.
Holder stands up over Stylianopoulos, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Holder controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Holder lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Holder content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Stylianopoulos really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Holder. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Stylianopoulos has momentary wrist control but Holder slips an elbow through the middle.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Stylianopoulos is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Stylianopoulos looks winded!
Holder controls from within his opponent's guard.
Holder postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Holder controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Holder's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Holder postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Holder distracts Stylianopoulos with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Holder cracks Stylianopoulos with a solid left hand.
Holder 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.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Holder with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Stylianopoulos has a closed guard, preventing Holder from standing up.
Holder sitting in guard, not really doing much.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Stylianopoulos moves out of range of the leg kick from Holder.

Holder moves into the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Francisco Holder dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Stylianopoulos looking to score a takedown here. Holder is defending well but Stylianopoulos drives through and ends up in Holder's guard.
Stylianopoulos wants to get up but he can't break Holder's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Stylianopoulos is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Holder controlling Stylianopoulos's posture.
Holder is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Stylianopoulos is controlling him.
Stylianopoulos must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Holder pulls Stylianopoulos in close to prevent any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Holder looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Stylianopoulos throws an elbow that misses. Holder uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Stylianopoulos's guard. Nice move by Holder!

Holder trying to control the position from guard on top but Stylianopoulos is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Holder is stalling in the full guard.
Francisco Holder overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Holder postures up.
Stylianopoulos is breathing heavily.
Stylianopoulos has momentary wrist control but Holder slips an elbow through the middle.
Holder lands a couple of digs.
Holder is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Holder trying to control the position from guard on top but Stylianopoulos is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Stylianopoulos is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Holder stands up over Stylianopoulos, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Holder is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Holder lands a couple of digs.
Holder scoring with punches to the head and body.
Holder distracts Stylianopoulos with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Holder lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Holder scoring with punches to the head and body.
Holder slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Holder pushes down on Stylianopoulos's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Holder 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.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Holder scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Stylianopoulos has hold of Holder's hands but Holder slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Holder content to control rather than advance.
Holder landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Stylianopoulos on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Holder looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Stylianopoulos can do anything to dispel that myth.
Holder working Stylianopoulos over with strikes.
Holder is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Stylianopoulos can do to turn this around?
Holder content to control rather than advance.
Holder drops an elbow to the side of Stylianopoulos's head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Holder slows the pace down in half guard.
Holder scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Holder trying to control the pace.
Holder looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Holder is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Holder looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Holder lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Holder tries to stand and escape but Stylianopoulos is controlling the position.
Stylianopoulos is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Holder scores with a couple of nice shots.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Francisco Holder dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Holder closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Holder lands in his opponent's guard.
Holder cracks Stylianopoulos with a solid left hand.
Holder is looking to work some ground and pound but Stylianopoulos has wrist control.
Holder is working Stylianopoulos over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Holder postures up and lands a big shot to Stylianopoulos's brow.
Stylianopoulos can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Holder controls the pace.
Holder chips away with some ground and pound.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Holder sitting in guard here, content to control.
Stylianopoulos is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Stylianopoulos takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Holder working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Holder lands a couple of decent looking shots.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Holder postures up and lands a big shot to Stylianopoulos's brow.
Holder postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Holder working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Holder sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Holder postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Holder looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Holder will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

Holder stands up from Stylianopoulos's guard - Holder perhaps looking for a knockout.
Holder wants to clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stylianopoulos is looking to take this fight into the clinch.

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

Holder has managed to escape just enough to sneak back to his feet but Stylianopoulos is on him like a limpet, forcing Holder back against the cage.
Holder 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 three minutes gone in the round.

Holder jumps into guard, dragging Stylianopoulos to the mat.
Stylianopoulos trying to control the position from guard on top but Holder is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Stylianopoulos wants to stand and escape but instead Holder has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

Holder lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Holder slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Stylianopoulos has momentary wrist control but Holder slips an elbow through the middle.
Holder is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Holder engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Stylianopoulos throws a couple of shots from the bottom but they don't land.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Holder postures up and lands a big shot to Stylianopoulos's brow.

Holder stands up from guard. Let's bang!

Holder closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Holder scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Holder keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Stylianopoulos has hold of Holder's hands but Holder slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Holder controlling the action here.
Holder looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Holder controlling the action here.
George Stylianopoulos has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Francisco Holder is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

And that's the end of the fight!
Francisco Holder showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Holder has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Sergei Dronov scores the fight 30:27
Judge Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 30:27
Judge Fedor Mirinova scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Francisco Holder!