PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Jere Stephens (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ruslan Amigov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Jere Stephens could well score a knockout today. He has the power to get to Ruslan Amigov's chin.

Stephens
vs
Amigov

185 cm
24
164 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

180 cm
24
162 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid boxing
Intelligent

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Tends to cut

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 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Jere Stephens!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Ruslan Amigov!
The judges for this bout are , and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Amigov throws a nice inside leg kick.
Stephens misses with a combination
letting Amigov counter with a right hand.

Stephens shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Amigov is trying to defend but Stephens finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Stephens controlling the pace.
Stephens throwing shots but Amigov is blocking nicely.
Stephens throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Ground and pound from Stephens.
Stephens seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Stephens throws a strike but Amigov avoids it easily and moves to full guard.
Stephens wants to control from the top but Amigov keeps moving.
Stephens looking to sit in guard and control but Amigov gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stephens wants to get back to his feet but Amigov is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

Stephens pushes Amigov off for just long enough to get back to his feet. Very athletic spring there.
Stephens definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Amigov lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Stephens circles away quickly and effectively.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stephens shoots in for a double leg but Amigov sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.

Stephens scores with a takedown into Amigov's guard.
Stephens is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Stephens in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Stephens preventing the sweep.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Stephens accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Stephens controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Stephens missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Stephens trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stephens is looking to work some ground and pound but Amigov has wrist control.
Amigov keeping moving, preventing Stephens from controlling successfully.
Stephens 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.
Stephens throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Stephens pushes down on Amigov's leg and manages to get into half guard.

Stephens is working for a submission of some sort.
Stephens sitting and controlling from the half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stephens throwing shots but Amigov is blocking nicely.
Amigov is trying to get back to full guard.
Stephens wants to lay and pray for a moment but Amigov keeps working.
Ground and pound from Stephens.
Stephens wants to free his trapped foot but Amigov is holding on for dear life with his legs.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Stephens working the head and body with strikes.
Well, if Stephens is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jere Stephens dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Stephens shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Amigov but Amigov pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Stephens shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Amigov pinned against the cage. Amigov gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Stephens shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Amigov defends it nicely.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jere Stephens. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Stephens looks for a takedown but Amigov sprawls well.
Amigov pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Stephens misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Stephens thows a body shot but no joy.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stephens is trying hard to land a takedown here. Amigov sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Stephens misses with a jab, cross combination.

Amigov looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Stephens!
Stephens wants to control but Amigov postures up.
Amigov throws a strike aimed at the side of Stephens's head but Stephens avoids it well.
Stephens tries to improve position but can't.
Amigov is looking to take a break and control but Stephens is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stephens manages to work his way to half guard, despite Amigov's best efforts.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

Stephens manages to escape and get back to his feet!
Amigov throws a head kick that misses.
Stephens shoots in for a takedown but Amigov shows good takedown defense.
Stephens throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Stephens looks for a takedown but Amigov sprawls well.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stephens misses with a takedown attempt - Amigov sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Amigov stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Amigov wants it to stay on the feet.
Horrible takedown by Stephens or perhaps it was just good defense by Amigov which made him look bad.
Amigov throws a series of punches but Stephens avoids them all with ease.
A big right from Amigov misses.
Nice takedown defense from Amigov. No joy for Stephens on that attempt.
Amigov tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Stephens paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Stephens avoids the head kick by Amigov.
Amigov misses with a two punch combination.
Amigov fails to land with a series of punches.
Stephens fails with the takedown.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stephens avoids a punch combination nicely.
Amigov stalks Stephens and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Stephens's face. Stephens staggers backwards, shaken.
Stephens fails with the takedown.
Amigov leaves Stephens with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Stephens rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Amigov moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Amigov will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Stephens throws the left hand but Amigov avoids the punch easily.
Amigov misses with a wild combination.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Ruslan Amigov will probably get the nod - 10:9.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Amigov misses with a low kick.
Amigov misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Stephens shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Amigov sprawls well. Amigov wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Stephens gets slowly back to his feet.
Sloppy strikes from Stephens. Those never looked like landing.
Amigov wants to clinch.

Stephens manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Amigov on his heels. He'll look to pass Amigov's guard now, I'm sure.

Stephens is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Stephens trying to control the position from guard on top but Amigov is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stephens preventing the sweep.
Stephens is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Amigov really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Stephens. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Amigov is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Stephens got a little sloppy there for a moment and Amigov has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Stephens has managed to get both his arms back between Amigov's legs - danger averted.
Stephens with a nice head shot there.
Stephens postures up and lands a big shot to Amigov's brow.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stephens trying to control but Amigov is working from the bottom.
Stephens throws a big elbow that misses.
Stephens lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Amigov not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Amigov keeping moving, preventing Stephens from controlling successfully.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Stephens accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Stephens content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Stephens scoring with some ground and pound.
Amigov keeping moving, preventing Stephens from controlling successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stephens scoring with some ground and pound.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Stephens trying to control but Amigov is working from the bottom.
Jere Stephens overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Stephens wants to pass the guard but Amigov is keeping the position.
Stephens scoring with some ground and pound.
Stephens won't allow Amigov to sweep him here.
Stephens throwing strikes from guard but Amigov blocks nicely.
Stephens is stalling in the full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stephens trying to control but Amigov is working from the bottom.
Stephens stands up over Amigov, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Stephens trying to control but Amigov is working from the bottom.
Stephens is working Amigov over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Stephens trying to control the position from guard on top but Amigov is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Stephens landing with the ground and pound.

And that's the end of the fight!
Jere Stephens showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Stephens 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 Andi Peters scores the fight 29:28
Judge Gordon Ramsey scores the fight 29:28
Judge Frank Skinner scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Jere Stephens!