PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between River Castaneda (ranked 3175 p4p, 2815 weight class) and Sterling Stella (ranked 249 p4p, 232 weight class). Rumors backstage are that the fighters have been paid to keep it standing but we know that would never happen in MMA!

Castaneda
vs
Stella

173 cm
25
144
2 - 1 - 0

172 cm
23
144
3 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Good chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

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 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of The Island, River Castaneda!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Sterling Stella!
The judges for this bout are Peter Branson, Sandra Marshall and David Hoff.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Stella forces Castaneda back against the cage and clinches.

Stella breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Castaneda tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

Stella drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Castaneda is letting Stella control him for a moment.

Stella stands up.
Castaneda tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Castaneda feints and then cracks Stella's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Stella down.

Stella closes the distance and clinches.
Stella blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Castaneda misses with a hook from the clinch.

Stella gets double underhooks and manages to take the fight to the ground.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Stella is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stella tries to free his leg and advance position but Castaneda is retaining full guard.
Stella passes Castaneda's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Stella thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Castaneda's head.
Castaneda knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Stella on the ground.

Stella is trying to work for a kimura but Castaneda is defending well.
Stella looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Castaneda has hold of Stella's hands but Stella slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Still in half guard, Stella seems content to control.

Stella is trying to work for a kimura but Castaneda is defending well.
Ground and pound from Stella.
Stella perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Castaneda pushes Stella off looking to stand but Stella dives back in and keeps control.
Castaneda is trying to control but can't.
Stella trying to mount his opponent but Castaneda defends it.
Stella performing his best blanket impression for a moment.

Stella postures up and decides to stand up, from the half guard. The ref calls for Castaneda to stand up.
Castaneda tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
A little jabbing left from Stella on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.

Stella drives through with a takedown into guard.
We've been informed that Stella has been working hard on his conditioning in the buildup to the fight.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Stella is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stella makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Stella's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Stella's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
More stalling from Stella.
Stella trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Sterling Stella dominated that round.
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.

Castaneda pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
River Castaneda seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Crunch! Castaneda slams his shin into Stella's torso.

Stella scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Stella moves into full mount! Castaneda won't be happy about that!
Stella looking to control and managing it successfully.
Stella unloading with bombs!
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Stella controlling his opponent.
Castaneda squirming around on the bottom, looking to escape.
Castaneda is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stella sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Stella raining down shots from the mount!
Stella controlling from the full mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stella with a couple of short strikes.
Stella is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Castaneda tries to buck Stella off but he can't manage it.
Stella controlling the position easily from mount.
Stella pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Stella has control of Castaneda's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and Castaneda regains control of the situation pretty easily.
Stella controlling from the full mount.
Let's hope that Stella has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
Stella lands a big elbow.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Stella looking for a guillotine from mount but Castaneda is having none of it.
Stella looking to control and managing it successfully.
Sterling Stella has got the better of the ground game so far.
Stella raining down shots from the mount!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Stella content just to control the position here.
Stella looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Sterling Stella showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Castaneda's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Nice takedown defense from Castaneda. No joy for Stella on that attempt.
Stella looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Castaneda is fending him off so far but Stella persists. Nope, Castaneda circles away and we're back to standing.
Stella has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

Stella gets the takedown into side control.
Stella lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Castaneda down.
Castaneda tries to control the position but he's not in luck - Stella easily slips into full mount!
Castaneda has given up his back, trying to stand up. Not clever.
You know, I was talking to some of our celebrities at ringside tonight and they were split right down the middle on who was going to win this fight.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Castaneda has his hands over his head blocking the strikes from Stella.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stella is riding his opponent, not letting Castaneda buck him off.

Stella has managed to slip his arm under Castaneda's chin. This could be all over... yep, Castaneda is tapping out! Submission win for Stella.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:34 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (RNC). Sterling Stella!