PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Brett Eibner (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Benos machida (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). This should be fireworks!

Eibner
vs
machida

180 cm
25
168 lbs
8 - 6 - 0

175 cm
25
154 lbs
10 - 5 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
KO power

BJJ Purple Belt
Dangerous knees
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 8 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brett Eibner!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 10 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Benos machida!
The judges for this bout are Luis Engracia, Paulo Santos and Seu Braga.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Eibner pushes machida up against the cage in a clinch.
machida connects with a nasty looking knee right to Eibner's face.
machida using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Eibner has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
machida misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Eibner.
machida with an attempt at a knee that misses.
machida is pressed up against the cage. Eibner has hold of a leg and is looking to drag machida down to the mat. machida avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Eibner throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.

machida has closed the distance and engaged Eibner in a clinch.
machida with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
machida landing knees to the body.
machida gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Eibner is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
With the fighters up against the cage, machida throws an elbow but misses.
machida connects with a nasty looking knee right to Eibner's face.
machida tries a knee to the head but Eibner blocks it.
Eibner lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Eibner tries to stall but machida uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
machida trying to land knees to the body.
A frustrated look appears on Eibner's face as he tries to break the clinch.
machida tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Eibner avoids it.

Eibner pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
machida misses the shot to the body.
Eibner closes the distance but machida moves to the side
and machida counters with a good low kick that Eibner was not able to check.
Eibner fails to land with a series of punches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Eibner throws a looping overhand right but machida ducks down to avoid it.
Ooooh, nice body kick lands from machida. Eibner shrugs it off though.
Eibner ducks under a wild hook from machida.
machida scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Eibner lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
machida is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
That's a knee to de groin and it's over and out! Eibner crumples to the ground after an illegal strike from machida - the referee stops the clock and Eibner gets 5 minutes to recover from that one. "I'm sorry" says machida. Eibner manages to get back to his feet and the fight resumes.
machida connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Eibner momentarily.
Eibner lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
machida throws a half hearted mid kick.
Brett Eibner seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Eibner throws a left and a right that both miss
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Eibner is breathing heavily.
Eibner closes the distance and clinches up with machida, looking for a takedown. Eibner pushes machida against the cage but machida circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Eibner throws a head kick that misses
and machida counters with a thumping low kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

machida moves into the clinch.
machida lands a knee to the body.
machida lands an elbow inside that Eibner shrugs off.
machida landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
machida lands a nice elbow.
Eibner takes an elbow to the forehead.
machida tries a knee to the head but Eibner blocks it.
machida is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
machida crunches a lovely knee into Eibner's ribcage.
machida missing with knees to the body.
machida prevents Eibner from breaking the clinch.
machida unloads a knee to the mid-section. Eibner lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
machida using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Eibner takes an elbow to the temple.
machida throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Eibner blocks it with crossed arms.
machida misses with a knee to the head.
Eibner takes an elbow to the temple.
machida with a knee to the head.
machida gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
machida tries to land knees in the clinch but Eibner avoids the damage to the body.
Eibner trying to control the position but instead, machida has worked for underhooks and has pushed Eibner into the cage.
machida is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Eibner is defending well for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
machida looking to throw knees to the head but Eibner is blocking nicely.
machida misses with a knee strike.
Eibner is looking to break free of the clinch but machida has double underhooks.
Good body shot from Eibner.
Eibner fails to pull the fight into his guard.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Brett Eibner. That's going to take a lot out of him.
machida trying to land knees to the body.
Eibner managing to block the knees to the body from machida.

Eibner escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Eibner gets a takedown into half guard.
Eibner not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
machida keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Eibner not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
machida works his way to full guard. Good work.
Eibner won't allow machida to sweep him here.

Eibner gets to his feet. machida looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
machida misses with a jab, cross combination.

Eibner 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.
machida looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Eibner chips away with some ground and pound.

machida working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Eibner doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Eibner manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
machida trying to strike off his back.
Eibner landing with the ground and pound.
Eibner stopping the sweep attempt from machida.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Eibner postures up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Eibner takes a kick to the side of the head.
Eibner uses good head movement to avoid the hook from machida.
Eibner throws a hook to the side of machida's head but machida sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
machida displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Eibner.

Eibner gets the takedown into side control.
machida is trying to control Eibner's posture but Eibner avoids it.
Eibner working the ground and pound but machida is defending the strikes.
machida is looking for a sweep.
machida is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.

Eibner is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. machida doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Eibner.
The fighters are battling for position here. machida manages to regain full guard. Nice work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
machida managing to control the position.
Eibner lands a couple of elbows.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
machida throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.
Eibner lands a couple of digs.
machida pulls Eibner in close to his closed guard and prevents Eibner from doing any damage or advancing position.
Eibner in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

Eibner drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Eibner jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
machida manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
machida looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The referee warns Eibner that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.

machida with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
Eibner is working to get back to half guard.
machida landing strikes from the mount.
Eibner tries to get back to half guard but can't.

machida is working on an americana here. Ooh, that looks pretty nasty! Nope, Eibner has managed to escape the submission attempt.
machida scoring with strikes but Eibner is staying in there.
Eibner is trying desperately to improve position.
machida can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Eibner is looking to escape.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Eibner really wants to buck machida off and get back to his feet.
machida lands a nice shot to the head.
machida putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
machida sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Eibner tries to get back to half guard but can't.
machida postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Eibner looks a forlorn figure.
Eibner can't escape the position.
machida working the ground and pound effectively.
Eibner is working to get back to half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Eibner wants to control but machida is having none of it.
machida with shots to the head and body - Eibner looks very uncomfortable down there.
Eibner is trying to escape the mount.
machida connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
machida is landing with some decent strikes but Eibner is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.

machida is going oldschool here, as he tries to force Eibner to tap using a forearm choke. This isn't 1993 though, so Eibner shrugs it off.
Eibner tries to get back to half guard but can't.
machida lands a big elbow.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Benos machida showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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!

machida throws a sloppy head kick and Eibner moves out of range easily.
machida misses the jab.
machida bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.
Eibner shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and machida counters with a flying knee. Nice.

machida forces Eibner back against the cage and clinches.
machida is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
machida lands a nice knee to the body.
machida lands an elbow just above Eibner 's eye.
machida utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Knees to the body from machida.
Eibner avoids the elbow strike from machida, against the cage.
Eibner doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
machida lands an elbow just above Eibner 's eye.
machida lands an elbow just above Eibner 's eye.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Eibner tries to pull guard but machida won't allow it.
Eibner takes a knee to the side of the body.
machida scores with a knee to the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
machida connects with a knee to the head.
Knees in the clinch landing for machida.
machida throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
machida tries to land a knee to the head but Eibner blocks with his arms.
Eibner has a couple of punches blocked by machida.
machida tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Eibner avoids it.
machida tries to land a knee to the head but Eibner blocks with his arms.
machida landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Eibner jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as machida walks away with a smile on his face. Eibner gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Brett Eibner. That's going to take a lot out of him.
machida checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Eibner looks to land a combination. machida sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Decent striking displayed by machida there.
machida swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Eibner counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Eibner.
machida lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Eibner!
Eibner tries to get back to half guard but can't.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Eibner throwing hammer fists to the chest of machida. What's that going to do exactly?

machida looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
machida throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Brett Eibner overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
machida prevents Eibner from getting the reversal.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, machida cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
machida blocks Eibner's feeble attempts to strike from the bottom.
The referee warns Eibner that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Eibner is desperately trying to improve his position but machida has a good base and remains in mount.

machida looking to secure an arm triangle but Eibner defends it well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
machida prevents Eibner from getting the reversal.
machida lands a big shot there that rocks Eibner but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
machida is landing with some decent strikes but Eibner is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Eibner really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, machida cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
machida with the ground and pound from mount.
Eibner tries to get back to half guard but can't.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.

machida working for a submission but Eibner is keeping him at bay.
machida lands a big elbow.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Eibner regains half guard.
machida seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Eibner does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Brett Eibner has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Eibner wants to improve his position but machida is controlling well.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
machida missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Eibner misses with some strikes from the bottom.
Benos machida is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Eibner has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
machida not doing much here.

And that's the end of the fight!
Benos machida comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got machida 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 Luis Engracia scores the fight 27:30
Judge Paulo Santos scores the fight 27:30
Judge Seu Braga scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Benos machida!