PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Stan Richard (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Steve Hanson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Richard's entrance music is In Ashes They Shall Reap. A fine choice. Hanson has chosen Eminem - No Love as his entrance music. 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.

Richard
vs
Hanson

168 cm
25
168 lbs
11 - 9 - 0

180 cm
31
165 lbs
19 - 10 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Heavy handed

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 11 - 9 - 0, fighting out of New York, Stan Richard!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 19 - 10 - 0, fighting out of New York, Steve Hanson!
The judges for this bout are Jonathan Paton, David Schapiro and Eddie Farnsworth.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hanson getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Richard wants to clinch up but Hanson keeps it at a distance.
Steve Hanson seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Hanson jabs at Richard's body.
A big right from Hanson misses.
Hanson throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Richard connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
A clash of legs there as Hanson blocks the low kick.
Richard lands with a cross.
A good leg kick by Hanson.
Hanson takes a swing at Richard's ribcage but misses.
Hanson throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Hanson takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Richard misses the jab.
Hanson throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Richard.
Hanson scores with a decent looking hook.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Richard avoids a kick to the body.
Richard keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.

Richard closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Richard struggles to land a body shot inside as Hanson controls his hands.
Richard misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Hanson prevents a body shot from Richard.
Hanson displaying some good clinch control by pressing Richard up against the cage.
Richard tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Stalling in the clinch from Richard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Richard misses with a short punch on the inside.
Hanson blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
The referee is keeping an eye on Hanson - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Richard tries to throw a body punch but Hanson avoids it by throwing Richard back against the cage.
Richard is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Richard lands a left hand.
The referee calls for Hanson to work.
Richard misses with the head strike.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Richard misses with a punch to the body.
Hanson looking to stall.
Richard looking to throw knees to the head but Hanson is blocking nicely.
Hanson wants to stall.
Richard misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Hanson's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Hanson wants to stall.
Hanson blocking some punches.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hanson wants to stall.
Richard tries to throw a body punch but Hanson avoids it by throwing Richard back against the cage.
Hanson lands a right hand that snaps the head of Richard backwards.
Richard tries to score a body lock takedown but Hanson shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Hanson is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Richard is keeping busy.
Richard pushes Hanson back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Richard can't find room to land a body shot as Hanson controls the action.
Richard tries a body shot but Hanson blocks it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Stan Richard will probably get the nod.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Hanson takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Good work by Richard as he checks the leg kick.
Richard slips under a jab from Hanson.
Richard avoids the body shot from Hanson.
Richard tries to clinch there but Hanson circles away.
Hanson lands with an overhand left.
Hanson goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Richard misses with an uppercut.
Hanson on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Hanson thows a body shot but no joy.
Richard takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Richard throws a one two combo.
Richard ducks under a wild hook from Hanson.
A telegraphed right hand from Hanson misses the target.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hanson is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Richard.
Richard walks into a left hand.
Richard scores with a shot to the body.
Richard misses with a hook.
Hanson throws a body punch but Richard moves out of range.
Hanson looks to score with a jab to the body but Richard is just out of range.
Richard walks into a straight right hand from Hanson.
Hanson throws out a loose jab but Richard uses good head movement to avoid it.
Danga de danga de dang - Richard scores with a four punch combination!
Richard lands a right hook to the body.
Richard steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Hanson.
Steve Hanson seems to be getting the better of the standup.
The fighters circling - Hanson throws out the jab but it was never going to land.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hanson keeps the fight on the outside.
Richard fails with the takedown.
Richard missing with a left hand there. Hanson was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Richard moves out of range of the body kick from Hanson.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Hanson connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Hanson swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Hanson throws a series of punches but Richard avoids them all with ease.
Hanson throws a one two combo.
Richard throws an off balance right hand
and Hanson counters with a left to the body.
Hanson throws a looping overhand right but Richard ducks down to avoid it.
Hanson is looking to slow Richard down with leg kicks.
Hanson connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Richard slips a jab from Hanson.
Hanson fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Richard.
Hanson dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Richard. That did some damage!
Richard works Hanson's body with a nice hook.
A slow jab from Richard misses its intended target.
Hanson pushing out the jab but it's not landing.

Richard shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Hanson is trying to defend but Richard finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Richard is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Hanson won't allow Richard to pass to mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Richard is looking to take a break and control but Hanson is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Richard is taking a breather. Hanson says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

The ref stands the fighters back up because Stan Richard just wasn't active enough.
Hanson misses with an uppercut. Richard saw that one coming.
Richard throws a low kick but Hanson avoids it.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Nice shot lands for Hanson.
Richard bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Richard scores with a spinning back kick!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Stan Richard will probably get the nod.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Richard throws a right hand that Hanson ducks under and follows up with a left that Hanson also avoids with ease.
Hanson throws a series of punches but Richard moves out of range.
Richard takes a swing at Hanson's ribcage but misses.
Hanson misses with a straight left.
Hanson throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Richard throws a looping overhand right but Hanson ducks down to avoid it.
Hanson tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Richard was well out of range. Poor timing from Hanson.
Richard blocks a leg kick.
Richard throws a quick inside leg kick.
Hanson swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Richard takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Richard blocks a jab.
Hanson is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.
Richard thows a body shot but no joy.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Richard connects with a jab.
Hanson lands a leg kick that knocks Richard off balance momentarily.
Hanson lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Richard thumps Hanson with a low kick.
Hanson throws a left and a right that both miss

and Richard moves into the clinch.
Hanson takes a shot to the head.
Richard tries a body shot but Hanson blocks it.
Hanson is looking to break free of the clinch but Richard has double underhooks.
Hanson is trying to stall.
Richard has a couple of punches blocked by Hanson.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hanson working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Hanson wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Richard has him pressed against the cage.
Hanson looking to slow down the pace here.
Richard tries a body shot but Hanson blocks it.
Richard tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Richard fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Hanson looking to slow down the pace here.
Hanson blocks a punch to the side of the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hanson stalling the fight.

Hanson breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Hanson misses with an uppercut
and Richard counters with an inside leg kick.
Richard jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Hanson misses with a hook. Richard ducked under it nicely.
Richard misses with a straight left.
Richard fails in his attempt to clinch.
Richard throws a nice looking combination but Hanson bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Richard slips under a jab.
A jab lands there for Richard.
Richard uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Hanson.
Hanson looks to throw the jab but Richard is out of range.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hanson bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
Hanson fails with the takedown.
Richard throws a hook to the side of Hanson's head but Hanson sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Stan Richard is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Richard throws a hook but Hanson avoids it easily.
Richard bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Good shot there by Richard.
Hanson throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Richard tries to clinch there but Hanson circles away.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Hanson waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Richard.
Hanson misses with a body kick.
Steve Hanson has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Hanson keeps the fight on the outside.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Steve Hanson.
I think Richard 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 30:29
Judge David Schapiro scores the fight 30:29
Judge Eddie Farnsworth scores the fight 30:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Stan Richard!
A victorious Stan Richard thanked his army of followers in his post fight interview, telling people to make sure they follow him on Twitter.