PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Mustafa Erdogan (ranked 17 p4p, 129 weight class) and Julius Lew (ranked 3 p4p, 17 weight class). Julius Lew has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Erdogan
vs
Lew

188 cm
35
186
35 - 10 - 0

185 cm
33
185
25 - 9 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Brooklyn Apothecary
Brooklyn Threads

NARCOS

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the middleweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 35 - 10 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Mustafa Erdogan!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 25 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Julius Lew!
The judges for this bout are Wesley Smith, Tiny Johnson and Cecil Peabody.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Erdogan fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Lew scores with a shot to the body.
Lew fakes the leg kick and cracks Erdogan in the body.
That kick from Erdogan tenderised Lew's leg. Lew is trying to keep his angry face on.
Lew misses with a lunging right hand
and Erdogan finishes the little exchange by landing a big kick to the body.
Lew throws a poor cross that misses
and Lew takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Lew throws a lazy uppercut
and Erdogan counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Erdogan uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Lew.
Lew throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Erdogan counters with a stiff right hand.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Lew throws a lazy head kick
and Erdogan cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lew throws a jab when Erdogan was well out of range.
Lew misses with a series of wild punches.
Lew throws a jab when Erdogan was well out of range.
A slow jab from Erdogan misses its intended target.

Lew gets a clinch.
A short body shot lands from Erdogan as the two fighters clinch.
Lew misses with a body punch.
Lew misses with a punch on the inside.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Lew.
A right hook to the body lands for Lew.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Erdogan misses with an elbow over the top.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Lew.
I was talking to Erdogan's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.
Lew misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Erdogan gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Erdogan working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Erdogan tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Lew's elbow.
Lew tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Erdogan misses with a punch to the body.
Erdogan cracks Lew with a nice body shot.
Lew softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Lew misses with a hook to the ribs.
Erdogan tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Lew lands a nice shot to the body.
Erdogan misses with the head strike.
A right hook to the body lands for Lew.
Erdogan throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Lew struggles to land a body shot inside as Erdogan controls his hands.
Erdogan tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Lew lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Lew misses with some punches.
Lew misses with a body punch.
A short right from Erdogan on the inside.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Lew breaks from the clinch.
Erdogan scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Lew misses the jab.
Lew throws a shot from downtown. Erdogan moves away and avoids it.
Lew takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Lew misses with a right hand
and Erdogan counters with an inside leg kick.
Lew misses the jab.
Erdogan looked to counter with a high kick but didn't commit.
Lew swings for the body but Erdogan moves out of range.
Erdogan is looking to counter punch.
Lew misses with a straight left.
Erdogan appears to be looking for a counter punch to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Erdogan uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Lew.
It looked like Erdogan wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Lew misses with an uppercut
and Erdogan counters with a nice body kick.
Lew might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
Erdogan connects with a solid leg kick.
Lew smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Lew tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Erdogan paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Erdogan quickly followed up with a counter body kick but doesn't connect.
Lew bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Erdogan's head.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Nice defenses there by Erdogan.
Lew misses with a hook
and Erdogan counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
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 Mustafa Erdogan will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Lew closes the distance and clinches.
Lew takes a shot to the head.
Lew tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Lew fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Lew with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Erdogan prevents a body shot from Lew.
Lew struggles to land a body shot inside as Erdogan controls his hands.
Lew prevents a body shot from Erdogan.

Erdogan pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Erdogan keeps the fight on the outside.
Lew throws an off balance right hand
and Erdogan connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Erdogan slips under a jab from Lew.
Lew looks to land a left hand but Erdogan moved out of range nicely.
Lew doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Lew closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Lew lands a hook that snaps the head of Erdogan backwards.
Erdogan misses with a punch on the inside.
Erdogan misses with a punch on the inside.
Lew throws a head punch that misses.
Erdogan lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Lew has been looking to improve his clinch game in recent weeks. Erdogan seems to have the measure of him in the clinch so far, so let's see if Lew can turn it around.
Lew blocks an uppercut.
Lew goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Erdogan gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.

It looks like Julius Lew has been cut.
Julius Lew seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Erdogan throws a head punch that misses.
Lew tries to throw a body punch but Erdogan avoids it by throwing Lew back against the cage.
Erdogan tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.

Lew breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Lew avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Lew misses with a hook
and Erdogan counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Mustafa Erdogan is winning the standup battle so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lew throws a right hand that misses
and Erdogan counters with a nice leg kick.
Lew throws a head kick that misses
and Erdogan counters with a left to the body.
Lew is breathing heavily.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Lew is looking to clinch.
Lew on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Erdogan. Erdogan obviously looking to wear him down.
Lew is looking to clinch but Erdogan is avoiding it.
Lew takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Lew misses with a two punch combination.
No joy there for Lew, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Lew misses with an uppercut.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Erdogan misses the shot to the body.
Lew swings widly with a right hand
enabling Erdogan to counter with a crisp jab.
Lew throws a lazy uppercut
and Erdogan makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Lew throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Erdogan counters with a left to the body.
Erdogan misses with a series of wild punches.
Erdogan throws an overhand right that lands on Lew's shoulder, as Lew tries to avoid the shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lew tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Erdogan counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Lew tries to clinch but Erdogan is having none of it.
Erdogan displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Lew throws out the jab.

Lew clinches with his opponent.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Erdogan.
Lew throws a punch but it's blocked by Erdogan.
Erdogan lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Erdogan stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Erdogan misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Erdogan lands a nice uppercut.
Erdogan misses with a punch on the inside.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Lew.
Lew blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Erdogan blocking some punches.
A shot in the inside from Lew.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Mustafa Erdogan dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Julius Lew'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.

Erdogan bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Erdogan tries to land a front kick but Lew steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Lew throws an off balance right hand
and Erdogan cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

Erdogan lands a left and a right that send Lew crashing to the mat, dazed. Erdogan thinks about following him to the mat but decides to wave him back up to his feet!

Lew is rocked!
Erdogan comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Lew looks to score with a jab to the body but Erdogan is just out of range.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Lew.
Lew tries a body shot but Erdogan blocks it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A head punch on the inside from Lew fails to land.
Erdogan pushes Lew back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Erdogan is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Lew can do to turn this around?
Erdogan softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Nice elbow from Erdogan.
Erdogan tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Erdogan misses with a shot to the kidneys.
A hook to the body from Erdogan.
Lew takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Erdogan is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Erdogan cracks Lew with a nice body shot.
Erdogan doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
A nice left hand lands by Erdogan.
Erdogan digs a right hand underneath Lew's ribcage. Lew let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Lew swings away with an uppercut that misses.
A short right from Erdogan.
Erdogan scores with a hook to the body.
Erdogan blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Erdogan throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Lews head.
Lew is still on wobbly legs! Can Erdogan finish him?
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Erdogan is leaning against Lew and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Erdogan lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A right hook to the body lands for Erdogan.
Lew blocks a body shot from Erdogan.
Erdogan lands an elbow just above Lew 's eye.

Erdogan breaks the clinch.
Erdogan circles and sees the opportunity to plant his feet and throw a really nice straight left hand that drops Lew to the canvas! Lew doesn't know where he is but he's trying to survive - Erdogan keeps piling on the pressure and forces the referee to step in! This one is aaaaaall over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:18 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Mustafa Erdogan!
Mustafa Erdogan retains his middleweight title!
During a confident post fight interview, Mustafa Erdogan thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.