PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Tyler Antonew (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jon Axe (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the ring.

Antonew
vs
Axe

177 cm
21
180 lbs
5 - 1 - 0

182 cm
21
183 lbs
7 - 4 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent MT
Very strong

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Tyler Antonew!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 4 - 0, fighting out of London, Jon Axe!
The judges for this bout are Yukihiro Shimada, Sosuke Kotani and Tatsuya Matsuyama.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Axe tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

Axe rushes Antonew and presses him up against the ropes.
Axe throws a head punch that misses.
Axe tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Antonew's elbow.
Antonew wants to take the fight to the mat but Axe manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
Axe lands a hook to the side of the head.
Antonew leaning his opponent against the ropes.
Axe misses with a hook from the clinch.
Antonew is working for takedown but Axe is calmly controlling the position for now.
Antonew takes a shot to the head.
Antonew tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Axe smiles and moves away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Tyler Antonew. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Antonew feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Axe wants to get back to his feet but Antonew is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Axe is adopting a defensive guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Axe is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Antonew is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Axe is trying to control the action in half guard but Antonew is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Antonew is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Antonew blocking the ground and pound attempt from Axe.
Axe missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Antonew wants to control but Axe is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Axe controlling the pace.
Axe blocks the strikes from Antonew.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Axe sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Antonew defending well though.
Antonew is looking to improve his position.
Axe trying to control the action but Antonew is working from the bottom.
Antonew wants to improve his position but Axe is controlling well.
Axe wants to lay and pray for a moment but Antonew keeps working.
Antonew slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Axe stopping the sweep attempt from Antonew.
Antonew is working hard here to advance position.
Antonew is trying to control the position from the bottom.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Axe is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Antonew.
Antonew connects with a single shot there.
Antonew shoots for a takedown but Axe saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.

Antonew closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Axe's guard.
Axe is looking to stand up but Antonew isn't so interested in that idea.
Axe looking for a sweep. Not yet Axe, not yet.
Antonew lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Axe wants to stand up but Antonew is controlling him.
Axe controlling Antonew's posture.
Antonew landing some decent shots from guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Antonew throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Axe works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Axe is looking to sweep but instead, Antonew has passed into half guard.
Axe pushes Antonew off looking to stand but Antonew dives back in and keeps control.
Antonew looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Axe with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Axe trying to control here.
Axe is looking to escape.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Axe manages to get to full guard.
Axe has his hands on Antonew's head, controlling the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Jon Axe will probably get the nod.
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.

Axe darts in and clinches Antonew up against the ropes.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Axe.
Our sources have told us that Antonew has been working on his knees in the buildup to the fight.
Antonew fails to pull guard.

Antonew is working on a single leg takedown against the ropes. Axe can't fight it off and eventually Antonew manages to take the fight to the floor. Axe looks annoyed but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Tyler Antonew overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Axe looking for a sweep. Not yet Axe, not yet.
Antonew working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Axe looking to hit a scissor sweep but Antonew is one step ahead there.
Axe is adopting a defensive guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Axe looking to hit a scissor sweep but Antonew is one step ahead there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Antonew prevents Axe from getting back to his feet.
Antonew preventing the sweep.
Axe looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Antonew working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Axe pulls Antonew in close to his closed guard and prevents Antonew from doing any damage or advancing position.
Antonew is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Axe is trying to keep Antonew in close.
Axe 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.
Axe lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Antonew is on top in guard.

Axe looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Axe avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Axe has his hands on Antonew's head, controlling the position.
Axe is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Antonew is controlling him.
Antonew loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Antonew scoring with some ground and pound.
Antonew won't allow Axe to get back to his feet.
Antonew working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Axe's head.
Axe wants to get back to his feet but Antonew is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Axe has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Antonew off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.
Antonew misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Antonew moves into range and connects with a jab.
Antonew shoots in but Axe avoids the takedown attempt easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Tyler Antonew. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Antonew shoots for a double leg takedown but Axe sprawls well. He's pushed Antonew's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Nice takedown defense from Axe. No joy for Antonew on that attempt.
Antonew shoots in for a takedown but Axe shows good takedown defense.

Axe pushes Antonew up against the ropes in a clinch.

Axe turns his back and goes for a hip toss. It's a bit messy but it gets the job done and Axe manages to end up in side control.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Antonew is trying to control Axe's posture but Axe avoids it.
Axe trying to control the action but Antonew is working from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Axe advances nicely into full mount.
Antonew is squirming around, avoiding Axe's attempts to control the action.
Axe takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Axe lands a couple of good shots and Antonew has given up his back, trying to escape the position!
Antonew tries to escape but Axe has the hooks in and won't let him break free.
Axe really has the hooks in deep now - there seems like no escape for Antonew.
Antonew covering up well under a series of strikes from Axe.
Axe is looking cool and calm here, just waiting for a good opportunity to attack and finish the fight from this dominant position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jon Axe showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Antonew scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Axe is looking for a sweep. Antonew is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Axe pushes Antonew off looking to stand but Antonew dives back in and keeps control.
Axe is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.
The fighters are battling for position here. Axe manages to regain full guard. Nice work.

Axe is scooting his butt against the ropes and has managed to get back to his feet. Antonew presses him back against the ropes, presumably looking to take the fight back to the mat.

Antonew gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, Axe regains guard.
Axe wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Antonew preventing the sweep.
Antonew postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Antonew accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Axe looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Antonew postures up in Axe's guard and throws a big left but Axe blocks it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Axe avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Antonew distracts Axe with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Antonew trying to control the position from guard on top but Axe is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Axe controlling the position.
Axe tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Axe is trying to control the position but Antonew postures up.
Axe wants to hit a switch here but Antonew passes into full mount! Oh no, disaster for Axe there!
Axe is trying desperately to improve position.
Axe is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
Axe can't escape the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Axe wants to try and get back to his feet.
Axe is desperately trying to improve his position but Antonew has a good base and remains in mount.
Antonew cracks Axe with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Axe is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Axe is looking to get to half guard.
Axe sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.
Axe trying to control but Antonew postures up.
Axe blocking the ground and pound attempt from Antonew.
Antonew seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Antonew throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Axe is doing well to avoid being mounted. He's controlling the position at the moment.
Antonew looks to land a strike but Axe avoids it nicely and regains full guard.
Axe is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Antonew throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Axe works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Antonew loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Axe working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Antonew.
Antonew trying to control but Axe is working from the bottom.

The fighters are working up against the ropes. Axe manages to wriggle his way back to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched against the ropes.
Axe has a couple of punches blocked by Antonew.
Axe misses with a punch on the inside.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Axe.
Axe swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Axe prevents a takedown attempt there.
Axe lands a hook to the side of the head.
Axe throws a head punch that misses.
Antonew is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Axe pulls him back up using the underhooks.
A short right from Axe.

Antonew pulls Axe into guard.
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!
Axe is pushing down on Antonew's leg trying to pass to half guard. Antonew is fighting to maintain full guard but Axe has managed to sneak the leg through.
Antonew tries to get to full guard but Axe has control of the leg.
Antonew on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Tyler Antonew has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Axe throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
Antonew avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Axe.
Jon Axe is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Axe is looking to take a break and control but Antonew is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Jon Axe.
I've got Axe 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 Yukihiro Shimada scores the fight 27:30
Judge Sosuke Kotani scores the fight 27:30
Judge Tatsuya Matsuyama scores the fight 28:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Jon Axe!