PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Athan Stamatis (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Basil Lundeby (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Stamatis comes into the arena with Lose Yourself blaring out of the sound system. Lundeby has chosen Casino Royal 007 Theme as his entrance music. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Stamatis
vs
Lundeby

176 cm
32
184 lbs
18 - 14 - 0

182 cm
28
182 lbs
14 - 9 - 1

Good wrestling
Lethal high kicks
Insanely flexible

Olympic wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 18 - 14 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Athan Stamatis!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 14 - 9 - 1, fighting out of Amsterdam, Basil Lundeby!
The judges for this bout are Wagner Zegers, Nard Betker and Radbod Blank.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A low kick from Lundeby is predictable there
and Stamatis counters with a right hand to the body.
Stamatis lands a nice looking body shot.
Lundeby shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Stamatis as he jumps to the side.
Both fighters are looking to counter, which isn't making for the most exciting fight in the world.
Stamatis ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Lundeby moves away.
Lundeby dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Stamatis. That did some damage!
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Stamatis.
Lundeby avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Lundeby moves out of range of the body kick.
Lundeby throws a body kick that misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lundeby thows a body shot but no joy.
Stamatis tries to clinch but Lundeby moves out of range.
Lundeby on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Stamatis. Stamatis obviously looking to wear him down.
Stamatis checks a leg kick nicely.
Lundeby misses with a head kick.
Stamatis blocks a leg kick.
Lundeby with a poor takedown
and Stamatis counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Lundeby scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Stamatis checks a low kick from Lundeby.
Stamatis is looking to clinch but Lundeby is avoiding it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stamatis bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Lundeby's head.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Stamatis fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Lundeby checks it well.
Stamatis wants to slow Lundeby down by chopping away at his legs.
Stamatis rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Lundeby moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Stamatis swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Lundeby closes the distance and clinches up with Stamatis, looking for a takedown. Lundeby pushes Stamatis against the cage but Stamatis circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Athan Stamatis has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Basil Lundeby.
Stamatis misses with an uppercut. Lundeby saw that one coming.
Stamatis throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Lundeby's head.
Stamatis motions for Lundeby to come forward. Stamatis throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lundeby circles away from the clinch attempt.
Lundeby checks the leg kick.
Stamatis lands a nice leg kick that just misses Lundeby's sensitive parts.
Stamatis fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Lundeby manages to avoid it.
Lundeby fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Stamatis has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
A good leg kick by Stamatis.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Stamatis.
That kick from Lundeby tenderised Stamatis's leg. Stamatis is trying to keep his angry face on.
Stamatis lands a nice shot to the body.
Nice uppercut there from Stamatis.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stamatis misses with a body punch
enabling Lundeby to counter with a crisp jab.
Stamatis is looking to wear down Lundeby with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Lundeby tries to work over Stamatis's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Lundeby is trying desperately to land a takedown but Stamatis is having absolutely none of it. This is turning into a bit of a nightmare for Lundeby.
Stamatis trying to land knees to the body.
Stamatis swings wildly with an uppercut but Lundeby uses good head movement to avoid it.
A head punch on the inside from Lundeby fails to land.
Lundeby lands a left hand that snaps the head of Stamatis backwards.
Lundeby misses with a hook from the clinch.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Lundeby escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Lundeby shoots in for a takedown but Stamatis shows good takedown defense.
Lundeby moves out of range of the strikes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Athan Stamatis dominated that round.
That's time! Stamatis's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Stamatis with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Lundeby swings and misses with a hook to the body.

Stamatis fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Lundeby, pushing him back against the cage.
Stamatis can't find room to land a body shot as Lundeby controls the action.
Lundeby scores with a shot to the side of Stamatis's head.
Stamatis looking to slow down the pace here.
Lundeby lands an uppercut.
A nice right hand lands inside from Lundeby.
Stamatis is looking to control Lundeby's arms but Lundeby gets an underhook and turns him. Now Stamatis has his back to the cage.

Lundeby manages to break the clinch.
Stamatis with a nice cross.
Stamatis clobbers Lundeby with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stamatis tries to bum rush Lundeby with a series of wild strikes but Lundeby uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Lundeby shoots in for a takedown but Stamatis shows good takedown defense.
Lundeby tries to close the distance and clinch up but Stamatis swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Lundeby lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Lundeby dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Stamatis. That did some damage!
Stamatis moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Athan Stamatis is winning the standup battle so far.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Stamatis, right into the meat.
Stamatis circles away from the clinch attempt.
Lundeby throws a sloppy head kick
and Stamatis counters with a thumping low kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lundeby moves out of range of the body kick.
Stamatis connects with a jab.

Lundeby closes the distance and pushes Stamatis back into the cage.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Lundeby is looking to break free of the clinch but Stamatis has double underhooks.
Lundeby working aggressively here.
Lundeby blocking some punches.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Stamatis.
A short right from Stamatis on the inside.
Lundeby misses with a hook to the ribs.
Lundeby tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Lundeby blocks an elbow strike.
Lundeby misses with a punch to the body.

Lundeby breaks the clinch.
Lundeby ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The fight stays on the outside here - Lundeby looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Lundeby blocks a jab.
Stamatis connects with the punch.
Lundeby misses the body punch
and Stamatis counters with a left to the body.
Stamatis walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Lundeby checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Horrible takedown by Lundeby or perhaps it was just good defense by Stamatis which made him look bad.
Lundeby's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Lundeby takes one on the chin but keeps coming.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stamatis throws an overhand right that lands on Lundeby's shoulder, as Lundeby tries to avoid the shot.
Lundeby tries a low kick but Stamatis avoids it.
Stamatis misses with a lunging right hand

and Lundeby counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Lundeby is trying to force a seperation but Stamatis has the dominant position.
Lundeby works on Stamatis's body with a couple of short punches.
Stamatis managing to block the knees to the body from Lundeby.
Stamatis is stalling here.
Lundeby misses with some punches.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Stamatis is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Stamatis misses with the head strike.
Stamatis is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Athan Stamatis has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Basil Lundeby.
Lundeby tries a body shot but Stamatis blocks it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Athan Stamatis dominated that second round.
That's time! Stamatis's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Stamatis looks to throw the jab but Lundeby is out of range.
Stamatis tries to clinch up but Lundeby circles away and keeps his distance.
The fight stays on the outside here - Lundeby looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Lundeby looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Stamatis is fending him off so far but Lundeby persists. Nope, Stamatis circles away and we're back to standing.
Lundeby pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Stamatis misses with an uppercut.
Stamatis cracks the inside of Lundeby's front leg.
Stamatis does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Lundeby pulls out of a head kick attempt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stamatis missing with a left hand there. Lundeby was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Stamatis connects with a leg kick. Lundeby looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Lundeby fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Stamatis.
Stamatis scores with a jab to the body.
Stamatis comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Lundeby takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Stamatis tries to work over Lundeby's front leg with a kick but Lundeby checks it.
Stamatis thows a body shot but no joy.
Lundeby misses with a takedown attempt - Stamatis sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Lundeby misses with a leg kick
and Stamatis counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stamatis fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Lundeby looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Lundeby.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Stamatis lands with a shot to the body.
Stamatis misses with a jab to the body
and Lundeby counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Stamatis dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Lundeby throws an ugly left hook that misses

and Stamatis counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Lundeby's guard now.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Lundeby is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Lundeby working a defensive guard but Stamatis manages to pass into side control anyway.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stamatis creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Lundeby sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
Basil Lundeby has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Stamatis working the strikes but Lundeby uses the opportunity to regain half guard.
Lundeby is in trouble now - Stamatis has advanced to mount!
Stamatis punching from mount but Lundeby doing a good job of avoiding damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stamatis landing strikes from the mount.
Lundeby working to try and regain half guard.
Athan Stamatis is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

Stamatis has hold of Lundeby's left arm, perhaps looking for a submission. The two fighters tussle over control of the isolated limb and Lundeby manages to get his arm back to his side and away from danger.
Stamatis thowing shots but they're missing.

And that's the end of the fight!
Athan Stamatis showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Stamatis, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Wagner Zegers scores the fight 30:27
Judge Nard Betker scores the fight 30:27
Judge Radbod Blank scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Athan Stamatis!
During a confident post fight interview, Athan Stamatis thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.