PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Steve Staunton (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Hunter Thompson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Staunton
vs
Thompson

185 cm
29
201 lbs
12 - 9 - 0

179 cm
40
195 lbs
19 - 4 - 2

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Voodoo Nutrition

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 12 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Steve Staunton!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 19 - 4 - 2, fighting out of Las Vegas, Hunter Thompson!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Franklin, Stewart Dunkirk and Robert Twigg.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Thompson throws a low kick but Staunton moves out of range easily.
Thompson misses with a double jab.
Staunton throws a sloppy head kick
and Thompson counters with a head kick. That will keep Staunton thinking before he tries any more sloppy attacks!

Staunton throws a left that rocks Thompson and follows with a right that sends him tumbling to the canvas! Staunton dives into side control, looking to finish! Can Thompson regain composure!

It looks like Hunter Thompson has been cut.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Thompson sneaks back into half guard.
Staunton is trying to control. Thompson wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Thompson wants to get back to full guard.
Staunton is stalling here. Thompson is in no mood to hang around though. He's locked up a kimura from the bottom! Staunton seems to be keeping calm but he's forced to roll out of the hold and Thompson has ended up in side control on the top. Nice work.
You can see the frustration on Staunton's face as Thompson controls the position.
Staunton is looking for a sweep.
Thompson has control of an arm but Staunton manages to advance to Thompson's back!
A lull in the action here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thompson covering up well under a barage of strikes.
Staunton doesn't have the hooks in and Thompson manages to turn into his guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Staunton is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Staunton looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Staunton wants to stand up but Thompson is controlling him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Staunton has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Staunton 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.
Staunton is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Staunton looking to sweep using the butterfly guard but Thompson puts pay to that idea as he passes nicely into half guard.
Staunton is doing well to control the position and prevent Thompson from advancing to side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Staunton regains full guard. Nicely done.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Staunton has his hands on Thompson's head, controlling the position.
Thompson controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Staunton pulls Thompson in close to his closed guard and prevents Thompson from doing any damage or advancing position.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Staunton slips under a jab.
Thompson connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Staunton lands a nice looking kick to the body. Thompson takes a step back to recover.
Staunton tries a head kick but it misses.
Staunton misses with a few strikes there.
Staunton tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Thompson paws at him with a jab and circles away.

Staunton gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Staunton has a couple of punches blocked by Thompson.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Staunton is trying to maintain a safe position but Thompson gets an underhook and turns Staunton into the cage.
Staunton throws a punch but it's blocked by Thompson.
Staunton controlling the action here for a moment.
Staunton throws a punch but it's blocked by Thompson.
Thompson misses with a hook from the clinch.
Staunton fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Thompson takes a knee to the side of the body.
Staunton makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Staunton swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Staunton utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Staunton lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Steve Staunton dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Hunter Thompson's cut.
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.

The crowd cheers as Staunton lands an impressive looking overhand right. Thompson doesn't seem phased though.
Staunton tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Thompson was well out of range. Poor timing from Staunton.
A leg kick checked by Thompson.
Thompson throws an off balance right hand
and Staunton connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Staunton connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Thompson's hands.

Thompson is rocked!
Thompson avoids the head kick by Staunton.
Staunton backing away here, and Thompson unleashes a leg kick that just misses.
Thompson is still on wobbly legs! Can Staunton finish him?
Staunton connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Steve Staunton seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Thompson misses with a body kick.
Staunton misses with a head kick.
Steve Staunton is winning the standup battle so far.
Staunton misses with a looping right.
Thompson seems to have recovered his senses.
A solid leg kick lands there for Thompson.
Thompson throws a nice looking combination but Staunton bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Thompson cracks a nice hook into Staunton's ribs.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Thompson scores with a head kick.
Thompson bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Staunton loads up on a big right hand but Thompson slips the punch.
Thompson scores with a sloppy right hand. Staunton should have avoided that one.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Staunton avoids the body shot from Thompson.
Staunton has not gone for a single takedown so far in this fight, which seems like a very strange tactic when you consider that he has the superior wrestling and BJJ.
Staunton has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Thompson throws a right and a left that Staunton avoids nicely.
Staunton throws a sloppy body shot
and Thompson counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Staunton checks a leg kick nicely.
Thompson scores with a nice right hand.
Staunton tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

Thompson forces Staunton back against the cage and clinches.
Staunton blocks a body shot from Thompson.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Thompson.
Staunton avoids a wild elbow strike from Thompson.
Staunton tries to land knees in the clinch but Thompson avoids the damage to the body.
Thompson tries to work over Staunton's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Stalling in the clinch from Staunton.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Staunton blocks an elbow strike.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Thompson stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Staunton misses with a hook from the clinch.
Thompson blocks an uppercut.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Staunton blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Thompson blocking some punches.
Staunton working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Staunton throws a head punch that misses.
Thompson blocking some punches.
Staunton throws a knee to the head but misses.
Staunton using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Thompson has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Staunton lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Staunton controlling the action here for a moment.
Thompson blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Come on Thompson - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Staunton misses with the head strike.
Staunton scores with a nice hook to the head.
Staunton working aggressively here.
Thompson tries a body shot but Staunton blocks it.
Staunton has a couple of punches blocked by Thompson.
Staunton lands a nice knee to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Staunton throws a head punch that misses.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Thompson just misses with a elbow thrown towards Staunton's brow.
Staunton misses with a short punch on the inside.
Thompson throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Staunton will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Thompson up against the cage.
Staunton scores with a nice hook to the head.
Staunton misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Thompson.
Staunton lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Staunton misses with a hook from the clinch.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Staunton misses with a knee strike.
Staunton misses with a knee strike.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Steve Staunton dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Hunter Thompson's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Staunton avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Staunton tries to close the distance and clinch up but Thompson swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Staunton takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Thompson loads up on a big right hand but Staunton slips the punch.
Staunton seemed to be looking to counter by closing the distance.
Thompson throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Staunton on the side of the head.
Staunton takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Thompson throws a body punch but Staunton moves out of range.
Staunton checks the leg kick.
Staunton just misses with a punch to the body.
Thompson ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Thompson lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Staunton circles away quickly and effectively.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Staunton tries to clinch up but Thompson circles away and keeps his distance.
Staunton tries a head kick but it misses.
Staunton wants to clinch up but Thompson keeps it at a distance.
Thompson throws a head kick but Staunton moves out of range.
A jab lands there for Thompson.
Staunton tries a head kick but it misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Staunton plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Staunton takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
A head kick by Staunton misses
and Thompson counters with a leg kick.
Staunton takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Staunton lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Thompson fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Staunton on the side of the head.

Thompson tries to keep at a distance but Staunton has taken the fight into the clinch.
Staunton misses with a punch on the inside.
Staunton swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Staunton blocks a body shot from Thompson.
Staunton avoids the elbow strike from Thompson, against the cage.
Staunton tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Staunton misses with a punch on the inside.
Hunter Thompson has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Steve Staunton is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The referee calls for Staunton to work.
Staunton working aggressively here.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Thompson blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Steve Staunton has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Staunton tries a knee to the head but Thompson blocks it.
Staunton dodges an elbow strike from Thompson.
Thompson takes a shot to the head.
Thompson has a couple of punches blocked by Staunton.
A short uppercut from Staunton.
Thompson throws an elbow but it misses.
Staunton misses with a punch on the inside.
Staunton is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Thompson can do to turn this around?
Staunton blocking some punches.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Staunton fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Thompson swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Thompson throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Stauntons head.
Staunton looking to throw knees to the head but Thompson is blocking nicely.
Staunton misses with some punches.
Thompson pushes off an throws an elbow but Staunton leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Thompson has a couple of punches blocked by Staunton.
Staunton prevents a body shot from Thompson.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Staunton.
Staunton avoids the elbow strike from Thompson, against the cage.
Thompson stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Staunton swings wildly with an uppercut but Thompson uses good head movement to avoid it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Staunton misses with a punch on the inside.
Thompson managing to block the knees to the body from Staunton.
Staunton blocks a body shot from Thompson.
Staunton lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Thompson lands with a right to the head.
A nice left hand lands by Thompson.

It looks like Steve Staunton has been cut.
Thompson blocks an uppercut.
Staunton scores with an uppercut up the middle.
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!
Staunton swings wildly with an uppercut but Thompson uses good head movement to avoid it.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Thompson just misses with a elbow thrown towards Staunton's brow.
Staunton using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Thompson has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Staunton fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Staunton avoids a wild elbow strike from Thompson.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Hunter Thompson.
I think Staunton has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Daniel Franklin scores the fight 29:28
Judge Stewart Dunkirk scores the fight 29:28
Judge Robert Twigg scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Steve Staunton!
After winning the bout, Steve Staunton thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.