PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Matt Gentry (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Sazh Estheim (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Sazh Estheim is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Gentry
vs
Estheim

175 cm
19
162 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

181 cm
21
171 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

Good wrestling
Counter fighter
Granite chin

Powerful takedowns
Good low kicks
Good gas tank

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 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Matt Gentry!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Sazh Estheim!
The judges for this bout are Chris Saunders, Josh West and Colin Fray.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gentry takes a swing at Estheim's ribcage but misses.
Gentry scores with a three punch combo!
Estheim shoots in and drives through. Gentry sprawls well.
No luck for Estheim with that takedown attempt.
Gentry jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Sazh Estheim seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Gentry misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Estheim.
Estheim ducks under a wild hook from Gentry.
Estheim moves out of range as Gentry strikes.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gentry displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Estheim.
Gentry appears to be looking for a counter punch to the body.
Matt Gentry has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Sazh Estheim.
Gentry misses with a telegraphed body shot

and Estheim counters with a nice double leg into side control. Gentry won't be happy with that.
Gentry wants to control but Estheim postures up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Estheim controlling the position.
Gentry is trying to get back to half guard.
Estheim trying to control the position but Gentry is working away.
Gentry is in a tricky position but he's been working on his transitions down at [CBK] Punch-kicker Academy, so we'll see if he gets out of it.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Gentry prevents Estheim from moving into mount.

Estheim decides to take the fight back to the feet.
Estheim shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Gentry sprawls well. Gentry wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Estheim gets slowly back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Estheim tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Gentry manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Estheim avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Estheim appears to be waiting to throw a counter punch to the body.
Gentry throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Gentry scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Estheim doesn't seem bothered though.

Estheim fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Gentry, pushing him back against the cage.
Estheim tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.

Gentry breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Estheim blocks a jab.

Estheim has taken the fight to the clinch.
Estheim misses with a hook to the ribs.
Estheim jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Gentry walks away with a smile on his face. Estheim gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A telegraphed right hand from Gentry misses the target.
As Gentry backs off Estheim throws a huge counter combo but Gentry manages to avoid it all.
Gentry throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Gentry leaves Estheim with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Estheim moves away from the strike by Gentry.
Horrible takedown attempt by Estheim or perhaps it was just good defense by Gentry, which made it look bad.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Estheim.
Matt Gentry is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Gentry misses with a straight right.
Estheim tries to clinch but Gentry moves out of range.
Gentry was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Gentry scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Gentry throws out a token jab with nothing on it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Estheim staying out of range there.
Gentry throws a right and a left that Estheim avoids nicely.
Gentry is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Estheim.
Estheim shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Estheim staying out of range there.

Estheim drives through and clinches with Gentry against the cage.
Gentry lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Estheim backwards.
Estheim tries to throw a body punch but Gentry avoids it by throwing Estheim back against the cage.
Gentry is trying to break the clinch but Estheim has him pressed against the cage.
Estheim tries to pull guard but Gentry holds him up against the cage and eventually Estheim drops back down to his feet.
Gentry slows down the pace here.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Gentry fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Matt Gentry dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Gentry misses with a double jab.
Gentry ducks under a wild hook from Estheim.

Estheim fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Gentry, pushing him back against the cage.
Gentry misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Gentry scores with a nice hook to the head.
Estheim slows down the pace here.
Estheim struggles to land a body shot inside as Gentry controls his hands.
Gentry throws a punch but it's blocked by Estheim.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Estheim lands a takedown into guard.
Estheim is standing up over Gentry. Gentry looks to escape but Estheim dives into side control.

Estheim decides to take the fight back to the feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gentry displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Estheim.
Gentry was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Gentry digs a good body shot into Estheim's ribs.
Gentry displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Estheim gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Gentry counters with a straight right hand.

Estheim is rocked!
Estheim fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Gentry avoids it really well and circles away.
Gentry was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Matt Gentry has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Sazh Estheim.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Estheim is defended easily by Gentry.
It looked like Gentry wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gentry throws out a loose jab but Estheim uses good head movement to avoid it.
Estheim is looking for the big counter here.
Estheim shoots for a takedown but Gentry saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Gentry lands with a good body shot.
Sazh Estheim is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Nice takedown defense from Gentry. No joy for Estheim on that attempt.
Gentry takes a swing at Estheim's ribcage but misses.
Estheim is looking for the big counter here.
Estheim tries for a takedown but Gentry circles away easily
and Gentry counters with a straight right hand.
This has been an exciting period of action!
A shot to the liver by Gentry. Beautiful body shot.
Gentry slaps away a takedown attempt from Estheim, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Some wild striking there from Gentry.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Estheim uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Gentry.
Estheim keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Gentry.
Gentry swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Gentry misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Estheim.
Gentry stuffs the takedown.
Gentry misses with a wild body shot.
Gentry throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Gentry fails to land with a series of punches.
Gentry looks to score with a jab to the body but Estheim is just out of range.

Estheim shoots in and gets a takedown into Gentry's guard.
Estheim slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Gentry is adopting a defensive guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Estheim in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Estheim passes Gentry's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Estheim content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Estheim wants to control but Gentry is keeping him busy.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Matt Gentry dominated that second round.
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. This is the final round!

Gentry thuds a left hand into Estheim's body.
Gentry misses with a hook.
Gentry throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Estheim sees it coming and avoids it easily.
A punch combination from Gentry misses.
Estheim unleashes a big counter combination but Gentry bobs and weaves and avoids any damage.
Gentry thows a left - swing and a miss!
Estheim uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Gentry.

Estheim has Gentry up against the cage in a clinch.
Still in the clinch, Gentry scores with a nice short uppercut.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gentry throws a head punch that misses.

Estheim manages to break the clinch.
Gentry looks to score with a jab to the body but Estheim is just out of range.
Estheim tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
Estheim is trying hard to land a takedown here. Gentry sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Estheim scoring well with a low kick there.
Estheim dives in and grabs Gentry's left leg, looking for a takedown. Gentry pushes down on Estheim's head and hops out.
A swing and a miss from Gentry.
Gentry is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Estheim can do to turn this around?
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Estheim is defended easily by Gentry.
Matt Gentry has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Sazh Estheim.
Estheim misses with a combination
and Gentry counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Estheim shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Gentry defends it nicely.
Estheim throws a head kick but Gentry moves out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gentry thows a left - swing and a miss!
Gentry misses with a body shot.
Gentry slips a straight right by Estheim.
Gentry lands with an overhand left.
Gentry swings for the body but Estheim moves out of range.
A combination from Gentry does no damage.
A swing and a miss from Gentry.
Estheim lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Estheim throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Gentry.
Gentry misses with a looping right.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Gentry lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Estheim circles away quickly and effectively.
Estheim takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gentry misses with a straight left.
Estheim is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.
Estheim goes for a double leg but Gentry avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Gentry continues to drive forward.
Decent striking displayed by Gentry there.
Estheim shoots in for a double leg but Gentry sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Gentry appears to be looking for a big counter.
Gentry scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Estheim doesn't seem bothered though.
Matt Gentry is winning the standup battle so far.
Estheim keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Estheim shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Gentry as he jumps to the side.
Estheim takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Estheim fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Gentry scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gentry lands with a straight right. Estheim didn't see that one coming.
Estheim shoots in looking for a takedown. Gentry tries to sprawl out of it but Estheim keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Gentry manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Gentry connects with a body shot that sends Estheim's belly button to the back.
Estheim tries to close the distance and clinch up but Gentry swats him away and circles back towards the center.
A little feinted left hand from Gentry on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Gentry tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Estheim was well out of range. Poor timing from Gentry.
Gentry dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Sazh Estheim has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Estheim pushes Gentry up against the cage in a clinch.

And that's the end of the fight!
Matt Gentry showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Gentry, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Chris Saunders scores the fight 30:27
Judge Josh West scores the fight 30:27
Judge Colin Fray scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Matt Gentry!
Matt Gentry bigged himself up after the win. The crowd seemed to love it.