PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Stew Neal (ranked 5923 p4p, 0 weight class) and Hoster Tully (ranked 7183 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Neal
vs
Tully

185 cm
25
200 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

187 cm
17
220 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

Decent wrestler
Brawler
KO power

Good wrestler
Basic striking
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Stew Neal!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Hoster Tully!
The judges for this bout are Alan Glass, Tiny Johnson and Chris Downing.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Neal tries to sprawl but Tully drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Neal is looking to improve his position.
Neal is not content to let Tully control the position.
Neal wants to get back to full guard.
Neal is working hard here to advance position.
Neal works his way to full guard. Good work.
Neal being controlled here, momentarily.
Tully wants to control from the top but Neal keeps moving.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Tully preventing the sweep.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tully pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Neal is keeping the position for now.
Tully must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Neal keeping moving, preventing Tully from controlling successfully.
Tully is pushing down on Neal's leg trying to pass to half guard. Neal is fighting to maintain full guard but Tully has managed to sneak the leg through.
Neal trying to control from the bottom.
Tully is trying to control the action in half guard but Neal is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Neal trying to hold on to Tully's head to control him but Tully postures up.
Tully is looking to take a break and control but Neal is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Tully controlling the pace.
Tully tries to pass to full mount but Neal defends it.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Tully wants to lay and pray for a moment but Neal keeps working.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Tully throws a right and a left that both miss.
As Tully looks to move away, Neal throws a big counter combo but Tully just gets out of the way.

Tully drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Neal regains half guard.
Tully is keen to just control but Neal is a slippery customer.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Tully wants to pass the guard but Neal is defending well.
Tully is taking a breather. Neal says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tully wants to control but Neal is keeping him busy.
Tully looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Tully wants to lay and pray for a moment but Neal keeps working.
Tully really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Neal. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Neal is positioning himself well to prevent Tully advancing to mount.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Neal is refusing to be controlled, as Tully sits in half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Tully tries to pass to full mount but Neal defends it.
Tully wants to advance to full mount but Neal doesn't think that's going to happen and regains full guard instead.
Neal controlling the position.
Tully wants to control from the top but Neal keeps moving.
Tully is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Tully looks to throw the jab but Neal is out of range.
Tully tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Neal paws at him with a jab and circles away.

Tully looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Neal!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
You can see the frustration on Neal's face as Tully controls the position.
Neal is not content to let Tully control the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Hoster Tully 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.

Neal scores with a hook.
A punch combination from Tully misses.
Neal looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Tully is fending him off so far but Neal persists. Nope, Tully circles away and we're back to standing.
Neal shoots in for a takedown but Tully shows good takedown defense.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Tully! But no joy.
Neal is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Tully.
Tully will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Neal.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Stew Neal. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Tully misses with the combination.
It looked like Neal was looking amped, ready to throw a big counter but didn't commit.
Neal showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Tully.
Neal lifts his leg as if looking to counter with a high kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tully misses with a kick to the body

and Neal counters with a nice double leg into side control. Tully won't be happy with that.
Tully is looking to get back to his feet here but Neal is keeping cool and he's managed to take Tully's back.
Neal controlling the position well here. Tully rolled but Neal kept the hooks locked in and stayed in the dominant position.
Tully trying to control the position but Neal manages to sink in the hooks.
Tully grimaces as he takes a shot to the body.
Tully wants to get back to his feet.
Tully looks to control his opponent's hands but he's not mananging it at the moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tully is trying to get back to his feet but Neal has full control of the position and if anything, Tully has just worked his way into a worse spot.
Neal controlling well, preventing Tully from escaping the position.
Tully trying to control the position but Neal manages to sink in the hooks.
Tully trying to get back to his feet but Neal is in full control for now.
Tully turns into Neal and is now in his guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Neal keeping moving, preventing Tully from controlling successfully.

Neal working for a triangle but Tully defends it easily.
Tully wants to control from the top but Neal keeps moving.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Neal has Tully pulled in close to control his posture.
Tully trying to control the position from guard on top but Neal is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Neal wants to stand up but Tully is controlling him.
Tully controlling from the top position.
Neal is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Neal is controlling Tully's posture.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Tully wants to control from the top but Neal keeps moving.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Tully is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
A head kick misses from Neal.

Tully closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Neal quickly recovers to half guard.
Tully with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Tully trying to pass the guard but Neal defending well.
Tully controlling the pace.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Neal won't allow Tully to pass to mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Hoster Tully will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Neal looking to score a takedown here. Tully is defending well but Neal drives through and ends up in Tully's guard.
Neal preventing the sweep.
Tully seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Neal stops Tully from standing up.
Neal is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Tully wants to get back to his feet but he's too absorbed in his own little project and Neal manages to pass to side control.
Neal stops Tully from getting back to his feet.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Tully is refusing to be controlled, as Neal sits in half guard.

Neal is looking for a kimura but Tully is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Neal to get the leverage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tully wants to get back to his feet.
Tully is looking to improve his position.
Hoster Tully has got the better of the ground game so far.
Neal tries to stand but can't do so whilst Tully controls his leg.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Neal uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Tully.
Neal went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
Neal leaves Tully with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Tully looks to throw the jab but Neal is out of range.
Tully looks to land a body kick but Neal moved away.

Tully shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Tully stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Neal swivels though and keeps the full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tully trying to control but Neal is working from the bottom.
Tully is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Neal keeping moving, preventing Tully from controlling successfully.
Tully slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Tully taking a breather here.
Neal is trying to improve his position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tully is looking to take a break and control but Neal is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Tully controls the position.
Tully tries to move into full mount but can't pass Neal's legs.
Neal being controlled for a moment.
Tully tries to move into full mount but can't pass Neal's legs.
Hoster Tully is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Neal tries to buck Tully off but Tully is having none of it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Tully wants to control for a moment but Neal uses the opportunity to move back to half guard.
Neal punching from the bottom.
Tully stalling.

Neal looking for subs from the bottom but Tully mounts him!
Neal is squirming around, avoiding Tully's attempts to control the action.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Tully avoids the attempt from Neal to control.
Stew Neal has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Neal is squirming around, avoiding Tully's attempts to control the action.

And that's the end of the fight!
Hoster Tully comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Tully 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 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Alan Glass scores the fight 27:30
Judge Tiny Johnson scores the fight 27:30
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Hoster Tully!