PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Jimmy Esperanza (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Stanislav Jovanovitch (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Jovanovitch has chosen Just Like You Imagined - Nine Inch Nails as his entrance music. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Esperanza
vs
Jovanovitch

187 cm
22
220 lbs
10 - 8 - 0

195 cm
30
255 lbs
9 - 6 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Very strong

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Knockout power

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 10 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Jimmy Esperanza!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Stanislav Jovanovitch!
The judges for this bout are Steve Smith, Elvis Blanc and Alec Ball.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Esperanza wants to clinch up but Jovanovitch keeps it at a distance.

Esperanza has closed the distance and engaged Jovanovitch in a clinch.
Jovanovitch using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Esperanza has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Esperanza is pushing Jovanovitch up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Esperanza tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Jovanovitch avoids it.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Esperanza as Jovanovitch tries to tie him up.
Jovanovitch misses with a knee strike.
Esperanza with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Stalling in the clinch from Jovanovitch.
Jovanovitch misses with a punch to the body.
Jovanovitch stalling in the clinch but Esperanza improves position.
Jovanovitch looking to throw knees to the head but Esperanza is blocking nicely.
Jovanovitch tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Esperanza avoids it.
Jovanovitch crunches a lovely knee into Esperanza's ribcage.
Esperanza misses with a knee strike.
Jovanovitch blocks an elbow strike from Esperanza.
Jovanovitch tries a knee to the head but Esperanza blocks it.
Jovanovitch lands a good knee to the midsection. Esperanza won't want to take too many of those.
Jovanovitch missing with knees to the body.
Jovanovitch utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Esperanza avoiding damage as Jovanovitch throws knees to the body.
Esperanza jumps guard but Jovanovitch stands there with Esperanza around his waist. Esperanza gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Stalling in the clinch from Jovanovitch.
Still in the clinch, Jovanovitch scores with a nice short uppercut.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Jovanovitch misses with a knee to the head.
Jovanovitch with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Jovanovitch avoiding damage as Esperanza throws knees to the body.
Esperanza throws a knee to the head but misses.
Esperanza is looking to control Jovanovitch's arms but Jovanovitch gets an underhook and turns him. Now Esperanza has his back to the cage.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Jovanovitch on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Jovanovitch on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
A bit of stalling here from Jovanovitch.
Esperanza tries a knee to the head but Jovanovitch blocks it.
Esperanza is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Jovanovitch is defending well for now.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Jovanovitch.
Esperanza is breathing heavily.
Stalling in the clinch from Jovanovitch.
Jovanovitch scores with a knee to the head.
Esperanza jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Jovanovitch walks away with a smile on his face. Esperanza gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Esperanza takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Jovanovitch pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Jovanovitch throws a good cross that connects.
Jovanovitch connects with a looping right hand.
Jovanovitch misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Jovanovitch thuds a left hand into Esperanza's body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Jovanovitch digs a good hook to Esperanza's body.
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!
Jovanovitch lands a body shot.
Jovanovitch lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Stanislav Jovanovitch is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

Jovanovitch closes the distance and clinches.
Jovanovitch controlling the action here for a moment.
Esperanza jumps guard but Jovanovitch stands there with Esperanza around his waist. Esperanza gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jimmy Esperanza. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Jovanovitch using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Jovanovitch landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Esperanza avoiding damage as Jovanovitch throws knees to the body.
Jovanovitch lands a left hand.
Jovanovitch lands a body shot in the clinch.
A right handed body shot lands from Jovanovitch.
Jovanovitch tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Esperanza avoids it.
Jovanovitch digs a right hand into Esperanza's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Esperanza's gas tank.
Knees to the body from Jovanovitch.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Jovanovitch tries to land knees in the clinch but Esperanza avoids the damage to the body.
A hook to the body from Jovanovitch.
Jovanovitch tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Esperanza avoids it.
Esperanza takes a knee right on the jaw!
Jovanovitch tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Esperanza avoids it.
Esperanza with an attempt at a knee that misses.
A bit of stalling here from Jovanovitch.
Jovanovitch lands a knee to the head.
Jovanovitch is pushing Esperanza up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Esperanza misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Jovanovitch.
Esperanza tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Esperanza unloads a knee to the mid-section. Jovanovitch lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Esperanza jumps guard but Jovanovitch stands there with Esperanza around his waist. Esperanza gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
A hook to the body from Jovanovitch.
Esperanza trying to land knees to the body.
Jovanovitch tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Esperanza avoids it.
Jovanovitch has Esperanza pressed against the cage.
Esperanza missing with knees to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Jovanovitch is pushing Esperanza up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Jovanovitch is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Esperanza dodges an elbow strike from Jovanovitch.
Esperanza is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Jovanovitch is defending well for now.
Esperanza takes a knee right on the jaw!
Jovanovitch using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Esperanza has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Jovanovitch lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Jovanovitch fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Esperanza tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Jovanovitch smiles and moves away.
A looping hook to the body misses from Jovanovitch. Esperanza does a little dance to reset his feet.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Esperanza, right into the meat.
Jovanovitch throws a jab but it's blocked by Esperanza.
The fight stays on the outside here - Jovanovitch looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Esperanza tries to clinch there but Jovanovitch circles away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Stanislav Jovanovitch dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Jovanovitch looks for the body kick but Esperanza saw that one coming.

Esperanza gets a clinch.
Jovanovitch on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Jovanovitch using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Esperanza has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Esperanza scores a nice knee to the body.
Stanislav Jovanovitch seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Jovanovitch avoiding damage as Esperanza throws knees to the body.
Esperanza lands a knee to the body.
Esperanza creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Jovanovitch's defenses.

Esperanza manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.

The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Esperanza is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Jovanovitch is aware though and is defending well.
Esperanza will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.

Esperanza throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Esperanza is trying to keep Jovanovitch in close.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Esperanza throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Jovanovitch pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Esperanza is keeping the position for now.
Jovanovitch must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Jovanovitch trying to control but Esperanza is working from the bottom.

Esperanza escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Jovanovitch gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.

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

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Esperanza is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Jovanovitch is aware though and is defending well.

Esperanza looks to be working for a triangle here. Oh, it looks like he might have it! Jovanovitch has picked Esperanza up and slammed him! Esperanza can't keep hold of the triangle and Jovanovitch manages to pass to side control!
Esperanza tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Esperanza gets back to half guard.

Esperanza has guillotine here! It looks pretty tight! Could this be all over! No, Jovanovitch escapes and passes into side control at the same time. Nice work there by Jovanovitch!
Jovanovitch controls the position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Esperanza is looking to reverse the position.
Esperanza throws an elbow to the body but it doesn't land.
Esperanza sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
Jovanovitch wants to free his trapped foot but Esperanza is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Jovanovitch trying to control the action but Esperanza is working from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jimmy Esperanza dominated that second round.
That's time! Esperanza's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Esperanza tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
A solid leg kick lands there for Jovanovitch.
Jovanovitch does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Jovanovitch wants to clinch.
A clash of legs there as Jovanovitch blocks the low kick.
Esperanza avoids the body shot from Jovanovitch.
Esperanza closes the distance looking to clinch
and Jovanovitch makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Jovanovitch with a hook.
Esperanza with a poor takedown
and Jovanovitch counters with a body kick.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Esperanza drops his hands momentarily and Jovanovitch takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Jovanovitch tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Esperanza tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Jovanovitch counters with a lovely shot to the body.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Jovanovitch blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Esperanza missing with knees to the body.

Esperanza decides to pull guard.
Jovanovitch is stalling in the full guard.
Esperanza working a defensive guard here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Esperanza working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Jovanovitch doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Jovanovitch manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Jovanovitch trying to control the position from guard on top but Esperanza is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Jovanovitch looking to control the position here, rather than advance.

Esperanza is active off his back here, looking for submissions.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Esperanza is looking for a triangle here but Jovanovitch uses the submission attempt to pass into side control.
Esperanza tries to control but Jovanovitch manages to take his back.
Esperanza rolls, trying to escape but Jovanovitch keeps control of the position.
Jovanovitch trying to secure his dominant position for a moment - making sure Esperanza doesn't escape.
Esperanza wants to control his opponent's hands but Jovanovitch gets his hands free.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Esperanza wants to escape the position.
A bit of a pause in the action here. Jovanovitch controlling the positon.
Esperanza trying to control the position but Jovanovitch manages to sink in the hooks.
Jovanovitch has good solid back control here.
Esperanza looks to control his opponent's hands but he's not mananging it at the moment.

And that's the end of the fight!
Stanislav Jovanovitch comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Jovanovitch has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Steve Smith scores the fight 28:29
Judge Elvis Blanc scores the fight 28:29
Judge Alec Ball scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Stanislav Jovanovitch!