PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Nevzorov Stepanovich (ranked 2165 p4p, 236 weight class) and Denzel Knives (ranked 1990 p4p, 218 weight class). Knives has chosen Remember The Name as his entrance music. Denzel Knives is staring across the cage at his opponent, tweaking his nipples.

Stepanovich
vs
Knives

170 cm
26
162 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

180 cm
26
160 lbs
5 - 5 - 0

Powerful takedowns
Basic striking
Very strong

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent MT
Granite chin

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 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Nevzorov Stepanovich!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 5 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Denzel Knives!
The judges for this bout are David Hoff, Sandra Marshall and Santiago Holmes.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Stepanovich throws a jab but it's blocked by Knives.
Knives avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
A big left from Knives misses.
Stepanovich drops down looking for a counter takedown but Knives sprawls and moves away.
No luck for Stepanovich with that takedown attempt.
A jab from Stepanovich misses.
A countering left hand to the body from Knives misses.
Stepanovich has been working on his boxing with his coaches at Temp Spar Gym in the buildup to the fight.
Knives darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Stepanovich misses with a hook.
Knives misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Stepanovich.
Stepanovich shoots in and drives through. Knives sprawls well.
Knives swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
Knives misses the shot to the body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Stepanovich pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Stepanovich moves out of range as Knives strikes.
Stepanovich ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Stepanovich is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Knives.
Knives misses the shot to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Knives looks to throw the jab but Stepanovich is out of range.
Stepanovich throws out a loose jab but Knives uses good head movement to avoid it.
Stepanovich is really struggling to find his range with his punches. Knives's reach advantage is clearly causing him problems.
Stepanovich misses the jab.
Knives fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Stepanovich on the side of the head.
Denzel Knives is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Stepanovich ducks under a wild hook from Knives.
Stepanovich throws a good cross that connects.
Stepanovich with a lazy takedown attempt
and Knives counters with a right hand to the body.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Nevzorov Stepanovich. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Knives walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Stepanovich throws out a loose jab but Knives uses good head movement to avoid it.
Knives throws out a counter right but Stepanovich avoids it with no problem.
Stepanovich shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Knives pinned against the cage. Knives gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Stepanovich pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Knives throws a hard body shot but it just misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nice shot by Knives.

It looks like Nevzorov Stepanovich has been cut.
Knives is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Stepanovich.
Stepanovich drops down looking for a counter takedown but Knives sprawls and moves away.
Knives keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Stepanovich.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Stepanovich throws a shot from downtown. Knives moves away and avoids it.
Stepanovich misses with an uppercut. Knives saw that one coming.
Knives swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Knives lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Stepanovich at a distance.
Stepanovich pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
It seemed like Knives was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Stepanovich misses with a straight left.
Knives tests Stepanovich's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Knives misses with an uppercut.
Stepanovich is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.

Stepanovich closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Knives quickly recovers to half guard.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Knives can do anything to dispel that myth.
Stepanovich looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Knives is looking for a sweep. Stepanovich is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stepanovich wants to free his trapped foot but Knives is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Knives trying to control but Stepanovich postures up.
Stepanovich trying to control the action but Knives is working from the bottom.

Stepanovich is looking for a kimura but Knives is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Stepanovich to get the leverage.
We've been informed that Knives has been working hard on his conditioning in the buildup to the fight.
Knives wants to control but Stepanovich is keeping busy and won't allow 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.
Knives slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Stepanovich wants to control from the top but Knives keeps moving.
Knives looking for a sweep. Not yet Knives, not yet.
Stepanovich postures up.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Stepanovich trying to control but Knives is working from the bottom.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Knives throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Stepanovich sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Nice defenses there by Stepanovich.
A shot to the liver by Knives. Beautiful body shot.
Stepanovich swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
A slow jab from Knives misses its intended target.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Denzel Knives dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Nevzorov Stepanovich's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Stepanovich tries for a takedown but Knives circles away easily
and Knives counters with a straight right hand.
Stepanovich misses with a right hand
and Knives counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Stepanovich misses with a looping right.
Stepanovich misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Knives swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Knives takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Knives lands a glancing blow to the side of Stepanovich's head.

Stepanovich shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Knives napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Knives can't do much from the bottom here.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Stepanovich tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Stepanovich has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Knives is looking for a sweep.
Stepanovich wants to control but Knives is keeping him busy.
Knives keeps Stepanovich under control for a moment.

Stepanovich has hold of Knives's arm here. He's working for an Americana. It looks like he might have it! Knives tries to escape but he's just digging himself in deeper - Stepanovich cranks the arm and Knives screams in pain! The ref makes a decision and ends the fight before the tap - no complains from Knives, who is just happy to have his arm attached to his body.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:57 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Americana). Nevzorov Stepanovich!
Nevzorov Stepanovich spent the whole post fight interview bigging himself up. It didn't go down that well with the fans after a while as they thought it was a bit arrogant.