PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Robert Stone (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and James Whitehead (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Stone comes to the cage accompanied by Chill Bill. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Stone
vs
Whitehead

175 cm
19
150 lbs
7 - 2 - 1

172 cm
21
152 lbs
4 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
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 7 - 2 - 1, fighting out of Los Angeles, Robert Stone!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, James Whitehead!
The judges for this bout are Anthony Taglia, John Roberts and Bruno Lombardi.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Stone scores with a jab to the head.
Whitehead misses with a combination

and Stone counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Whitehead scores with an uppercut up the middle.

Stone manages to break the clinch.
The fight stays on the outside here - Whitehead looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Whitehead has done a lot of speed work in the buildup to this fight.
Stone tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Whitehead was well out of range. Poor timing from Stone.
Whitehead tries to clinch but Stone is having none of it.
We've been told by Stone's head coaches at Heart Cave (8 elites, 4 double-elites, 1 triple) that he's been working on his takedown defense in preparation for this fight.

Whitehead clinches with his opponent.
Stone lands a knee to the body.
Whitehead blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Whitehead misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Stone.
Whitehead is looking for a takedown.
Whitehead avoids a wild elbow strike from Stone.
Whitehead landing some nice looking knees to the body.

Whitehead pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Whitehead wants to clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stone lands a nice hook to Whitehead's body. Whitehead takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Whitehead looks for the body kick but Stone saw that one coming.
Whitehead tries to clinch there but Stone circles away.
Whitehead throws a poor cross that misses
and Stone counters with a straight right hand.
Whitehead is looking to clinch but Stone is avoiding it.
Whitehead moves in looking to clinch but Stone pushes him off.

Whitehead drives through and clinches with Stone against the cage.
Stone is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Whitehead is defending well for now.
Stone tries to land a knee to the head but Whitehead blocks with his arms.
Whitehead is trying to push Stone away but Stone has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stone trying to land knees to the body.
Stone lands a good knee to the midsection. Whitehead won't want to take too many of those.
Stone putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Whitehead in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.

Stone pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Stone jabs Whitehead to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Stone misses with a low kick.
Whitehead tries to clinch up but Stone circles away and keeps his distance.
Whitehead throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Whitehead throws a combination that misses
and Stone counters with a nice low kick that buckles Whitehead's knee momentarily.
Whitehead misses with a leg kick

and Stone moves into the clinch.
Whitehead misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Stone.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Stone.
Whitehead lands an elbow that stopped Stone in his tracks for a moment.
Stone with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Stone displaying some good clinch control by pressing Whitehead up against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stone misses with an elbow over the top.
Whitehead on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Stone misses with a knee to the head.

Stone breaks the clinch.
Stone blocks a head kick by Whitehead.
Stone tried to score with a low kick but Whitehead checks it.
Whitehead tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Stone scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Whitehead.
Stone feints and then cracks Whitehead's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Whitehead down.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stone looks to score with a jab to the body but Whitehead is just out of range.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Stone, right into the meat.
A looping hook to the body misses from Stone. Whitehead does a little dance to reset his feet.
Whitehead throws a fast counter high kick but Stone manages to duck under it in time.
Stone lands a leg kick that knocks Whitehead off balance momentarily.

Whitehead clinches.
Stone lands an elbow just above Whitehead 's eye.

It looks like James Whitehead has been cut.
Stone trying to land knees to the body.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Whitehead takes a knee to the side of the body.
Whitehead looks winded!
Come on Whitehead - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Whitehead swings away with an uppercut that misses.
A head punch on the inside from Whitehead fails to land.
Whitehead lands a right hand.
Whitehead goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Whitehead tries a knee to the head but Stone blocks it.
Stone with a knee to the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Robert Stone dominated that round.
The cut man is working on James Whitehead's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

An inside leg kick lands from Stone.
Whitehead tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Whitehead checks a leg kick nicely.
Whitehead wants to clinch but Stone slips to the side
and Stone makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.

Stone gets a clinch.
Stone lands a knee to the body.
Whitehead is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Stone is defending well.
Robert Stone has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Stone with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Whitehead on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Stone misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Whitehead.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Nice elbow from Stone.
Stone tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Whitehead avoids it.

Stone breaks the clinch.
Whitehead is trying hard to land a takedown here. Stone sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Whitehead keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stone tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Whitehead is able to avoid easily.
Whitehead checks a low kick from Stone.
Stone scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Whitehead wants to clinch up but Stone keeps it at a distance.
Stone fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Whitehead fails in his attempt to clinch.
Whitehead fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Whitehead.
Robert Stone has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of James Whitehead.
Whitehead throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Whitehead is breathing heavily.
A slapping leg kick lands for Stone.
Stone digs a good body shot into Whitehead's ribs.

Whitehead clinches with his opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stone lands a knee to the body.
Whitehead comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Stone tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Whitehead avoids it.

Stone breaks the clinch.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Whitehead throws a sloppy head kick and Stone moves out of range easily.

Whitehead fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Stone, pushing him back against the cage.
Whitehead stalling in the clinch but Stone improves position.
Stone is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Stone is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Whitehead can do to turn this around?
Whitehead misses with a hook from the clinch.
Stone landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Whitehead managing to block the knees to the body from Stone.
Stone taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Whitehead controlling the action here for a moment.
Stone using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stone lands a nice knee to the body.
Stone connects with a nasty looking knee right to Whitehead's face.
Knees in the clinch landing for Stone.
Stone misses with an elbow over the top.
Stone throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Whitehead blocks it with crossed arms.
Whitehead's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Stone is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Whitehead blocks an elbow strike.
Stone throws an elbow but it misses.
Stone gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Stone landing knees to the head.
Stone tries to land knees in the clinch but Whitehead avoids the damage to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stone lands a nice elbow.

Stone breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
A decent looking body kick lands there for Stone.
Stone throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Whitehead misses with a takedown attempt - Stone sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Stone throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Stone is looking to wear down Whitehead with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Whitehead takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Whitehead on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Whitehead is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Robert Stone dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on James Whitehead's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Whitehead rushes Stone and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

Stone breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

Stone has closed the distance and engaged Whitehead in a clinch.
Whitehead avoids the elbow strike from Stone, against the cage.
Whitehead is looking for a takedown.
Whitehead blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Stone throws an elbow but it misses.
Whitehead managing to block the knees to the body from Stone.

Stone manages to break the clinch.
Whitehead moves in looking to clinch but Stone pushes him off.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Whitehead fails in his attempt to clinch.
Stone scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Whitehead tries to clinch but Stone is having none of it.
Whitehead is looking to take this fight into the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Whitehead tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Stone counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.

Stone instigates a clinch.
Stone tries a knee to the head but Whitehead blocks it.
Stone with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Stone is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Whitehead is defending well for now.
Stone lands a knee to the body.
Whitehead on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Stone is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Whitehead avoiding damage as Stone throws knees to the body.
Nice elbow from Whitehead.
Stone blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Stone with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Stone takes a knee right on the jaw!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Knees to the body from Whitehead.
Stone tries to land knees in the clinch but Whitehead avoids the damage to the body.

Stone breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Whitehead tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Stone paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Stone throws a front kick aimed at Whitehead's knee but Whitehead avoids it well.
Both fighters circling a little - Stone finishes the exchange with a kick to the body.
Stone misses with a low kick.
Robert Stone is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

Whitehead clinches with his opponent.
With the fighters up against the cage, Stone throws an elbow but misses.
Whitehead misses with an elbow over the top.
Stone trying to land knees to the body.
Stone gets underhooks to prevent Whitehead's takedown attempt.
Whitehead takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Stone landing some nice looking knees to the body.

Stone breaks from the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stone lands with a right hand.
Whitehead tries to close the distance and clinch up but Stone swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Stone tries to counter by clinching up but Whitehead breaks away and moves out of range.
Whitehead moves in looking to clinch but Stone pushes him off.
Whitehead moves to clinch but Stone breaks away
and Stone cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Whitehead misses with a double jab
and Stone makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Robert Stone is winning the standup battle so far.

Whitehead forces Stone back against the cage and clinches.
Whitehead utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Robert Stone is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

Stone's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
James Whitehead is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Stone connects with a solid leg kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Whitehead misses with a head kick.

Whitehead moves into range and clinches up with Stone.
Whitehead misses with a knee strike.
Stone scores with a knee to the head.
Stone using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Whitehead has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Whitehead misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Whitehead misses with a punch to the body.
Stone is stalling here.
Stone tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Whitehead avoids it.

Stone manages to break the clinch.
James Whitehead has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Whitehead tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Stone is able to avoid easily.

And that's the end of the fight!
Robert Stone showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Stone 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 Anthony Taglia scores the fight 30:27
Judge John Roberts scores the fight 30:27
Judge Bruno Lombardi scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Robert Stone!
After winning the bout, Robert Stone thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.