PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Ignacio Nuevos (ranked 2643 p4p, 3421 weight class) and Franklin Stein (ranked 292 p4p, 368 weight class). Well, I have no idea who's going to take this one!

Nuevos
vs
Stein

185 cm
19
195
3 - 0 - 0

193 cm
19
195
2 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Very strong

BJJ Purple Belt
Decent boxing
Granite chin

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 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Ignacio Nuevos!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Franklin Stein!
The judges for this bout are Skip Squint, Topper Green and Francis DeMontford.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nuevos uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Stein.
Nuevos misses with a shot to the body
and Stein counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Stein lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.

It looks like Ignacio Nuevos has been cut.
Ignacio Nuevos seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Stein lands a body shot.
Stein takes a swing at Nuevos's ribcage but misses.
Nuevos throwing a counter right hand but Stein manages to avoid it.
Nuevos looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Stein blocks a jab.
Nuevos takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Nuevos misses with a right hand
and Stein counters with a straight right hand.
Nuevos changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Stein tries to avoid it but Nuevos manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Stein to the ground. Stein escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.

Nuevos darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Stein actively working from the bottom here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nuevos working the head and body with strikes.
Nuevos thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Stein's head.

Nuevos is working for a kimura but Stein is defending it quite comfortably.
Stein blocking the ground and pound attempt from Nuevos.
Stein is controlling Nuevos's position as best he can from this difficult position.
Nuevos not landing any meaningful shots this time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Nuevos throwing shots but Stein is blocking nicely.
Nuevos prevents Stein from improving his position.
Nuevos trying to control from half guard but Stein is working away.
Nuevos not doing much here.
Nuevos thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Nuevos winds up and cracks Stein with a swinging punch to the side of the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nuevos winds up and cracks Stein with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Nuevos sitting and controlling from the half guard.

Stein looking for submissions off his back.
Nuevos is nestled in close to Stein, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.

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.
Nuevos scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Nuevos sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Stein defending well though.
Stein is looking to improve his position.

Nuevos is trying to work for a kimura but Stein is defending well.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Nuevos is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Nuevos lands a nice short elbow.
Stein blocking the ground and pound attempt from Nuevos.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Ignacio Nuevos will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Ignacio Nuevos'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.

Stein throws a leg kick

and Nuevos counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Stein tries to get to full guard but Nuevos has control of the leg.
Nuevos thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Stein's head.
Stein works his way to full guard. Good work.
Nuevos trying to control the position from guard on top but Stein is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Stein lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Nuevos throwing strikes off his back to little effect.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Nuevos keeping full guard, as Stein tries to pass.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stein wants to control from the top but Nuevos keeps moving.
Nuevos managing to control the position.
Stein trying to control but Nuevos is working from the bottom.
Stein pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Nuevos is keeping the position for now.
Nuevos tries to land a sweep but no joy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.

Nuevos has his foot on Stein's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Stein works his way back into a safe position though.
Nuevos looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Nuevos is trying to control the position but Stein postures up.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Nuevos throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Nuevos misses with a right hand
and Stein counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Nuevos walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.

Nuevos clinches with his opponent.
Stein misses with a hook to the ribs.
Nuevos tries to score a body lock takedown but Stein shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Stein gets underhooks to prevent Nuevos's takedown attempt.
Nuevos blocking some punches.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Stein.
Stein lands a right hand.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stein lands with a light punch inside.
Nuevos working aggressively here.
Nuevos has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Stein is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ignacio Nuevos. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Stein swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Stein looking to throw knees to the head but Nuevos is blocking nicely.
Nuevos tries to score a body lock takedown but Stein shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Stein.
Stein fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Nuevos is trying to break the clinch but Stein has him pressed against the cage.
Nuevos blocks an uppercut.
Nuevos is trying to push Stein away but Stein has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Stein has a couple of punches blocked by Nuevos.
Stein tries a body shot but Nuevos blocks it.
Stein blocking some punches.
Stein throws a head punch that misses.
Stein lands a right hand that snaps the head of Nuevos backwards.
Stein lands a hook to the side of the head.
Stein gets through Nuevos's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Stein prevents a body shot from Nuevos.
Stein goes for a body shot but it's blocked.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nuevos is looking for a takedown.
A short right from Stein on the inside.
Stein tries to land knees in the clinch but Nuevos avoids the damage to the body.
Stein lands a body shot.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Nuevos manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Stein tries to free his leg and advance position but Nuevos is retaining full guard.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Nuevos is on top in guard.

Stein is looking to stand back up... there's a bit of a scramble and Nuevos dives into side control.
Sloppy strikes there by Nuevos.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Franklin Stein showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Ignacio Nuevos's cut.
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!

Stein lands with a hook. Nuevos tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Nuevos with a poor takedown
and Nuevos takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Nuevos takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Stein has been working on his striking defense in training and it's paying off as Nuevos is landing a low percentage of strikes.
Stein uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Nuevos.
Nuevos tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Stein was well out of range. Poor timing from Nuevos.
Stein uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Nuevos.
Nuevos swings widly with a right hand
and Stein counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Nuevos has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Stein finds it's way round the side to connect with Nuevos's head.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Nuevos drives through with a takedown into Stein's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Nuevos postures up in Stein's guard and throws a big left but Stein blocks it.
Nuevos loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Stein looking for a sweep. Not yet Stein, not yet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stein keeping moving, preventing Nuevos from controlling successfully.
Nuevos is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Nuevos won't allow Stein to sweep him here.
Nuevos pushing down on Stein's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Nuevos stalling.
Stein trying to control here.
Nuevos throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Stein is looking for a sweep. Nuevos is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Nuevos sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Stein defending well though.
Stein wants to get back to his feet.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Nuevos takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
Nuevos tries to score a power double leg takedown but Stein sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Nuevos somewhat.
Franklin Stein seems to be getting the better of the standup.

Nuevos shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Stein napping and manages to drive through into side control!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stein gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Nuevos is nestled in close to Stein, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Nuevos missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

Stein looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Nuevos scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Nuevos working Stein over with strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nuevos trying to control the pace.
Nuevos winds up and cracks Stein with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Nuevos throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Nuevos throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Stein won't allow Nuevos to pass to mount.
Nuevos trying to control the action but Stein is working from the bottom.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Nuevos trying to advance position but Stein counters by regaining guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Ignacio Nuevos.
I think Nuevos 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 Skip Squint scores the fight 29:28
Judge Topper Green scores the fight 29:28
Judge Francis DeMontford scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ignacio Nuevos!
Ignacio Nuevos was full of energy after the big win and talked about how he thinks he can do big things in this sport. The crowd were appreciative of his determination to succeed.