PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Matthew Taylor (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Steven Turner (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Taylor
vs
Turner

165 cm
25
144 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

164 cm
20
144 lbs
4 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Intelligent

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Knockout power

Alcatraz Apparel

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Matthew Taylor!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Steven Turner!
The judges for this bout are Sandra Marshall, Dirk Anderson and Winston Alpacca.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Taylor misses with a looping left.
Taylor fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Turner manages to avoid it.
Taylor throws a right hand that Turner ducks under and follows up with a left that Turner also avoids with ease.
Turner fails to land with a series of punches.
Turner throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Taylor misses with a jab, cross combination.
Turner jabs. That one connects to the head of his opponent.
Turner chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Taylor can pounce on him.
Taylor changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Turner tries to avoid it but Taylor manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Turner to the ground. Turner escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
A countering left hand to the body from Turner misses.
A combination from Turner does no damage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Taylor is looking to land body kicks.
Turner looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Taylor throws a leg kick which misses Turner's front leg but catches the back leg as Turner tries to avoid it.
Taylor tries to close the distance and clinch but Turner swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Turner moves out of range as Taylor throws a body kick.
Turner misses with a double jab

and Taylor counters by moving into the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Taylor wants to break the clinch but can't.
Taylor is trying to break the clinch but Turner has him pressed against the cage.
Taylor trying to control the position but instead, Turner has worked for underhooks and has pushed Taylor into the cage.
Turner wants to break free but Taylor has control.
Taylor wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
A frustrated look appears on Taylor's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Taylor wants to break free but Turner has control.
Turner is trying to push Taylor away but Taylor has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Taylor is trying to force a seperation but Turner has the dominant position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Taylor is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Turner is keeping busy.
Turner is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Turner has had enough of the clinch but Taylor keeps him there for the moment.
Taylor is trying to break free.

Taylor's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Taylor drops his hands momentarily and Turner takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Taylor throws a right and a left that both miss.
As Taylor backs off Turner throws a huge counter combo but Taylor manages to avoid it all.
A looping hook to the body misses from Taylor. Turner does a little dance to reset his feet.
Left hook, right uppercut from Taylor.
Taylor swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Turner cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Steven Turner is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Taylor dives in for a single leg takedown but Turner sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sloppy strikes from Turner. Those never looked like landing.
Turner lands a lovely overhand right.
Turner cracks a nice hook into Taylor's ribs.
Turner misses with an uppercut. Taylor saw that one coming.
Turner will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Taylor throws a body punch but Turner moves out of range.
Turner slips a jab and a cross from Taylor.
Turner wants to counter with a clinch but Taylor pushes him away.
Turner ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Turner tries to clinch but Taylor moves out of range.
Taylor misses with a hook.
Turner misses with an uppercut.
Turner tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Taylor throws a right and a left that both miss.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Taylor ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Taylor lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
Taylor is breathing heavily.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Taylor misses the shot to the body.
Taylor throws a body kick, spinning off balance
and Turner counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Taylor blocks a jab.
Turner throws a right and a left that both miss.
Taylor misses with a wild combination.
Taylor swats away the attempt to clinch by Turner.
Taylor throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Taylor slips a jab from Turner.
Taylor throws a right and a left that both miss.
Taylor scores with a head kick. Turner tried to block it but didn't get his arm up in time.
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 Matthew Taylor will probably get the nod.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

The fight stays on the outside here - Turner looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Taylor tries to clinch up but Turner circles away and keeps his distance.
Turner throws a one two combo.
Taylor fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Turner keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Taylor misses with a low kick.
Matthew Taylor is winning the standup battle so far.
A big left from Turner misses.
Taylor on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Taylor wants to clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Turner throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Taylor.
A punch combination from Turner misses.
Turner circles away from the clinch attempt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Taylor showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Turner.
Turner will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Turner misses with a wild combination.
Turner scores with a one two! Taylor had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.

Taylor is rocked!
Taylor showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Turner.
Turner is looking to clinch but Taylor is avoiding it.
Both fighters circling a little - Taylor finishes the exchange with a kick to the body.
Taylor throws a nice head kick!
Turner takes a kick to the side of the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Taylor throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Taylor lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Turner swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Turner looks to throw the jab but Taylor is out of range.
Taylor takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Turner is looking to clinch.
Taylor walks into a straight right hand from Turner.
Taylor attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Taylor fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Turner lands an overhand right.
Oh Taylor is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
No joy there for Taylor, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Turner throws out a counter right but Taylor avoids it with no problem.
Taylor seems to have got his legs back now.
Steven Turner seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Taylor looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Turner misses with a looping left.
Turner lands an overhand right.
A swing and a miss from Turner.
Taylor pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Turner misses with a jab, cross combination.
Taylor avoids the body shot from Turner.
Turner with a nice cross.
Taylor misses with a low kick.
Turner connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Turner throws a right and a left that Taylor avoids nicely.
Taylor throws a right and a left that Turner avoids nicely.
Taylor looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Turner is fending him off so far but Taylor persists. Nope, Turner circles away and we're back to standing.
Turner is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Matthew Taylor. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Turner slaps away a takedown attempt from Taylor, before circling back to the center of the mat.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Turner fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Taylor looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Matthew Taylor is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Turner misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Taylor wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Turner scores with a sloppy right hand. Taylor should have avoided that one.
No joy there for Turner, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Taylor scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Taylor misses with the body kick
and Turner cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Turner throws a series of punches but Taylor avoids them all with ease.
Taylor changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
A head kick by Taylor misses
and Turner counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Turner throws a body punch but Taylor moves out of range.
Taylor keeps the fight on the outside.
Turner throws a big shot that misses.
Taylor wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Steven Turner showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Turner throws a right and a left that both miss.
Turner cracks a nice hook into Taylor's ribs.
Taylor is sent reeling backwards by a solid uppercut. He barely regains his balance and Turner moves in for the kill throwing a continuous barrage of punches that force the ref to step in.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:09 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Steven Turner!
In his post fight interview, Steven Turner started talking himself up. Luckily his charisma kept the crowd on side and gave him a good reception.