PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Julian Gniewek (ranked 2743 p4p, 256 weight class) and Elijah Judah (ranked 1158 p4p, 133 weight class). Both fighters really staring each other down here, as Elijah Judah enters the cage!

Gniewek
vs
Judah

181 cm
32
155 lbs
13 - 12 - 0

175 cm
31
147 lbs
18 - 6 - 2

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Granite chin

Sully's Bar & Grill
VENUM MMA WEAR

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the featherweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 13 - 12 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Julian Gniewek!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 18 - 6 - 2, fighting out of Las Vegas, Elijah Judah!
The judges for this bout are Franklyn Lucas, Dean Styles and Russell Pearce.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gniewek blocks a jab.

Gniewek clinches.
Gniewek using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Judah has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Judah is trying to push Gniewek away but Gniewek has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Judah scores with a shoulder strike.
Judah misses with a punch on the inside.
Gniewek with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Judah tries to break free but Gniewek pushes him back against the cage.
Judah has had enough of the clinch but Gniewek keeps him there for the moment.
A knee to the head by Gniewek.
Gniewek tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Gniewek is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Gniewek unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Gniewek has Judah pressed against the cage, preventing Judah from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Judah wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Gniewek has him pressed against the cage.
Judah is trying to push Gniewek away but Gniewek has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Gniewek trying to stall but Judah improves his position.
Gniewek tries to land knees in the clinch but Judah avoids the damage to the body.
Judah blocks an uppercut.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gniewek lands a shoulder strike.

Judah's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Gniewek misses with a straight left.
Gniewek tries to clinch up.
Elijah Judah seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Judah shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Gniewek scores with a jab to the jaw.
A head kick misses from Gniewek.
A punch combination from Judah misses.

Gniewek closes the distance and clinches.
Judah lands a hook to the side of the head.
A head punch on the inside from Gniewek fails to land.
Judah wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Gniewek has him pressed against the cage.
Gniewek blocks a body shot from Judah.
Gniewek stalling in the clinch but Judah improves position.
Gniewek misses with a short punch on the inside.
Judah misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Judah is trying to break the clinch but Gniewek has him pressed against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Judah pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Judah uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Judah cracks Gniewek with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Gniewek tries to move into range but Judah moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Judah pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Good leg kick by Judah there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Judah walks into a straight right hand from Gniewek.
Gniewek tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
A jab from Judah misses.
Judah throws a body punch but Gniewek moves out of range.
Gniewek fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Judah misses with a body shot
and Gniewek counters with a body kick that stops Judah in his tracks momentarily.
A head kick misses from Gniewek.
Judah smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gniewek tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Judah paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Judah misses with a straight right.
Gniewek half committed to a counter leg kick.
Gniewek ducks under a wild hook from Judah.
Judah misses with a straight left.
Gniewek is trying to close the distance and clinch up, after that failed offence from Judah.
Gniewek lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Judah jabs Gniewek to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Judah clobbers Gniewek with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.

Judah tries to keep at a distance but Gniewek has taken the fight into the clinch.
Judah's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Judah tries to work over Gniewek's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Gniewek scores with a nice hook to the head.
Judah lands a shot to the body.
Judah stalling in the clinch.
Gniewek blocks a body shot from Judah.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Judah lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Gniewek.
Judah lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Gniewek backwards.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Judah on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Judah scores with a hook to the body.
Judah is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Judah lands with a light punch inside.
A frustrated look appears on Judah's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Gniewek scores with a knee to the head.

Judah breaks the clinch.
Gniewek is looking to clinch.
Gniewek takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Judah feints and then cracks Gniewek's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Gniewek down.
Gniewek is looking to clinch.
Judah let fly with a counter punch to the body but it didn't land.
The crowd cheers as Judah lands an impressive looking overhand right. Gniewek doesn't seem phased though.
Judah throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Elijah Judah will probably get the nod.
That's time! Back to the action!

A slapping body kick lands there for Gniewek.
A nice leg kick lands there from Judah.
Judah just misses with a punch to the body.
Judah's jab looks to have found its range, popping Gniewek under the eye.
Judah comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Judah changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Judah throws a big shot that misses.
A decent looking body kick lands there for Gniewek.
Gniewek misses with a head kick.
Judah swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Nice shot by Judah.
Judah is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Nice cross by Gniewek.
Judah misses with a series of wild punches.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Gniewek clinches with his opponent.
Gniewek's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!

Gniewek manages to pull guard.
Gniewek controls Judah momentarily but Judah frees himself.
Judah wanted to stand there but Gniewek had control of the position.
Gniewek pulls Judah in close to prevent any damage.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Gniewek is on top in guard.

Judah keeping full guard, as Gniewek tries to pass.

Judah wriggles free and stands up.
Judah throws a shot to the body.
Judah keeps the fight on the outside.
Judah swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A punch lands to the side of Gniewek 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Gniewek with a hook.
Judah just misses with a punch to the body.
A decent looking body kick lands there for Gniewek.
Elijah Judah seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Judah pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Gniewek back to the cage. Judah follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.
Judah throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Gniewek defending well as Judah loads up on a big left hand.

Gniewek closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Julian Gniewek has scored more points in the clinch so far.

Judah breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Judah misses the shot to the body.
Gniewek is looking to counter the offense by Judah and move into the clinch.
Gniewek moves away from the strike by Judah.
A low kick from Judah misses
and Gniewek counters with a nice leg kick.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Judah takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gniewek looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Judah misses with the combination.
Gniewek tries to score with a low kick but Judah moves his leg out of the way.

Gniewek has closed the distance and engaged Judah in a clinch.
Gniewek blocking some punches.
Gniewek lands a knee to the body.
Judah wants to break free but Gniewek has control.

Judah's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Gniewek keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Gniewek seemed to be looking to counter by closing the distance.
Gniewek lands with a thumping leg kick.
Judah throws a right hand that Gniewek ducks under and follows up with a left that Gniewek also avoids with ease.
Gniewek lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Judah keeps the fight on the outside.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Judah throws a hook to the side of Gniewek's head but Gniewek sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Gniewek avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Judah throws a hook but Gniewek avoids it easily.
Gniewek tries to clinch but Judah moves out of range.
Judah let fly with a counter punch to the body but it didn't land.
Judah lands a nice hook to Gniewek's body. Gniewek takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Gniewek fakes the leg kick and cracks Judah in the body.
Judah listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Gniewek dodges the punch combination from Judah.
Gniewek jinks towards his opponent looking like he wants to counter with a mid kick but doesn't commit.
It looks like Gniewek has been trying to sharpen up his punching technique, as it looks crisper than last time we saw him.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gniewek fails with an attempt to clinch.
Gniewek tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Judah paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Gniewek avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Judah lands a nice hook to Gniewek's body. Gniewek takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gniewek looks for the body kick but Judah saw that one coming.
A shot to the body from Judah misses
and Gniewek counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Judah throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Judah throws a body punch but Gniewek moves out of range.
Judah misses with a left hand

and Gniewek counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Gniewek.
Judah misses with the head strike.
Judah misses with a punch to the body.
Gniewek softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.

Judah breaks from the clinch.
Gniewek misses with a jab to the body
and Judah counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Gniewek keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Gniewek walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Judah tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Gniewek takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Judah throws a jab when Gniewek was well out of range.
Judah misses the shot to the body.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Gniewek fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Judah manages to avoid it.
Judah tries to clinch there but Gniewek circles away.
A shot to the liver by Judah. Beautiful body shot.
A swing and a miss from Gniewek.
Judah now looks to counter with a shot at the body.
Judah throws a lazy right hand but Gniewek sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Judah throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Gniewek wants to clinch up but Judah keeps it at a distance.
Judah throws a low kick but Gniewek moves out of range easily.
An attempted straight right counter from Gniewek misses the target.
Gniewek lands a lovely overhand right.
Judah stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Gniewek.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Judah with a hook.
Gniewek tries to clinch but Judah moves out of range.
Good exchange - Judah coming out on top.
Gniewek throws a head kick that misses.
Gniewek lands a kick to the ribs of his opponent. Nice work there - in and out in a flash.
Judah lands a body shot.
Judah has developed a nice purple lump on his ribcage, as a result of some heavy body kicks from Gniewek.
Judah jabbing away but nothing is landing.
An attempted straight right counter from Gniewek misses the target.
Judah throws a front kick aimed at Gniewek's knee but Gniewek avoids it well.
Judah misses the shot to the body.
Gniewek wants to clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A punch combination from Judah misses.
Judah missing with a left hand there. Gniewek was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Gniewek was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Judah has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Judah swings widly with a right hand
and Gniewek cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

Gniewek clinches up against the cage.
Judah taking a breather.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Judah is working Gniewek over against the cage.

Judah's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Judah throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Judah throws a lazy right hand but Gniewek sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Judah throws a hook to the side of Gniewek's head but Gniewek sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Gniewek connects with a body shot that sends Judah's belly button to the back.
Gniewek tries to clinch there but Judah circles away.
Gniewek doesn't manage to clinch there - Judah circles away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

A slow jab from Judah misses its intended target.
Gniewek slips a straight right by Judah.
Gniewek tries to close the distance and clinch but Judah swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Gniewek's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Judah connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Gniewek scrambles back to his feet.
Gniewek is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Judah takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Gniewek avoids the body shot from Judah.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Judah walks into a jab.
Gniewek tried to score with a low kick but Judah checks it.
Judah is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
Judah thumps Gniewek with a low kick.

Gniewek closes the distance and pushes Judah back into the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gniewek with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.

Judah's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Judah throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Gniewek stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Gniewek doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Judah connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Gniewek momentarily.
Gniewek misses with a head kick.
Judah takes a swing at Gniewek's ribcage but misses.
Judah lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Gniewek misses with a body kick.
Gniewek tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Judah dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Gniewek. That did some damage!
Judah misses with a shot to the body
and Gniewek counters with a leg kick.
Gniewek uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Judah.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gniewek tries to close the distance and clinch but Judah swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Judah feints a counter leg kick.
Judah checks a leg kick nicely.
Gniewek tries to land a front kick but Judah steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Judah connects with a body shot that sends Gniewek's belly button to the back.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Judah swings for the body but Gniewek moves out of range.
Gniewek lands a head shot.
Judah misses with an uppercut. Gniewek saw that one coming.
Judah ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Judah walks into a straight right hand from Gniewek.
Gniewek looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Judah throws a big shot that misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Judah has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Gniewek.
Nice body kick there by Gniewek.
Judah throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Judah thows a left - swing and a miss!

Gniewek closes the distance and clinches.
Judah's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Judah struggles to land a body shot inside as Gniewek controls his hands.
Gniewek blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Gniewek lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Judah tries to break the clinch but Gniewek is controlling the position.
Gniewek prevents Judah from breaking the clinch.
Gniewek fails to pull guard.
Judah lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Judah misses with a hook to the ribs.
Gniewek makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Gniewek scores with a knee to the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Judah wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Gniewek has him pressed against the cage.
Gniewek misses with a knee strike.
Judah wants to break the clinch but can't.
Gniewek blocks an uppercut.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Judah.
Judah tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Gniewek's elbow.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Gniewek is trying to pull guard but Judah turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Judah working hard to break the clinch.
Judah lands a nice uppercut.
Gniewek lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!

Judah's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Judah stuns Gniewek with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Gniewek throws a leg kick which misses Judah's front leg but catches the back leg as Judah tries to avoid it.
Gniewek ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Judah thows a left - swing and a miss!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Elijah Judah dominated that fourth 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. This is the final round!

Gniewek throws a mid kick that lands with a slap.
Judah lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Judah.
Gniewek tries to close the distance and clinch but Judah swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Judah avoids the body shot from Gniewek.
Gniewek avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
A little feinted left hand from Gniewek on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Gniewek's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Judah connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Gniewek scrambles back to his feet.
Judah motions for Gniewek to come forward. Judah throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Judah misses with a low kick as Gniewek jumps back.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Judah finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Gniewek is looking to clinch but Judah is avoiding it.
Gniewek looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Gniewek tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Judah throws an overhand right that lands on Gniewek's shoulder, as Gniewek tries to avoid the shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Some bone on bone action there as Gniewek checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Gniewek scores with a nice strike.
Judah circles away from the clinch attempt.
Gniewek uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Judah has time to react.
Judah lands with a right hand.
Gniewek is looking to clinch.
Judah tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Gniewek was well out of range. Poor timing from Judah.
Gniewek uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Judah lands with a thumping leg kick.
Judah takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Judah scores with a jab.
That kick from Gniewek tenderised Judah's leg. Judah is trying to keep his angry face on.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Judah does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Judah scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Judah stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Gniewek tries to clinch but Judah is having none of it.
Gniewek scores with a punch to the head.
Julian Gniewek has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Gniewek is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Gniewek dodges the punch combination from Judah.
Gniewek wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
Gniewek displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Judah throws out the jab.
Gniewek ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Gniewek is looking to counter the offense by Judah and move into the clinch.
A telegraphed right hand from Judah misses the target.
Gniewek swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
The fight stays on the outside here - Gniewek looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Judah jabs Gniewek to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Judah fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Gniewek manages to avoid it.
Gniewek tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Some wild striking there from Judah.
Gniewek takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Judah misses the jab.
Judah throws a nice looking combination but Gniewek bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Gniewek looked to counter that last move with a leg kick but didn't pull the trigger.
Judah misses with a two punch combination.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Judah has closed the distance and engaged Gniewek in a clinch.
Judah blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Judah tries to break free but Gniewek pushes him back against the cage.
Judah has a couple of punches blocked by Gniewek.
Gniewek lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Judah looking to slow down the pace here.

Judah breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Gniewek tries to land a front kick but Judah steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Elijah Judah is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Judah swings and misses with a hook to the body.
A slapping leg kick lands for Gniewek.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Gniewek moves into range and lands a nice body kick.
Gniewek lands a leg kick that knocks Judah off balance momentarily.
Gniewek throws a series of punches but Judah avoids them all with ease.

And that's the end of the fight!
Elijah Judah comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Judah 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 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Franklyn Lucas scores the fight 45:50
Judge Dean Styles scores the fight 45:50
Judge Russell Pearce scores the fight 45:50

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Elijah Judah!
Elijah Judah is the new featherweight champion!
A relieved looking Elijah Judah thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.