PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Jerome Winn (ranked 866 p4p, 117 weight class) and Antonio Atunes (ranked 1223 p4p, 158 weight class). Winn kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is Coolio - Gangsta's Paradise. Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Winn
vs
Atunes

175 cm
21
196 lbs
6 - 2 - 0

188 cm
22
190 lbs
6 - 3 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Good wrestler
World class boxer
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 6 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, Jerome Winn!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 3 - 0, fighting out of New York, Antonio Atunes!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Blasius, Paul Aken and Saam Ante.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Winn lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Winn takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
Atunes keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Winn.
Winn misses with a straight right.
Winn throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Atunes counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Atunes fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Winn manages to avoid it.
Atunes throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Winn sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Winn takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Winn misses with a hook.
Atunes's coach down at Crassus was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on Atunes's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.
Winn scores with a jab to the head.
Atunes stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Atunes wants it to stay on the feet.
Winn misses with an uppercut
and Atunes counters with a stiff right hand.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Atunes tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Winn paws at him with a jab and circles away.

Winn fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Atunes sprawls well initially but Winn persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Winn trying to control the action but Atunes is working from the bottom.
Winn seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Atunes holds on for dear life, maintaining half guard for now.
Winn thows a huge punch but Atunes dodges it nicely.
Winn not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Winn tries to pass to full mount but Atunes defends it.
Atunes wants to control but Winn is keeping busy.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Antonio Atunes is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Atunes misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Winn looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Winn dives in and grabs Atunes's left leg, looking for a takedown. Atunes pushes down on Winn's head and hops out.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Winn swings widly with a right hand

and Atunes counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Atunes misses with a shot to the kidneys.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Atunes stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Winn is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Atunes stalls.
Atunes swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Winn blocks an uppercut.
Winn letting Atunes take a breather here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Winn is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Atunes pulls him back up using the underhooks.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jerome Winn. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Atunes lands a right hand.
Atunes has a couple of punches blocked by Winn.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Atunes.
Atunes's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Winn blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Atunes lands a body shot in the clinch.
Atunes misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Atunes lands a body punch.
Atunes just leaning against Winn, taking a breather.
Atunes lands with a right to the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Atunes misses with a punch to the body.
Atunes misses with a punch on the inside.
Atunes throws a punch but it's blocked by Winn.

Winn has moved round to his opponent's back and is looking for a suplex! Oh snap! He's tossed Atunes clear over his head and slammed him to the mat!
Winn biding his time, controlling Atunes.
Winn has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Winn not allowing Atunes to control his hands.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Antonio Atunes 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.

Winn throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Atunes throws a looping overhand right but Winn ducks down to avoid it.
Atunes fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Atunes scores with a jab to the head.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Winn throws a right and a left that Atunes avoids nicely.
A little jabbing left from Atunes on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Atunes cracks Winn with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
A slow jab from Atunes misses its intended target.
Winn gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Atunes makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Atunes slaps away a takedown attempt from Winn, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Winn fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Atunes leaves Winn with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jerome Winn. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Nice jab there from Atunes.

Atunes pushes Winn up against the cage in a clinch.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
A frustrated look appears on Winn's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Atunes lands an uppercut.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A right handed body shot lands from Atunes.
Atunes lands with a light punch inside.
Atunes throws a punch but it's blocked by Winn.
Atunes struggles to land a body shot inside as Winn controls his hands.
Atunes lands a left hand that snaps the head of Winn backwards.
Atunes tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Atunes lands with a light punch inside.
Atunes throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Winns head.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Atunes.
Winn blocks a punch to the side of the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Winn has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Atunes avoiding damage.
Atunes lands an uppercut.
A head punch on the inside from Atunes fails to land.
Atunes working aggressively here.
Winn stalling.
Winn looking for a takedown.
Atunes has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
A body shot lands from Atunes.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Atunes misses with a hook to the ribs.
Winn blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Winn blocks a punch to the side of the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Atunes misses with a punch to the body.

Winn lands a takedown into guard.
Atunes is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Well, if Atunes is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Winn looks like he's trying to stand up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Atunes seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Atunes prevents Winn from standing back up.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Atunes is controlling the pace.
Atunes wants to pass to mount but Winn is defending the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Antonio Atunes showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Winn misses with an uppercut
and Atunes counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Atunes leaves Winn with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Winn misses with an uppercut.
Winn looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Atunes is fending him off so far but Winn persists. Nope, Atunes circles away and we're back to standing.
Atunes takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Atunes is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.
Atunes ducks under a wild hook from Winn.
Winn on the wrong end of a nice hook.

Winn shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Winn was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Atunes is trying to improve his position.
Atunes regains half guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Winn stalling.
Jerome Winn overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Atunes wants to improve his position but Winn is controlling well.
Atunes controlling the position well.
The fighters are battling for position here. Atunes manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Antonio Atunes is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Winn slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Winn wants to pass the guard but Atunes is keeping the position.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Atunes can do anything to dispel that myth.
Winn showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Winn throws a right hand that misses
and Atunes counters with a straight right hand.
Winn tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Atunes defends well and Winn ends up having to push Atunes into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jerome Winn. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Winn misses with a takedown attempt - Atunes sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Atunes wants to counter with a clinch but Winn pushes him away.
Atunes lands a nice looking body shot.
Winn moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Winn fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Atunes avoids it really well and circles away.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Atunes connects with a body shot that sends Winn's belly button to the back.
Atunes has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Winn thuds his right hand into Atunes's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Winn lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
Winn tries for a takedown but Atunes circles away easily
letting Atunes counter with a right hand.
A right-left combo lands from Atunes.
Atunes fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.

Atunes gets a clinch.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Atunes working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Atunes pressing his opponent against the cage.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Atunes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Atunes lands a shot to the body.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Atunes.
Atunes lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Atunes lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Winn backwards.
Atunes tries to work over Winn's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Jerome Winn has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Atunes scores with a shoulder strike.
Atunes blocks a body shot from Winn.

And that's the end of the fight!
Antonio Atunes comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Atunes 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 Daniel Blasius scores the fight 27:30
Judge Paul Aken scores the fight 27:30
Judge Saam Ante scores the fight 27:30

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