PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Crispin Freeman (ranked 1938 p4p, 78 weight class) and Claudio Escorre (ranked 2309 p4p, 93 weight class). Escorre has chosen Chico Science & Nação Zumbi - Da Lama Ao Caos as his entrance music. Claudio Escorre will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Freeman
vs
Escorre

208 cm
26
300 lbs
4 - 2 - 0

150 cm
21
300 lbs
8 - 4 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Cardio machine

BJJ Purple Belt
Decent boxing
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, Crispin Freeman!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Claudio Escorre!
The judges for this bout are Saam Ante, Nard Betker and Wagner Zegers.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Freeman clinches up with Escorre and pushes him back against the cage.
Escorre misses with a hook to the ribs.
Freeman tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Escorre wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Freeman has him pressed against the cage.
Freeman swings wildly with an uppercut but Escorre uses good head movement to avoid it.
Freeman lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Escorre backwards.
A short left from Freeman.
Escorre is pressed up against the cage. Freeman has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Escorre down to the mat. Escorre avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Freeman pushing out the jab but it's not landing.

Freeman clinches.
Freeman has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.
Freeman gets through Escorre's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Escorre blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Escorre leaning against his opponent.
Escorre blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Escorre tries to work over Freeman's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Escorre is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
A head punch on the inside from Freeman fails to land.
Escorre's coach down at Power Plant MMA was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on Escorre's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Freeman.

Escorre breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

Freeman rushes Escorre and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Escorre working hard to break the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A head punch on the inside from Freeman fails to land.
A short right from Freeman on the inside.
Escorre controlling the action here for a moment.
A head punch on the inside from Freeman fails to land.
Freeman has a couple of punches blocked by Escorre.
Freeman prevents Escorre from breaking the clinch.
Nice body punch from Escorre.
Escorre tries to work over Freeman's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Freeman tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.

Escorre manages to break the clinch.
Escorre throws a right and a left that Freeman avoids nicely.
Freeman tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Escorre paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Escorre lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Escorre.

It looks like Crispin Freeman has been cut.
Crispin Freeman seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Escorre jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Escorre throws a series of punches but Freeman avoids them all with ease.
Escorre ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Freeman moves away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Freeman has taken the fight to the clinch.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Escorre blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Freeman holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Escorre tries to break free but Freeman pushes him back against the cage.

Escorre escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Freeman takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Escorre takes a swing at Freeman's ribcage but misses.
Freeman is looking to counter punch.
Escorre dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Escorre avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Escorre is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.

Freeman clinches up with Escorre and pushes him back against the cage.
Freeman throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Escorres head.
Freeman fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Escorre wants to stall.
Freeman has a couple of punches blocked by Escorre.
Freeman tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Freeman lands a right hand.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Freeman misses with a body punch.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Freeman takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Freeman misses with a short punch on the inside.

Escorre breaks from the clinch.
Freeman wants to clinch up but Escorre keeps it at a distance.
Escorre keeps the fight on the outside.
Freeman fails with an attempt to clinch.
A little jabbing left from Escorre on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Freeman doesn't manage to clinch there - Escorre circles away.
Escorre throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Escorre keeps the fight on the outside.
Escorre throws a nice looking combination but Freeman bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.

Freeman clinches.
Freeman misses with some punches.
Freeman prevents a body shot from Escorre.

Escorre manages to break the clinch.
Freeman scores with a jab to the jaw.
No joy there for Escorre, who threw a few shots but didn't land.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Freeman is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Freeman tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Escorre manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Escorre throws a counter combo.
Freeman is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Freeman tries to clinch but Escorre is having none of it.
Freeman wants to clinch but Escorre slips to the side
and Escorre counters with a one-two to the body.

Crispin Freeman's cut is getting worse.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Freeman showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Escorre.
Escorre dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Freeman wants to clinch but Escorre slips to the side
and Escorre counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.

Freeman instigates a clinch.
Escorre presses Freeman against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Freeman is breathing heavily.

Escorre breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
No joy there for Escorre, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Freeman swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Claudio Escorre will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Crispin Freeman's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Freeman tries to close the distance and clinch but Escorre swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Freeman looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Freeman throws a right hand that Escorre ducks under and follows up with a left that Escorre also avoids with ease.

Freeman rushes Escorre and presses him up against the cage.
Freeman working aggressively here.
Escorre tries to circle away but Freeman has him pinned against the cage.
Escorre blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Freeman misses with the head strike.

Escorre breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Escorre misses with a series of wild punches.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Freeman wants to clinch.
Freeman wants to clinch up but Escorre keeps it at a distance.
Escorre let fly with a counter punch to the body but it didn't land.
Escorre misses the shot to the body.
Freeman appears to be looking for a counter punch to the body.
Freeman tries to clinch there but Escorre circles away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Freeman tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Freeman is looking to clinch but Escorre is avoiding it.
Freeman tries to close the distance and clinch up but Escorre swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Freeman tries to clinch but Escorre moves out of range.
Escorre now looks to counter with a shot at the body.
Freeman tries to clinch but Escorre moves out of range.
Freeman slips a jab and a cross from Escorre.
Escorre feints a jab promting Freeman to slip. Escorre then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Freeman slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.

Crispin Freeman's cut is bleeding quite badly. He's got to try and protect it.
Freeman tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Escorre manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
It seemed like Escorre was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Escorre tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Freeman was well out of range. Poor timing from Escorre.
Freeman wants to clinch.
Escorre appears to be waiting to throw a counter punch to the body.
Freeman tries to close the distance and clinch up but Escorre swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Escorre misses with an uppercut. Freeman saw that one coming.
Escorre swats away the attempt to clinch by Freeman.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Escorre tries to bum rush Freeman with a series of wild strikes but Freeman uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Freeman is looking to clinch but Escorre is avoiding it.
Freeman keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Freeman dives in and grabs Escorre's left leg, looking for a takedown. Escorre pushes down on Freeman's head and hops out.
Escorre scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.

Jeez, Crispin Freeman's cut is really nasty now. The referee must be thinking about getting that checked.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Escorre misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Freeman.
Claudio Escorre is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Freeman shoots for a double leg takedown but Escorre sprawls well. He's pushed Freeman's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Crispin Freeman. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Freeman moves in looking to clinch but Escorre pushes him off.
Escorre misses the shot to the body.
Freeman tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Escorre manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Freeman tries to clinch but Escorre is having none of it.
Freeman tries to clinch but Escorre moves out of range.
Freeman moves in looking to clinch but Escorre pushes him off.
Freeman is looking to take this fight into the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Escorre looks to score with a jab to the body but Freeman is just out of range.
Escorre with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Escorre throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Escorre fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Freeman manages to avoid it.
Freeman tries to close the distance and clinch but Escorre swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Escorre is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
Escorre fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Freeman tries to clinch up.
Escorre misses with a double jab.
Freeman is looking to clinch.
Escorre lets it all go there with a big combo counter but none of the punches connected.
Escorre stuns Freeman with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Freeman wants to clinch up but Escorre keeps it at a distance.
Escorre fails to land with a series of punches.
Freeman tries to clinch but Escorre moves away
and Escorre counters with a straight right hand.

The referee calls the doctor in to look at Crispin Freeman's cut. Oh no, the doctor has called an end to the bout!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:58 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Cut). Claudio Escorre!
Post fight, Claudio Escorre stared into the camera and said 'There are a lot of great fighters in Underground FC. Freeman is no different. If you want a rematch i will be ready. I wish you all the best, my comrade.'.