PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Pawel Aleksewicz (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Martin Stewart (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Martin Stewart has the eye of the tiger tonight.

Aleksewicz
vs
Stewart

178 cm
23
140 lbs
5 - 7 - 0

167 cm
27
140 lbs
4 - 3 - 0

Good takedowns
Brawler
Experienced

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Knockout power

FinnFighter Nutrition (Five 160Q supps!)

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 7 - 0, fighting out of London, Pawel Aleksewicz!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Martin Stewart !
The judges for this bout are Johanna Lukiainen, Arvi Lind and Anni Minnemäki.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Stewart dives in and scores a takedown into Aleksewicz's guard.
Aleksewicz has his hands on Stewart 's head, controlling the position.
Aleksewicz tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Stewart stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Aleksewicz swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Aleksewicz is trying to control the position but Stewart postures up.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Stewart wants to control from the top but Aleksewicz keeps moving.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Aleksewicz pulls Stewart in close to prevent any damage.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Aleksewicz moves to clinch but Stewart breaks away
and Aleksewicz takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.

Stewart manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Aleksewicz on his heels. He'll look to pass Aleksewicz's guard now, I'm sure.
Stewart stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Aleksewicz swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Aleksewicz has control of Stewart 's left arm, preventing Stewart from doing any damage.

Stewart drops back, looking for a kneebar! Aleksewicz looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Aleksewicz looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Aleksewicz!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Aleksewicz wants to stand but Stewart is controlling his arm.
Stewart is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Stewart is trying to buck Aleksewicz off.
Stewart wants to control but Aleksewicz postures up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stewart tries to control the position but he's not in luck - Aleksewicz easily slips into full mount!

Aleksewicz is standing up out of mount! Strange tactic there - he must really want this one on the feet!
Stewart looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Aleksewicz takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.

Aleksewicz closes the distance and pushes Stewart back into the cage.
Aleksewicz tries to stall but Stewart uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Stewart blocks a couple of punches on the inside.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stewart working hard to break the clinch.
Aleksewicz throws an elbow that misses.
Aleksewicz misses with some punches.
Aleksewicz really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Stewart blocks an uppercut.
Stewart blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Aleksewicz is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Stewart is keeping busy.

Aleksewicz breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Aleksewicz fails in his attempt to clinch.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Aleksewicz enables Stewart to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Aleksewicz manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Aleksewicz looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Aleksewicz is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Martin Stewart 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.

Aleksewicz tries to close the distance and clinch up but Stewart swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Stewart stalks Aleksewicz and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Aleksewicz's face. Aleksewicz staggers backwards, shaken.

It looks like Pawel Aleksewicz has been cut.
Aleksewicz tries to clinch
and Stewart counters with a stiff right hand.
Nice body punch from Stewart .
Aleksewicz closes the distance looking to clinch
and Stewart counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Aleksewicz tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Stewart lands a jab to the nose.
Stewart scores with a body shot.
Aleksewicz looks to clinch

and Stewart counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Stewart drops back for a leg but he's not going to get it - he lets go and Aleksewicz dives on top into guard.

Stewart is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Aleksewicz trying to stand up but can't free himself from Stewart 's guard.
Stewart working a defensive guard here.
Stewart looking for a sweep. Not yet Stewart , not yet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Aleksewicz wants to stand but Stewart has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Stewart is looking to stand up but Aleksewicz isn't so interested in that idea.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Aleksewicz is looking to clinch but Stewart is avoiding it.

Aleksewicz closes the distance and clinches.
Aleksewicz prevents Stewart from breaking the clinch.
Aleksewicz throws a punch but it's blocked by Stewart .
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Aleksewicz.

Stewart breaks from the clinch.
Aleksewicz fails in his attempt to clinch.
Stewart has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Aleksewicz closes the distance but Stewart moves to the side
and Stewart makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Pawel Aleksewicz is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stewart looks to land a combination. Aleksewicz sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Stewart circles away from the clinch attempt
and Stewart counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Aleksewicz thinking.
Aleksewicz wants to clinch up but Stewart keeps it at a distance.

Stewart looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Aleksewicz!

Stewart swings around for an armbar but Aleksewicz sees it coming a mile off and turns beautifully into Stewart 's guard.
Aleksewicz wants to stand but Stewart is controlling his posture from full guard.
Stewart is trying to keep Aleksewicz in close.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Stewart is looking for a triangle here but Aleksewicz uses the submission attempt to pass into side control.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Aleksewicz decides to stand back up.
Aleksewicz wants to clinch but Stewart slips to the side
and Stewart counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Martin Stewart showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Pawel Aleksewicz's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Aleksewicz closes the distance looking to clinch
and Stewart cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Aleksewicz doesn't manage to clinch there - Stewart circles away.

Stewart shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Stewart is fighting to break Aleksewicz's control of his arms but Aleksewicz is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Aleksewicz is trying to control the position from the bottom.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Aleksewicz pulls Stewart in to control the position.
Stewart trying to control the position from guard on top but Aleksewicz is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Aleksewicz is trying to control the position but Stewart postures up.
Stewart passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Aleksewicz regains half guard there - taking advantage of Stewart 's attempt to lay and pray for a moment.
Stewart takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Aleksewicz is trying to maintain the position but Stewart is very close to passing his half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Aleksewicz keeps control of the position for the meantime.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Aleksewicz tries to clinch up
and Stewart counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Aleksewicz fails with an attempt to clinch.

Stewart feints and as Aleksewicz raises his hands in defense, Stewart changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Stewart won't allow Aleksewicz to sweep him here.
Stewart is looking to advance position but Aleksewicz has hit a scissor sweep - now he's on top in mount!

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Aleksewicz gets to his feet and calls his opponent to stand. Here come the fireworks!
Stewart lands with a shot to the body.
Stewart is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Aleksewicz rather than just go for the knockout.

Stewart shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Aleksewicz is trying to defend but Stewart finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Aleksewicz is doing well to avoid being mounted. He's controlling the position at the moment.
Aleksewicz regains full guard. Nicely done.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Aleksewicz is adopting a defensive guard.
Aleksewicz has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

And that's the end of the fight!
Martin Stewart comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Stewart 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 Johanna Lukiainen scores the fight 27:30
Judge Arvi Lind scores the fight 27:30
Judge Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 27:30

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