PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Stephane Phillips (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jean Boucher (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Phillips might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Bing Bong by Korki Buchek. Jean Boucher will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Phillips
vs
Boucher

191 cm
25
161 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

175 cm
20
155 lbs
4 - 1 - 0

Good takedowns
Basic striking
Granite chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
Solid chin

Brute

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Stephane Phillips!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Jean Boucher!
The judges for this bout are Ben Zyskovitsi, Matti Vanhoillinen and Marco Blurström.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Boucher swinging wildly here.
Phillips ducks under a wild hook from Boucher.
No joy there for Boucher, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Boucher tries to bum rush Phillips with a series of wild strikes but Phillips uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Boucher tries a head kick but it misses.

Phillips throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Boucher was covering up waiting for the punch and Phillips finishes the takedown easily into guard.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Phillips stays in close to Boucher's body and controls the position.
Phillips wants to control from the top but Boucher keeps moving.
Phillips not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Stephane Phillips.

Phillips drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Phillips looking to pass the guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Phillips controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Phillips passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Boucher is not content to let Phillips control the position.
Boucher stops Phillips from passing to mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Phillips wants to lay and pray for a moment but Boucher keeps working.
Boucher is working to avoid the ground and pound but Phillips connects with a decent elbow.
Phillips working the ground and pound but Boucher is defending the strikes.
Phillips advances to full mount.
Phillips punching from mount but Boucher doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Phillips unloads with some shots from mount but Boucher bucks and avoids them well.
Phillips tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Phillips working the ground and pound effectively.
Phillips misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.
Phillips with shots to the head and body - Boucher looks very uncomfortable down there.
Phillips has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Boucher looks winded!
Phillips working Boucher over with strikes here.
Phillips tries to control but Boucher wriggling away.
Phillips lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Phillips lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Boucher blocking the ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Phillips looking to control but Boucher is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Phillips working Boucher over with strikes here.

It looks like Jean Boucher has been cut.
Phillips sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.

Phillips is in full mount, looking to secure a guillotine but Boucher is surviving well by controlling Phillips's body position as best he can.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Phillips looking to control but Boucher is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Stephane Phillips dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Jean Boucher's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Phillips ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Boucher moves away.
Phillips avoids a punch combination nicely.

Phillips shoots in and gets a takedown into Boucher's guard.
Boucher wants to get back to his feet but he's too absorbed in his own little project and Phillips manages to pass to side control.
Boucher is staying active underneath Phillips, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Phillips looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Boucher is refusing to be controlled, as Phillips sits in half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Phillips with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Boucher is breathing heavily.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.

We're going to have a standup here because Stephane Phillips wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.

Phillips shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Phillips tries to pass the half guard into mount. Boucher knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Phillips controlling the action here.
Phillips wants to control but Boucher is keeping him busy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ground and pound from Phillips.
Phillips passes to side control.
Phillips postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Boucher takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Phillips tries to move into full mount but can't pass Boucher's legs.

Phillips tries for a kimura but Boucher is defending well.

Phillips is trying to get an arm triangle but Boucher is defending well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Phillips scoring with punches from side control.
Phillips trying to control the position but Boucher is working away.
Phillips misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Phillips sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Boucher is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
Phillips misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Phillips passes to full mount! That's big trouble for Boucher!
Phillips controlling from the full mount.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Stephane Phillips dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Jean Boucher's cut.
That's time! Back to the action! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Phillips drives through with a takedown into guard.
Phillips wants to pass the guard but Boucher is keeping the position.
Phillips trying to control the position from guard on top but Boucher is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Phillips wants to pass the guard but Boucher is keeping the position.
Phillips advances to half guard.
Phillips wants to free his trapped foot but Boucher is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Boucher is in trouble now - Phillips has advanced to mount!
Phillips is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Boucher can do to turn this around?
Boucher takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Boucher is squirming around, avoiding Phillips's attempts to control the action.
Phillips controlling from the full mount.
Phillips misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.
Boucher is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
Phillips looking to control and managing it successfully.
Boucher is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
Stephane Phillips is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Phillips looking to control and managing it successfully.
Phillips seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Boucher for as long as he can get away with.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Stephane Phillips wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Phillips throws a body punch but Boucher moves out of range.

Phillips shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Phillips was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Phillips staying calm.
Jean Boucher has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Stephane Phillips has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Boucher throws a right and a left that both miss.

And that's the end of the fight!
Stephane Phillips showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Phillips has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Ben Zyskovitsi scores the fight 30:24
Judge Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 30:27
Judge Marco Blurström scores the fight 30:24

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Stephane Phillips!
After the fight, Stephane Phillips was humble in paying tribute to his opponent but made it clear he wants to go on to bigger and better things. It seemed to go down well with the crowd who cheered him loudly.