PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Aristotle Nicomachus (ranked 3014 p4p, 389 weight class) and Javier Esposito (ranked 2236 p4p, 297 weight class). Nicomachus comes into the arena with Drake - Trophies blaring out of the sound system. Both fighter's entrance songs getting the crowd jumping here.

Nicomachus
vs
Esposito

190 cm
31
215 lbs
14 - 5 - 0

186 cm
31
205 lbs
15 - 10 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Olympic wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

KAISER Nutrition - Q160

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 14 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Aristotle Nicomachus!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 15 - 10 - 0, fighting out of New York, Javier Esposito!
The judges for this bout are Gwen Towbar, Alan Glass and Robert Twigg.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Jab by Esposito.
Esposito tries for a takedown but Nicomachus circles away easily
and Nicomachus connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.

Esposito moves into the clinch.
Nicomachus scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Nicomachus gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Esposito.

Nicomachus manages to break the clinch.
Nicomachus seems to be moving with more speed, compared to his last bout. He must have been working on that in the gym.
Esposito throws a shot to the body.
Nicomachus throws a body kick that misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Esposito misses with a body kick.
Esposito misses with a low kick.
Esposito lands with a thumping leg kick.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Esposito checks a leg kick.
And Esposito tries to counter it with a takedown but Nicomachus pushes his down on his head and steps out.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nicomachus lands a leg kick that knocks Esposito off balance momentarily.
Nicomachus checks the leg kick.
Nicomachus keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Esposito.
Nicomachus throws out a loose jab but Esposito uses good head movement to avoid it.
Esposito checks a low kick from Nicomachus.
Aristotle Nicomachus is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Esposito's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Nicomachus connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Esposito scrambles back to his feet.
Nicomachus throws a lazy right hand but Esposito sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Nicomachus cracks Esposito with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Nicomachus looks to land a left hand but Esposito moved out of range nicely.
Nicomachus throws a solid leg kick but Esposito takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Nicomachus.
Esposito connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Nicomachus's hands.
Nicomachus fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ooooh, nice body kick lands from Esposito. Nicomachus shrugs it off though.
Nicomachus just misses with a punch to the body.
Esposito dives in for a single leg takedown but Nicomachus sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Nicomachus was looking to counter that last move with a shot to the body but he didn't commit.
Aristotle Nicomachus has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Javier Esposito.
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!
Nicomachus throws a body shot but no joy.
Esposito misses with a body kick.
Nicomachus buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Esposito slips under a jab from Nicomachus.
Esposito throws a right hand that misses
and Nicomachus counters with a nice uppercut.
Javier Esposito seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Esposito throws a wild body kick that Nicomachus sees coming a mile off.
Esposito throws a leg kick which misses Nicomachus's front leg but catches the back leg as Nicomachus tries to avoid it.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Nicomachus checks a leg kick.
Esposito swings and misses with a hook to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A slow jab from Nicomachus misses its intended target.
Esposito lands a nice leg kick that just misses Nicomachus's sensitive parts.
Nicomachus defending well as Esposito loads up on a big left hand.
Nicomachus was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Nicomachus swings widly with a right hand

and Esposito counters with a shoot takedown. Nicomachus fights it but they end up in guard.
Nicomachus looking to sweep using the butterfly guard but Esposito puts pay to that idea as he passes nicely into half guard.
Esposito prevents Nicomachus from improving his position.
Nicomachus is striking from the bottom but he's now found himself mounted! Oh dear - not enough focus on defense there.
Nicomachus throwing hammer fists to the chest of Esposito. What's that going to do exactly?
Nicomachus working to try and regain half guard.
Nicomachus is working hard here to advance position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Esposito wants to control the pace but Nicomachus is squirming around nicely.
Nicomachus throwing punches from his back but nothing is landing.
Nicomachus working to try and regain half guard.
Esposito cracks Nicomachus with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Nicomachus is trying desperately to improve position.
Esposito trying to control but Nicomachus is having none of it.
Esposito scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Nicomachus?
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Javier Esposito dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Nicomachus lands a head kick!

It looks like Javier Esposito has been cut.
Nicomachus misses with a few strikes there.

Esposito darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Esposito is taking a breather. Nicomachus says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Nicomachus wants to improve his position but Esposito is controlling well.
Esposito landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Esposito wants to control but Nicomachus is keeping him busy.
Nicomachus is trying to get back to full guard.
Nicomachus is staying active underneath Esposito, who seems content to just control the action from this position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nicomachus has his hands clasped together around Esposito's back. He's all about the action.
Ground and pound from Esposito.
Esposito has been taking part in the yoga sessions down at Hunter MMA. Presumably he's going to look for a slick submission... Or maybe he's looking to avoid one.
Nicomachus is looking to get full guard. It looks like he might be successful but at the last minute Esposito jumps into side control!
Nicomachus takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
Esposito landing a few strikes.
Esposito has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Esposito lands a nice forearm strike.
Esposito working the ground and pound from side control.
Nicomachus tries to bench press Esposito off him but Esposito keeps the position.
Javier Esposito has got the better of the ground game so far.
Esposito lands a nice forearm strike.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Esposito gets to mount! Nicomachus was on the offensive and wasn't defending properly.
Esposito trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Nicomachus really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Esposito is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Esposito lands a nice shot to the head.
Esposito lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Nicomachus is trying desperately to improve position.
Esposito with shots to the head and body - Nicomachus looks very uncomfortable down there.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Esposito working Nicomachus over with strikes here.
Nicomachus swinging wildly from the bottom but he's not landing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Esposito working Nicomachus over with strikes here.
Nicomachus regains half guard.
Nicomachus taking some punishment here, with Esposito in his half guard.
Esposito slows the pace down in half guard.
Nicomachus manages to get to full guard.
Nicomachus lands a good elbow from the bottom.
Nicomachus trying to strike off his back.
Nicomachus wants to hit a switch here but Esposito passes into full mount! Oh no, disaster for Nicomachus there!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nicomachus really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Esposito connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Esposito has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Esposito landing punches.
The referee warns Nicomachus that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Nicomachus tries to reverse the position but Esposito maintains control.
Esposito looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Nicomachus working to try and regain half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Javier Esposito showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Javier Esposito's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Nicomachus lands with a nice combination. Esposito backs away looking to recover.
Esposito misses the shot to the body.
Nicomachus is looking to counter with head kicks.
Esposito lands a slapping body shot.
Nicomachus fails to land with a series of punches.
Esposito lands a jab to the nose.
Esposito listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Nicomachus avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
It looked like Nicomachus wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Nicomachus closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Esposito fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Nicomachus has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
A jab from Nicomachus does it's job there.
Esposito gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Nicomachus counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nicomachus misses with a low kick as Esposito jumps back.
Aristotle Nicomachus is winning the standup battle so far.
Esposito throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Esposito throws a poor cross that misses
and Nicomachus connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Esposito throws a low kick but Nicomachus avoids it.

The fight moves into the clinch position.

Nicomachus breaks the clinch.
Esposito throws a mid kick that lands with a slap.
Esposito tries a low kick but Nicomachus avoids it.
Esposito tries to land a body kick
and Esposito takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Esposito on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Nicomachus. Nicomachus obviously looking to wear him down.
Esposito pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Nicomachus moves out of range of the strikes.
Nicomachus looks to land a left hand but Esposito moved out of range nicely.
Esposito with the counter takedown but Nicomachus avoids it easily.
Nicomachus lands with a good body shot.
Nicomachus connects with a body shot.
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!
Esposito lands with a hook. Nicomachus tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Nicomachus misses with a right hand

and Esposito counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Esposito keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Nicomachus's head.
Nicomachus bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Esposito's guard.

Nicomachus working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nicomachus chips away with some ground and pound.
Nicomachus throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Esposito works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Nicomachus with a flurry of punches that miss.
Esposito looking to hit a scissor sweep but Nicomachus is one step ahead there.
Nicomachus postures up and lands a big shot to Esposito's brow.
Nicomachus with a flurry of punches that miss.
Nicomachus scoring with some ground and pound.
Esposito is pulling down on Nicomachus's head. It's preventing any offense from Nicomachus, at least for the moment.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Esposito is on top in guard.

Esposito throwing strikes but missing.
Javier Esposito is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Esposito postures up.
Nicomachus lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Nicomachus stays in close to Esposito's body and controls the position.
Nicomachus throws a strike but Esposito rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Nicomachus is trying to control the position but Esposito postures up.
Nicomachus wants to sweep but no luck.
Nicomachus is striking off his back. Esposito thinks nothing of it though and passes easily into half guard.
Esposito prevents Nicomachus from improving his position.
Aristotle Nicomachus has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Esposito blocks the strikes from Nicomachus.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Aristotle Nicomachus.
I think Esposito has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Gwen Towbar scores the fight 28:29
Judge Alan Glass scores the fight 28:29
Judge Robert Twigg scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Javier Esposito!