PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Ricky Steiner (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jake Belcher (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Steiner comes into the arena with Steiner blaring out of the sound system. Ricky Steiner has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Steiner
vs
Belcher

177 cm
26
198 lbs
7 - 1 - 0

187 cm
26
201 lbs
6 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
Granite chin

Dangerous GnP
Basic striking
Good gas tank

Atlantis

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 7 - 1 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Ricky Steiner!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 1 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Jake Belcher!
The judges for this bout are Bart Greer, Dirk Anderson and Sandra Marshall.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Belcher has his takedown stuffed
and Steiner counters with a series of strikes. Belcher will be more careful next time no doubt.

Belcher rushes Steiner and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Belcher takes a knee to the side of the body.
Steiner lands a right hand that snaps the head of Belcher backwards.
Steiner misses with a hook to the ribs.
Belcher blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.

Steiner wants the takedown. Belcher is fighting it off but Steiner persists and manages to bring the fight to the ground, ending up in Belcher's guard against the cage.
Steiner is looking to work some ground and pound but Belcher has wrist control.
Steiner wants to control from the top but Belcher keeps moving.
Steiner has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Steiner with a nice head shot there.
Steiner postures up.
Belcher is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Steiner loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Steiner scoring with punches to the head and body.
Belcher looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Steiner working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Steiner trying to control the position from guard on top but Belcher is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
We've been hearing good reports from Steiner's training camp. Apparently he has been rolling around with some good quality BJJ practitioners and has been sharpening his skills. Let's see if that has an impact on the fight today.
Belcher looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Steiner throws a big right hand that misses.
Belcher wants to sweep but no luck.
Steiner working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Steiner is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Belcher looking to hit a scissor sweep but Steiner is one step ahead there.
Belcher doesn't do any damage with a couple of strikes from the bottom.
Belcher is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Belcher tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Steiner is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Steiner keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Belcher's head.
Belcher tries to land a sweep but no joy.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Steiner accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Steiner postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Belcher is trying to control the position but Steiner postures up.
Steiner is pushing down on Belcher's leg trying to pass to half guard. Belcher is fighting to maintain full guard but Steiner has managed to sneak the leg through.
Belcher gets full guard.
Steiner wants to control from the top but Belcher keeps moving.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Steiner accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Belcher keeping moving, preventing Steiner from controlling successfully.
Steiner passes easily into side control. Nice work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Steiner looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Belcher is avoiding damage well.
Steiner wants to control but Belcher is keeping him busy.
Steiner throws an elbow but Belcher slips to the side and avoids it well.
Belcher is trying to control Steiner's posture but Steiner avoids it.
Belcher is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Steiner off and has taken his back!
Belcher trying desperately to keep hold of the dominant position.
Belcher scores with punches to the body.
Belcher throwing sloppy strikes.
Steiner is trying to get back to his feet but Belcher has full control of the position and if anything, Steiner has just worked his way into a worse spot.
Watch the back of the head! Comes the shout from the referee towards Belcher.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Belcher is riding his opponent, not letting Steiner buck him off.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Belcher missing with punches from the back.
Even with his hooks in, Belcher manages to miss with strikes from the back.
Belcher throwing lazy shots from the back mount that aren't doing any damage.
Belcher is punishing Steiner with some ground and pound.
Steiner covers up after that shot from Belcher.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
A lull in the action here.
Belcher connects with a series of strikes and the referee is calling for Steiner to escape the position.
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 Ricky Steiner will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Belcher has his takedown stuffed
and Steiner counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Steiner displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Belcher.
Steiner shoots in and drives through. Belcher sprawls well.

Belcher looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Belcher is trying to advance to mount but he's lost his balance and Steiner reverses the position - he's now on top in Belcher's guard.
Steiner postures up.
Jake Belcher has got the better of the ground game so far.
Belcher keeping full guard, as Steiner tries to pass.
Belcher wants to sweep here but Steiner controlling him for the moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Belcher manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Steiner is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Belcher sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
Belcher looking to finish Steiner with some ground and pound. This is bad for Steiner!
Belcher misses with a head shot.
Belcher working some short elbows here. He postures up to throw some more ground and pound but Steiner slips a leg through to get back to half guard. Nice work.
Belcher is looking to advance position but Steiner won't allow it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Belcher lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Steiner is looking for a sweep. Belcher is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Belcher wants to take a breather but Steiner is having none of it.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Steiner wants to get back to his feet.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Belcher trying to control the action but Steiner is working from the bottom.
Belcher wants to pass the guard but Steiner is defending well.
Steiner pushes Belcher off looking to stand but Belcher dives back in and keeps control.
Steiner is refusing to be controlled, as Belcher sits in half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Belcher throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Belcher throwing shots but Steiner is blocking nicely.
Belcher missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Belcher seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Steiner does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Belcher stalling away here and it's allowed Steiner to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.
Steiner utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Belcher trying to control the position from guard on top but Steiner is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Belcher won't allow Steiner to get back to his feet.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Belcher tries to free his leg and advance position but Steiner is retaining full guard.
Steiner is trying to control the position but Belcher postures up.
Belcher wants to control from the top but Steiner keeps moving.
Belcher postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Belcher tries to free his leg and advance position but Steiner is retaining full guard.
Belcher missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Belcher missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Belcher throws a big right hand that misses.
Belcher trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Belcher looking to pass the guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jake Belcher showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Steiner's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Belcher defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Steiner.
Belcher shoots for a takedown but Steiner saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.

Steiner closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.

Steiner is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Belcher wants to control but Steiner is keeping busy.
Steiner throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Belcher is looking to improve his position.
The fighters are battling for position here. Belcher manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Belcher keeping full guard, as Steiner tries to pass.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Belcher trying to control the position.

Belcher scrambles and gets back to his feet.
The fight stays on the outside here - Steiner looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Belcher throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Steiner fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Steiner throws a right and a left that Belcher avoids nicely.
Ricky Steiner is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Belcher throws a jab when Steiner was well out of range.
Steiner uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Belcher.
Belcher tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Steiner swivels and escapes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Steiner tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Belcher paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Belcher misses with a straight right.

Belcher shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Belcher looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Belcher is looking to pass Steiner's guard but actually Steiner recovers to full guard.
Steiner is looking to stand up but Belcher isn't so interested in that idea.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Belcher is looking to work some ground and pound but Steiner has wrist control.
Belcher passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Belcher wants to control for a moment but Steiner uses the opportunity to move back to half guard.
Belcher prevents Steiner from improving his position.
Steiner avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Belcher.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Belcher seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Steiner does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Belcher is looking for the mount but instead finds himself back in full guard.
Belcher controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Belcher throwing strikes but missing.
Belcher throwing strikes but missing.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Belcher is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Belcher trying to control the position from guard on top but Steiner is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Belcher pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Steiner is keeping the position for now.

And that's the end of the fight!
Jake Belcher comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Belcher has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Bart Greer scores the fight 27:30
Judge Dirk Anderson scores the fight 27:30
Judge Sandra Marshall scores the fight 28:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Jake Belcher!