PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Steve McKenna (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Freddie Stokes (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). McKenna's entrance music is My Buddy Steve - Zane Lamprey. A fine choice. Stokes is bouncing up and down as he enters the arena, backed by Never Scared by Whole Wheat Bread. Freddie Stokes will no doubt be looking to use his reach advantage to good effect.

McKenna
vs
Stokes

174 cm
25
203 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

190 cm
25
215 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Powerful

Hope MMA: Island Nutritions
After School Syndicate

Hope MMA: Island Nutritions

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Steve McKenna!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Freddie Stokes!
The judges for this bout are Dirk Anderson, David Hoff and Peter Branson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
McKenna connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Stokes momentarily.
Stokes is looking to clinch but McKenna is avoiding it.
Stokes looks to land a left hand but McKenna moved out of range nicely.
Stokes throws a shot from downtown. McKenna moves away and avoids it.
McKenna wants to land a leg kick but Stokes is out of range.

McKenna moves into range and clinches up with Stokes.
Stokes working aggressively here.
Stokes gets underhooks to prevent McKenna's takedown attempt.
McKenna tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Stokes avoids it.
Stokes taking a breather.

Stokes breaks from the clinch.

McKenna closes the distance and pushes Stokes back into the cage.
Stokes stalling in the clinch but McKenna improves position.
McKenna definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Stokes managing to block the knees to the body from McKenna.
Stokes misses with an elbow strike.
Stokes's coach down at Gizmo's Gym was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on Stokes's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
McKenna misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Stokes.
Stokes fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
McKenna is looking for a takedown.
A head punch blocked on the inside by McKenna.
McKenna tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Stokes's elbow.

That's one minute gone in the round.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Stokes just misses with a elbow thrown towards McKenna's brow.
McKenna is looking to take this one to the mat.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Steve McKenna. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Stokes has had enough of the clinch but McKenna keeps him there for the moment.
Stokes lands a nice elbow from the clinch.

It looks like Steve McKenna has been cut.
McKenna has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Stokes after a bit of a struggle.
McKenna blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Stokes just misses with a elbow thrown towards McKenna's brow.
McKenna is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Stokes is defending well.
Stokes is pressed up against the cage. McKenna has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Stokes down to the mat. Stokes avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Stokes swings for the body but McKenna moves out of range.
Stokes throws a looping overhand right but McKenna ducks down to avoid it.
Stokes will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
McKenna moves out of range of the strikes.
Stokes throws an overhand right that lands on McKenna's shoulder, as McKenna tries to avoid the shot.
McKenna swinging wildly here.
McKenna could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
McKenna misses with the combination.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Stokes! But no joy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

McKenna has managed to clinch.

Stokes breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
McKenna ducks under a wild hook from Stokes.
McKenna goes for a double leg but Stokes avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Stokes continues to drive forward.
Stokes takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

McKenna clinches.
McKenna is looking to take this one to the mat.
McKenna blocks a body shot from Stokes.
Stokes prevents a takedown attempt there.
Stokes tries to throw a body punch but McKenna avoids it by throwing Stokes back against the cage.
Stokes is trying to stall.
McKenna tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Stokes throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Stokes looking to stall.
McKenna stalling.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
McKenna is trying to force a seperation but Stokes has the dominant position.
Stokes can't find room to land a body shot as McKenna controls the action.
McKenna tries to score a body lock takedown but Stokes shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
McKenna blocks an elbow strike from Stokes.
McKenna drops down looking for an ankle pick but Stokes pulls his leg out and moves away.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
McKenna rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Stokes moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
McKenna throws a series of punches but Stokes avoids them all with ease.
Stokes throws a looping overhand right but McKenna ducks down to avoid it.
McKenna went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
Stokes lands a body shot.
Stokes tries to bum rush McKenna with a series of wild strikes but McKenna uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Stokes just misses with a punch to the body.
A telegraphed right hand from Stokes misses the target.
Stokes throws an overhand right that lands on McKenna's shoulder, as McKenna tries to avoid the shot.
Stokes misses with a straight left.
A telegraphed right hand from McKenna misses the target.
Stokes ducks down and throws a hook to the body but McKenna moves away.
McKenna misses the shot to the body.
Stokes misses with a looping right.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
McKenna blocks a jab.
Stokes misses with a hook.
Stokes throws a big shot that misses.
McKenna scores with a jab to the body.
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!
Stokes takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Stokes misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from McKenna.
McKenna throws a nice looking combination but Stokes bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Stokes looks to land a combination but McKenna avoids it well.
McKenna keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Stokes.
McKenna avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Stokes throws an uppercut from half a mile away. McKenna sees it coming and avoids it easily.
McKenna keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.

McKenna moves into the clinch.
McKenna is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Stokes pulls him back up using the underhooks.
McKenna can't get the takedown.
Stokes looking to slow down the pace here.
Stokes misses with a hook from the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Freddie Stokes dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Steve McKenna's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Stokes is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by McKenna.
McKenna fails to land with a series of punches.
McKenna tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Stokes manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Sloppy strikes from McKenna. Those never looked like landing.
A looping hook to the body misses from Stokes. McKenna does a little dance to reset his feet.
Stokes pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Stokes misses with a wild body shot.

McKenna darts in and clinches Stokes up against the cage.
Stokes prevents the takedown attempt.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for McKenna.
Stokes keeps the fight in the clinch, despite McKenna's efforts to push away.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
McKenna is trying to break the clinch but Stokes has him pressed against the cage.
Stokes prevents a takedown attempt there.
Stokes is defending well against a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Steve McKenna. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Stokes stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Stokes throws an elbow but it's blocked.

That's one minute gone in the round.
McKenna has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Stokes is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Stokes just misses with a elbow thrown towards McKenna's brow.
Stokes taking a breather.
Stokes gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from McKenna.
McKenna is working for takedown but Stokes is calmly controlling the position for now.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Stokes tries a body shot but McKenna blocks it.
McKenna has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Stokes after a bit of a struggle.
With the fighters up against the cage, Stokes throws an elbow but misses.
McKenna is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Stokes is defending well.
Stokes gets underhooks to prevent McKenna's takedown attempt.
McKenna is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
McKenna looking for a takedown.
Stokes looking to slow down the pace here.
Stokes looking to slow down the pace here.
Stokes tried to land a shot to the body but connects with McKenna's elbow.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stalling in the clinch from McKenna.
Stokes pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.

Stokes escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
McKenna uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Stokes.
Stokes throws a shot from downtown. McKenna moves away and avoids it.
Stokes throws an overhand right that lands on McKenna's shoulder, as McKenna tries to avoid the shot.
Freddie Stokes is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
The fighters circling - Stokes throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
McKenna shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Stokes defends it nicely.
Stokes is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by McKenna.
A little feinted left hand from McKenna on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.

McKenna closes the distance and clinches.
McKenna has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Stokes avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Freddie Stokes seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
McKenna tries for a takedown. No joy.

Stokes's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
McKenna throws a jab when Stokes was well out of range.
Stokes looks to score with a jab to the body but McKenna is just out of range.
McKenna slips a jab from Stokes.
McKenna tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Stokes paws at him with a jab and circles away.
A little jabbing left from Stokes on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Stokes misses with a body shot.
Nice defenses there by McKenna.
Stokes uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by McKenna.
Stokes throws a shot from downtown. McKenna moves away and avoids it.
McKenna staying out of range there.
A big right from Stokes misses.
McKenna is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
McKenna displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Stokes throws out the jab.
McKenna misses with a looping right.
McKenna uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Stokes.
Stokes wants to clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
McKenna ducks under a wild hook from Stokes.
Stokes just misses with a punch to the body.
McKenna slips under a jab from Stokes.
McKenna shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Stokes pinned against the cage. Stokes gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Stokes has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
McKenna throws a right and a left that both miss.
McKenna fails with a takedown attempt.
Stokes looks to land a right hand but McKenna moved out of range.
A swing and a miss from Stokes.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
McKenna uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Stokes.
It looked like McKenna wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Stokes looks to land a right hand but McKenna moved out of range.
A quick step to the side and McKenna tries to counter with a shot to the body but it doesn't connect.

McKenna forces Stokes back against the cage and clinches.
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!
McKenna tries for a takedown but Stokes manages to get underhooks.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Freddie Stokes showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Steve McKenna's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Stokes misses with a straight right.
Stokes throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Stokes throws a hook to the side of McKenna's head but McKenna sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Stokes throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
McKenna throws the left hand but Stokes avoids the punch easily.
McKenna is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
McKenna blocks a jab.
Stokes tries to bum rush McKenna with a series of wild strikes but McKenna uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
McKenna defending well as Stokes loads up on a big left hand.
Sloppy strikes from Stokes. Those never looked like landing.
McKenna lands with a nice combination. Stokes backs away looking to recover.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A punch lands to the side of Stokes 's head but he takes it in his stride.
McKenna shoots in and drives through. Stokes sprawls well.
A looping hook to the body misses from Stokes. McKenna does a little dance to reset his feet.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
A jab from Stokes misses.
Stokes misses with a hook.
McKenna throws a shot from downtown. Stokes moves away and avoids it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stokes swings and misses with a hook to the body.
McKenna shoots in for a double leg but Stokes sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Stokes throws a jab when McKenna was well out of range.
Stokes fails in his attempt to clinch.
Stokes throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
McKenna thuds his right hand into Stokes's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
A big left from McKenna misses.
Some wild striking there from McKenna.
Stokes thows a left - swing and a miss!
Stokes looks to land a right hand but McKenna moved out of range.
Stokes misses with a hook. McKenna ducked under it nicely.
McKenna slips under a jab from Stokes.
McKenna wants to clinch up but Stokes keeps it at a distance.
Stokes looks to throw the jab but McKenna is out of range.
McKenna ducks under a wild hook from Stokes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stokes will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Stokes throws a hook but McKenna blocks it.
McKenna tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
McKenna lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by McKenna.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Stokes throws a hook to the side of McKenna's head but McKenna sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
McKenna tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Stokes throws a series of punches but McKenna moves out of range.
McKenna throws a nice looking combination but Stokes bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Stokes misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from McKenna.
Freddie Stokes seems to be getting the better of the standup.
McKenna shoots for a double leg takedown but Stokes sprawls well. He's pushed McKenna's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Steve McKenna. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Stokes lands a glancing blow to the side of McKenna's head.
A big right from Stokes misses.
McKenna throws a right and a left that both miss.
Stokes tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but McKenna was well out of range. Poor timing from Stokes.
A punch combination from Stokes misses.
McKenna fails in his attempt to clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
McKenna avoids the body shot from Stokes.
Stokes fails in his attempt to clinch.
Stokes misses with a wild body shot.

McKenna rushes Stokes and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Stokes misses with a short punch on the inside.
McKenna has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Stokes is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Stokes gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from McKenna.
Stokes taking a breather.
McKenna scores with a shoulder strike.
McKenna slows down the pace here.
Stokes is pressed up against the cage. McKenna has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Stokes down to the mat. Stokes avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
McKenna throws a right hand that Stokes ducks under and follows up with a left that Stokes also avoids with ease.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stokes looks to land a combination but McKenna avoids it well.
McKenna fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
A nice side step and Stokes releases a counter shot to the body, but it doesn't find it's home.
Stokes throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Stokes just misses with a punch to the body.
Stokes uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Stokes needs to keep his hands up - McKenna had a free shot at his head there.
Stokes throws an overhand right that lands on McKenna's shoulder, as McKenna tries to avoid the shot.
McKenna slips a straight right by Stokes.
Nice defenses there by Stokes.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
McKenna slips a jab and a cross from Stokes.
McKenna is looking to clinch but Stokes is avoiding it.
McKenna shoots in for a takedown but Stokes shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Stokes throws a hook but McKenna blocks it.
Stokes throws a looping overhand right but McKenna ducks down to avoid it.
Steve McKenna has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
McKenna steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Stokes.
Freddie Stokes is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Nice defenses there by McKenna.
Steve McKenna is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
A big left from McKenna misses.

And that's the end of the fight!
Freddie Stokes comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Stokes has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Dirk Anderson scores the fight 27:30
Judge David Hoff scores the fight 27:30
Judge Peter Branson scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Freddie Stokes!
Freddie Stokes decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.
In defeat, Steve McKenna stepped up to the mic, saying 'You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning.'.