PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Soslan Taisaev (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Andrew Stevens (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters really staring each other down here, as Andrew Stevens enters the cage!

Taisaev
vs
Stevens

178 cm
23
214 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

190 cm
23
215 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

Good wrestling
Decent elbows
Big heart

Decent wrestler
Good elbows
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Soslan Taisaev!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Andrew Stevens!
The judges for this bout are Micheangelo Fripello, Chris Saunders and Josh West.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Taisaev throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Stevens counters with a nice uppercut.
Taisaev throws a right hand that misses
and Stevens connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.

It looks like Soslan Taisaev has been cut.
A jab from Taisaev finds it's way through Stevens's defenses.
Taisaev throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Stevens takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Stevens cracks Taisaev with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Stevens tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Taisaev manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Taisaev slips a straight right by Stevens.
Stevens throws out a loose jab but Taisaev uses good head movement to avoid it.
Taisaev swings widly with a right hand
and Stevens counters with a right hand to the body.
Taisaev slips a straight right by Stevens.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Taisaev showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Stevens.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Taisaev.
Andrew Stevens seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Stevens looks to throw the jab but Taisaev is out of range.
Taisaev throws a body punch but Stevens moves out of range.
Stevens lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stevens cracks Taisaev with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Stevens thows a left - swing and a miss!
Stevens looks to throw the jab but Taisaev is out of range.
Jab, jab by Taisaev - just one landing.
A big right from Stevens misses.
Taisaev is looking to counter punch.
Taisaev tries to clinch there but Stevens circles away.
Stevens tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Taisaev paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Stevens ducks under a wild hook from Taisaev.
Stevens looks to throw the jab but Taisaev is out of range.
A little feinted left hand from Taisaev on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Taisaev connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Stevens momentarily.
Taisaev keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Stevens.
Taisaev throws a jab but it's blocked by Stevens.
Taisaev throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Stevens misses with an uppercut.
Taisaev tries to bum rush Stevens with a series of wild strikes but Stevens uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Stevens staying out of range there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stevens connects with a jab.
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!
Stevens misses with a looping left.
Stevens throws a shot from downtown. Taisaev moves away and avoids it.

Taisaev tries to keep at a distance but Stevens has taken the fight into the clinch.
Taisaev dodges an elbow strike from Stevens.
Taisaev has a couple of punches blocked by Stevens.
Taisaev swings wildly with an uppercut but Stevens uses good head movement to avoid it.
Stevens creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Taisaev dodges an elbow strike from Stevens.
Taisaev dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Stevens throws an elbow that misses.
Taisaev wants to stall.
A short uppercut from Taisaev.
Stevens throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Taisaev pushes Stevens back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.

Stevens escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Stevens walks into a stiff left hand from Taisaev.
Stevens misses with a left hand
and Taisaev counters with a stiff right hand.
The fighters circling - Stevens throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Taisaev throws a hook but Stevens avoids it easily.
Stevens lands a nice shot to the body.

Stevens gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Stevens blocks an uppercut.
Taisaev misses with a hook to the ribs.
Taisaev is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.

Taisaev pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Stevens cracks Taisaev with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Taisaev slips under a jab.
A big right from Taisaev misses.

Taisaev instigates a clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Taisaev dodges an elbow strike from Stevens.
With the fighters up against the cage, Stevens throws an elbow but misses.
Stevens blocking some punches.
Taisaev dodges an elbow strike from Stevens.
Taisaev blocks an elbow strike.
Taisaev working aggressively here.
Stevens wants to break free but Taisaev has control.
Taisaev has a couple of punches blocked by Stevens.
Taisaev swings wildly with an uppercut but Stevens uses good head movement to avoid it.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Taisaev.
Stevens lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Stevens creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Taisaev misses with some punches.
Taisaev trying to control the position but instead, Stevens has worked for underhooks and has pushed Taisaev into the cage.
Taisaev blocks the elbow strike.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Andrew Stevens will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Soslan Taisaev's cut.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Stevens is looking to clinch.
The fight stays on the outside here - Stevens looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

Taisaev moves into range and clinches up with Stevens.
Taisaev blocks an elbow strike.

Stevens breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Stevens tries to close the distance and clinch up but Taisaev swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Stevens moves in looking to clinch but Taisaev pushes him off.
Stevens throws a hook but Taisaev blocks it.
Taisaev blocks a jab.
Taisaev moves away from the strike by Stevens.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Taisaev lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Stevens throws a right and a left that both miss.
Taisaev looks to throw the jab but Stevens is out of range.
Stevens swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Taisaev.
Taisaev slips under a jab from Stevens.
Taisaev throws an overhand right that lands on Stevens's shoulder, as Stevens tries to avoid the shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Taisaev steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Stevens.
Stevens ducks under a wild hook from Taisaev.
Taisaev misses with a wild combination.
A telegraphed right hand from Stevens misses the target.
Taisaev moves in looking to clinch but Stevens pushes him off.
Stevens lands with a shot to the body.
Taisaev throws a hook but Stevens blocks it.
Taisaev keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Taisaev throws a predictable looking body shot
and Taisaev takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Stevens ducks under a wild hook from Taisaev.

Stevens clinches with his opponent.
Taisaev blocks an elbow strike from Stevens.
Taisaev is trying to break the clinch but Stevens has him pressed against the cage.
Taisaev pushes Stevens back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Taisaev tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Taisaev taking a breather.
Soslan Taisaev has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Taisaev misses with a hook from the clinch.
Taisaev blocks an elbow strike from Stevens.
With the fighters up against the cage, Stevens throws an elbow but misses.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Taisaev.
A short uppercut from Taisaev.
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!
Taisaev trying to control the position but instead, Stevens has worked for underhooks and has pushed Taisaev into the cage.
Stevens throws an elbow but it misses.
Taisaev lands a right hand that snaps the head of Stevens backwards.
Taisaev wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Stevens has him pressed against the cage.
Taisaev misses with a punch on the inside.
Taisaev lands a left hand that snaps the head of Stevens backwards.
Taisaev throws a head punch that misses.
Stevens lands a damaging elbow.
Taisaev lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Taisaev blocks the elbow strike.
Taisaev working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Taisaev avoids a wild elbow strike from Stevens.
Stevens blocking some punches.
Taisaev working aggressively here.
Taisaev wants to break the clinch but can't.
Taisaev looking to stall.
Nice body punch from Taisaev - that landed with a thud.
Stevens blocks an uppercut.
Stevens gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Taisaev stalling against the cage.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Stevens.
Stevens throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Taisaev lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Taisaev trying to stall but Stevens improves his position.
Taisaev tries a body shot but Stevens blocks it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stevens tries to circle away but Taisaev has him pinned against the cage.
Taisaev has a couple of punches blocked by Stevens.
Stevens blocking some punches.
Stevens is trying to break the clinch but Taisaev has him pressed against the cage.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Stevens.
Stevens being controlled against the cage.

Taisaev escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Taisaev is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
Taisaev fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Stevens manages to avoid it.
Taisaev tries to clinch there but Stevens circles away.
Stevens ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Stevens darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Stevens clinches with his opponent.
Taisaev trying to control the position but instead, Stevens has worked for underhooks and has pushed Taisaev into the cage.
Taisaev takes an elbow to the temple.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Soslan Taisaev will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Soslan Taisaev's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Taisaev steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Stevens.
It looked like Taisaev wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Taisaev ducks under a wild hook from Stevens.
Taisaev throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Stevens sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Stevens is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Taisaev.
Taisaev tries to clinch up.
Taisaev gets cracked there but stands up to it.

Stevens darts in and clinches Taisaev up against the cage.
Taisaev is trying to maintain a safe position but Stevens gets an underhook and turns Taisaev into the cage.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Taisaev.

Taisaev breaks from the clinch.
Stevens throws a shot from downtown. Taisaev moves away and avoids it.
Stevens misses with an uppercut.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Stevens throws a lazy right hand but Taisaev sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Taisaev throws a good cross that connects.
Stevens is looking to clinch.
Stevens looks to throw the jab but Taisaev is out of range.
Stevens stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.

Soslan Taisaev's cut is getting worse.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stevens doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Taisaev feints a jab promting Stevens to slip. Taisaev then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Stevens slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.
Stevens clobbers Taisaev with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Taisaev misses with a straight left.
A left lands for Stevens.

Taisaev is rocked!
Taisaev slips under a jab from Stevens.
Taisaev throwing a counter right hand but Stevens manages to avoid it.
Stevens misses with a wild combination.
Taisaev is looking to clinch.
Taisaev connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Taisaev lands with a straight right. Stevens didn't see that one coming.
Taisaev uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Stevens.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Stevens misses with a jab, cross combination.
Stevens throws out a loose jab but Taisaev uses good head movement to avoid it.
Taisaev throws a big counter combination but Stevens scrambles out of danger and avoids any damage.
Stevens is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stevens takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
A slow jab from Taisaev misses its intended target.
Stevens ducks under a wild hook from Taisaev.
Taisaev takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Stevens misses with a hook.
Stevens looks to throw the jab but Taisaev is out of range.
Taisaev throws a body punch but Stevens moves out of range.

Stevens clinches up with Taisaev and pushes him back against the cage.
Taisaev stalling in the clinch but Stevens improves position.
Stevens throws an elbow that misses.
Stevens pushes off an throws an elbow but Taisaev leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Taisaev fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Stevens looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Stevens throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Stevens misses with an elbow strike.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Taisaev misses with a hook from the clinch.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Stevens.
Stevens blocking some punches.
Taisaev lands with a short shot to the head.
A bit of stalling here from Taisaev.
Stevens lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Taisaev.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Stevens lands an elbow that stopped Taisaev in his tracks for a moment.
Taisaev takes an elbow to the temple.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Stevens just misses with a elbow thrown towards Taisaev's brow.
Taisaev blocks the elbow strike.
With the fighters up against the cage, Stevens throws an elbow but misses.
Stevens blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Taisaev misses with some punches.
Stevens stalling.
Stevens lands a damaging elbow.
Taisaev working aggressively here.
Stevens creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Taisaev lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Stevens throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Stevens pushes off an throws an elbow but Taisaev leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Stevens looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Taisaev misses with some punches.
Taisaev lands a right hand that snaps the head of Stevens backwards.
A head punch on the inside from Taisaev fails to land.
Stevens lands an elbow inside.
Taisaev misses with a short punch on the inside.
Taisaev takes an elbow to the forehead.

Soslan Taisaev's cut is bleeding quite badly. He's got to try and protect it.
Stevens digs a right hand underneath Taisaev's ribcage. Taisaev let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Stevens lands an elbow inside that Taisaev shrugs off.

Stevens manages to break the clinch.
Taisaev takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Stevens tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Taisaev paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Soslan Taisaev has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Stevens digs a good hook to Taisaev's body.
Taisaev thows a left - swing and a miss!
It seemed like Stevens was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.

And that's the end of the fight!
Andrew Stevens comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Stevens has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Micheangelo Fripello scores the fight for Andrew Stevens!
Judge Chris Saunders scores the fight for Andrew Stevens!
Judge Josh West scores the fight for Andrew Stevens!

Andrew Stevens wins by unanimous decision!