PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Gregor Erikson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jere Stephens (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Erikson
vs
Stephens

180 cm
25
163 lbs
2 - 3 - 0

185 cm
26
164 lbs
5 - 7 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Knockout power

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 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Gregor Erikson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Jere Stephens!
The judges for this bout are Anni Minnemäki, Ben Zyskovitsi and Roosa Järviläinen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Erikson tries to sprawl but Stephens drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Erikson pushes Stephens off looking to stand but Stephens dives back in and keeps control.
Erikson trying to hold on to Stephens's head to control him but Stephens postures up.
Erikson is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Stephens is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Stephens looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Erikson wants to improve his position but Stephens is controlling well.

Stephens escapes and gets back to his feet.

Stephens shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.

Stephens decides he's had enough of the ground and stands up.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Stephens keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Erikson is defended easily by Stephens.
Stephens rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Erikson moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Erikson doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Stephens counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Erikson thinking.
Erikson looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Gregor Erikson. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Stephens misses with a double jab.
Stephens misses with a two punch combination.
Stephens throws a nice looking combination but Erikson bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Stephens lands a two punch combo.
Stephens stalks Erikson and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Erikson's face. Erikson staggers backwards, shaken.

Stephens shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Stephens was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Stephens has had enough of the ground for now and decides to stand.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stephens lands a really nice looking cross but Erikson seems unphased.
Erikson misses with a takedown attempt
and Stephens counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Stephens is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Erikson throws a lazy uppercut
enabling Stephens to counter with a crisp jab.
Erikson throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Erikson dodges the punch combination from Stephens.
Stephens works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Erikson fails with a takedown attempt.
Erikson misses with a head kick.

Oooooh!!! Stephens has knocked Erikson down with a huge combo! Stephens steps away and waves a wobbly Erikson back to his feet! This one might not go much longer!

Erikson is rocked!
Erikson tries to close the distance and clinch up but Stephens swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Oh Erikson is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Erikson fails with the takedown
and Stephens counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
This is turning into a torrid day at the office for Erikson. He's trying desperately to land a takedown but he's failing miserably and getting slapped silly on the feet to compound his misery.
Erikson drops his hands momentarily and Stephens takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Erikson tries to clinch up.
Erikson will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Erikson seems to have got his legs back now.
Left hook, right uppercut from Stephens.
Erikson doesn't manage to clinch there - Stephens circles away.
Stephens lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Erikson fails with an attempt to clinch.
No joy there for Stephens, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Stephens is working the combinations to good effect here.
Stephens throws a leg kick but Erikson sees it coming and moves out of range.
Erikson fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Stephens manages to avoid it.
Erikson walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Erikson looks to score with a jab to the body but Stephens is just out of range.
Stephens misses with a few strikes there.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Stephens looks to land a combination. Erikson sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nice takedown defense from Stephens. No joy for Erikson on that attempt.
Jere Stephens seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Stephens displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Erikson.
Erikson is breathing heavily.
Stephens throws a right hand that Erikson ducks under and follows up with a left that Erikson also avoids with ease.
Stephens lands a nice shot that snaps Erikson's head back.
Stephens scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Stephens throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Erikson fails with the takedown
and Stephens counters with a right hand to the body.

Oooooh!!! Stephens has knocked Erikson down with a huge combo! Stephens steps away and waves a wobbly Erikson back to his feet! This one might not go much longer!
Stephens misses with a series of wild punches.
Erikson shoots in but no luck this time.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Stephens throws a low kick but it's checked well by Erikson.
Erikson slips a jab and a cross from Stephens.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jere Stephens dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Stephens lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Erikson circles away quickly and effectively.
Stephens throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Erikson.
Stephens takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Stephens's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Stephens duly obliges.
Erikson is looking to wear down Stephens with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Stephens avoids a punch combination nicely.
Erikson tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Stephens defends well and Erikson ends up having to push Stephens into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.

Stephens breaks from the clinch.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Stephens cracks Erikson with a right hand to the side of the head.
Erikson looks for a takedown but Stephens sprawls well.
Stephens stuffs the takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Gregor Erikson. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Erikson is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Erikson takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Stephens ducks under a wild hook from Erikson.
Gregor Erikson is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stephens throws a right hand that Erikson ducks under and follows up with a left that Erikson also avoids with ease.
Jere Stephens seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Stephens slaps away a takedown attempt from Erikson, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Stephens's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Stephens duly obliges.
Stephens misses with a combination
and Erikson counters with a three punch combo that has Stephens backing up. Stephens nods at Erikson to acknowledge the strikes.
Stephens ducks down and throws a hook to the body.

Stephens feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.

Stephens stands up from guard. Let's bang!
Erikson has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Erikson tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Stephens defends well and Erikson ends up having to push Stephens into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Stephens has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.

Stephens pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Stephens throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Stephens swinging wildly here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stephens will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Erikson looks for a takedown but Stephens sprawls well.
Erikson misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Stephens will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Stephens looks to land a combination but Erikson avoids it well.
Stephens lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Erikson circles away quickly and effectively.
Stephens throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Erikson.
Stephens stuffs the takedown.
Sloppy strikes from Stephens. Those never looked like landing.
Horrible takedown by Erikson or perhaps it was just good defense by Stephens which made him look bad.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Erikson misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.

Erikson gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.

Stephens stands up and waves to Erikson to follow him.
Erikson darts in looking for a takedown but Stephens gets double underhooks and turns Erikson into the cage.
Erikson wants to stall.

Stephens breaks from the clinch.
Erikson just misses with a punch to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Erikson is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Stephens fails to land with a series of punches.
Stephens throws a right and a left that Erikson avoids nicely.
Stephens works over Erikson's head and body with a nice combination.
Erikson looks to score with a jab to the body but Stephens is just out of range.
Erikson avoids a punch combination nicely.

Erikson closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Erikson wants to stand up but Stephens is controlling the position.

Erikson is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Stephens doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Erikson.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Stephens is staying active underneath Erikson, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jere Stephens showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Stephens lands a nice looking body shot.
Erikson takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Erikson shoots for a double leg takedown but Stephens sprawls well. He's pushed Erikson's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Erikson tries to clinch up but Stephens circles away and keeps his distance.
Erikson dives in for a single leg takedown but Stephens sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Stephens is trying to break the clinch but Erikson has him pressed against the cage.

Stephens escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Stephens scores with a one two! Erikson had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
Left hook, right uppercut from Erikson.
Stephens lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
A combination from Stephens does no damage.
Stephens misses with a double jab.
Erikson looks for a takedown but Stephens sprawls well.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Gregor Erikson. That's going to take a lot out of him.
A left lands for Stephens.
Erikson swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stephens defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Erikson.
Stephens falls off balance throwing a combination

and Erikson counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Erikson.

Stephens manages to break the clinch.
Stephens just misses with a punch to the body.
Stephens thuds his right hand into Erikson's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Erikson gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Stephens counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Stephens defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Erikson.
Stephens swinging wildly here.
Stephens connects with a single shot there.
Stephens drops Erikson with a straight left! Oh this is bad for Erikson! Stephens dives in and starts dropping bombs - the referee has no choice but to step in and save him!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:56 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Jere Stephens!