PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Joseph Stalinovich (ranked 575 p4p, 435 weight class) and Armand Christophe (ranked 87 p4p, 72 weight class). Christophe has chosen Shadows as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Joseph Stalinovich has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Stalinovich
vs
Christophe

192 cm
27
210
10 - 3 - 0

193 cm
28
210
14 - 7 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Lethal high kicks
Good gas tank

FF Gear
Brooklyn Apothecary

Brooklyn Apothecary
Urban Fighter

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 10 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Joseph Stalinovich!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 14 - 7 - 0, fighting out of New York, Armand Christophe!
The judges for this bout are Ren Mimura, Shigeki Fujiwara and Yasuomi Hirokawa.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Christophe instigates a clinch.
Christophe lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Stalinovich's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!

Christophe pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Stalinovich lands a jab.
Christophe throws a hook but Stalinovich blocks it.

Stalinovich moves into range and clinches up with Christophe.
I was talking to Stalinovich's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.
Stalinovich lands a shoulder strike.
Stalinovich tries a body shot but Christophe blocks it.
Christophe lands a right hand that snaps the head of Stalinovich backwards.
Christophe tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Stalinovich working aggressively here.
Stalinovich has a couple of punches blocked by Christophe.
Christophe lands a right hand that snaps the head of Stalinovich backwards.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Stalinovich blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Christophe blocks a body shot from Stalinovich.
Stalinovich fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Christophe blocks an uppercut.
Christophe tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Christophe blocks an uppercut.
Stalinovich lands a nice uppercut.

Christophe breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Christophe throws a head kick but Stalinovich moves out of range.
Christophe lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
A big right from Christophe misses.
A little feinted left hand from Stalinovich on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Christophe lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Stalinovich has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Stalinovich and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Stalinovich lands with a thumping leg kick.
Stalinovich feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Christophes jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Christophe has been spending a lot of time sparring his boxing in the run up to the fight, trying to sharpen up those hands and look for a knockout.
Stalinovich turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Stalinovich tries to clinch up
and Stalinovich takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Christophe tries to clinch up.
Stalinovich chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Stalinovich clinches.
A head punch on the inside from Stalinovich fails to land.

Christophe breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Stalinovich circles away from the clinch attempt.
Stalinovich half committed to a counter leg kick.
Stalinovich tries to land a leg kick but Christophe saw it coming and moves away.
Christophe is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
Christophe throws a predictable looking body shot
and Stalinovich counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stalinovich throws a hook but Christophe blocks it.
Stalinovich moves forwards but Christophe connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Stalinovich moves away from the strike by Christophe.
Both fighters are looking to counter, which isn't making for the most exciting fight in the world.

Stalinovich pushes Christophe up against the cage in a clinch.

Christophe manages to break the clinch.
Christophe lands with a nice body punch.
Christophe thumps Stalinovich with a low kick.
Christophe tries to close the distance and clinch up but Stalinovich swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Stalinovich is looking to counter punch.
Stalinovich on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Stalinovich fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Christophe manages to avoid it.
Christophe looks like he wanted to counter with a high kick but didn't throw it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Christophe lands a leg kick that knocks Stalinovich off balance momentarily.
Christophe uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Stalinovich has time to react.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
A head punch blocked on the inside by Christophe.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Stalinovich.
Christophe lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Stalinovich misses with some punches.
A short right from Christophe.
Stalinovich throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Christophes head.
Stalinovich misses with some punches.

Christophe jumps guard and drags Stalinovich to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.

Christophe is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Stalinovich seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Armand Christophe will probably get the nod.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Christophe on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Stalinovich takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Christophe avoids the head kick by Stalinovich.
Stalinovich lands with a nice combination. Christophe backs away looking to recover.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Stalinovich misses with a looping right.
Christophe tries to close the distance and clinch up but Stalinovich swats him away and circles back towards the center.
An attempted straight right counter from Stalinovich misses the target.
Christophe looks to land a right hand but Stalinovich moved out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Christophe blocks a head kick by Stalinovich.
Jab, jab by Stalinovich - just one landing.
Stalinovich throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Joseph Stalinovich is winning the standup battle so far.
Stalinovich lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Stalinovich moves into range and lands a nice body kick.
Stalinovich tries to bum rush Christophe with a series of wild strikes but Christophe uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Christophe lands with an uppercut that bounces Stalinovich off the cage and back into range.
Christophe fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Stalinovich has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Stalinovich throws a predictable looking body shot
and Christophe cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A nice leg kick from Stalinovich, right into the meat of the thigh.
Christophe defending well as Stalinovich loads up on a big left hand.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Stalinovich throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Christophe on the side of the head.
A clash of legs there as Christophe blocks the low kick.
Christophe looks to land a left hand but Stalinovich moved out of range nicely.
Christophe blocks a head kick by Stalinovich.
Stalinovich sets himself, and Christophe steps forward looking for the clinch! Stalinovich avoids it this time.
Christophe thows a leg kick but Stalinovich checks it
and Stalinovich counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Christophe is looking to slow Stalinovich down with leg kicks.
Stalinovich tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stalinovich moves out of range of the leg kick from Christophe.
Some wild striking there from Stalinovich.
Stalinovich avoids the body shot from Christophe.
Stalinovich tries to bum rush Christophe with a series of wild strikes but Christophe uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Christophe was about to counter that last move with a leg kick but changes his mind.
Christophe wants to land a leg kick but Stalinovich is out of range.
It looked like Stalinovich wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Christophe throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Stalinovich.
Stalinovich scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Christophe doesn't seem bothered though.
Stalinovich takes a swing at Christophe's ribcage but misses.
Christophe throws out a counter right but Stalinovich avoids it with no problem.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Christophe misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Stalinovich throws a leg kick but Christophe sees it coming and moves out of range.
Stalinovich keeps the fight on the outside.
Christophe moves to clinch but Stalinovich breaks away
and Stalinovich counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Christophe takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Christophe throws a leg kick that misses.
Nice body punch from Stalinovich.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Joseph Stalinovich dominated that second round.
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!

Nice uppercut there from Stalinovich.

Christophe clinches up against the cage.
A body shot lands from Stalinovich.
Stalinovich misses with a hook from the clinch.
Stalinovich swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Joseph Stalinovich has scored more points in the clinch so far.
A short right from Stalinovich.
Stalinovich lands a right hand that snaps the head of Christophe backwards.
Stalinovich scores with an uppercut up the middle.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Christophe.
Stalinovich throws a head punch that misses.
A head punch on the inside from Christophe fails to land.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Stalinovich lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Christophe blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Stalinovich throws a head punch that misses.
Christophe takes a shot to the head.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Stalinovich blocks an uppercut.
Stalinovich swings wildly with an uppercut but Christophe uses good head movement to avoid it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Stalinovich.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Stalinovich.

Christophe has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Stalinovich uses from the top position.
Christophe wants to sweep but no luck.

The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Christophe has his foot on Stalinovich's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Stalinovich works his way back into a safe position though.
Stalinovich is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Christophe can do to turn this around?
Stalinovich is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Stalinovich has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Christophe looking to control.

Stalinovich has a momentary lapse of concentration, allowing Christophe to throw up a leg and lock on what appears to be a pretty tight triangle! Stalinovich is fighting it off but it's all too little too late - Christophe pulls down on the head and he's put Stalinovich to sleep! This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:42 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle). Armand Christophe!
After winning the bout, Armand Christophe thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.