PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Bruce Max (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Stephan Bonner (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Max
vs
Bonner

150 cm
25
190 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

187 cm
25
184 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Dangerous knees
KO power

Good takedowns
Decent boxing
Enjoys gardening

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Bruce Max!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Stephan Bonner!
The judges for this bout are Hirohito Nitta, Yukihiro Shimada and Shigeki Sano.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Max closes the distance looking to clinch

so Bonner counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.

Max had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Bonner defends it easily.

Max has his foot on Bonner's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Bonner works his way back into a safe position though.
Max has momentary wrist control but Bonner slips an elbow through the middle.
Bonner working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Bonner connects with a couple of short punches.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Bonner with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Bonner scoring with punches to the head and body.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Bonner's corner. There ya go! There ya go!

Bonner stands up and waves to Max to follow him.
Bonner blocks a head kick by Max.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bonner moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.

It looks like Bruce Max has been cut.
Max tries to clinch
and Bonner counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Max is breathing heavily.
Max is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Bonner.
No joy there for Bonner, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Bonner is defended easily by Max.
A right-left combo lands from Max.
Bonner fails to land with a series of punches.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Max tries to clinch up
and Bonner counters with a left to the body.
Max closes the distance but Bonner moves to the side
and Bonner counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Max misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Bonner takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
A nice combination there by Bonner.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bonner fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Max misses with a head kick.

Bonner shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Max napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Bonner scores with a couple of short elbows.
Bonner lands a few punches from side control.
Bonner gets to mount! Max was on the offensive and wasn't defending properly.
Bonner landing strikes, looking to finish!
Max is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Bonner lands a big elbow.
Bonner is landing with some decent strikes but Max is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Bonner looking to finish Max with some ground and pound. This is bad for Max!
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.
Bonner connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Bonner cracks Max with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Bonner unloading with bombs!
Bonner connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Bonner scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Max?
Max is working to get back to half guard.
Bonner punishing his opponent with strikes.
Bonner lands a heavy elbow.
Max takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bonner looking to finish Max with some ground and pound. This is bad for Max!
Bonner putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Bonner has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Max is bucking up trying to escape but Bonner cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Bonner landing punches.
Bonner in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Bonner with good strikes from the mount here!
Bonner lands a heavy elbow.
Max is trying to escape the mount.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Bonner lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Stephan Bonner dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Bruce Max's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Max tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Bonner counters with a straight right hand.
Bonner looks to land a combination. Max sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Max tries to clinch but Bonner moves out of range.

Bonner shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Bonner is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Bonner lands with a punch from half guard.
Max trying to control here.
Bonner landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Bonner slips a nice elbow through Max's hands, connecting with Max's forehead.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Bonner is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bonner takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Bonner is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Bonner wants to pass the guard but Max is defending well.
Bonner sitting and controlling from the half guard.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Bonner lands a nice short elbow.
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. Bonner connects with a nice short shot to Max's temple.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Max is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Bonner scores with a couple of nice shots.
Ground and pound from Bonner.
Bonner is keen to just control but Max is a slippery customer.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bonner working over Max with some ground and pound. Max looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Bonner looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Max with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Max wants to control but Bonner is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Bonner drops an elbow to the side of Max's head.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Bonner trying to control the pace.
Nice strikes from Bonner there.
Bonner slows the pace down in half guard.
Bonner winds up and cracks Max with a swinging punch to the side of the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bonner looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Max with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Still in half guard, Bonner seems content to control.
Bonner seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Bonner is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Bonner looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Max is looking to get full guard. It looks like he might be successful but at the last minute Bonner jumps into side control!
Bonner in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Bonner landing a few strikes.
Max can't do much from the bottom here.
Bonner lands an elbow.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Max is looking to regain half guard here but Bonner keeps moving and retains side control.
Bonner trying to control the action but Max is working from the bottom.
Bonner scores with a couple of short elbows.
Bonner lands a few punches from side control.
Max might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Max is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Bonner grinds an elbow into Max's temple.
Max is trying to control Bonner's posture but Bonner avoids it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Stephan Bonner showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Bruce Max's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Bonner shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Max is trying to defend but Bonner finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Bonner is looking to take a break and control but Max is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

Bonner escapes and gets back to his feet.
Bonner ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Bonner moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
Max tries to clinch but Bonner moves away
and Bonner counters with a series of strikes. Max will be more careful next time no doubt.
Max is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Bonner has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Max misses with a lunging right hand
and Bonner counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
A head kick misses from Max.
A right-left combo lands from Bonner.
Max tries to grapple but his opponent circles

and Bonner counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Max!
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bonner looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Max tries to hold on but Bonner postures up.
Bonner lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Max hang on?
Bonner scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Max?
Bonner avoids the attempt from Max to control.
Bonner trying to control but Max is having none of it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bonner lands a big shot there that rocks Max but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
A nice elbow there by Bonner.
Bonner is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Max can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Bonner punishing his opponent with strikes.
Max is flailing around like a fish out of water, trying to land strikes.
Bonner working Max over with strikes here.
Bonner is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Max can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Max wants to control but Bonner is having none of it.
Max can't escape the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bonner lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
BOOM! Bonner connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Bonner prevents Max from getting the reversal.
Bonner raining down hammerfists from mount.
Max takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Max is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Max is wriggling around trying to escape.
Bonner with the ground and pound from mount.
Bonner working the ground and pound effectively.
Bonner raining down hammerfists from mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Max wants to try and get back to his feet.
Bonner scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Max is squirming around, avoiding Bonner's attempts to control the action.
Bonner unloading with bombs!
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Bonner dominating with strikes here.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Bonner cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Bonner landing shots from mount.
Max is bucking up trying to escape but Bonner cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Max tries to lock up and control but Bonner gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Max in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Bruce Max has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Stephan Bonner is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
A nice elbow there by Bonner.

And that's the end of the fight!
Stephan Bonner comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Bonner has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Hirohito Nitta scores the fight 27:30
Judge Yukihiro Shimada scores the fight 27:30
Judge Shigeki Sano scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Stephan Bonner!
A pretty intense looking Stephan Bonner took the opportunity post-fight to ask for a shot at the title.