PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Robert Gibson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jesse Dirk (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Gibson
vs
Dirk

180 cm
33
222 lbs
7 - 11 - 0

187 cm
30
207 lbs
9 - 12 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Very quick

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 11 - 0, fighting out of New York, Robert Gibson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 12 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Jesse Dirk!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Blasius, Aafke Stam and Paulsen Ambrosius.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Dirk shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Gibson as he avoids it easily.

Gibson closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Dirk did well to prevent Gibson getting side control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

Dirk has one foot on Gibson's thigh - he pushes off and manages to get back to his feet.

Dirk closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Gibson did well to prevent Dirk getting side control.
Gibson blocking the ground and pound attempt from Dirk.
Gibson wants to get back to his feet.
Dirk sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Gibson defending well though.
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!
Dirk thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Gibson's head.
Dirk prevents Gibson from standing back up.
Dirk throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Dirk sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Gibson defending well though.
Gibson on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Dirk thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Gibson's head.
Gibson wants to get back to his feet.
Dirk lands strikes from half guard.
Gibson is trying to stand up here but Dirk is controlling him well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dirk thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.

Dirk decides to stand and escape the position.
Dirk slaps away a takedown attempt from Gibson, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Dirk keeps the fight on the outside.
Gibson walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.

It looks like Robert Gibson has been cut.
Dirk defending well as Gibson loads up on a big left hand.
A low kick from Dirk is predictable there
and Gibson counters with an outside leg kick.
Gibson fails with the takedown.
Gibson shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Robert Gibson. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Gibson swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.

Dirk shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Dirk not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dirk scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Dirk sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Gibson defending well though.
Gibson looks like he's trying to stand up.
Gibson avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Dirk.
Gibson keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Dirk missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Gibson is trying to stand up here but Dirk is controlling him well.
Dirk trying to pass the guard but Gibson defending well.
Dirk missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Gibson blocking the ground and pound attempt from Dirk.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Dirk connects with a nice short shot to Gibson's temple.
Dirk sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Gibson defending well though.
Dirk not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gibson is trying to stand up here but Dirk is controlling him well.
Dirk looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Gibson with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Dirk throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Dirk throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Dirk moves nicely into side control.
Gibson is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
Dirk lands a few punches from side control.
Dirk misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Dirk works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
Dirk lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Gibson down.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Dirk throwing strikes but Gibson manages to buck up and roll into a nice reversal - now he's on top in side control!
Dirk is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
Gibson scoring with punches from side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gibson connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Dirk some visible discomfort.
Dirk sneaks back into half guard.

Dirk manages to escape and get back to his feet!
Dirk shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Gibson as he jumps to the side.
Dirk fails with a takedown attempt.
Dirk looks winded!

Dirk shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Gibson napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Dirk looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Gibson is avoiding damage well.
An elbow from Dirk crashes against the mat.

Dirk is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Gibson is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Gibson is trying to buck Dirk off.
Gibson managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Dirk.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jesse Dirk dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Robert Gibson's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Dirk shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Gibson pinned against the cage. Gibson gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Dirk fails with the takedown

and Gibson counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Gibson is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Jesse Dirk has got the better of the ground game so far.
Gibson drops an elbow to the side of Dirk's head.
Gibson sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Dirk defending well though.
Dirk is refusing to be controlled, as Gibson sits in half 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!
Gibson working Dirk over with strikes.
Gibson looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Dirk with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Gibson works his way into side control.
Dirk is trying to buck Gibson off.
Gibson scores with a couple of short elbows.
Gibson is working Dirk over with some ground and pound from side control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gibson is chipping away with strikes.
Gibson scores with punches from side control.
Dirk is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
Gibson landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
Gibson working the ground and pound from side control.
Dirk is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Gibson is controlling him well.
Gibson working the head with strikes.
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!
Dirk wants to get back to his feet.
Dirk is breathing heavily.
Gibson scores with punches from side control.
Dirk taking punishment in the form of punches.
Gibson lands an elbow.
Gibson 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.
Dirk tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Dirk manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
Gibson is trying to stand back up but Dirk is controlling him

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Gibson makes some distance and scrambles quickly back to his feet. Nice work!
Dirk shoots for a double leg takedown but Gibson sprawls well. He's pushed Dirk's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Robert Gibson has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jesse Dirk.
Gibson shoots in for a double leg but Dirk sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.

Gibson changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Dirk looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Dirk wants to get back to his feet.
Gibson lands a few punches from side control.
Dirk wants to get back to his feet.
Dirk takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
Dirk wants to get back to his feet but Gibson drags him back down.
Dirk is not content to let Gibson control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Gibson stands up and beckons Dirk to his feet.
Gibson throws a series of strikes that have Dirk backpedaling.
Gibson avoids a punch combination nicely.
Gibson has his takedown stuffed
and Dirk counters with a nice uppercut.
Dirk rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Gibson moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Dirk shoots in but no luck this time.
Dirk doesn't manage to clinch there - Gibson circles away.
Gibson scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Gibson tries to close the distance and clinch but Dirk swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gibson shoots in for a takedown but Dirk shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Dirk shoots in looking for a takedown. Gibson tries to sprawl out of it but Dirk keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Gibson manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Gibson connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Jesse Dirk seems to be getting the better of the standup.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Dirk enables Gibson to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Dirk manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Dirk is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

Dirk has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Gibson can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Gibson is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Gibson scoring with some ground and pound.
Gibson stops Dirk from standing up.
Gibson cracks Dirk with a solid left hand.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Robert Gibson dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Robert Gibson's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Gibson manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Dirk on his heels. He'll look to pass Dirk's guard now, I'm sure.
Gibson throws a big elbow that misses.
Gibson throwing strikes from guard but Dirk blocks nicely.
Gibson scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Gibson is working Dirk over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Gibson missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Dirk manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Gibson manages to get himself to full guard.

Dirk throws a sloppy strike and Gibson has hooked up an armbar on the loose arm! He's turned and extended fully! Dirk is forced to tap! Great BJJ from Gibson!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:47 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Robert Gibson!
A victorious Robert Gibson thanked his army of followers in his post fight interview, telling people to make sure they follow him on Twitter.