PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Mareks Stepaneks (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Monty Fuller (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Monty Fuller has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Stepaneks
vs
Fuller

176 cm
25
134 lbs
6 - 1 - 0

165 cm
23
145 lbs
4 - 0 - 0

Good takedowns
Counter striker
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

Big Boy Fighting Apparel

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the bantamweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Mareks Stepaneks!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Monty Fuller!
The judges for this bout are Aleksei Zolotukhin, Viktor Lagutenko and Aleksandr Martynov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Fuller tries to land a leg kick but Stepaneks saw it coming and moves away.
Stepaneks checks the leg kick.
Fuller lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Fuller scores with a spinning back kick!
A bone on bone clash there as Stepaneks blocks the leg kick.

Stepaneks shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Stepaneks showed some decent athleticism there.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.

Stepaneks is looking for a kimura here.
Stepaneks tries to pass the half guard into mount. Fuller knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.

Stepaneks is trying to work for a kimura but Fuller is defending well.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Stepaneks is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Fuller is just riding it out for now. Stepaneks eventually gives up the hold.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Fuller wants to get back to his feet.
Stepaneks looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.

Stepaneks is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.

Stepaneks is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Stepaneks frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Stepaneks is looking to secure an arm. He's managed it! He's pivoting for an armbar - that looks tight! But Fuller has managed to get out of it and now he's in a dominant position. Nice work from Fuller!
Fuller wants to pass the guard but Stepaneks is keeping the position.

Fuller avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Stepaneks has his foot on Fuller's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Fuller works his way back into a safe position though.
Fuller must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Fuller wants to get up but he can't break Stepaneks's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Fuller trying to control but Stepaneks is working from the bottom.

Stepaneks looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Stepaneks wants to sweep but no luck.
Fuller wants to get up but he can't break Stepaneks's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.

Stepaneks escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Fuller gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Fuller wants to control from the top but Stepaneks keeps moving.

Stepaneks throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Fuller wants to stand but Stepaneks is controlling his posture from full guard.

Stepaneks escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Fuller gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Fuller wants to stand but Stepaneks is controlling his posture from full guard.
Fuller really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Stepaneks. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Stepaneks working for submissions but it's allowed Fuller to get to half guard.

Fuller decides to stand up.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Nice sprawl there from Fuller as Stepaneks shoots in.
Fuller motions for Stepaneks to come forward. Fuller throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Fuller throws a chopping leg kick but Stepaneks manages to avoid taking any serious damage.

Fuller throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Stepaneks was covering up waiting for the punch and Fuller finishes the takedown easily into guard.

Stepaneks has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Fuller can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

Fuller avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Stepaneks looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mareks Stepaneks dominated that 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.

Fuller walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Stepaneks checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Fuller throws a leg kick

and Stepaneks counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Stepaneks will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Stepaneks trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Stepaneks stands and throws Fuller's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Fuller wants to get back to his feet.
Stepaneks really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Stepaneks passes to full mount! That's big trouble for Fuller!
Fuller is wriggling around here but as he tries to escape, Stepaneks has taken his back.

Stepaneks has the rear naked choke here! This is very bad for Fuller! Can he survive? No! He's out! Stepaneks gets to his feet and celebrates with his cornermen. He looks absolutely delighted. In the post fight interviews he takes time to thank his parents and everyone who has believed in him from the start. How sweet.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:54 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (RNC). Mareks Stepaneks!
Mareks Stepaneks is the new bantamweight champion!