PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Jonathan Payet (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Filip Stancu (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Filip Stancu struggled to make weight for this fight. He only made it down to 157.4lbs at the first attempt and had to take the additional two hours to make the official bout weight. Let's see how much it's taken out of him. Filip Stancu will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Payet
vs
Stancu

173 cm
18
164 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

175 cm
18
164 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
Counter striker
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Very confident

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Jonathan Payet!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Filip Stancu!
The judges for this bout are Nard Betker, Paul Aken and Daniel Blasius.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Payet finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Stancu will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Stancu falls off balance throwing a combination
and Payet counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Stancu looks gassed!
Stancu tries to move into range but Payet moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Payet swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Stancu tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Payet counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Payet uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Stancu ducks right into an uppercut from Payet.

Stancu is rocked!
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Stancu checks a leg kick.
Stancu is still on wobbly legs! Can Payet finish him?
Stancu fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Payet throws a head kick that misses.
Payet scores with a nice head shot.
Payet thuds a left hand into Stancu's body.

Payet closes the distance and clinches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Payet is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Stancu is defending well for now.

Payet decides to pull guard.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Payet looking to hit a scissor sweep but Stancu is one step ahead there.

Payet is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Stancu is aware though and is defending well.
Stancu trying to control but Payet is working from the bottom.
Payet not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Payet seems keen to control Stancu's posture.

Stancu is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Payet is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Payet has escaped and now he's on top!
Payet wants to control from the top but Stancu keeps moving.
Stancu seems to have recovered his senses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Jonathan Payet has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Stancu closes the distance but Payet moves to the side
and Payet connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Stancu shoots in but Payet avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Jonathan Payet has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Filip Stancu.
Payet throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Good work by Stancu as he checks the leg kick.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Stancu rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Payet moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Payet lands a nice shot to the body.
Stancu moves out of range of the body kick.
Stancu on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Filip Stancu seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Payet moves into the clinch successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Payet tries to land a knee to the head but Stancu blocks with his arms.
Stancu has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Payet is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Payet looking to throw knees to the head but Stancu is blocking nicely.
Payet misses with an elbow over the top.

Payet breaks the clinch.
Payet tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Stancu checks the leg kick nicely there.

Payet fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Stancu, pushing him back against the cage.

Payet pulls guard successfully.
Payet is trying to control the position but Stancu postures up.
Payet keeping moving, preventing Stancu from controlling successfully.
Payet working a defensive guard here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Payet on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Payet tries to get out of the position.
Stancu trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Payet wants to sweep here but Stancu controlling him for the moment.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Jonathan Payet wasn't doing enough on the ground.

Payet darts in and clinches Stancu up against the cage.

Payet gets control of Stancu's arms and successfully pulls guard. Payet will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Stancu pushes down on Payet's leg and manages to get into half guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Payet wants to get back to full guard.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Payet is working hard here to advance position.
Payet avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Stancu.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jonathan Payet dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Payet walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Stancu checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
That kick from Stancu tenderised Payet's leg. Payet is trying to keep his angry face on.
Good work by Stancu as he checks the leg kick.
Stancu blocks a low kick nicely.
Stancu blocks a head kick by Payet.

Payet darts in and clinches Stancu up against the cage.
Stancu missing with knees to the body.
Payet throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Stancu blocks it with crossed arms.

Stancu ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Stancu no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Payet wants to control from the top but Stancu keeps moving.
Stancu wants to stand up but Payet is controlling him.
Payet trying to control the position from guard on top but Stancu is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Payet knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Stancu on the ground.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stancu is breathing heavily.

Jonathan Payet has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Stancu tries to clinch

and Payet moves into the clinch.
Payet has Stancu pressed against the cage, preventing Stancu from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Payet tries a knee to the head but Stancu blocks it.

Payet pulls Stancu into guard.
Stancu forces his way into half guard.
Payet is doing well to control the position and prevent Stancu from advancing to side control.
Payet is looking for a sweep. Stancu is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Payet is trying to maintain the position but Stancu is very close to passing his half guard.
Payet throws a strike from the bottom that misses.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Stancu is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Payet is looking to improve his position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stancu missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Payet is trying to maintain the position but Stancu is very close to passing his half guard.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Stancu is keen to just control but Payet is a slippery customer.
Payet is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Stancu tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Payet paws at him with a jab and circles away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stancu fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Jonathan Payet is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Stancu fails with the takedown.
Payet walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Stancu checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Payet connects with a body shot.
Payet is looking to wear down Stancu with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.

Payet fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Stancu, pushing him back against the cage.
Payet will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Stancu up against the cage.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Payet throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Stancu blocks it with crossed arms.

Payet pulls guard successfully.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jonathan Payet 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!

Payet throws a low kick but Stancu moves out of range easily.
Stancu misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Payet throws a leg kick
and Stancu counters with a series of strikes. Payet will be more careful next time no doubt.
A clash of legs there as Stancu blocks the low kick.
Stancu wants to clinch

and Payet counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Payet.
Payet tries to land a knee to the head but Stancu blocks with his arms.
Payet is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Payet wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Stancu takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Payet gets control of Stancu's arms and successfully pulls guard. Payet will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Stancu trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Stancu stopping the sweep attempt from Payet.

Stancu is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stancu preventing the sweep.
Stancu postures up.
Stancu trying to control but Payet is working from the bottom.
Payet is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Payet looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Jonathan Payet wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Payet throws a low kick, looking for Stancu's leg but Stancu calmly moves out of range.
Stancu fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Payet avoids it really well and circles away.

Payet has closed the distance and engaged Stancu in a clinch.

Payet pulls guard effortlessly.
Stancu preventing the sweep.
Payet is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Stancu passes Payet's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Payet is looking for a sweep. Stancu is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Payet trying to hold on to Stancu's head to control him but Stancu postures up.
Payet won't allow Stancu to pass to mount.
Payet is trying to control but can't.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.

Stancu seems to be looking for submissions.
Payet wants to improve his position but Stancu is controlling well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Payet is defending against the submission attempts here by Stancu.
Payet pushes Stancu off looking to stand but Stancu dives back in and keeps control.

And that's the end of the fight!
Jonathan Payet showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Payet has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Nard Betker scores the fight 30:27
Judge Paul Aken scores the fight 30:27
Judge Daniel Blasius scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Jonathan Payet!
An out of breath Jonathan Payet thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.