PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between John Cooper (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Dante Esposito (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). I'm sure you'll be fascinated to know that I was talking to some pointless Z list celebrity before the fight and he thought that Dante Esposito was going to win. Let's see if he was right.

Cooper
vs
Esposito

170 cm
22
155 lbs
6 - 5 - 0

178 cm
23
161 lbs
5 - 3 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Conviction

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 6 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, John Cooper!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Dante Esposito !
The judges for this bout are Taro Takaoka, Shirou Masuda and Shigeki Fujiwara.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Esposito swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Cooper misses the jab.
Esposito looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Cooper looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Cooper looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Esposito ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
A swing and a miss from Esposito .
Cooper is looking for a counter combo.
Esposito lands with a right hand.
Esposito throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.

Cooper is rocked!
Nice straight punches there by Cooper. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Cooper.
Oh Cooper is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Cooper moves out of range of the strikes.
A big right from Cooper misses.
Esposito throws out a counter right but Cooper avoids it with no problem.
Cooper seems to have got his legs back now.

Oooh a lovely combination from Cooper sends Esposito down but not out. Cooper dives into side control looking to finish.

Esposito is rocked!

It looks like Dante Esposito has been cut.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Esposito is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the ropes but Cooper has just dragged him back down to the mat.
You can see the frustration on Esposito 's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Esposito defending against the ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
An elbow from Cooper crashes against the mat.
Cooper working away.
Esposito dodges the ground and pound from Cooper.
Cooper postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Esposito wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
Cooper fails to land a wild elbow strike.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Esposito is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the ropes but Cooper has just dragged him back down to the mat.
Esposito defending against the ground and pound.
Cooper throws an elbow but Esposito slips to the side and avoids it well.

Cooper tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Cooper in side control lands a decent elbow.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Esposito is trying to work for a sweep but Cooper has mounted him!
Esposito is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Cooper tries to push Esposito 's head away but Esposito is holding on tight.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
A nice elbow there by Cooper.
Esposito tries to hold on but Cooper postures up.
Cooper looking to ground and pound but Esposito is blocking nicely.

Cooper looking for a guillotine from mount but Esposito is having none of it.
Esposito is trying to escape the mount.
Esposito blocking the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Esposito keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Cooper dominating with strikes here.
Esposito is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Cooper throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Esposito tries to lock up and control but Cooper gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.

Cooper with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Esposito can do anything to dispel that myth.
Cooper avoids the attempt from Esposito to control.
Esposito is in all sorts of trouble here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Esposito is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Esposito can't escape the position.
Cooper working the ground and pound effectively.
Cooper throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.
Cooper pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Esposito wants to hold on but Cooper pushes him away.
Esposito is trying to escape the mount.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Cooper has control of Esposito 's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and Esposito regains control of the situation pretty easily.
Cooper pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John Cooper dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Dante Esposito 's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Esposito looks to land a body kick but Cooper moved away.
Esposito throws a head kick that half lands.
Esposito throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Cooper is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Esposito can do to turn this around?
Esposito walks into a left hand.
Esposito with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Cooper thows a left - swing and a miss!
Cooper tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Cooper throws a hook but Esposito blocks it.
Esposito appears to be waiting to throw a counter punch to the body.
Esposito uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Cooper.
John Cooper is winning the standup battle so far.
Esposito ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Cooper moves away.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cooper throws a right hand that misses
and Esposito counters with a lovely straight right hand!
John Cooper is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Nice straight punches there by Esposito . You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Esposito .

Esposito lands a big uppercut and Cooper crumbles to the floor! The ref thinks about stopping the fight but Cooper looks OK. Esposito waves Cooper back to his feet!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Cooper has a nice red mark on his side after a thudding body kick by Esposito .
Cooper rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Esposito counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Esposito throws a leg kick which misses Cooper's front leg but catches the back leg as Cooper tries to avoid it.
Good standup being displayed there by Cooper as he connects with a hook.
Some wild striking there from Cooper.
Esposito now looks to counter with a shot at the body.
Cooper misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Esposito swinging wildly here.
Cooper misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Esposito .
Cooper misses with an uppercut. Esposito saw that one coming.
Cooper throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Esposito sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Esposito takes one on the button.
Esposito wants to slow Cooper down by chopping away at his legs.
Nice cross by Esposito .
Esposito tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cooper throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Esposito .
Cooper throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Cooper throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Esposito lands a nice looking kick to the body. Cooper takes a step back to recover.

Esposito feints and then winds up with a huge right hand that connects perfectly and sends Cooper sprawling to the canvas! Cooper rolls over backwards and springs off the ropes and manages to regain his footing - how acrobatic! Oh, he's still wobbly - can Esposito finish him?!

It looks like John Cooper has been cut.
Esposito is throwing punches like he's double parked. Oh my word! Huge right hand from Esposito shuts the power down on Cooper. Lights out, game over! Esposito is your winner.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:34 of round 2, we have a winner by way of KO (Punches). Dante Esposito !
A relieved looking Dante Esposito thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.