PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Dwight Stephens (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Sten Stenbit (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Dwight Stephens has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Stephens
vs
Stenbit

175 cm
24
279 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

196 cm
20
222 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Good kicks
Solid chin

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 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Dwight Stephens!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Sten Stenbit!
The judges for this bout are Roosa Järviläinen, Marco Blurström and Tarja Halkonen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Stenbit with a lazy takedown attempt

and Stephens counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Stephens.

Stephens pulls guard effortlessly.
Stephens keeping moving, preventing Stenbit from controlling successfully.
Stephens looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Stephens throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.
Stephens has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Stephens will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
Stephens doesn't do any damage with a couple of strikes from the bottom.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Stenbit loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

Stephens kicks Stenbit off and gets to his feet.
Stenbit gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Stephens counters with a three punch combo that has Stenbit backing up. Stenbit nods at Stephens to acknowledge the strikes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stenbit has his takedown stuffed

and Stephens counters with a nice double leg into side control. Stenbit won't be happy with that.
Dwight Stephens has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Sten Stenbit.

Stephens tries for a kimura but Stenbit is defending well.
Stephens staying calm.

Stephens stands up and beckons Stenbit to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stephens plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Stenbit doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Stephens counters with a flying knee. Nice.
Stenbit misses with the combination.

Stenbit gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Stephens to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Stenbit looks winded!
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Stephens is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Stephens could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stenbit trying to keep a closed guard but Stephens is proving a slippery customer.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Stephens is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Stenbit looking to control.
Stenbit working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Stephens.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Stephens controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Stephens's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Stephens duly obliges.
Stephens misses with a two punch combination.

Stenbit moves into the clinch.
Stephens tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Stenbit just stands there and leans against the cage.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Stenbit manages to break the clinch.
Stenbit tries to close the distance and clinch up but Stephens swats him away and circles back towards the center.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dwight Stephens 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.

Stephens on the wrong end of a kick to the body.
Stephens tries a head kick but it misses.
Stenbit is looking to clinch.

Stephens drives through and clinches with Stenbit against the cage.
Stenbit is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Stephens pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Stenbit trying to stall but Stephens improves his position.
Stenbit jumps guard but Stephens turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Stenbit drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Stephens gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Dwight Stephens has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Sten Stenbit.
Stenbit fails to pull guard.
Stenbit is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stenbit is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Stenbit tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Stephens avoids it.
Stenbit jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Stephens walks away with a smile on his face. Stenbit gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

Stephens rushes Stenbit and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Stephens is pressed up against the cage. Stenbit has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Stephens down to the mat. Stephens avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.

The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Stephens shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Stenbit napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Stephens remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Stephens decides to take the fight back to the feet.

Stenbit drives through and clinches with Stephens against the cage.

Stephens jumps guard.
Stephens has control of Stenbit's left arm, preventing Stenbit from doing any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stephens manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Stenbit manages to get himself to full guard.

Stephens is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Stenbit can do to turn this around?
Stenbit 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.
Stenbit can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Stephens controls the pace.

Stephens stands and steps away. Stenbit gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Stenbit has a takedown stuffed.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Stephens has taken the fight to the clinch.
Stephens with a knee to the head.
A frustrated look appears on Stephens's face as he tries to break the clinch.

Stephens breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Stenbit misses with a takedown attempt
and Stephens counters with a big head kick but Stenbit shrugs it off.

Stephens has Stenbit up against the cage in a clinch.

Stephens jumps into guard, dragging Stenbit to the mat.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Stephens wants to sweep here but Stenbit controlling him for the moment.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dwight Stephens dominated that second round.
That's time! Stephens's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Stenbit darts in trying to clinch
and Stephens counters with a one-two to the body.
Sten Stenbit seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Stenbit goes for a double leg but Stephens avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Stephens continues to drive forward.
Stephens is pressed up against the cage. Stenbit has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Stephens down to the mat. Stephens avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Stenbit swings for the body but Stephens moves out of range.
Stenbit dives in for a single leg takedown but Stephens sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Dwight Stephens has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Sten Stenbit.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Stephens decides to pull guard.
Stenbit takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Stephens manages to escape and get back to his feet.

Stephens gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Stephens breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Stenbit doesn't manage to clinch there - Stephens circles away.
Stephens avoids the head kick by Stenbit.

Stephens clinches up against the cage.
Stephens avoiding damage.
Stephens tries to break the clinch but Stenbit is controlling the position.

Stephens decides to pull guard.
Stephens is pulling down on Stenbit's head to control his posture.
Stenbit won't allow Stephens to sweep him here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stephens is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Stenbit must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Stephens manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Stenbit manages to get himself to full guard.

Stephens's corner is telling him to maintain position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Stephens drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Stephens jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.

Stephens decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Stenbit, up you get!
Stephens fails with an attempt to clinch.
Stephens tries to clinch but Stenbit moves out of range.
Stenbit with a lazy takedown attempt
and Stephens counters with a one-two to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stephens scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Stenbit doesn't seem bothered though.

Stephens shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.

Stephens gets to his feet - back to striking we go!
Stenbit takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Stephens fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Stenbit sprawls well initially but Stephens persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Sten Stenbit has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Dwight Stephens is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Stephens stands up from half guard... He's had enough of that ground malarky for the time being.

And that's the end of the fight!
Dwight Stephens showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Stephens has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Roosa Järviläinen scores the fight 30:26
Judge Marco Blurström scores the fight 30:26
Judge Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Dwight Stephens!