PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Sean Stevenson Jr (ranked 4099 p4p, 24487 weight class) and Primoz Benko (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Sean Stevenson Jr has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Stevenson Jr
vs
Benko

183 cm
21
146
4 - 3 - 0

178 cm
20
158
1 - 2 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Brawler
Good gas tank

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 4 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Sean Stevenson Jr!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Primoz Benko!
The judges for this bout are Jeff Smith, Paul Gruel and Ryoma Takatsuka.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Benko throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Stevenson Jr counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Benko has his takedown stuffed
and Stevenson Jr counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Benko rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Stevenson Jr counters with a three punch combo that has Benko backing up. Benko nods at Stevenson Jr to acknowledge the strikes.

Benko shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Benko postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Benko has been taking part in the yoga sessions down at Cozad MMA St Petersburg. Presumably he's going to look for a slick submission... Or maybe he's looking to avoid one.
Benko has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Benko is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Benko scoring with some ground and pound.
Benko is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Benko sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Stevenson Jr's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Benko working Stevenson Jr over with strikes.
Stevenson Jr is looking to escape.
Benko working Stevenson Jr over with strikes.
Benko working Stevenson Jr over with strikes.
Benko winds up and cracks Stevenson Jr with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Benko scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Benko is taking a breather. Stevenson Jr says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Stevenson Jr knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Benko on the ground.
Benko working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Benko working the head and body with strikes.
Benko working over Stevenson Jr with some ground and pound. Stevenson Jr looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Benko content to control rather than advance.
Benko's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Stevenson Jr is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Benko scores with a couple of nice shots.
Benko looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Benko lands with a punch from half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Well, if Benko is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Benko drops an elbow to the side of Stevenson Jr's head.
Ground and pound from Benko.
Stevenson Jr pushes Benko off looking to stand but Benko dives back in and keeps control.
Benko is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Benko lands with a punch from half guard.
Benko performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Benko lands strikes from half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Benko in particular looking to stall.
Benko drops an elbow to the side of Stevenson Jr's head.
Stevenson Jr on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Stevenson Jr tries to get out of the position.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Benko in particular looking to stall.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Benko lands a nice short elbow.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Primoz Benko dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Benko misses with a jab to the body
and Stevenson Jr counters with a nice body kick.
Donk. Stevenson Jr catches Benko right on the button with a cross.
Primoz Benko seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Stevenson Jr bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Benko misses the body punch
and Stevenson Jr counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Benko fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Benko misses with a left hand
and Stevenson Jr counters with a stiff right hand.

Benko drives through and clinches with Stevenson Jr against the cage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A frustrated look appears on Stevenson Jr's face as he tries to break the clinch.
A head punch on the inside from Benko fails to land.
Benko tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Stevenson Jr tries to circle away but Benko has him pinned against the cage.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Benko swings away with an uppercut that misses.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Benko stalls.
Stevenson Jr blocking some punches.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Benko.
A head punch on the inside from Benko fails to land.

Benko has clasped his hands together around Stevenson Jr's back... aaand, he's got a takedown into side control. Nicely done.
Stevenson Jr bucks up and tries to throw Benko off but instead Benko has got his back!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stevenson Jr covers up after that shot from Benko.
Benko landing with strikes.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Benko scores with some strikes to the side of the head there. Good, points scoring shots.
Stevenson Jr takes a big shot to the side of the head.
Benko lands a punch to the side of the head from the back.
Benko biding his time, controlling Stevenson Jr.
Stevenson Jr grimaces as he takes a shot to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Benko softening up his opponent with strikes here.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
I would not like to be Stevenson Jr right now.
Benko lands a shot to the head.
Benko is punishing Stevenson Jr with some ground and pound.
Benko lands strikes to the head.
Benko biding his time, looking for the opening.
Benko is punishing Stevenson Jr with strikes - can he finish him?!
Stevenson Jr covers up after taking a massive shot to the side of the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Benko is throwing punches to the body, looking to soften Stevenson Jr up.

Stevenson Jr is rocked!
Stevenson Jr is trying to remain composed but Benko is hammering down strikes to the side of his head.
Oh Stevenson Jr is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Benko lands a series of strikes from the back and Stevenson Jr goes limp! The ref jumps in to save him!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:32 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Primoz Benko!
Sean Stevenson Jr was interviewed post fight and said 'I lost, end of story what more can I say than just, I am young and improving more and more and I will get way better soon, so thank you to my opponent for whooping my ass and making me a better fighter.'.