PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Kelly William (ranked 2789 p4p, 333 weight class) and Rod Stickmann (ranked 2745 p4p, 330 weight class). Rumors backstage are that the fighters have been paid to keep it standing but we know that would never happen in MMA!

William
vs
Stickmann

185 cm
26
195 lbs
4 - 1 - 0

195 cm
27
180 lbs
4 - 5 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Kelly William!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 5 - 0, fighting out of New York, Rod Stickmann!
The judges for this bout are Trevor Gratis, Yves DeLean and Steve Smith.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Stickmann throws a shot from downtown. William moves away and avoids it.
William tries to counter by clinching up but Stickmann breaks away and moves out of range.
We've been hearing reports that William has been drilling takedowns in recent sessions so let's see if that has an impact on the result of this fight.
William shoots in but Stickmann avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Stickmann throws a leg kick that is checked

and William counters with a crisp one two that drops Stickmann! William thinks about following him to the mat for a moment but instead steps back and waves Stickmann to his feet! Stickmann is in big trouble!

Stickmann is rocked!
Stickmann dips to his left and cracks William with an uppercut!
Stickmann is still on wobbly legs! Can William finish him?

William has taken the fight to the clinch.
Stickmann is trying to break the clinch but William has him pressed against the cage.
William stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
A frustrated look appears on Stickmann's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Stickmann seems to have recovered his senses.
William keeps control of Stickmann as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Nice elbow from William.

It looks like Rod Stickmann has been cut.

William jumps into guard, dragging Stickmann to the mat.
William working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Stickmann.
William is looking to stand up but Stickmann isn't so interested in that idea.
Stickmann must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Stickmann is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Stickmann postures up in William's guard and throws a big left but William blocks it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
William wants to stand and escape but Stickmann is having none of it.

Stickmann got a little sloppy there for a moment and William has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Stickmann has managed to get both his arms back between William's legs - danger averted.
Stickmann stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. William swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Stickmann trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Stickmann postures up in William's guard and throws a big left but William blocks it.
Stickmann missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
William is adopting a defensive guard.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Stickmann connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

William clinches with his opponent.
Stickmann throws an elbow but it misses.
William struggles to land a body shot inside as Stickmann controls his hands.
William tries to throw a body punch but Stickmann avoids it by throwing William back against the cage.
William lands a damaging elbow.
Stickmann tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Stickmann misses with an elbow strike.
Stickmann wants to break the clinch but can't.
William looking to throw knees to the head but Stickmann is blocking nicely.

William breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Stickmann looks to land a left hand but William moved out of range nicely.
William takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Stickmann lands a straight punch to the body, keeping William at a distance.
A slow jab from Stickmann misses its intended target.
William seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
A left lands for Stickmann.
Stickmann has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Stickmann throws a body kick, spinning off balance
and William counters with a head kick. That will keep Stickmann thinking before he tries any more sloppy attacks!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stickmann looks to score with a jab to the body but William is just out of range.
Stickmann is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
William ducks under a wild hook from Stickmann.
Jab from Stickmann.

William is rocked!

William takes the fight into the clinch.
Stickmann is trying to break the clinch but William is controlling him.
Stickmann drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Stickmann lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.

William breaks from the clinch.
The fight stays on the outside here - William looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Stickmann looks to score with a jab to the body but William is just out of range.
William throws a big counter combination but Stickmann scrambles out of danger and avoids any damage.
William takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Oh William is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Stickmann.
William seems to have got his legs back now.
Rod Stickmann is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stickmann jabs at William's body.
William takes a shot right to the bread basket.
William has a takedown stuffed.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Stickmann lands the left hand.
William is looking to clinch but Stickmann is avoiding it.

Stickmann waves his right hand out in front of him, looking to distract William. Oh, he's unloaded a beast of a left hand - it worked! He's dropped William to the canvas! Can he finish him!?
Stickmann is fighting to break William's control of his arms but William is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
William keeping full guard, as Stickmann tries to pass.

Stickmann has gone for a leg lock! William slips out almost immediately though and dives into Stickmann's guard.

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

Rod Stickmann dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Rod Stickmann's cut.
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.

William lands a head kick. Stickmann smiles back at him and beckons him forward.
Stickmann is looking to land body kicks.
Stickmann throws a series of punches but William avoids them all with ease.
Rod Stickmann seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
William is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Stickmann throws a hook to the side of William's head but William sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Stickmann fakes a right and follows up with a big left that drops William to one knee - oooooh, he's wobbly! William looks to clinch but Stickmann throws him off and pummels him into the canvas! William taps out under the strikes! The fight is over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:34 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Strikes). Rod Stickmann!
After winning the bout, Rod Stickmann thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.