PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight kickboxing rules bout between Irshaad Sayed (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Riski Hester (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). I can't wait for this one - let's get the fighter introductions out of the way and get this one started!

Sayed
vs
Hester

170 cm
18
186 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

178 cm
18
185 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

Excellent MT
Granite chin

Excellent MT
Powerful

Island Nutrition
Atlantis

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 2 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Irshaad Sayed!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Riski Hester!
The judges for this bout are David Hoff, Dirk Anderson and Santiago Holmes.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sayed throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Sayed throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.

Hester closes the distance and clinches.

Sayed breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Hester goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Sayed throws a right hand that Hester ducks under and follows up with a left that Hester also avoids with ease.
A punch combination from Sayed misses.
Sayed misses with a double jab.
Sayed definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Sayed lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Hester backs up against the cage.
Sayed throws a series of strikes that have Hester backpedaling.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Sayed stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Hester.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Hester.
Sayed looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Sayed walks forward, straight into a front kick from Hester.
Hester throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Sayed moves out of range of the body kick from Hester.
Hester throws a sloppy head kick and Sayed moves out of range easily.
Hester lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Good leg kick by Hester there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sayed on the wrong end of a kick to the body.
Hester pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Hester looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Hester feints and then cracks Sayed's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Sayed down.
Hester misses with a head kick.
Hester's coach down at Foot Loves was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on Hester's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.
Sayed misses the jab.
Hester slips a jab from Sayed.
Hester scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Sayed thows a left - swing and a miss!
Sayed avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Sayed moves away from the strike by Hester.
Hester tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Sayed tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Hester thumps Sayed with a low kick.
Sayed with a jab.
Hester misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Sayed lands a body shot.
Sayed misses with the combination.
Hester misses with a body kick.
Sayed sizes up Hester with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Hester dodges the punch combination from Sayed.
A head kick misses from Hester.
Hester is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Hester fails in his attempt to clinch.
A cross from Sayed lands.
Hester throws a quick inside leg kick.
Hester tries a head kick but it misses.
Sayed throws a series of punches but Hester moves out of range.
Hester ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Hester gets a clinch.
Sayed is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Sayed avoiding damage as Hester throws knees to the body.
Sayed working hard to break the clinch.
Sayed is looking to break free of the clinch but Hester has double underhooks.
Hester is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Sayed is trying to break free.
Hester controlling the action here for a moment.
Still in the clinch, Hester scores with a nice short uppercut.
Sayed tries to break the clinch but Hester is controlling the position.
Hester throws a head punch that misses.
Hester throws an elbow that misses.
Hester looking to stall.
Sayed tries to break free but Hester pushes him back against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sayed has had enough of the clinch but Hester keeps him there for the moment.
Sayed is trying to break free.
Sayed on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Hester pushes off an throws an elbow but Sayed leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Hester taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
A head punch on the inside from Hester fails to land.
Hester has Sayed pressed against the cage, preventing Sayed from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
A right hand to the body from Hester.
Sayed letting Hester take a breather here.
Sayed blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Sayed wants to break the clinch but can't.
Sayed working hard to break the clinch.
Sayed looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Sayed tries to break the clinch but Hester is controlling the position.
Hester has Sayed pressed against the cage, preventing Sayed from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Sayed is trying to break free.

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Sayed is trying to break the clinch but Hester has him pressed against the cage.
Hester slowing the pace effectively.
Sayed wants to get back to striking at distance but Hester won't allow it.
Sayed is trying to push Hester away but Hester has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Hester trying to land knees to the body.

Hester's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Hester fails in his attempt to clinch.
Sayed staying out of range there.
Sayed misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Sayed looks to land a combination but Hester avoids it well.
Hester tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Sayed will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Hester delivers a nice body kick.
Sayed fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Some wild striking there from Sayed.
Hester walks into a stiff left hand from Sayed.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
Sayed misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Hester.
Hester feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Sayed's calf.
Hester throws a head kick that misses.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Nice defenses there by Sayed.

Hester drives through and clinches with Sayed against the cage.
Sayed blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Sayed wants to break free but Hester has control.
A frustrated look appears on Sayed's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Sayed is trying to force a seperation but Hester has the dominant position.
Hester has Sayed pushed against the cage.
Hester goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Sayed has had enough of the clinch but Hester keeps him there for the moment.
Hester holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Hester is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Sayed is defending well for now.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.
Hester using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Sayed has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.

Hester pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Hester misses with a body kick.
A chopping leg kick lands by Hester.
Sayed feints a jab promting Hester to slip. Sayed then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Hester slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.
Hester tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Sayed paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Sayed misses with a jab, cross combination.
Sayed on the wrong end of a kick to the body.
Sayed swats away the attempt to clinch by Hester.
Hester showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Sayed.
Irshaad Sayed seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Hester wants to clinch up but Sayed keeps it at a distance.
Hester lands with a thumping leg kick.

That's eight minutes gone in the round.
Sayed stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Hester.
Hester throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Hester wants to clinch.
Sayed swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Hester walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Hester throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.

Hester closes the distance and clinches.
Hester keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Sayed's efforts to push away.
Sayed blocks the elbow strike.
Sayed misses with some punches.
Hester throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Hester working aggressively here.
Hester with an attempt at a knee that misses.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Hester lands a right hand that snaps the head of Sayed backwards.
Hester creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Sayed prevents a body shot from Hester.
Hester looking to slow down the pace here.
Sayed letting Hester take a breather here.
Sayed wants to break free but Hester has control.
Hester leaning his opponent against the cage.
Hester tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Sayed avoids it.
Hester just leaning against Sayed, taking a breather.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Riski Hester.
Sayed throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Hester.
Hester throws a head kick but Sayed moves out of range.
Hester misses with a hook
and Sayed counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Riski Hester will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Sayed throws a nice looking combination but Hester bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Hester takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Hester moves forwards but Sayed connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Hester throws a head kick that misses.
Sayed tries to bum rush Hester with a series of wild strikes but Hester uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Hester lands a high kick!

It looks like Irshaad Sayed has been cut.
Sayed moves out of range of the body kick from Hester.
Sayed blocks a low kick nicely.
Sayed throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Hester.
Hester tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Hester throws a head kick that misses.
Hester pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Sayed throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Hester throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Hester lands a leg kick that knocks Sayed off balance momentarily.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
A decent looking body kick lands there for Hester.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hester bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Hester doesn't manage to clinch there - Sayed circles away.
Sayed fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Sayed's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Sayed duly obliges.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Hester scores with a head kick.
Sayed throws a series of strikes that have Hester backpedaling.
Hester tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Sayed paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Sayed scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.

Hester is rocked!
Nice defenses there by Hester.
Sayed is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Hester fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Hester pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Hester uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Sayed.
Sayed throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
A head kick misses from Hester.
Hester wants to clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sayed fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Hester on the side of the head.
Sayed ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Hester moves away.
Sayed fails to land with a series of punches.
Hester misses with a head kick.
Hester throws a low kick, looking for Sayed's leg but Sayed calmly moves out of range.
Hester tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Hester tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

Hester rushes Sayed and presses him up against the cage.
Hester misses with some punches.
Hester has Sayed pressed against the cage, preventing Sayed from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
The referee calls for Hester to work.
Sayed looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hester is stalling here.
Hester missing with knees to the body.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Hester just misses with a elbow thrown towards Sayed's brow.
Sayed prevents a body shot from Hester.
Sayed is trying to force a seperation but Hester has the dominant position.

Sayed pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Hester is looking to clinch.
Hester throws a body shot but no joy.
Sayed looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Irshaad Sayed is winning the standup battle so far.
Hester pivots, looking for a leg kick but Sayed is out of range and Hester settles back down.
A nice combination there by Sayed.
Hester throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Sayed tries to bum rush Hester with a series of wild strikes but Hester uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Hester thumps Sayed with a low kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A good leg kick by Hester.

Hester darts in and clinches Sayed up against the cage.
Hester goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Sayed letting Hester take a breather here.
Sayed tries to circle away but Hester has him pinned against the cage.

Sayed breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Hester fails in his attempt to clinch.
Sayed misses with a series of wild punches.
Hester moves out of range of the strikes.
A jab from Sayed does it's job there.
Hester tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Sayed manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Hester scores with a leg kick.
Sayed lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Hester circles away quickly and effectively.

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Hester tries to close the distance and clinch up but Sayed swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Sayed avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Hester takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Hester, right into the meat.
Sayed throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Sayed looks to land a combination. Hester sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Sayed throws a right hand that Hester ducks under and follows up with a left that Hester also avoids with ease.

Hester clinches up against the cage.
Hester pressing his opponent against the cage.
Hester fails to land with a short punch on the inside.

Sayed breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Hester misses with a low kick as Sayed jumps back.
Hester pushes Sayed away with a front kick.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
Sayed misses the shot to the body.

Hester has closed the distance and engaged Sayed in a clinch.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
A bit of stalling here from Hester.
Hester keeps control of Sayed as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Sayed will be looking to protect his midsection after taking some solid kicks to the body.
Hester pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Sayed blocks a body shot from Hester.
Hester using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Sayed has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
A frustrated look appears on Sayed's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Hester displaying some good clinch control by pressing Sayed up against the cage.
Hester tries to stall but Sayed uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Sayed has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Hester is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Sayed is keeping busy.
Sayed can't break the clinch.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Hester takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Riski Hester.
Hester showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Sayed.
Sayed throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Hester throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.

Hester clinches up with Sayed and pushes him back against the cage.
Hester holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Hester swings wildly with an uppercut but Sayed uses good head movement to avoid it.
Sayed is trying to break free.
Hester missing with knees to the body.
Hester has Sayed pressed against the cage, preventing Sayed from circling away and getting back to striking at range.

That's eight minutes gone in the round.
Hester misses with an elbow strike.
Sayed is trying to break the clinch but Hester has him pressed against the cage.
Sayed tries to break the clinch but Hester is controlling the position.
Hester tries a body shot but Sayed blocks it.
Hester wants to stall.
Hester stalling against the cage.

Sayed breaks from the clinch.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Hester.
Sayed misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Sayed misses with the combination.
Sayed misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Sayed throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Sayed avoids the head kick by Hester.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Hester wants to clinch.
Hester throws a head kick but Sayed moves out of range.
Sayed misses with a looping left.
Hester tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Sayed manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Hester finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Sayed circles away from the clinch attempt.
Sayed tries to bum rush Hester with a series of wild strikes but Hester uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Sayed lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Hester throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Hester displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Sayed throws out the jab.
Sayed keeps the fight on the outside.
Sayed misses with the combination.

And that's the end of the fight!
Irshaad Sayed showed his dominance in that final round.
I have no idea who won that fight. Let's wait and see whether the judges are as confused as me! Time for a split decision perhaps?!. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge David Hoff scores the fight as a draw!
Judge Dirk Anderson scores the fight for Irshaad Sayed!
Judge David Hoff scores the fight as a draw!

The fight ends as a draw!