PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Jackson Alvarez (ranked 3511 p4p, 1460 weight class) and Adrian Sterling (ranked 322 p4p, 153 weight class). Alvarez comes into the arena with Juan Luis Guerra - Soldado blaring out of the sound system. Sterling has chosen Snake by Lil Keed as his entrance music. Jackson Alvarez has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Alvarez
vs
Sterling

170 cm
29
150
9 - 6 - 0

177 cm
21
150
3 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Big right hand

Excellent grappler
Counter fighter
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 9 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Jackson Alvarez!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, Adrian Sterling!
The judges for this bout are Donald Grub, James Glass and Andrew Berry.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sterling fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Sterling gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Alvarez.
Sterling shoots in looking for a takedown but Alvarez manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Sterling's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Alvarez throws a right and a left that Sterling avoids nicely.

Sterling scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
The referee asks Sterling politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Sterling prefers to stall for the moment though.
Sterling wants to lay and pray for a moment but Alvarez keeps working.
The referee asks Sterling politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Sterling prefers to stall for the moment though.
Alvarez is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Sterling asserts his dominance and retains side control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Sterling controls the position from side control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Alvarez wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
Sterling moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Let's hope that Sterling has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
Sterling wants to control but Alvarez is keeping him busy.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Alvarez fails to land with a series of punches.
Alvarez lands a jab to the nose.
Alvarez looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Alvarez will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Alvarez keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Jackson Alvarez has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Adrian Sterling.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Sterling.
Sterling closes this distance looking for a takedown but Alvarez circles away.
Alvarez misses with the combination.
Sterling shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Alvarez but Alvarez pushes him off and we're back to square one.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Sterling.
Some wild striking there from Alvarez.
Sterling drops down looking to force a counter takedown but Alvarez defends it well.
Alvarez misses with a double jab.
Alvarez throws a looping overhand right but Sterling ducks down to avoid it.
Alvarez displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Sterling.
Jackson Alvarez is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Alvarez misses with a series of wild punches.
Sterling with the counter takedown but Alvarez avoids it easily.
Nice takedown defense from Alvarez. No joy for Sterling on that attempt.
Sterling shoots in and drives through. Alvarez sprawls well.
Alvarez throws a right and a left that Sterling avoids nicely.
Sterling drops down looking to force a counter takedown but Alvarez defends it well.
Sterling shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Alvarez as he jumps to the side.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nice straight punches there by Alvarez. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Alvarez.

It looks like Adrian Sterling has been cut.
Alvarez throws a right hand that Sterling ducks under and follows up with a left that Sterling also avoids with ease.
Sterling avoids a punch combination nicely.
Jackson Alvarez seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Alvarez misses with a wild combination.
We've been informed that Sterling has been working hard on his conditioning in the buildup to the fight.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Sloppy strikes from Alvarez. Those never looked like landing.
Alvarez misses with a double jab.
Sterling tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
A combination from Alvarez does no damage.
Sterling is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.
Alvarez lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
Sterling fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Alvarez throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
And Sterling tries to counter it with a takedown but Alvarez pushes his down on his head and steps out.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Jackson Alvarez dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Adrian Sterling's cut.
That's time! Back to the action!

Sterling takes one on the chin but seems OK.
A combination from Alvarez does no damage.
Sterling closes this distance looking for a takedown but Alvarez circles away.
Sterling shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Alvarez pinned against the cage. Alvarez gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Sterling slips a jab and a cross from Alvarez.

Sterling looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Alvarez on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Alvarez tries to get out of the position.
Sterling advances to half guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sterling content to control rather than advance.

That's one minute gone in the round.
We're seeing a lot of stalling here from Sterling.
Sterling frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Sterling wants to control the pace but Alvarez is squirming around nicely.
Sterling is looking to work his way around to Alvarez's back. He needs to be careful though, as he's in danger of losing this dominant position.
Sterling trying to control but Alvarez is having none of it.
Sterling tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Alvarez is controlling an arm, preventing Sterling from taking his back. Although keeping him in mount is no better to be honest.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sterling controlling his opponent.
Sterling throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Sterling looking to control and managing it successfully.

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.
Alvarez prevents Sterling from taking his back.
Sterling sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Yet more stalling tactics from Sterling.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Sterling wants to control the pace but Alvarez is squirming around nicely.
Sterling controlling from mount.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Adrian Sterling showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Adrian Sterling's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. And we move into the final round!

Sterling closes the distance and clinches up with Alvarez, looking for a takedown. Sterling pushes Alvarez against the cage but Alvarez circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Sterling slips a jab and a cross from Alvarez.
Alvarez throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Alvarez tries to bum rush Sterling with a series of wild strikes but Sterling uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Alvarez tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Sterling was well out of range. Poor timing from Alvarez.
Alvarez lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Alvarez fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Sterling on the side of the head.
Alvarez fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

Sterling closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
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!
Sterling is pausing for a moment. What's he doing? It looks like he's clearing his nose. Oh dude! He's shot a load of snot all down Alvarez's shoulder. That is not cool.
Sterling's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
Alvarez is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Sterling can do to turn this around?

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sterling trying to control the action but Alvarez is working from the bottom.
Sterling in side control, just content to control the action for now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Sterling taking a break here but Alvarez is having none of it and regains half guard.
Sterling wants to lay and pray for a moment but Alvarez keeps working.
Sterling is controlling the pace.
Adrian Sterling has got the better of the ground game so far.
Sterling trying to control the action but Alvarez is working from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sterling performing his best blanket impression for a moment.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Alvarez looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
No joy there for Alvarez, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Alvarez misses with a jab, cross combination.
Sterling takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Jackson Alvarez is winning the standup battle so far.

Sterling shoots in and bounces Alvarez off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Sterling trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Sterling stands and throws Alvarez's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Sterling is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Alvarez is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
Sterling is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Alvarez will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.
Sterling prevents Alvarez from escaping the position.
Sterling just content to control the position.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Sterling wants to control but Alvarez is keeping him busy.

And that's the end of the fight!
Jackson Alvarez showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Alvarez 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 Donald Grub scores the fight 29:28
Judge James Glass scores the fight 29:28
Judge Andrew Berry scores the fight 29:28

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