PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Jesus Montalban (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Fredrik Stenberg (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Montalban
vs
Stenberg

173 cm
24
145 lbs
14 - 3 - 0

177 cm
24
149 lbs
8 - 4 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Granite chin

Excellent grappler
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

Bos Energy MMA159.4

Zenith Nutrition (160q/225$)

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the featherweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 14 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Jesus Montalban!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Fredrik Stenberg!
The judges for this bout are Arvi Lind, Matti Vanhoillinen and Tarja Halkonen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Montalban scores with a sloppy right hand. Stenberg should have avoided that one.
Stenberg shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Montalban as he jumps to the side.
Stenberg lands with an uppercut that bounces Montalban off the cage and back into range.
Stenberg loads up on a big right hand but Montalban slips the punch.
Montalban comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Montalban slips a straight right by Stenberg.
Montalban walks into a jab.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Montalban avoids the body shot from Stenberg.
Stenberg dips to his left and cracks Montalban with an uppercut!
Stenberg throws an off balance right hand
and Montalban counters with a nice uppercut.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stenberg lands a right hook to the body.
Jesus Montalban is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Stenberg throws a body punch but Montalban moves out of range.
Montalban throwing a counter right hand but Stenberg manages to avoid it.
Stenberg swings widly with a right hand
and Montalban cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Stenberg thows a left - swing and a miss!
Montalban seemed to be looking to counter by closing the distance.
Fredrik Stenberg seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Montalban gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
We can't be sure of the tactics at this early stage but we have heard that Stenberg has been working on his takedowns a lot in the buildup to the fight and we can only assume he's going to look to take this to the mat.
Stenberg will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Stenberg avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Stenberg ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Montalban moves away.
Stenberg fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Montalban manages to avoid it.
Stenberg connects with a jab.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stenberg misses the shot to the body.
Montalban has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Stenberg finds it's way round the side to connect with Montalban's head.
Stenberg darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Stenberg misses the jab.
Montalban throws a big counter combination but Stenberg scrambles out of danger and avoids any damage.
Stenberg loads up on a big right hand but Montalban slips the punch.
Stenberg misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Montalban.
Stenberg throws a body shot but no joy.
Montalban thows a left - swing and a miss!
Montalban takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Stenberg with a body punch. A glancing blow.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stenberg misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Montalban.
Montalban was looking to counter that last move with a shot to the body but he didn't commit.
Stenberg throws a lazy uppercut
and Montalban counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Stenberg throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Stenberg misses with a lunging right hand
and Stenberg takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Stenberg throws a body shot but no joy.
Stenberg thows a left - swing and a miss!
Stenberg lands with a hook. Montalban tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Montalban fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Stenberg misses with a body punch
and Montalban cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Stenberg throws a lazy uppercut
and Montalban counters with a right hand to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Montalban throws a hook but Stenberg avoids it easily.
Stenberg will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Montalban swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Jesus Montalban has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Fredrik Stenberg.
Stenberg loads up on a big right hand but Montalban slips the punch.
Montalban is looking to counter punch.
Montalban misses the body punch

and Stenberg counters by moving into the clinch.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Montalban throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Stenberg struggles to land a body shot inside as Montalban controls his hands.
A short right from Montalban on the inside.
Montalban trying to stall but Stenberg improves his position.
Stenberg fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Montalban stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Stenberg working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Stenberg misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Montalban looking to stall.
Stenberg goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Fredrik Stenberg dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Stenberg uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Montalban takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Stenberg misses with a hook
and Montalban counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Good exchange - Stenberg coming out on top.
Stenberg swings for the body but Montalban moves out of range.
Montalban slips under a jab from Stenberg.
Montalban feinted there with a counter leg kick.
Stenberg is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Montalban.
Montalban half committed to a counter leg kick.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Stenberg misses with a body shot
and Montalban cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Stenberg waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Montalban.
Montalban looked to counter that last move with a leg kick but didn't pull the trigger.
Montalban takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Fredrik Stenberg seems to be getting the better of the standup.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stenberg swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Stenberg moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Montalban walks into a jab.
Stenberg rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Montalban counters with a nice uppercut.
Montalban takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Montalban bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Stenberg throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Montalban counters with a nice low kick that buckles Stenberg's knee momentarily.
Stenberg has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Montalban.
Stenberg pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
As Stenberg tries to get set, Montalban tries to push him back and clinch up but Stenberg manages to avoid the attempt.
Montalban misses with a lunging right hand

and Stenberg counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Stenberg has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Stenberg is standing up over Montalban. Montalban looks to escape but Stenberg dives into side control.
Stenberg sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Montalban is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
Montalban avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Stenberg.
Montalban defending against the ground and pound.
Stenberg controls the position.
Montalban on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Montalban tries to get out of the position.
An elbow from Stenberg crashes against the mat.
Stenberg tries to score with some ground and pound. Montalban controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
Montalban managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Stenberg.
Montalban defending against the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Montalban parries the strikes from Stenberg easily there. Stenberg is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Montalban to escape.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Stenberg works to advance to full mount. Montalban defends for a few seconds but eventually he succumbs.
Poor strikes thrown by Stenberg there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!

Stenberg looking to secure an arm triangle but Montalban defends it well.
Stenberg punching from mount but Montalban doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Montalban knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Stenberg on the ground.
Stenberg landing strikes from the mount.
Stenberg has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Stenberg cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Stenberg unloads with some shots from mount but Montalban bucks and avoids them well.
Stenberg throws some wild stikes that Montalban manages to avoid easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Poor strikes thrown by Stenberg there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Stenberg working the ground and pound effectively.
Stenberg throwing strikes here but Montalban is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Stenberg takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Stenberg with good strikes from the mount here!
Stenberg raining down shots from the mount!
Montalban is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Fredrik Stenberg showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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.

Montalban avoids the body shot from Stenberg.
Stenberg fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Montalban avoids it really well and circles away.
As Stenberg tries to get set, Montalban tries to push him back and clinch up but Stenberg manages to avoid the attempt.
Stenberg takes a push kick to the midsection and stumbles backwards.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Stenberg throws out a powerful jab.
Stenberg lands a nice shot to the body.
Montalban cracks a nice hook into Stenberg's ribs.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Stenberg drives through with a takedown into guard.
Stenberg engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Stenberg with a flurry of punches that miss.
Stenberg is looking to work some ground and pound but Montalban has wrist control.
Stenberg controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stenberg throwing strikes but missing.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Fredrik Stenberg has got the better of the ground game so far.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Stenberg accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Montalban uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Stenberg.
Montalban was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Stenberg lands a jab to the head.
A jab from Stenberg misses.
Montalban throwing a counter right hand but Stenberg manages to avoid it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Montalban stuffs the takedown attempt from Stenberg. Stenberg gets slowly back to his feet.
Stenberg swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Montalban is looking to counter punch.
Stenberg throws a body shot but no joy.
A quick step to the side and Montalban tries to counter with a shot to the body but it doesn't connect.
Stenberg misses with a jab to the body
and Stenberg takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
A slow jab from Stenberg misses its intended target.
Stenberg throws the left hand but Montalban avoids the punch easily.
Stenberg misses with a hook.
Stenberg has his takedown stuffed
and Montalban counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Jesus Montalban has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Fredrik Stenberg.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A looping hook to the body misses from Stenberg. Montalban does a little dance to reset his feet.
It looked like Montalban wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Stenberg misses with an uppercut
and Montalban counters with a straight right hand.
Montalban throws a hook to the side of Stenberg's head but Stenberg sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Stenberg throws a hook but Montalban avoids it easily.
A counter left hand to the body from Montalban misses its target.
Stenberg lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Stenberg missing with a left hand there. Montalban was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Montalban throwing a counter right hand but Stenberg manages to avoid it.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Montalban walks into a stiff left hand from Stenberg.
Stenberg just misses with a punch to the body.
Montalban throwing a counter right hand but Stenberg manages to avoid it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Fredrik Stenberg really dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Stenberg throws out a loose jab but Montalban uses good head movement to avoid it.
Stenberg misses with a hook to the body
letting Montalban counter with a right hand.
Montalban throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Stenberg is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.
Stenberg lands a jab to Montalban's midsection.
Good work by Stenberg as he checks the leg kick.
Montalban uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Stenberg.
Jab from Stenberg.
Montalban looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Stenberg throws a body punch but Montalban moves out of range.
As Stenberg backs away, Montalban returns fire with a leg kick that just misses.
Stenberg scores with a hook.
A big left from Stenberg misses.
Montalban was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stenberg misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Montalban.
Montalban uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Stenberg.
An attempted straight right counter from Montalban misses the target.
Montalban avoids the body shot from Stenberg.
An attempted straight right counter from Montalban misses the target.
Montalban jabbing away but nothing is landing.
A countering left hand to the body from Stenberg misses.
Montalban keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Stenberg waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Montalban.
Montalban fires out a quick counter leg kick but Stenberg just manages to avoid it.
Montalban fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Stenberg on the side of the head.
Montalban uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Stenberg.
Montalban defending well as Stenberg loads up on a big left hand.
A quick step to the side and Montalban tries to counter with a shot to the body but it doesn't connect.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Montalban misses with a leg kick.
Montalban looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Stenberg scores with a crisp jab that stopped Montalban in his tracks.
Stenberg swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Montalban connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Stenberg shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Montalban counters with a nice uppercut.
Montalban steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Stenberg.
Montalban was looking to counter that last move with a shot to the body but he didn't commit.
Stenberg throws a lazy uppercut
and Montalban counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Stenberg throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
A little feinted left hand from Montalban on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Stenberg scores with a decent looking hook.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stenberg connects with a good right hand that stumbles Montalban. Montalban circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
Stenberg throws an ugly left hook that misses
enabling Montalban to counter with a crisp jab.
Stenberg misses the shot to the body.
Montalban moves out of range as Stenberg strikes.
Montalban seemed to be looking to counter by closing the distance.
Stenberg throws a predictable looking body shot
and Montalban counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Montalban moves out of range as Stenberg strikes.
It looked like Montalban was looking amped, ready to throw a big counter but didn't commit.
Stenberg comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Stenberg rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Montalban counters with a thumping low kick.
Stenberg misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Montalban.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stenberg throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
A quick step to the side and Montalban tries to counter with a shot to the body but it doesn't connect.
Montalban keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Stenberg.
Montalban was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
A jab from Stenberg misses.
Montalban is looking to counter with a shot to the body.
Stenberg fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Montalban manages to avoid it.
Montalban throws a front kick aimed at Stenberg's knee but Stenberg avoids it well.
Stenberg is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
Stenberg looks to score with a jab to the body but Montalban is just out of range.
Montalban throws a big counter combination but Stenberg scrambles out of danger and avoids any damage.
Stenberg misses with a wild combination.
Montalban seemed to be looking to counter by closing the distance.
Stenberg slips under a jab.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Fredrik Stenberg dominated that fourth round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Stenberg scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Stenberg throws the left hand but Montalban avoids the punch easily.
Montalban was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Montalban ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Montalban closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Montalban walks into a left hand.
Stenberg shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Montalban feinted there with a counter leg kick.
Stenberg misses with an uppercut. Montalban saw that one coming.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Stenberg misses with a right hand
and Montalban counters with a left to the body.
Nice uppercut lands for Montalban. That snapped Stenberg's head back.
Horrible takedown attempt by Stenberg or perhaps it was just good defense by Montalban, which made it look bad.
Montalban is looking to counter punch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A big right from Stenberg misses.
It looked like Montalban wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Stenberg throws a right hand that misses
enabling Montalban to counter with a crisp jab.
Montalban scores with a jab. Stenberg acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Stenberg throws a looping overhand right but Montalban ducks down to avoid it.
Montalban swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Montalban ducks under a wild hook from Stenberg.
Montalban displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Stenberg throws out the jab.
It looked like Montalban wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Nice body punch from Stenberg.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stenberg shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.

Stenberg is rocked!
Stenberg misses with a body punch
and Montalban counters with a nice uppercut.
Stenberg is still on wobbly legs! Can Montalban finish him?
Stenberg misses with a hook to the body
and Montalban counters with a nice low kick that buckles Stenberg's knee momentarily.
Stenberg tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Montalban was well out of range. Poor timing from Stenberg.
Montalban fires out a quick counter leg kick but Stenberg just manages to avoid it.
Stenberg seems to have recovered his senses.
Stenberg thuds his right hand into Montalban's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Stenberg misses the body punch
enabling Montalban to counter with a crisp jab.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Montalban is looking to score with low kicks.
Stenberg misses with a straight left.
The fighters circling - Stenberg throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
A quick step to the side and Montalban tries to counter with a shot to the body but it doesn't connect.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stenberg shoots and misses
letting Montalban counter with a right hand.
Jesus Montalban has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Fredrik Stenberg.
Montalban slips under a jab from Stenberg.
It looked like Montalban wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Stenberg swings and misses with a shot to the body
letting Montalban counter with a right hand.
A slow jab from Montalban misses its intended target.
Stenberg looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Stenberg connects with a jab.
Stenberg staying out of range there.
Stenberg throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Montalban is looking for a counter combo.

Stenberg looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Montalban!
Fredrik Stenberg is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stenberg is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.
Stenberg trying to control the action but Montalban is working from the bottom.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Jesus Montalban.
Well Stenberg has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Arvi Lind scores the fight 46:49
Judge Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 45:50
Judge Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 46:49

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Fredrik Stenberg!
Fredrik Stenberg is the new featherweight champion!
A victorious Fredrik Stenberg thanked his army of followers in his post fight interview, telling people to make sure they follow him on Twitter.