PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Julius Steel (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Vic Vantrell (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Steel kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is Its a Fight. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Steel
vs
Vantrell

190 cm
40
181 lbs
25 - 23 - 3

179 cm
35
180 lbs
9 - 13 - 0

Decent wrestler
Great elbows
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 25 - 23 - 3, fighting out of Amsterdam, Julius Steel!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 13 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Vic Vantrell!
The judges for this bout are Robert Twigg, Chris Downing and Frank Dennis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Vantrell cracks Steel with an open hand slap.
Danga de danga de dang - Steel scores with a four punch combination!
Steel jabs Vantrell right on the nose. Vantrell blinks but takes it well.
Steel works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
A punch combination from Steel misses.
Steel keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Steel changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Steel pivots, looking for a leg kick but Vantrell is out of range and Steel settles back down.
Vantrell moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Vantrell shoots in but Steel avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Steel jabs. That one connects to the head of his opponent.
Vantrell tries for a takedown but Steel circles away easily
and Steel counters with a left and a right that stings Vantrell.
Julius Steel has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Vic Vantrell.
Vantrell defending well as Steel loads up on a big left hand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Steel misses with a jab, cross combination.
Vantrell shoots and misses

and Steel counters by moving into the clinch.
Vantrell drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Steel gets the underhooks and prevents it.

Steel escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Thud! ouch! good body kick from Steel - that will leave a mark!
Vantrell fails to land with a series of punches.
Steel wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
Steel scores with a hook.
Steel scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Steel paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.

Vantrell is rocked!
Steel misses with a body punch

and Vantrell counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
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!
Steel is staying active underneath Vantrell, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Steel looks like he's trying to stand up.
Steel wants to get back to full guard but Vantrell has passed into side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
An elbow from Vantrell crashes against the mat.

Vantrell is trying to get an arm triangle but Steel is defending well.
Steel knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Vantrell on the ground.
Vantrell trying to control the position but Steel is working away.
Steel tries to improve position but can't.
Steel takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
Steel manages to get back to half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vantrell throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Vantrell wants to lay and pray for a moment but Steel keeps working.
Steel trying to control but Vantrell postures up.
Steel on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Steel tries to get out of the position.
Vantrell prevents Steel from improving his position.
Vantrell seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Steel does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Steel has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Vantrell is working away from the top position though.
Steel wants to get back to his feet.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.

That's four 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.
Steel tries to get to full guard but Vantrell has control of the leg.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
No joy there for Steel, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Vantrell throws a counter combo.
Vantrell on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Steel misses with a double jab

and Vantrell decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Steel's guard.
Vantrell prevents Steel from getting back to his feet.
Vantrell postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Vantrell postures up in Steel's guard and throws a big left but Steel blocks it.
Steel is looking to stand up but Vantrell isn't so interested in that idea.
Vantrell slips nicely into half guard, despite the strikes coming from Steel.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Julius Steel dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

No joy there for Vantrell, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Steel misses with a two punch combination.
Vantrell fails with a takedown attempt.
Steel jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Vantrell is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
Steel catches Vantrell with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Steel slips a jab and a cross from Vantrell.
Vantrell takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
Steel is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
A lazy left from Steel finds it's target.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Vantrell fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Steel avoids it really well and circles away.
Julius Steel is winning the standup battle so far.
Steel uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Steel fails to land with a series of punches.
Steel falls off balance throwing a combination

and Vantrell counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Vantrell works his way into side control.
Vantrell works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
Steel tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Steel taking punishment in the form of punches.
Steel bucks up and tries to throw Vantrell off but instead Vantrell has got his back!
Vantrell has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Vantrell controlling well, preventing Steel from escaping the position.
Vantrell scores with some strikes to the side of the head there. Good, points scoring shots.
Vantrell is controlling his opponent, waiting for an opportunity to finish.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Vantrell has his opponent trapped and is landing shots. Not a good position for Steel.
Vic Vantrell has got the better of the ground game so far.
Vantrell has his opponent trapped and is landing shots. Not a good position for Steel.
Vantrell scores with punches from the back.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vantrell lands with a nice looking elbow that stuns Steel.
Vantrell just keeping the dominant position. He can't wait too long though, otherwise the referee will stand them back up.

Vantrell is working really hard to secure the rear naked choke. Steel defends successfully for a significant amount of time. Both fighters are looking very determined.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Vantrell is controlling the position but Steel somehow manages to roll and ends up with half guard.
Steel looks like he's trying to stand up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Vantrell working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Vantrell connects with a nice short shot to Steel's temple.
Vantrell is looking to take a break and control but Steel is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Vantrell looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Steel with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Vantrell is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Steel trying to control from the bottom.
Vantrell takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Vic Vantrell showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Vantrell tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Steel paws at him with a jab and circles away.

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

Vantrell tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Vantrell has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Vantrell misses with an attempted head punch from side control.
Vantrell misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Steel is not content to let Vantrell control the position.
Steel takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Vantrell looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Vantrell scoring with punches and elbows.
Vantrell throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.
Vantrell tries to move to full mount but Steel actually manages to regain half guard.
Steel is looking to get back to is feet but Vantrell passes into side control.
Vantrell is working Steel over with some ground and pound from side control.
Steel takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
Steel takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Vantrell tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Vantrell has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Steel is looking for a sweep.
Vantrell trying to control the position but Steel is working away.
Steel is trying to get back to half guard.
Vantrell scores with a couple of short elbows.
Steel parries the strikes from Vantrell easily there. Vantrell is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Steel to escape.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Steel is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
Vantrell is looking to advance position but Steel won't allow it.
Vantrell is controlling the pace.
Steel moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Vantrell throws an elbow that misses. Steel uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Vantrell's guard. Nice move by Steel!

Vantrell has Steel pulled in close to control his posture.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Steel got a little sloppy there for a moment and Vantrell has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Steel has managed to get both his arms back between Vantrell's legs - danger averted.

Steel avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Steel wants to get up but he can't break Vantrell's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Vantrell is trying to keep Steel in close.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Steel wants to stand but Vantrell is controlling his posture from full guard.
Steel has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Vantrell is trying to keep Steel in close.

And that's the end of the fight!
Vic Vantrell comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Vantrell 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 Robert Twigg scores the fight 28:29
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 28:29
Judge Frank Dennis scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Vic Vantrell!
A very excited looking Vic Vantrell made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.