PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Steven Christie (ranked 1518 p4p, 1601 weight class) and Whealer Van Hire (ranked 146 p4p, 153 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Christie might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Amityville. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Christie
vs
Van Hire

170 cm
34
145
20 - 18 - 2

170 cm
31
145
16 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
World class MT
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Heavy handed

30th Century Beer Store

Wrestler Wayfare

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 20 - 18 - 2, fighting out of Los Angeles, Steven Christie!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 16 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Whealer Van Hire!
The judges for this bout are Don Winkell, Jack Bonds and Frank Antenori.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Van Hire tries to clinch but Christie is having none of it.
A little feinted left hand from Christie on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.

Christie feints and as Van Hire raises his hands in defense, Christie changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Christie trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Van Hire utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Van Hire is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Christie lands a couple of elbows.
Van Hire utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Christie postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Christie accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Van Hire can do anything to dispel that myth.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Van Hire managing to control the position.
Christie throwing strikes from guard but Van Hire blocks nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Christie trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Christie in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Christie postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Christie is looking to work some ground and pound but Van Hire has wrist control.
Van Hire looking to hit a scissor sweep but Christie is one step ahead there.
Van Hire utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
We've been hearing that Christie has been drilling a lot of ground and pound in training, so let's see if he get the finish.
Christie postures up in Van Hire's guard and throws a big left but Van Hire blocks it.
Christie is in close to Van Hire's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Van Hire preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Christie is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Christie is looking to work some ground and pound but Van Hire has wrist control.
Christie is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Van Hire working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Christie.
Christie in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Christie with a flurry of punches that miss.
Christie with a nice head shot there.
Christie in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Van Hire really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Christie. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Christie throws a big elbow that misses.
Christie stopping the sweep attempt from Van Hire.
Christie lands a couple of elbows.
Christie scoring with some ground and pound.
Christie is looking to work some ground and pound but Van Hire has wrist control.
Christie is looking to work some ground and pound but Van Hire has wrist control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Christie working some strikes from top position.
Christie throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Christie pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Van Hire is keeping the position for now.
Christie sitting in guard here, content to control.
Christie throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Van Hire keeping moving, preventing Christie from controlling successfully.
Christie with a flurry of punches that miss.
Van Hire preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Van Hire is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Van Hire has momentary wrist control but Christie slips an elbow through the middle.
Christie makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Christie in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Christie accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Christie accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Christie postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Christie trying to control but Van Hire is working from the bottom.
Van Hire has momentary wrist control but Christie slips an elbow through the middle.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Van Hire tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Van Hire working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Christie.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Steven Christie dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Van Hire on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Van Hire blocks a head kick by Christie.
Van Hire only half commits to the counter leg kick.
Christie swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Christie throws out a loose jab but Van Hire uses good head movement to avoid it.
Van Hire looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Christie is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Van Hire can do to turn this around?

Van Hire rushes Christie and presses him up against the cage.
Van Hire throws a punch but it's blocked by Christie.

Van Hire breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Van Hire misses with a looping right.
Christie circles away from the clinch attempt.
Christie ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Steven Christie seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Christie throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Van Hire tries to clinch up but Christie circles away and keeps his distance.
Van Hire has tried to improve his agility in the runup to this fight.
Van Hire connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Christie throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Van Hire sees it coming and avoids it easily.

Christie gets a clinch.
Van Hire tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Van Hire blocking some punches.
A nice left hand lands by Van Hire.
Van Hire working aggressively here.

Van Hire escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Van Hire drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Christie bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Van Hire's head.
Van Hire throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Christie avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Van Hire misses with a body shot.
It looked like Christie wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.

Christie changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Van Hire looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Van Hire dodges the ground and pound from Christie.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Christie landing a few strikes.
Van Hire parries the strikes from Christie easily there. Christie is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Van Hire to escape.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sloppy strikes there by Christie.
Christie throwing shots but missing, from side control.
Van Hire parries the strikes from Christie easily there. Christie is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Van Hire to escape.
Christie postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Christie creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Van Hire sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
You can see the frustration on Van Hire's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Christie throws a strike aimed at the side of Van Hire's head but Van Hire avoids it well.

Christie stands up and we're back to a striking position.

Christie shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Van Hire manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Christie postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Christie working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Christie in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Christie is looking to work some ground and pound but Van Hire has wrist control.
Christie in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Christie postures up in Van Hire's guard and throws a big left but Van Hire blocks it.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Christie accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Christie with a nice head shot there.
Christie throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Van Hire works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Christie postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Christie throws a strike but Van Hire rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Christie seems keen to control Van Hire's posture.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Christie wants to sweep but no luck.
Christie lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Christie scoring with punches to the head and body.
Christie working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Van Hire's head.
Christie throws an elbow that misses. Van Hire uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Christie's guard. Nice move by Van Hire!

Christie wants to sweep here but Van Hire controlling him for the moment.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Steven Christie dominated that second round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Christie jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Christie shoots in looking for a takedown. Van Hire tries to sprawl out of it but Christie keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Van Hire manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Van Hire tries to clinch up.
Good shot there by Van Hire.
Van Hire attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Christie looks to score with a jab to the body but Van Hire is just out of range.
Van Hire replies with a solid counter kick to the body but Christie blocks it well.
Van Hire slips under a jab.
Christie has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Christie there as he acknowledges the shot.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Christie takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Christie doesn't manage to clinch there - Van Hire circles away.

The fight moves into the clinch position.

Christie breaks the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Christie throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Van Hire ducks under a wild hook from Christie.
A telegraphed right hand from Christie misses the target.
Van Hire lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.

Van Hire rushes Christie and presses him up against the cage.

Van Hire breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Jab from Christie.
Christie throws the left hand but Van Hire avoids the punch easily.
A little jabbing left from Van Hire on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Christie thows a left - swing and a miss!
Van Hire throws out a counter right but Christie avoids it with no problem.
Christie dips to his left and cracks Van Hire with an uppercut!

Christie has Van Hire up against the cage in a clinch.

Van Hire breaks from the clinch.
Christie throws out a token jab with nothing on it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Christie lands a glancing blow to the side of Van Hire's head.
Christie thows a left - swing and a miss!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Van Hire uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Christie connects with a looping right hand.
Christie throws a lazy right hand but Van Hire sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
A little jabbing left from Van Hire on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Van Hire connects with a good right hand that stumbles Christie. Christie circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
Christie tests Van Hire's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Christie swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
A nice side step and Van Hire releases a counter shot to the body, but it doesn't find it's home.
Christie connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
The fight stays on the outside here - Christie looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Van Hire was about to counter that last move with a leg kick but changes his mind.
Van Hire moves out of range as Christie strikes.
Christie throws a head kick that misses.
A telegraphed right hand from Christie misses the target.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Van Hire tries to close the distance and clinch but Christie swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Christie takes one to the side of the head.
The fight stays on the outside here - Van Hire looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Christie checks the leg kick nicely there.
Christie swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Christie shoots in looking for a takedown. Van Hire tries to sprawl out of it but Christie keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Van Hire manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Christie throws a body shot but no joy.
Christie throws an overhand right that lands on Van Hire's shoulder, as Van Hire tries to avoid the shot.
Christie misses with a lunging right hand
and Van Hire counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Van Hire clobbers Christie with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Van Hire tries to clinch but Christie moves out of range.
Van Hire fails with an attempt to clinch.
Whealer Van Hire has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Steven Christie is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Van Hire throws the kick towards the body but Christie avoids it.

Christie clinches up against the cage.
A short right from Van Hire on the inside.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Van Hire.
Van Hire lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Van Hire misses with the head strike.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Van Hire has had enough of the clinch but Christie keeps him there for the moment.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Van Hire.
Van Hire lands a hook that snaps the head of Christie backwards.
Van Hire is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.

Christie escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Christie ducks under a wild hook from Van Hire.
Van Hire looks to land a left hand but Christie moved out of range nicely.
Van Hire misses with a body shot.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Whealer Van Hire.
I think Christie has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Don Winkell scores the fight 29:28
Judge Jack Bonds scores the fight 29:27
Judge Frank Antenori scores the fight 29:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Steven Christie!
A very excited looking Steven Christie made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.