PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Leeroy Whitaker (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and David Stone (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Stone has chosen "School of Hard Knocks" by P.O.D. as his entrance music. We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Whitaker
vs
Stone

183 cm
22
196 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

190 cm
19
185 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Leeroy Whitaker!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, David Stone!
The judges for this bout are Cecil Peabody, Chris Downing and Frank Dennis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Stone fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Whitaker tries to bum rush Stone with a series of wild strikes but Stone uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Whitaker misses with a series of wild punches.
Stone looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Stone shoots in but no luck this time.
Leeroy Whitaker has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of David Stone.
Whitaker swinging wilding here.
Whitaker misses with a low kick.
Stone changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Whitaker tries to avoid it but Stone manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Whitaker to the ground. Whitaker escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Stone misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Stone will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Stone shoots in and drives through. Whitaker sprawls well.
Whitaker misses with a series of wild punches.
Whitaker swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Whitaker throws a series of punches but Stone moves out of range.
A punch combination from Whitaker misses.
Whitaker swinging wilding here.
Stone staying out of range there.

Stone drives through with a takedown into guard.
Stone trying to control the position from guard on top but Whitaker is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Whitaker is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Whitaker wants to stand up but Stone is controlling him.
Stone slips nicely into half guard.
Stone is keen to just control but Whitaker is a slippery customer.
Stone is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!
Whitaker knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Stone on the ground.
Stone wants to control the pace but Whitaker is squirming around nicely.
You get the feeling that Whitaker really doesn't like being in this position too much.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.

Stone is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Whitaker can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
Whitaker is wriggling around trying to escape.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Stone lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Whitaker tries to hold on but Stone pushes him away.
Stone dominating with strikes here.

Stone working for a submission but Whitaker is keeping him at bay.
Whitaker is trying to get to the cage to help him get back to his feet.
Whitaker is in a horrible position here. Stone smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Whitaker is squirming around, avoiding Stone's attempts to control the action.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Whitaker tries to hold on but Stone postures up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Stone jumps to side control looking for an arm triangle but Whitaker manages to avoid the submission attempt.
Whitaker is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.

Stone is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Whitaker has escaped the position, nice work there.
Whitaker managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Stone.
Stone trying to control the action but Whitaker is working from the bottom.

Stone tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Stone has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!

Stone is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Whitaker is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Whitaker manages to work his way to half guard, despite Stone's best efforts.
Stone works his way into side control.
Whitaker is trying to buck Stone off.

Stone is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Whitaker knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Stone moves into full mount!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

David Stone dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Some wild striking there from Whitaker.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
A head kick misses from Whitaker.

Stone 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.
Stone wants to control from the top but Whitaker keeps moving.
Stone passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Whitaker wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
Whitaker gives up the full mount - oops, sloppy defensive grappling there!

Stone with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Stone working to secure an arm triangle but it's not happening for him just yet.
Whitaker tries to lock up and control but Stone gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stone cracks Whitaker with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Whitaker throwing hammer fists to the chest of Stone. What's that going to do exactly?
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Whitaker is really trying hard to get back to his feet.
Whitaker can't escape the position.

Stone looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
Stone punching from mount but Whitaker doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Stone wants to control the pace but Whitaker is squirming around nicely.
Whitaker holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Stone tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Stone looking to ground and pound but Whitaker is blocking nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.

Stone looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
Stone prevents Whitaker from getting the reversal.
Stone looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Whitaker keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Whitaker is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Whitaker is looking to get back to his feet - it's going to be hard from this position.
Stone has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Stone looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Whitaker's corner are shouting for him to stand up but that's bad cornering - how is he meant to stand up when he's mounted? He should be looking to improve his position on the ground before trying to stand back up.
Stone thowing shots but they're missing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stone tries to control but Whitaker wriggling away.
Whitaker tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Whitaker is trying to stand.
Stone trying to control but Whitaker is having none of it.
Whitaker is not a happy chappy… he wants out of there.
Stone lands a big elbow.
Stone thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.
Stone tries to control but Whitaker wriggling away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Stone is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Whitaker is trying desperately to improve position.
Whitaker manages to control the position for a moment.

Stone has hold of Whitaker's left arm, perhaps looking for a submission. The two fighters tussle over control of the isolated limb and Whitaker manages to get his arm back to his side and away from danger.
Stone wants to control the pace but Whitaker is squirming around nicely.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
You get the feeling that Whitaker really doesn't like being in this position too much.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

David Stone showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Whitaker fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Stone manages to avoid it.

Stone drives through with a takedown into guard.
Stone won't allow Whitaker to get back to his feet.
Stone stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Whitaker swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Whitaker wants to get back to his feet but Stone is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Stone tries to free his leg and advance position but Whitaker is retaining full guard.
Whitaker keeping moving, preventing Stone from controlling successfully.
Stone trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Whitaker is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Stone looking to pass the guard.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.

Stone closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Stone lands in his opponent's guard.
Stone prevents Whitaker from getting back to his feet.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stone tries to free his leg and advance position but Whitaker is retaining full guard.
Stone throwing strikes but missing.
Stone trying to control the position from guard on top but Whitaker is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Stone won't allow Whitaker to get back to his feet.
Stone preventing the sweep.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Nice sprawl there from Whitaker as Stone shoots in.
Whitaker stalks Stone and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Stone's face. Stone staggers backwards, shaken.
Whitaker cracks Stone with a right hand to the side of the head.
Leeroy Whitaker is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Nice sprawl there from Whitaker as Stone shoots in.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Stone tries for a takedown but Whitaker sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Leeroy Whitaker has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of David Stone.
Whitaker throws a right hand that Stone ducks under and follows up with a left that Stone also avoids with ease.
Stone looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Whitaker is fending him off so far but Stone persists. Nope, Whitaker circles away and we're back to standing.
Whitaker misses with the combination.
Stone fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Whitaker misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Whitaker misses with a wild combination.
Stone has a takedown stuffed.
Good exchange - Whitaker coming out on top.
Whitaker connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Whitaker throws a series of strikes that have Stone backpedaling.
Stone shoots in but no luck this time.
Whitaker throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Stone.
Whitaker lands a glancing blow to the side of Stone's head.
Stone shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Whitaker but Whitaker pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Stone tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Whitaker swivels and escapes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Whitaker fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Stone is out of range.

Stone bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Stone is looking to take a break and control but Whitaker is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Stone might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Whitaker kaven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.
Whitaker stops Stone from passing to mount.

Stone thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Whitaker wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Stone looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Stone throws an elbow but Whitaker slips to the side and avoids it well.

Stone tries for a kimura but Whitaker is defending well.
Stone controls the position from side control.

Stone tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Whitaker stops Stone from passing to mount.

And that's the end of the fight!
David Stone comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Stone winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Cecil Peabody scores the fight 27:30
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 27:30
Judge Frank Dennis scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... David Stone!