PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Tugg Speedman (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Steve Starkweather (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Starkweather has chosen I'm On a Boat as his entrance music. Rumors backstage are that the fighters have been paid to keep it standing but we know that would never happen in MMA!

Speedman
vs
Starkweather

180 cm
30
171 lbs
13 - 8 - 0

177 cm
25
168 lbs
9 - 4 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

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 13 - 8 - 0, fighting out of New York, Tugg Speedman!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 4 - 0, fighting out of New York, Steve Starkweather!
The judges for this bout are Jonathan Paton, Joseph Jones and Chad Campbell.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Speedman looks to throw the jab but Starkweather is out of range.
Starkweather misses with a low kick.
Speedman fails with a takedown attempt.
Speedman lands a nice shot to the body.
Starkweather throws the left hand but Speedman avoids the punch easily.
Starkweather throws a leg kick which misses Speedman's front leg but catches the back leg as Speedman tries to avoid it.
Speedman throws a hook but Starkweather blocks it.
Steve Starkweather seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Starkweather misses with a wild body shot.
Speedman misses with a takedown
and Starkweather counters with an outside leg kick.
Starkweather cracks Speedman with an open hand slap.
Starkweather misses with a takedown attempt

and Speedman counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Speedman is working Starkweather over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Starkweather wants to sweep but no luck.
Speedman throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Starkweather looking for a sweep. Not yet Starkweather, not yet.
Starkweather utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Speedman in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Speedman is looking to work some ground and pound but Starkweather has wrist control.
Speedman throwing strikes from guard but Starkweather blocks nicely.
Speedman prevents Starkweather from getting back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Starkweather avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Speedman in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Starkweather keeping moving, preventing Speedman from controlling successfully.
Starkweather utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Speedman accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Speedman trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Speedman sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Starkweather wants to sweep but no luck.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Speedman throws a big elbow that misses.
Starkweather managing to control the position.
Speedman landing some decent shots from guard.
Speedman throws a big right hand that misses.
Starkweather is pulling down on Speedman's head. It's preventing any offense from Speedman, at least for the moment.
Speedman with a nice head shot there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Speedman trying to control the position from guard on top but Starkweather is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Speedman is looking to work some ground and pound but Starkweather has wrist control.
Speedman is looking to work some ground and pound but Starkweather has wrist control.
Speedman throws a strike but Starkweather rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Starkweather looking to pass the guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Starkweather throws an overhand right that lands on Speedman's shoulder, as Speedman tries to avoid the shot.
Speedman dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Starkweather jabs away that one connects to the head of his opponent.
Speedman shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Starkweather sprawls well. Starkweather wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Speedman gets slowly back to his feet.
Speedman on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Speedman misses the shot to the body.
Starkweather throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Speedman throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Starkweather's waist but Starkweather gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Speedman off to one side.
Starkweather bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Speedman's head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Starkweather throws a leg kick which misses Speedman's front leg but catches the back leg as Speedman tries to avoid it.
Speedman throws a chopping leg kick but Starkweather manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Speedman misses with a hook.
Speedman misses with a wild combination.
Starkweather changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Speedman throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Starkweather shoots in for a takedown but Speedman shows good takedown defense.
Speedman gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
enabling Starkweather to counter with a crisp jab.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Tugg Speedman. That's going to take a lot out of him.
A looping hook to the body misses from Speedman. Starkweather does a little dance to reset his feet.
A looping hook to the body misses from Speedman. Starkweather does a little dance to reset his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Starkweather wants to slow Speedman down by chopping away at his legs.
Starkweather avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Starkweather throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Starkweather thows a left - swing and a miss!
Nice sprawl there from Starkweather as Speedman shoots in.
Speedman shoots in looking for a takedown but Starkweather manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Speedman's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
A solid leg kick lands there for Starkweather.
Speedman closes this distance looking for a takedown but Starkweather circles away.
Starkweather with a nice cross.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Speedman takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Speedman gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Starkweather.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Speedman tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Starkweather was well out of range. Poor timing from Speedman.
Speedman fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Speedman is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Starkweather.
Speedman takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Speedman throws a hook to the side of Starkweather's head but Starkweather sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Starkweather will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Starkweather lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
A bone on bone clash there as Speedman blocks the leg kick.
Speedman takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Speedman throws a body punch but Starkweather moves out of range.
Starkweather turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Starkweather takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Speedman misses with a hook.
Starkweather with a hook.
Donk. Starkweather catches Speedman right on the button with a cross.
Speedman throws a low kick, looking for Starkweather's leg but Starkweather calmly moves out of range.
Starkweather lands with a thumping leg kick.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Starkweather slaps away a takedown attempt from Speedman, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Speedman throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Starkweather sees it coming and avoids it easily.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Speedman doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Starkweather counters with a good low kick that Speedman was not able to check.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Steve Starkweather showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Starkweather fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Starkweather stuffs the takedown.

Speedman gets a double leg takedown into Starkweather's guard.
Tugg Speedman overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Starkweather is trying to keep Speedman in close.
Speedman throws an elbow that misses. Starkweather uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Speedman's guard. Nice move by Starkweather!
Starkweather trying to control the position from guard on top but Speedman is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Speedman looking to control.
Speedman looking to hit a scissor sweep but Starkweather is one step ahead there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Speedman is trying to control the position from the bottom.

Speedman has his foot on Starkweather's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Starkweather works his way back into a safe position though.
Starkweather wants to control from the top but Speedman keeps moving.
Speedman is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Speedman holds on and takes a little breather.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Speedman takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Speedman checks the leg kick nicely there.
Starkweather swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Speedman.
Starkweather tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Speedman was well out of range. Poor timing from Starkweather.

Speedman closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Starkweather to the mat! Starkweather manages to get full guard.
Starkweather looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Starkweather controls Speedman momentarily but Speedman frees himself.
Speedman stops Starkweather from standing up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Speedman throws an elbow that misses. Starkweather uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Speedman's guard. Nice move by Starkweather!
Starkweather stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Speedman swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Speedman keeping moving, preventing Starkweather from controlling successfully.
Speedman is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Starkweather looking to sit in guard and control but Speedman gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Speedman drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Starkweather manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Speedman has Starkweather in his guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Speedman is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Starkweather trying to control but Speedman is working from the bottom.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Starkweather throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Speedman works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Tugg Speedman.
I think Speedman 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 Jonathan Paton scores the fight 29:29
Judge Joseph Jones scores the fight 29:29
Judge Chad Campbell scores the fight 29:29

The fight is ruled a draw!