PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Yusef Habib (ranked 3600 p4p, 385 weight class) and Simon Epstien (ranked 4456 p4p, 454 weight class). Simon Epstien has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Habib
vs
Epstien

192 cm
21
200 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

184 cm
27
192 lbs
2 - 4 - 0

Good wrestling
Brawler
Very quick

BJJ Blue Belt
Good kicks
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Yusef Habib!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Simon Epstien!
The judges for this bout are Ben Zyskovitsi, Roosa Järviläinen and Arvi Lind.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Epstien shoots in and drives through. Habib sprawls well.

Epstien tries to keep at a distance but Habib has taken the fight into the clinch.
Habib is trying to drag Epstien to the mat but Epstien just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Epstien being controlled against the cage.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Epstien using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Habib takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Epstien wants to get back to striking at distance but Habib won't allow it.
I was talking to Habib's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.

Habib drags the fight down to the ground.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Habib striking off his back.
Epstien trying to control but Habib is working from the bottom.
Habib pulls Epstien in to control the position.
Epstien pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Habib is keeping the position for now.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Habib is on top in guard.

Habib is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Habib keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Epstien's head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Epstien is trying to keep Habib in close.
Habib has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.

Epstien has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Habib can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Habib preventing the sweep.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Habib stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Epstien swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Habib is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Habib gets to his feet. Epstien looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!
Epstien getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Habib shoots for a takedown but Epstien saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Epstien fails with the takedown.
Epstien cracks the inside of Habib's front leg.
Epstien throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.

Epstien rushes Habib and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Habib prevents Epstien from breaking the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Epstien jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Habib walks away with a smile on his face. Epstien gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Yusef Habib has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Simon Epstien.
Habib misses with a jab, cross combination.
Epstien tries to close the distance and clinch up but Habib swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Habib swung with a counter punch to the body but it didn't connect.
Epstien moves to clinch but Habib breaks away

and Habib counters with a nice double leg into side control. Epstien won't be happy with that.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Habib remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.

Habib working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Epstien tries to improve position but can't.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Yusef Habib dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Habib dives in for a single leg takedown but Epstien sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.

Habib moves into the clinch.
Habib prevents the takedown attempt.

Habib pulls Epstien into guard.
Habib wants to sweep here but Epstien controlling him for the moment.
Epstien trying to control but Habib is working from the bottom.
Habib looking for a sweep. Not yet Habib, not yet.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Epstien trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Yusef Habib overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Epstien stopping the sweep attempt from Habib.

Habib has his foot on Epstien's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Epstien works his way back into a safe position though.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Epstien trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

Epstien stands up from guard. Let's bang!
Yusef Habib is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Epstien dives in and grabs Habib's left leg, looking for a takedown. Habib pushes down on Epstien's head and hops out.
Epstien misses with a two punch combination.
Habib goes for a double leg but Epstien avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Epstien continues to drive forward.

Habib scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Epstien is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

Habib is trying to work for a kimura but Epstien is defending well.
Epstien is looking to escape.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Habib content to control rather than advance.
Habib's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Habib decides to return to a standing position.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Habib is defended easily by Epstien.
Epstien is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Yusef Habib. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Epstien tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Habib defends well and Epstien ends up having to push Habib into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Epstien dives in and grabs Habib's left leg, looking for a takedown. Habib pushes down on Epstien's head and hops out.

Habib closes the distance and clinches.
Epstien is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Epstien is trying to force a seperation but Habib has the dominant position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Epstien can't break the clinch.

Habib pulls guard successfully.
Habib is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Epstien can do to turn this around?
Epstien wants to control from the top but Habib keeps moving.
Epstien would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Habib lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Habib working some strikes from top position.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Habib stays in close to Epstien's body and controls the position.

Habib decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Yusef Habib dominated that second round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Habib tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Habib pivots, looking for a leg kick but Epstien is out of range and Habib settles back down.
Epstien throws a feint and then finishes with a kick to the body.
Epstien shoots in but no luck this time.
Epstien fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Simon Epstien seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Habib stuffs the takedown.
Habib thinks about countering with a head kick.
Yusef Habib has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Simon Epstien.
Epstien is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Habib shoots in for a takedown but Epstien shows good takedown defense.
Epstien shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Habib as he jumps to the side.
Epstien shoots in looking for a takedown. Habib tries to sprawl out of it but Epstien keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Habib manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Habib shoots for a takedown but Epstien saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.

Habib clinches.
Epstien wants to stall.
Epstien jumps guard but Habib stands there with Epstien around his waist. Epstien gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Epstien on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

Habib breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

Habib gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Epstien wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Epstien gets underhooks to prevent Habib's takedown attempt.
Epstien is pressed up against the cage. Habib has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Epstien down to the mat. Epstien avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Epstien lands a head kick!
Epstien wants to clinch.
Habib swats away the attempt to clinch by Epstien.

Habib decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Epstien is looking to improve his position.
Habib is controlling the pace.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Epstien moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Epstien is trying to control the position but Habib postures up.

Habib is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.

Epstien working away from the bottom but not quite defensive enough there because Habib has passed into half guard!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Habib stalling.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

And that's the end of the fight!
Yusef Habib showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Habib, 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 Ben Zyskovitsi scores the fight 30:27
Judge Roosa Järviläinen scores the fight 30:27
Judge Arvi Lind scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Yusef Habib!