PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Rodney Holzken (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Felix Sturm (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Holzken
vs
Sturm

179 cm
26
157 lbs
16 - 9 - 0

180 cm
27
158 lbs
15 - 4 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Hellbent
Arcticus University: London

Bullet Proof System

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 16 - 9 - 0, fighting out of London, Rodney Holzken!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 15 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Felix Sturm!
The judges for this bout are Andrew Berry, James Ackerman and James Atkins.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Holzken ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Sturm fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Holzken manages to avoid it.
Sturm misses with a hook

and Holzken counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Sturm!

Holzken is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Sturm has escaped the position, nice work there.
Sturm is trying to control Holzken's posture but Holzken avoids it.
Holzken wants to control but Sturm is keeping him busy.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Holzken is trying to get an arm triangle but Sturm is defending well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Holzken wants to control but Sturm is keeping him busy.
Holzken wants to control for a moment but Sturm uses the opportunity to move back to half guard.
Holzken looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Holzken frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.

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.
Holzken mounts Sturm! Really nice guard pass there!
Holzken trying to control but Sturm is having none of it.

Holzken goes for an armbar but he's fallen flat on his backside there and now Sturm is on top in guard.
Sturm showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Holzken pulls Sturm in close to prevent any damage.
Sturm preventing the sweep.
Holzken lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Holzken pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Sturm is keeping the position for now.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Sturm keeping moving, preventing Holzken from controlling successfully.
Holzken looking to pass the guard.
Sturm is controlling Holzken's posture.

Holzken drops back for a leg but he's not going to get it - he lets go and Sturm dives on top into guard.

Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Holzken is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Sturm defends well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rodney Holzken dominated that round.
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.

Holzken misses the body punch
and Holzken takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Holzken takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Sturm throws a poor cross that misses

and Holzken counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Sturm!
Holzken wants to lay and pray for a moment but Sturm keeps working.

Holzken looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Holzken working away.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Holzken is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Sturm is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
You can see the frustration on Sturm's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sturm is trying to improve his position.

Holzken tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Holzken wants to control but Sturm is keeping him busy.

Holzken is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Sturm has escaped the position, nice work there.
Holzken taking a break here but Sturm is having none of it and regains half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Holzken trying to advance position but Sturm counters by regaining guard.
Sturm keeping moving, preventing Holzken from controlling successfully.
Sturm pulls Holzken in to control the position.
Sturm bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Holzken's guard.

Holzken tries to land a sweep but no joy.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sturm not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Holzken can't keep his opponent in guard - Sturm advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Holzken is trying to get back to full guard.

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.
Holzken tries to regain full guard. Instead though, Sturm has advanced to mount. Uh oh.
Holzken bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!
Rodney Holzken overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Holzken passes Sturm's left leg - he's now in half guard.
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 Rodney Holzken will probably get the nod.
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. This is the final round!

Sturm ducks under a wild hook from Holzken.
Holzken dives in for a single leg takedown but Sturm sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Holzken fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Holzken misses the shot to the body.
Holzken tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Sturm was well out of range. Poor timing from Holzken.
Holzken lands a jab to Sturm's midsection.
Sturm misses with an uppercut. Holzken saw that one coming.
Sturm connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Holzken's hands.
Holzken swings for the body but Sturm moves out of range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Holzken walks into a straight right hand from Sturm.
Holzken throws a shot to the body.
Holzken drops his hands momentarily and Sturm takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Holzken fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rodney Holzken. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sturm just misses with a punch to the body.
Holzken attempts a counter takedown but Sturm avoids it well and moves away.
Some wild striking there from Sturm.
Sturm uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Holzken.
Holzken tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Sturm was well out of range. Poor timing from Holzken.
Sturm throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Holzken sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Holzken walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Holzken just misses with a punch to the body.
Sturm throws out a counter right but Holzken avoids it with no problem.
Holzken moves away from the strike by Sturm.
Sturm is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Holzken.
Holzken misses with a straight right.
Holzken takes a swing at Sturm's ribcage but misses.
Holzken throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Holzken is looking to wear down Sturm with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Sturm misses with a looping left.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Holzken.
Holzken comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Felix Sturm has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
A big right from Sturm misses.
Holzken shoots in for a takedown but Sturm shows good takedown defense.
Sturm slaps away a takedown attempt from Holzken, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Sturm throws a body punch but Holzken moves out of range.
Felix Sturm seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Holzken cracks a nice hook into Sturm's ribs.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Sturm throws a looping overhand right but Holzken ducks down to avoid it.
Sturm looks to land a left hand but Holzken moved out of range nicely.
A slow jab from Holzken misses its intended target.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sturm connects with the punch.
Holzken ducks under a wild hook from Sturm.

Holzken is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Sturm's half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Sturm slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Holzken pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Sturm is keeping the position for now.
Rodney Holzken is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Holzken trying to move into half guard but instead Sturm has managed to sweep!

Holzken wants to sweep here but Sturm controlling him for the moment.
Sturm scoring with punches to the head and body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Holzken keeping moving, preventing Sturm from controlling successfully.
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.
Holzken has Sturm pulled in close to control his posture.
Holzken manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Sturm manages to get himself to full guard.

Holzken looking to control the position here, rather than advance.

And that's the end of the fight!
Felix Sturm comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Holzken 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 Andrew Berry scores the fight 29:28
Judge James Ackerman scores the fight 29:29
Judge James Atkins scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Rodney Holzken!
Rodney Holzken tried to hype himself up post fight but didn't word it too well and it ended up with him sounding like a bit of a tool.