PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Patrick Stephens (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Gorkem Tuncer (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Stephens
vs
Tuncer

179 cm
23
162 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

184 cm
25
155 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid boxing
Big heart

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Intelligent

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Patrick Stephens!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Gorkem Tuncer!
The judges for this bout are Stewart Dunkirk, Chris Downing and Daniel Franklin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Tuncer closes the distance and pushes Stephens back into the cage.
Stephens managing to block the knees to the body from Tuncer.
Tuncer is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Tuncer misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Stephens.

Stephens successfully pulls guard.

Tuncer decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Stephens, up you get!

Tuncer tries to keep at a distance but Stephens has taken the fight into the clinch.
Tuncer works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Stephens blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Tuncer lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Stephens or not.
Tuncer avoiding damage.

Stephens jumps guard and drags Tuncer to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
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.
Tuncer wants to get up but he can't break Stephens's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Tuncer must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Stephens is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stephens slows the pace down in half guard.
Stephens has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Stephens sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Tuncer defending well though.
Stephens thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Stephens looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Stephens takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.

Stephens escapes and gets back to his feet.

Tuncer moves into the clinch.
Stephens lands a hook to the side of the head.
Tuncer tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Stephens is looking to take this one to the mat.
Tuncer lands a right hand that snaps the head of Stephens backwards.
Tuncer lands a body punch.
Stephens wants to break the clinch but can't.
Stephens tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Tuncer smiles and moves away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tuncer tries to close the distance and clinch up but Stephens swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Stephens seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.
Stephens avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Tuncer tries to close the distance and clinch but Stephens swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Tuncer tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Stephens manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Gorkem Tuncer is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Stephens is defended easily by Tuncer.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Patrick Stephens. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Tuncer closes the distance and pushes Stephens back into the cage.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Tuncer misses with a knee strike.
Tuncer holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Stephens blocks an elbow strike from Tuncer.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stephens jumps guard but Tuncer stands there with Stephens around his waist. Stephens gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Knees in the clinch landing for Tuncer.
Stephens is trying to push Tuncer away but Tuncer has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Stephens letting Tuncer take a breather here.
Tuncer throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Tuncer controlling the action here for a moment.
Stephens is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Tuncer to keep the fight standing.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Tuncer prevents the takedown attempt.
Tuncer wants to stall.
Tuncer fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gorkem Tuncer dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Stephens throws a nice looking combination but Tuncer bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Tuncer tries to clinch but Stephens moves away
and Stephens counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Stephens is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Tuncer tries to work over Stephens's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.

Stephens pulls guard effortlessly.

Tuncer stands up from Stephens's guard - Tuncer perhaps looking for a knockout.
Stephens misses with a takedown attempt - Tuncer sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Tuncer tries to close the distance and clinch but Stephens swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Stephens swats away the attempt to clinch by Tuncer.
Tuncer tries to clinch
and Stephens counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Stephens shoots in for a takedown but Tuncer shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stephens will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Tuncer steps in looking to clinch after the strikes miss from Stephens.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Patrick Stephens. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Stephens keeps the fight on the outside.

Tuncer closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Stephens tries to pull guard but Tuncer holds him up against the cage and eventually Stephens drops back down to his feet.
Stephens is trying to push Tuncer away but Tuncer has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Tuncer connects with a knee to the head.
Tuncer gets through Stephens's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Tuncer taking a breather.
Tuncer prevents Stephens from breaking the clinch.
Tuncer lands a good knee to the midsection. Stephens won't want to take too many of those.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Stephens takes a knee to the side of the body.
Tuncer landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Tuncer tries to land a knee to the head but Stephens blocks with his arms.
Tuncer's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tuncer gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Still in the clinch, Tuncer scores with a nice short uppercut.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Tuncer lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Stephens or not.
Stephens is trying to break free.
Tuncer softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Tuncer lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Tuncer just leaning against Stephens, taking a breather.
A hook to the body from Tuncer.

Stephens ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Stephens no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Tuncer has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Stephens is proving hard to escape from.

Tuncer stands up from guard. Let's bang!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tuncer fails with an attempt to clinch.
Tuncer doesn't manage to clinch there - Stephens circles away.
Tuncer is looking to clinch.

Tuncer moves into range and clinches up with Stephens.
Tuncer looking to stall.
Come on Tuncer - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Stephens jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Tuncer walks away with a smile on his face. Stephens gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Tuncer leaves Stephens with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Stephens throws a push kick but Tuncer slaps the foot to one side.

Tuncer clinches.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tuncer with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Stephens has had enough of the clinch but Tuncer keeps him there for the moment.
Tuncer lands a left hand.
Tuncer can't find room to land a body shot as Stephens controls the action.
Stephens wants a takedown but no success here.
Tuncer digs a right hand into Stephens's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Stephens's gas tank.

Stephens jumps guard.

Tuncer decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Stephens, up you get!

Tuncer moves into the clinch successfully.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Stephens tries to pull guard but Tuncer forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Tuncer utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Tuncer lands an elbow that stopped Stephens in his tracks for a moment.
Tuncer keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Stephens's efforts to push away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gorkem Tuncer showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Tuncer moves in looking to clinch but Stephens pushes him off.
Tuncer tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Stephens paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Stephens fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Tuncer avoids it really well and circles away.

Tuncer has managed to clinch.
A head punch on the inside from Tuncer fails to land.
Stephens has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Tuncer has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Tuncer tries to throw a body punch but Stephens avoids it by throwing Tuncer back against the cage.
Tuncer lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Tuncer lands a shot to the body.
Tuncer misses with a knee to the head.
Stephens drops down looking for an ankle pick but Tuncer pulls his leg out and moves away.
Patrick Stephens is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tuncer fails with an attempt to clinch.
Tuncer tries to clinch there but Stephens circles away.

Tuncer pushes Stephens up against the cage in a clinch.
Tuncer is working Stephens over against the cage.
Tuncer presses Stephens against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Stephens stalling in the clinch but Tuncer improves position.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Tuncer landing knees to the body.
Stephens takes a knee to the side of the body.
Tuncer lands a good knee to the midsection. Stephens won't want to take too many of those.
Tuncer lands a right hand.
Nice elbow from Tuncer.
Tuncer lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Tuncer lands a right hand that snaps the head of Stephens backwards.
Tuncer lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Stephens or not.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Stephens prevents a body shot from Tuncer.
Tuncer tries a body shot but Stephens blocks it.
Stephens is trying to break the clinch but Tuncer is controlling him.
Tuncer using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Tuncer landing knees to the head.
Tuncer avoiding damage.
Tuncer putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Stephens in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Tuncer stalling against the cage.
Tuncer is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Tuncer leaning his opponent against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tuncer presses Stephens against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Tuncer is struggling to control the position.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Gorkem Tuncer.
Stephens circles away from the clinch attempt.
Tuncer tries to clinch there but Stephens circles away.
Tuncer doesn't manage to clinch there - Stephens circles away.
Stephens shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Tuncer but Tuncer pushes him off and we're back to square one.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Patrick Stephens. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Tuncer instigates a clinch.
Stephens can't break the clinch.
Tuncer trying to land knees to the body.
Tuncer throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Stephenss head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tuncer throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Tuncer unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Tuncer pushes Stephens back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Tuncer misses with a hook to the ribs.
Tuncer throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Tuncer avoiding damage.
Tuncer avoiding damage.
Stephens tries to pull guard but Tuncer won't allow it.
Gorkem Tuncer seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Tuncer lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Tuncer working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Patrick Stephens has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Gorkem Tuncer is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
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!
Tuncer lands an uppercut.

And that's the end of the fight!
Gorkem Tuncer comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Tuncer winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Stewart Dunkirk scores the fight 26:30
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 26:30
Judge Daniel Franklin scores the fight 26:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Gorkem Tuncer!
Gorkem Tuncer bigged himself up after the win. The crowd seemed to love it.