PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Tuomari Stapelstaden (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rolls Gracie (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Gracie is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: Wu-Tang Clan - The Mystery Of Chessboxin. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Stapelstaden
vs
Gracie

179 cm
25
180 lbs
7 - 3 - 0

187 cm
22
182 lbs
8 - 4 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid boxing
Experienced

Powerful takedowns
Counter striker
Powerful

(GTI) - HGH Nutrients
Tesla Apparel

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 3 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Tuomari Stapelstaden!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 4 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Rolls Gracie!
The judges for this bout are Aleksei Zolotukhin, Viktor Lagutenko and Konstantin Menshow.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gracie circles away from the clinch attempt.
Gracie lands a nice looking body shot.
Gracie will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Stapelstaden is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Gracie throws a big shot that misses.
Gracie avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Stapelstaden fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Gracie manages to avoid it.
Stapelstaden circles away from the clinch attempt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gracie rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Stapelstaden moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Stapelstaden wants to clinch

so Gracie counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Stapelstaden wants to stand and escape but Gracie is having none of it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stapelstaden pulls Gracie in close to prevent any damage.
Gracie postures up.
Gracie trying to pass the guard. He's being very persistent here but Stapelstaden manages to land a sweep and now he's on top!
Gracie manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Gracie avoids the attempt from Stapelstaden to control.
Stapelstaden wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Gracie.
Gracie thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.

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.
Stapelstaden is in all sorts of trouble here.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Gracie trying to control but Stapelstaden is having none of it.
Stapelstaden tries to reverse the position but Gracie maintains control.
Gracie avoids the attempt from Stapelstaden to control.
Stapelstaden really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
A nice elbow there by Gracie.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gracie is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Stapelstaden can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Gracie trying to control but he's not successful this time.

Gracie goes for an armbar but he's not got it… Stapelstaden turns into him and now he's in Gracie's guard.
Gracie wants to sweep but no luck.
Stapelstaden is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Stapelstaden wants to pass the guard but Gracie is keeping the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gracie bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Stapelstaden's guard.
Stapelstaden has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Stapelstaden manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Gracie manages to get himself to full guard.
Gracie not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Stapelstaden trying to control the position from guard on top but Gracie is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rolls Gracie dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Gracie missing with a left hand there. Stapelstaden was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Gracie darts in trying to clinch
and Stapelstaden counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Stapelstaden closes the distance looking to clinch
and Gracie connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Stapelstaden swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Gracie.
Gracie doesn't manage to clinch there - Stapelstaden circles away.
Stapelstaden throws a right and a left that Gracie avoids nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Gracie fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Stapelstaden, pushing him back against the ropes.

Stapelstaden turns his hips and lands a very nice judo throw into side control!
Gracie wants to control but Stapelstaden postures up.
Gracie manages to work his way to half guard, despite Stapelstaden's best efforts.
Gracie keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Stapelstaden trying to control from half guard but Gracie is working away.
Stapelstaden wants to free his trapped foot but Gracie is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Stapelstaden wants to lay and pray for a moment but Gracie keeps working.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
Stapelstaden missing with the ground and pound from half guard.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Gracie tries to close the distance and clinch up against the ropes but Stapelstaden paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Stapelstaden closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Gracie is looking to clinch.

Stapelstaden closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the ropes.
Gracie is trying to drag Stapelstaden to the mat but Stapelstaden just about manages to keep his footing. He used the ropes to his advantage there.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Gracie.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stapelstaden working aggressively here.
Stapelstaden lands a body punch.
Stapelstaden throws a head punch that misses.
A head punch on the inside from Gracie fails to land.

Stapelstaden has clasped his hands together around Gracie's back... aaand, he's got a takedown into side control. Nicely done.
Gracie is working to avoid the ground and pound but Stapelstaden connects with a decent elbow.
Stapelstaden throwing strikes but missing, from side control.
Stapelstaden throwing strikes but Gracie manages to buck up and roll into a nice reversal - now he's on top in side control!

Gracie is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Stapelstaden knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Stapelstaden wants to control but Gracie postures up.
Stapelstaden is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Gracie is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gracie wants to lay and pray for a moment but Stapelstaden keeps working.
Stapelstaden looks to move to half guard but instead Gracie has passed into mount! Damn!
Stapelstaden is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Gracie prevents Stapelstaden from getting the reversal.

Gracie goes for an armbar but he's not got it… Stapelstaden turns into him and now he's in Gracie's guard.
Gracie manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tuomari Stapelstaden dominated that second 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!

Gracie ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Stapelstaden tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Stapelstaden misses with a body shot.
Gracie falls off balance throwing a combination
and Stapelstaden counters with a lovely straight right hand!
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Stapelstaden tries to clinch up
and Gracie counters with an outside leg kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stapelstaden misses with a few strikes there.
Stapelstaden is looking to clinch but Gracie is avoiding it.
Gracie jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Stapelstaden tries to clinch but Gracie moves away
and Stapelstaden takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Stapelstaden tries to clinch up
and Gracie counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Stapelstaden wants to clinch.

Gracie darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stapelstaden is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Stapelstaden knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Gracie on the ground.
Gracie thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Stapelstaden's head.
Stapelstaden is trying is best to control the position here.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Gracie connects with a nice short shot to Stapelstaden's temple.
Stapelstaden is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Gracie's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Gracie's back!
Stapelstaden trying to control momentarily.
Gracie is defending well here and trying to improve his position.
Rolls Gracie has got the better of the ground game so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gracie has hold of Stapelstaden's arm. He needs to escape this position sooner or later but for now he's happy enough to control the position and prevent the submission attempts.
Stapelstaden trying to control momentarily.
Stapelstaden throwing wild punches that miss their target.
Gracie looks to control his opponent's hands but he's not mananging it at the moment.
Gracie manages to reverse the position and now he's in Stapelstaden's guard. Nice work there by Gracie.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Gracie pushing down on Stapelstaden's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Stapelstaden wants to improve his position but Gracie is controlling well.
Stapelstaden slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Gracie wants to control from the top but Stapelstaden keeps moving.
Gracie slips nicely into half guard.
Stapelstaden tries to roll over but Gracie keeps him under control.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

And that's the end of the fight!
Rolls Gracie comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Gracie has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight 28:29
Judge Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight 28:29
Judge Konstantin Menshow scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rolls Gracie!