PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between En Esch (ranked 3632 p4p, 89 weight class) and Maddox Wood (ranked 6700 p4p, 151 weight class). Esch's entrance music is Imperial March (L.O.D. Rage Mix). A fine choice. Wood has chosen 3 6 mafia 1 hitta quita as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. En Esch has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Esch
vs
Wood

192 cm
21
238 lbs
7 - 11 - 0

188 cm
29
245 lbs
8 - 10 - 1

BJJ Blue Belt
Good knees
Very quick

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

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 7 - 11 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, En Esch!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 10 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Maddox Wood!
The judges for this bout are Frank Antenori, Timothy Bukovac and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Wood fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Esch checks it well.
Wood takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Esch walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Esch bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.

Esch takes the fight into the clinch.
Esch scores a nice knee to the body.
Esch tries to land knees in the clinch but Wood avoids the damage to the body.
Esch with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Wood creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Wood managing to block the knees to the body from Esch.
Wood tries to land a knee to the head but Esch blocks with his arms.
Esch has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.
With the fighters up against the cage, Wood throws an elbow but misses.
Esch with a knee to the head.
Wood lands a nice elbow.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Esch trying to land knees to the body.
Wood throws a knee to the head but misses.
Wood is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Esch with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Wood misses with a hook from the clinch.
Esch utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Wood swings wildly with an uppercut but Esch uses good head movement to avoid it.
Esch with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Wood tries a knee to the head but Esch blocks it.
Esch unloads a knee to the mid-section. Wood lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Wood unloads a knee to the mid-section. Esch lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Esch tries a knee to the head but Wood blocks it.
Wood lands a knee to the head.
Esch with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Wood stalling the fight.
Esch tries to land knees in the clinch but Wood avoids the damage to the body.
Wood misses with a hook from the clinch.
Esch lands a knee to the head.
Wood managing to block the knees to the body from Esch.
Wood lands a hook to the side of the head.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Esch lands a nice elbow.
Wood lands a left hand.
Esch misses with a knee to the head.
Wood lands an uppercut.
Wood lands a hook that snaps the head of Esch backwards.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Esch misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Wood.
Wood tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Still in the clinch, Wood scores with a nice short uppercut.
Wood tries to work over Esch's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
A knee to the head by Wood.
Esch lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Wood tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Wood has a couple of punches blocked by Esch.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Esch tries a knee to the head but Wood blocks it.
Wood has a couple of punches blocked by Esch.
Esch tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Esch blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Wood blocks an uppercut.
Esch misses with a knee to the head.
Wood stalling the fight.
Esch looking to throw knees to the head but Wood is blocking nicely.
Esch with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Esch takes a shot to the head.
Wood tries a knee to the head but Esch blocks it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Wood scores with a shot to the side of Esch's head.
Wood scores with a shoulder strike.
Wood misses with a hook from the clinch.
Wood throws an elbow but it's blocked.
With the fighters up against the cage, Esch throws an elbow but misses.
With the fighters up against the cage, Wood throws an elbow but misses.
Esch tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Wood avoids it.
Esch blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Wood misses with a knee strike.
Esch misses with a knee to the head.
Esch misses with a punch on the inside.
Esch using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Esch landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Wood throws an elbow but it misses.
Wood managing to block the knees to the body from Esch.
Wood throws a punch but it's blocked by Esch.
Wood's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Esch blocking some punches.
Wood misses with a hook from the clinch.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Esch connects with a knee to the head.
Esch tries to land a knee to the head but misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Esch blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Wood avoiding damage as Esch throws knees to the body.
Esch blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Esch misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Wood.
Esch takes a shot to the head.
Wood lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Esch tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Esch using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Wood has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Wood fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
A head punch on the inside from Wood fails to land.
Wood managing to block the knees to the body from Esch.
Wood lands a shoulder strike.
Good body shot from Wood.
Esch is breathing heavily.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Wood.
Wood lands a shoulder strike.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Wood creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Esch tries to work over Wood's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Wood tries a knee to the head but Esch blocks it.
Wood misses with a short punch on the inside.
Esch throws a knee to the head but misses.
Wood throws an elbow but it misses.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Maddox Wood will probably get the nod.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Esch walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.

Wood waves his right hand out in front of him, looking to distract Esch. Oh, he's unloaded a beast of a left hand - it worked! He's dropped Esch to the canvas! Can he finish him!?

Esch is rocked!
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Wood accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Esch preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Wood pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Esch is keeping the position for now.
Wood throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Wood loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Wood postures up in Esch's guard and throws a big left but Esch blocks it.

Wood thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Esch preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Wood's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Wood trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Wood wants to pass the guard but Esch is keeping the position.
Esch knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Wood on the ground.
Esch working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Wood.
Wood is looking to work some ground and pound but Esch has wrist control.

Wood thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Esch is looking to stand up but Wood isn't so interested in that idea.
Wood postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Wood working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Wood slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Wood tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Wood has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Wood working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.
Wood throws an elbow but Esch slips to the side and avoids it well.

Wood is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Esch has escaped the position, nice work there.
Wood working the head and body with strikes.
The strikes coming from Wood are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
An elbow from Wood crashes against the mat.

Wood is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Esch is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Wood misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Esch is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Wood asserts his dominance and retains side control.
Wood has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Wood in side control, throwing shots but Esch defends.
Wood is working Esch over with some ground and pound from side control.
Esch taking punishment in the form of punches.
Wood lands a decent elbow from side control.

Wood is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Esch has escaped the position, nice work there.
Esch gives up the full mount - oops, sloppy defensive grappling there!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Esch is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
Esch wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Wood.
Wood misses with a head shot.
Wood is landing with some decent strikes but Esch is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Wood misses with a head shot.
Wood scores with a couple of good head shots there.
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!

Wood has control of Esch's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and Esch regains control of the situation pretty easily.
Poor strikes thrown by Wood there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Maddox Wood showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Esch takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.

Wood clinches.
Esch tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Esch misses with a short punch on the inside.
Esch tries to throw a body punch but Wood avoids it by throwing Esch back against the cage.
Wood blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Wood takes a knee to the side of the body.
Esch managing to block the knees to the body from Wood.
Esch connects with a nasty looking knee right to Wood's face.

It looks like Maddox Wood has been cut.
Wood misses with some punches.
Esch lands a hook that snaps the head of Wood backwards.
Esch tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Wood avoids it.
Wood misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Esch.
Wood pushes off an throws an elbow but Esch leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Esch throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Wood blocks it with crossed arms.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Wood throws a knee to the head but misses.
Esch with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Esch lands a nice knee to the body.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Wood throws an elbow that misses.
Wood blocks a body shot from Esch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Esch trying to land knees to the body.
Wood throws a punch but it's blocked by Esch.
Esch blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Wood has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Esch misses with a knee strike.
Esch tries a knee to the head but Wood blocks it.
A knee to the head by Wood.
Wood tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Wood throws a head punch that misses.
Wood lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Esch tries to work over Wood's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Esch tries to land knees in the clinch but Wood avoids the damage to the body.
Maddox Wood seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
A shot in the inside from Wood.
Wood looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Esch lands an elbow that stopped Wood in his tracks for a moment.
Wood lands a right hand that snaps the head of Esch backwards.
Wood lands a left hand that snaps the head of Esch backwards.
Wood blocks a body shot from Esch.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Wood.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
A head punch blocked on the inside by Esch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wood tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Esch is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Wood is defending well for now.
A nice left hand lands by Wood.
Esch avoids a wild elbow strike from Wood.
Esch is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Wood is defending well for now.
Esch blocking some punches.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Wood.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Wood.
Oh Esch is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Wood creates a bit of space for himself and rocks Esch with a big uppercut! Esch tries to clinch up but Wood pushes him back against the cage and lands another monster strike that crumples Esch to the mat! Esch covers up and Wood unloads with more strikes until the referee steps in to end the bout!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:37 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Punches). Maddox Wood!
An out of breath Maddox Wood thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.
En Esch spoke after the fight, saying 'He cheated! Check his gloves, they've got chloroform on them!'.