PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Austin Taylor (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Steffan Lessard (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Buckle up people - heeeeeeeeeere we go!

Taylor
vs
Lessard

185 cm
19
185 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

188 cm
23
200 lbs
2 - 4 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Basic striking
Knockout power

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Austin Taylor!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Steffan Lessard!
The judges for this bout are Stewart Dunkirk, George Francis and Daniel Franklin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Taylor fails with the takedown.
Taylor lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Taylor fails to land the takedown.

Lessard drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Lessard is working Taylor over with some ground and pound from side control.
Lessard wants to control but Taylor is keeping him busy.
Taylor taking a bit of punishment here - Lessard scoring with strikes.
Check out the look on Lessard's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
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!
Taylor is trying to improve his position.
Taylor is breathing heavily.
Lessard trying to control the action but Taylor is working from the bottom.
Lessard lands a few punches from side control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
You can see the frustration on Taylor's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Lessard has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Lessard working the ground and pound.
Lessard cracks Taylor with a big right hand but Taylor just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Lessard works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Taylor takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Lessard scoring with punches and elbows.
Lessard cracks Taylor with a big right hand but Taylor just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.

Taylor is rocked!
Lessard scoring with punches and elbows.
Oh Taylor is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Lessard working the head with strikes.
Lessard lands an elbow.
Lessard scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Taylor to see if he's OK.
Taylor seems to have got his legs back now.
Taylor taking punishment in the form of punches.
Lessard advances to full mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lessard breaks from Taylor's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Lessard cracks Taylor with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Lessard is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Taylor can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Lessard with the ground and pound from mount.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Taylor takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Lessard looking to finish Taylor with some ground and pound. This is bad for Taylor!
Taylor taking shots to the head.
Lessard lands a heavy elbow.
Lessard pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Lessard working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Lessard connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Lessard dominating with strikes here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lessard in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Taylor tries to reverse the position but Lessard maintains control.
Lessard lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Taylor hang on?
Lessard lands a big elbow.
BOOM! Lessard connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Lessard lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Taylor taking shots to the head.
Lessard landing strikes, looking to finish!
Lessard putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
The referee warns Taylor that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Taylor takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Lessard cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Taylor in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lessard raining down shots from the mount!
Taylor tries to lock up and control but Lessard gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Taylor tries to reverse the position but Lessard maintains control.
Lessard lands a heavy elbow.
Lessard sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Lessard landing shots from mount.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
BOOM! Lessard connects with a massive shot to the dome!
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Lessard cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Lessard lands a heavy elbow.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Steffan Lessard dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Lessard shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Steffan Lessard has got the better of the ground game so far.
Taylor not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Lessard scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Lessard postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Lessard lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Taylor wants to stand and escape but Lessard is having none of it.
Lessard connects with a couple of short punches.
Lessard connects with a couple of short punches.
Lessard slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Lessard distracts Taylor with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Lessard is working Taylor over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Lessard landing with the ground and pound.
Lessard slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Taylor taking punishment in the form of punches.
Taylor wants to control but Lessard postures up.
Lessard lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Lessard lands some shots froms side control.
Lessard cracks Taylor with a big elbow.
Lessard scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Taylor to see if he's OK.
Taylor is working to avoid the ground and pound but Lessard connects with a decent elbow.
Taylor on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
Lessard working the body and head with strikes.
Taylor is not in a great position here, taking some shots.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lessard lands an elbow.
Lessard scoring with punches from side control.
Taylor is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Lessard landing strikes.
Lessard scoring with punches from side control.
Lessard cracks Taylor with a big elbow.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Lessard scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Taylor to see if he's OK.
Lessard working the head and body with strikes.
Taylor takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Taylor wants to control but Lessard postures up.
Lessard cracks Taylor with an elbow. That is naaassty.
Lessard working the body and head with strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Taylor seems a little lost for a moment, as Lessard dominates the positioning.
Taylor tries to bench press Lessard off him but Lessard keeps the position.
Taylor takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
Taylor takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Lessard working the body and head with strikes.
Lessard working the head with strikes.
Taylor tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Lessard landing strikes.
Lessard cracks Taylor with a big right hand but Taylor just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Lessard is putting a hurting on Taylor here, landing some big shots from side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lessard lands a decent elbow from side control.
Lessard scores with a couple of short elbows.
Taylor tries to improve position but can't.
Lessard working the head and body with strikes.
Taylor is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Lessard working the ground and pound from side control.
Taylor tries to buck Lessard off but Lessard is having none of it.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Lessard scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Taylor to see if he's OK.
Taylor takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
Lessard landing a few strikes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Steffan Lessard showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Lessard shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Lessard content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Lessard working the head and body with strikes.
Lessard working over Taylor with some ground and pound. Taylor looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Lessard scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Taylor taking some punishment here, with Lessard in his half guard.
Lessard winds up and cracks Taylor with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Lessard passes to full mount!
Lessard is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Taylor can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Taylor tries to hold on but Lessard pushes him away.
BOOM! Lessard connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Lessard with good strikes from the mount here!
Lessard landing strikes, looking to finish!
Lessard raining down shots from the mount!
Taylor is desperately trying to improve his position but Lessard has a good base and remains in mount.
Steffan Lessard is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lessard content just to control the position here.
The referee warns Taylor that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Lessard lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Lessard in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Lessard working the ground and pound effectively.
Lessard fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Lessard controlling the pace for now.
Lessard lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Lessard cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Lessard takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Taylor wants to control but Lessard is having none of it.
Lessard lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Lessard is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Lessard postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Taylor looks a forlorn figure.
Lessard dominating with strikes here.
Lessard unloading with bombs!
Lessard punishing his opponent with strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lessard has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Taylor's face.
Lessard looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Lessard controlling the pace for now.
Lessard lands a big elbow.
Lessard controlling from mount.
Lessard looking to finish Taylor with some ground and pound. This is bad for Taylor!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
A nice elbow there by Lessard.
Austin Taylor has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Lessard punishing his opponent with strikes.
Lessard lands a nice shot to the head.

And that's the end of the fight!
Steffan Lessard comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Lessard winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Stewart Dunkirk scores the fight 24:30
Judge George Francis scores the fight 24:30
Judge Daniel Franklin scores the fight 24:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Steffan Lessard!