PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Tyrone Steele (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kota Punga (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Kota Punga has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Steele
vs
Punga

180 cm
25
155 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

169 cm
23
161 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

Good takedowns
Counter striker
Cuts easily

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Tyrone Steele!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Kota Punga!
The judges for this bout are , and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Steele misses with a jab, cross combination.
Punga throws a right and a left that both miss.

Steele fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Punga to the ground. Steele is now in Punga's guard.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Punga working a defensive guard here.
Steele wants to control from the top but Punga keeps moving.
Steele is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Steele seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Punga for as long as he can get away with.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Tyrone Steele.
Steele swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Punga misses with a two punch combination.
Steele keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Punga tries a head kick but it misses.
Punga misses with a head kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Punga has his takedown stuffed

and Steele counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Punga!
Punga is working to get back to half guard.
Steele controlling his opponent.
Punga tries to hold on but Steele postures up.
Steele raining down shots from the mount!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Punga is in a horrible position here. Steele smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Punga wants to control but Steele is having none of it.
Steele putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Steele controlling the pace for now.
Steele has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Punga wants to get back to his feet.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Steele with good strikes from the mount here!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Steele connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Steele tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Steele trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Punga is wriggling around trying to escape.
Steele controlling the pace for now.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Steele will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Tyrone Steele wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Punga wants to clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Punga connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.

Steele scores with a takedown into Punga's guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Steele tries to free his leg and advance position but Punga is retaining full guard.

Punga looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.

Punga has his foot on Steele's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Steele works his way back into a safe position though.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Steele seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.

Punga is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tyrone Steele dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Punga closes this distance looking for a takedown but Steele circles away.

Steele takes the fight into the clinch.

Steele gets double underhooks and manages to take the fight to the ground.
Steele seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.

Punga throws his legs up looking to secure a triangle. Oh, that looks pretty tight, I gotta say! Steele escapes and throws Punga's legs to the side, diving into side control!
Steele is looking to take a break and control but Punga is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Punga can't do much from the bottom here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Steele controlling from side mount.
Steele is looking to take a break and control but Punga is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Punga is trying to control Steele's posture but Steele avoids it.
Punga manages to work his way to half guard, despite Steele's best efforts.

Steele decides to stand and escape the position.
Steele circles away from the clinch attempt.
Punga tries to bum rush Steele with a series of wild strikes but Steele uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Punga thows a leg kick but Steele checks it

and Steele decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Punga's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Punga escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Steele gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Punga is breathing heavily.
Steele working some strikes from top position.
Steele trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Steele 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.
Steele postures up.

Punga escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Steele gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Steele controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Tyrone Steele wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Punga doesn't manage to clinch there - Steele circles away.

Steele closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Steele lands in his opponent's guard.
Steele has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

Punga is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Steele defends well.
Steele showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

Steele gets to his feet - Punga follows without any prompting.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Punga pushes Steele up against the cage in a clinch.

Steele has double underhooks and is working for a body lock takedown. He's got it. The fighters land in half guard but Punga regains guard immediately.

Steele stands up and waves to Punga to follow him.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Punga scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.

It looks like Tyrone Steele has been cut.
Punga misses with an uppercut.

Steele closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Steele keeps control of Punga as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Steele takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.

Steele escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tyrone Steele dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Tyrone Steele's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Punga jabs away that one connects to the head of his opponent.
Punga looks to score with a jab to the body but Steele is just out of range.
Punga scores with a jab. Steele acknowledges it with a nod of the head.

Steele bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Punga is being controlled here.
Punga is looking for a sweep.

Steele has had enough of the ground for now and decides to stand.

Punga gets caught napping as Steele dives in and scores a takedown. Punga manages to retain guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Steele advances position into side control!
Steele happy to just control the position for now.
Steele wants to control but Punga is keeping him busy.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Steele decides to stand up, so the ref orders Punga to his feet.
Steele keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Nice sprawl there from Steele as Punga shoots in.
Steele shoots in for a takedown but Punga shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Punga connects with a right hand. Steele shakes it off.
Steele shoots for a takedown but Punga saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Punga throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Kota Punga seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Punga throws the kick towards the body but Steele avoids it.

Steele looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for Punga!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Punga regains half guard.

Steele stands up from half guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Punga digs a good body shot into Steele's ribs.

Steele shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Punga's guard.
Steele pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Punga is keeping the position for now.
Steele is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Steele trying to control the position from guard on top but Punga is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Punga looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Steele content to stall in guard here.

We're going to have a standup here because Tyrone Steele wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Punga swinging wildly here.

Steele drives through with a takedown into guard.
Steele wants to control from the top but Punga keeps moving.
Tyrone Steele overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Steele is really struggling to control Punga but he's trying to hold on to the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Punga working for a triangle but Steele defends it easily.

Steele gets to his feet - Punga follows without any prompting.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Punga fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Punga attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Punga tries to close the distance and clinch up but Steele swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Steele moves out of range of the strikes.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Steele misses with a head kick.
Punga fails to land with a series of punches.
Kota Punga has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Tyrone Steele is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Punga falls off balance throwing a combination

and Steele counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Tyrone Steele showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Steele, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Andi Peters scores the fight 30:27
Judge Gordon Ramsey scores the fight 30:27
Judge Frank Skinner scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Tyrone Steele!