PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Mustaffa Spliff (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Athan Stamatis (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Stamatis is bouncing up and down as he enters the arena, backed by Lose Yourself. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Spliff
vs
Stamatis

188 cm
35
185 lbs
41 - 38 - 0

176 cm
36
184 lbs
44 - 23 - 0

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Lethal high kicks
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 41 - 38 - 0, fighting out of London, Mustaffa Spliff!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 44 - 23 - 0, fighting out of New York, Athan Stamatis!
The judges for this bout are Columbo Gatti, Joseph Jones and Jorge Garcia.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Stamatis lands a nice looking body kick.
Spliff is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Stamatis avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Spliff tries to clinch there but Stamatis circles away.
Stamatis avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Spliff tries to close the distance and clinch up but Stamatis swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Stamatis circles away from the clinch attempt
and Stamatis counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Spliff is lucky that one didn't land flush.
Spliff takes a nasty kick to the mid section... That should keep him thinking. Does he try and block and risk a head kick landing?
Stamatis circles away from the clinch attempt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
The fight stays on the outside here - Spliff looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Stamatis throws a hook to the side of Spliff's head but Spliff sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Stamatis shoots for a takedown but Spliff saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Stamatis throws a push kick but Spliff slaps the foot to one side.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stamatis throws a series of punches but Spliff moves out of range.
Stamatis avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Stamatis misses the body punch
and Spliff counters with a stiff right hand.
Stamatis avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Stamatis scores with a jab to the body.
Stamatis avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Spliff fails in his attempt to clinch.
Spliff doesn't manage to clinch there - Stamatis circles away.
Spliff tries to clinch but Stamatis is having none of it.
The fight stays on the outside here - Spliff looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Stamatis lands with a nice body punch.
Stamatis pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Spliff back to the cage. Stamatis follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.
Spliff tries to clinch up but Stamatis circles away and keeps his distance.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Spliff looks to clinch

and Stamatis counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Spliff wants to get back to his feet but Stamatis is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Spliff is looking to stand back up but Stamatis counters by passing into half guard. Oops... bit sloppy there by Spliff.
Spliff pushes Stamatis off looking to stand but Stamatis dives back in and keeps control.
Stamatis trying to mount his opponent but Spliff defends it.
Nice strikes from Stamatis there.

Stamatis seems to be working for a kimura but Spliff defends the submission attempt.
Stamatis stops Spliff from getting back to his feet.
Spliff pushes Stamatis off but Stamatis dives into side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Stamatis decides to take the fight back to the feet.
Stamatis throws a hook to the side of Spliff's head but Spliff sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Spliff doesn't manage to clinch there - Stamatis circles away.
Stamatis circles away from the clinch attempt.
Stamatis misses with a straight right.
Stamatis moves into range and lands a nice body kick.
Spliff tries to clinch but Stamatis moves out of range.
Stamatis works over Spliff's head and body with a nice combination.
Spliff tries to clinch up but Stamatis circles away and keeps his distance.
Stamatis swinging wildly here.
Stamatis throws a combination that misses
and Spliff makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Spliff tries to clinch but Stamatis is having none of it.
Stamatis moves into range and lands a nice body kick.

Spliff clinches up against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Spliff misses with a hook from the clinch.

Spliff wants the takedown. Stamatis is fighting it off but Spliff persists and manages to bring the fight to the ground, ending up in Stamatis's guard against the cage.
Spliff wants to stand but Stamatis has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Stamatis is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Spliff will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Spliff is looking to stand up but Stamatis won't let him.
Stamatis looking to hit a scissor sweep but Spliff is one step ahead there.
Spliff wants to get up but he can't break Stamatis's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Athan Stamatis dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Stamatis lands a glancing blow to the side of Spliff's head.
Stamatis circles away from the clinch attempt.
Spliff is looking to clinch.
Stamatis has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

Stamatis closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Stamatis wants to pass the guard but Spliff is defending well.
Stamatis wants to take a breather but Spliff is having none of it.
Spliff is looking to escape.
Stamatis not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Spliff wants to get back to his feet.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Athan Stamatis seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Spliff tries to clinch up but Stamatis circles away and keeps his distance.
Stamatis lands an overhand right.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Spliff fails with an attempt to clinch.
Spliff moves in looking to clinch but Stamatis pushes him off.
Spliff tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Stamatis manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Spliff closes the distance looking to clinch
and Stamatis counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Stamatis swings widly with a right hand
and Spliff counters with a nice uppercut.
Spliff wants to clinch up but Stamatis keeps it at a distance.
Stamatis misses with a two punch combination.
Spliff tries to close the distance and clinch but Stamatis swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Spliff wants to clinch up but Stamatis keeps it at a distance.
Spliff tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Stamatis paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Spliff takes a body kick right on the floating rib. Ouchie.
Stamatis throws a leg kick which misses Spliff's front leg but catches the back leg as Spliff tries to avoid it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stamatis scores with a punch to the head.
Spliff fails with an attempt to clinch.
Spliff is looking to clinch.
Spliff keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Stamatis.
Stamatis lands a jab to the head.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Spliff takes a body kick right on the floating rib. Ouchie.
Nice defenses there by Spliff.
Spliff tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Stamatis paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Athan Stamatis seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Spliff gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Stamatis to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Stamatis wants to control from the top but Spliff keeps moving.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Spliff wants to stand up but Stamatis is controlling him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Spliff utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Stamatis stops Spliff from standing up.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Stamatis wants to pass the guard but Spliff is keeping the position.
Spliff is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Stamatis is controlling him.
Stamatis postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Stamatis in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Stamatis stops Spliff from standing up.
Stamatis trying to control the position from guard on top but Spliff is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Spliff moves to clinch but Stamatis breaks away

and Stamatis counters with a takedown into side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Spliff is trying to buck Stamatis off.
Stamatis throwing shots but missing, from side control.
Spliff is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
Stamatis works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
Spliff wants to get back to his feet but Stamatis drags him back down.
Stamatis throws a strike aimed at the side of Spliff's head but Spliff avoids it well.
Spliff is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Stamatis is controlling him well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Athan Stamatis showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Spliff's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Spliff wants to clinch.
Spliff has a nice red mark on his side after a thudding body kick by Stamatis.

Stamatis lands a head kick that stumbles Spliff and the fighters go to the mat.
Stamatis is standing up over Spliff. Spliff looks to escape but Stamatis dives into side control.
Spliff wants to get back to his feet.
Stamatis postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Spliff is not content to let Stamatis control the position.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
The referee asks Stamatis politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Stamatis prefers to stall for the moment though.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stamatis is looking to take a break and control but Spliff is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Spliff is trying to buck Stamatis off.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.

Stamatis dives in and scores a takedown into Spliff's guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Stamatis accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Athan Stamatis has got the better of the ground game so far.
Spliff is looking to stand up but Stamatis isn't so interested in that idea.
Stamatis is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Spliff wants to stand but Stamatis is controlling the position.
Stamatis controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Stamatis trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Spliff is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Stamatis is controlling him.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Stamatis circles away from the clinch attempt
and Stamatis counters with a good low kick that Spliff was not able to check.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stamatis misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Spliff.
A nice inside leg kick there by Stamatis. That's going to slow Spliff down.
Spliff avoids the body shot from Stamatis.
Spliff tries to clinch but Stamatis is having none of it.
Mustaffa Spliff has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
A left lands for Stamatis.
Stamatis circles away from the clinch attempt
and Stamatis counters with a one-two to the body.
Athan Stamatis is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Stamatis throws a head kick that half lands.
Spliff sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.
Spliff tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Spliff tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Stamatis paws at him with a jab and circles away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Stamatis.
A good leg kick by Stamatis.
Stamatis misses with a body shot.
Stamatis throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
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!
Stamatis avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
A jab from Stamatis does it's job there.
Spliff tries to clinch there but Stamatis circles away.

Spliff closes the distance and pushes Stamatis back into the cage.
A short body shot lands from Spliff as the two fighters clinch.

Stamatis breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Spliff is looking to clinch but Stamatis is avoiding it.
Spliff misses with a body shot.
Spliff tries to clinch but Stamatis is having none of it.

And that's the end of the fight!
Athan Stamatis comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Stamatis winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Columbo Gatti scores the fight 25:30
Judge Joseph Jones scores the fight 25:30
Judge Jorge Garcia scores the fight 25:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Athan Stamatis!
In his post fight interview, Athan Stamatis started talking himself up. Luckily his charisma kept the crowd on side and gave him a good reception.