PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Ken Shamrock (ranked 4171 p4p, 79 weight class) and En Esch (ranked 3142 p4p, 64 weight class). Esch is bouncing up and down as he enters the arena, backed by Imperial March (L.O.D. Rage Mix). The key to victory for Ken Shamrock has got to be keeping the fight on the feet.

Shamrock
vs
Esch

150 cm
26
175 lbs
4 - 5 - 0

192 cm
20
238 lbs
5 - 6 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Very strong

BJJ White Belt
Decent knees
Knockout power

Aspire Nutrition

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Ken Shamrock !
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, En Esch!
The judges for this bout are Frank Antenori, Timothy Bukovac and Don Winkell.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Shamrock connects with a looping right hand.

Esch gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Shamrock makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Esch lands an elbow just above Shamrock 's eye.

It looks like Ken Shamrock has been cut.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Esch.
Esch tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Esch misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Shamrock .
Shamrock blocks a body shot from Esch.
Esch landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Shamrock can't break the clinch.
Esch lands an uppercut.
Esch misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Shamrock .
Esch with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Esch obliges.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Shamrock is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Esch scores with a knee to the head.
Esch tries a knee to the head but Shamrock blocks it.
Esch tries to land a knee to the head but Shamrock blocks with his arms.
Esch lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Shamrock or not.
Shamrock wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Esch has him pressed against the cage.
Nice elbow from Esch.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Shamrock .

That's one minute gone in the round.
Esch throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Shamrock s head.
Knees in the clinch landing for Esch.
Esch is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Shamrock is breathing heavily.
Esch misses with a knee strike.
Shamrock doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Esch prevents a body shot from Shamrock .
Shamrock takes a knee to the side of the body.
Esch throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Shamrock blocks it with crossed arms.
With the fighters up against the cage, Esch throws an elbow but misses.
A right hand to the body from Esch.
Shamrock lands a shot to the body.
Esch blocks a body shot from Shamrock .
Esch has been looking to improve his clinch game in recent weeks. Shamrock seems to have the measure of him in the clinch so far, so let's see if Esch can turn it around.
Esch misses with a body punch.
Esch with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Esch landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Esch working Shamrock over with knees to the body.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Esch prevents a body shot from Shamrock .
Shamrock has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shamrock stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Esch using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Shamrock has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Shamrock .
Shamrock blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Shamrock wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Esch has him pressed against the cage.
Shamrock misses with a hook from the clinch.
Esch putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Shamrock in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Esch lands a good knee to the midsection. Shamrock won't want to take too many of those.
Esch lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Shamrock or not.
A knee to the head by Esch.
Esch with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Shamrock has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Shamrock tries to throw a body punch but Esch avoids it by throwing Shamrock back against the cage.
Esch misses with a knee to the head.
Shamrock on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Shamrock lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Esch or not.
Esch tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Esch misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Shamrock .
Shamrock avoiding damage as Esch throws knees to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Shamrock 's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

Esch closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Shamrock lands a body punch.
Esch tries a knee to the head but Shamrock blocks it.
A left hand lands to the body for Esch.
Esch tries a knee to the head but Shamrock blocks it.
Esch misses with a knee strike.
Shamrock lands with a light punch inside.
Shamrock lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Esch misses with an elbow over the top.
Esch lands a knee to the head.
Shamrock lands a left hand that snaps the head of Esch backwards.
Shamrock managing to block the knees to the body from Esch.
Shamrock managing to block the knees to the body from Esch.
A hook to the body from Shamrock .

Shamrock escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Shamrock 's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Shamrock duly obliges.
Shamrock misses with a body shot.
Esch unleashes a big counter combination but Shamrock bobs and weaves and avoids any damage.
Esch rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Shamrock moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Shamrock attempts a counter takedown but Esch avoids it well and moves away.
Ken Shamrock seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shamrock tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Esch was well out of range. Poor timing from Shamrock .
Shamrock tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Esch was well out of range. Poor timing from Shamrock .
Esch unleashes a big counter combination but Shamrock bobs and weaves and avoids any damage.
Shamrock 's jab looks to have found its range, popping Esch under the eye.
Nice shot by Shamrock .

Esch is rocked!

Shamrock moves into the clinch successfully.
Esch is still on wobbly legs! Can Shamrock finish him?
Esch swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Shamrock slows down the pace here.
Esch is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Shamrock is defending well for now.
Esch seems to have recovered his senses.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Shamrock tries to work over Esch's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Esch tries to land knees in the clinch but Shamrock avoids the damage to the body.
Shamrock scores with a nice hook to the head.
Shamrock blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Esch with an attempt at a knee that misses.
A right handed body shot lands from Shamrock .
Still in the clinch, Shamrock scores with a nice short uppercut.
Shamrock makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

En Esch dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Ken Shamrock 's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Esch uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Shamrock .
Shamrock uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Esch tries to close the distance and clinch up but Shamrock swats him away and circles back towards the center.

Shamrock pushes Esch up against the cage in a clinch.
Shamrock blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Esch tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Shamrock avoids it.
Shamrock stalling against the cage.
En Esch seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Shamrock struggles to land a body shot inside as Esch controls his hands.
Shamrock blocks an elbow strike.
Esch misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Shamrock .
Shamrock takes an elbow to the forehead.
Esch throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Shamrock blocks it with crossed arms.
Shamrock wants to stall.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Shamrock presses Esch against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Shamrock misses with a hook to the ribs.
Esch is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Shamrock is defending well for now.
Esch is breathing heavily.
Shamrock manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Shamrock is leaning against Esch and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Esch tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Shamrock is trying to push Esch away but Esch has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Esch looking to throw knees to the head but Shamrock is blocking nicely.

Shamrock breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Esch uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Shamrock .
Esch looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Shamrock misses with a double jab.
Shamrock is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Esch is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Shamrock went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
Shamrock circles away from the clinch attempt.
Shamrock misses with a looping left.
Esch moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.

Shamrock moves into range and clinches up with Esch.
Shamrock avoiding damage as Esch throws knees to the body.
Shamrock lands a body punch in the clinch.
Esch with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Shamrock cracks Esch with a nice body shot.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shamrock lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Esch or not.
A right hand to the body from Shamrock .
A body shot lands from Shamrock .
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!
Shamrock struggles to land a body shot inside as Esch controls his hands.
Shamrock tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Shamrock is trying to break free.
Shamrock trying to stall but Esch improves his position.
Esch struggles to land a body shot inside as Shamrock controls his hands.
Esch missing with knees to the body.
Shamrock digs a right hand into Esch's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Esch's gas tank.
Shamrock looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Shamrock softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Shamrock lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Esch or not.
A nice right hand lands inside from Shamrock .
Esch misses with an elbow over the top.
Shamrock misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Esch tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Shamrock avoids it.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Esch as Shamrock tries to tie him up.
Shamrock lands a left hand that snaps the head of Esch backwards.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shamrock works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Shamrock stalling in the clinch but Esch improves position.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Shamrock takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Shamrock misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Shamrock tries to stall but Esch uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Shamrock is leaning against Esch and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Esch tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Esch misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Shamrock .
Shamrock tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Esch's elbow.
Shamrock doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Shamrock misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Esch tries to land knees in the clinch but Shamrock avoids the damage to the body.
Shamrock misses with a hook to the ribs.
A short body shot lands from Shamrock as the two fighters clinch.
Shamrock scores with a nice hook to the head.
Shamrock lands a left hand.
A short right from Shamrock on the inside.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shamrock prevents a body shot from Esch.
Shamrock lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Shamrock is looking to control Esch's arms but Esch gets an underhook and turns him. Now Shamrock has his back to the cage.
Esch lands a good knee to the midsection. Shamrock won't want to take too many of those.
We are yet to see a takedown attempt from Esch in the fight. On paper you would think he is the more dominant ground fighter so let's see if these unusual tactics pay off.
Shamrock lands a body shot.
Shamrock throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Shamrock lands a body punch.
Good body shot from Shamrock .
Shamrock lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Shamrock goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Esch goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Shamrock has Esch pressed against the cage.
Esch tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Shamrock digs a right hand underneath Esch's ribcage. Esch let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Shamrock lands a body shot in the clinch.
Shamrock goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Esch keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Shamrock 's efforts to push away.
Shamrock stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ken Shamrock dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Ken Shamrock 's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Shamrock closes the distance and pushes Esch back into the cage.
Shamrock avoids a wild elbow strike from Esch.
Esch using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Shamrock has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
A right hook to the body lands for Shamrock .
Shamrock managing to block the knees to the body from Esch.

Shamrock escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Esch just misses with a punch to the body.
Shamrock throws a hook but Esch blocks it.
Ken Shamrock is winning the standup battle so far.
Shamrock throws a jab when Esch was well out of range.
Esch is looking for the big counter here.
Esch is looking to clinch.
Shamrock half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.

Esch has Shamrock up against the cage in a clinch.
Shamrock on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Esch with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Esch takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Esch misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Shamrock .
Shamrock lands with a left to the head.
Shamrock misses with a hook to the ribs.
Shamrock throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Shamrock tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Esch's elbow.
Shamrock tries a body shot but Esch blocks it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Esch misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Esch throws a knee to the head but misses.
Shamrock working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Shamrock misses with a punch to the body.
Esch prevents Shamrock from breaking the clinch.
Nice body punch from Shamrock - that landed with a thud.
Shamrock leaning his opponent against the cage.

Shamrock manages to break the clinch.
Shamrock misses with a two punch combination.
Shamrock misses with a wild body shot.
Esch gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Esch takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
A looping hook to the body misses from Esch. Shamrock does a little dance to reset his feet.
A punch combination from Shamrock misses.

Shamrock rushes Esch and presses him up against the cage.
Esch throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Shamrock s head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Esch misses with a knee to the head.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Shamrock looking to slow down the pace here.
Shamrock pushes Esch back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Esch trying to land knees to the body.
Shamrock on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Shamrock tries to break the clinch but Esch is controlling the position.
Shamrock blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Esch misses with a knee to the head.

Shamrock breaks the clinch.
Shamrock throws a right and a left that Esch avoids nicely.
Shamrock throws the left hand but Esch avoids the punch easily.

Shamrock closes the distance and clinches.
Shamrock scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Esch lands a shoulder strike.
Shamrock lands a right hand that snaps the head of Esch backwards.
A frustrated look appears on Shamrock 's face as he tries to break the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Esch putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Shamrock in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Esch missing with knees to the body.
Esch misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Esch is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Shamrock is defending well for now.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Shamrock is trying to push Esch away but Esch has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Esch tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Shamrock avoids it.
Shamrock blocks a body shot from Esch.
Shamrock is trying to break free.
Esch tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Shamrock avoids it.
Shamrock trying to control the position but instead, Esch has worked for underhooks and has pushed Shamrock into the cage.
Shamrock managing to block the knees to the body from Esch.
Shamrock lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Esch lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Shamrock .
Shamrock wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Shamrock misses with a punch to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Esch tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Shamrock avoids it.
Shamrock taking a breather.
Shamrock on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

Shamrock breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Shamrock throws a shot from downtown. Esch moves away and avoids it.

Esch has managed to clinch.
Shamrock lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Esch or not.
Shamrock avoids the elbow strike from Esch, against the cage.
Esch with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Shamrock blocks a body shot from Esch.
Shamrock avoids a wild elbow strike from Esch.
Good body shot from Shamrock .
Good body shot from Shamrock .
Shamrock looking to stall.
Esch swings away with an uppercut that misses.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Shamrock works on Esch's body with a couple of short punches.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ken Shamrock showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Shamrock has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Frank Antenori scores the fight 29:28
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 29:28
Judge Don Winkell scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ken Shamrock !
During a confident post fight interview, Ken Shamrock thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.
En Esch spoke after the fight, saying 'He cheated! Check his gloves, they've got chloroform on them!'.