PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Ramon Escobar Chavez (ranked 2062 p4p, 1610 weight class) and Pablo Noriega (ranked 211 p4p, 164 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Escobar Chavez might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Buena Vista Social Club - Hasta Siempre. Noriega has chosen MS-13 Mara Salvatrucha as his entrance music. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Escobar Chavez
vs
Noriega

179 cm
43
150
35 - 14 - 6

181 cm
41
148
27 - 17 - 1

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Good wrestler
World class MT
Granite chin

The Dirty Needle Project

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 35 - 14 - 6, fighting out of New York, Ramon Escobar Chavez!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 27 - 17 - 1, fighting out of Amsterdam, Pablo Noriega!
The judges for this bout are Timothy Bukovac, Frank Antenori and Jack Bonds.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nice defenses there by Noriega.
Escobar Chavez walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Escobar Chavez misses with an uppercut.
Noriega appeared to try and counter that last move with a leg kick.
Noriega throws a jab but it's blocked by Escobar Chavez.
Ramon Escobar Chavez seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Noriega takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Noriega takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Escobar Chavez ducks under a wild hook from Noriega.
Escobar Chavez slips under a jab.
Noriega moves away from the strike by Escobar Chavez.
Noriega throws a leg kick but Escobar Chavez moved away.
A big left from Noriega misses.
Noriega avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Noriega looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Noriega takes a swing at Escobar Chavez's ribcage but misses.
Nice shot by Noriega.
Noriega bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Noriega feints and then cracks Escobar Chavez's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Escobar Chavez down.
Escobar Chavez misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Noriega.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Noriega bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Noriega ducks under a wild hook from Escobar Chavez.
The fighters circling - Escobar Chavez throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
A looping hook to the body misses from Noriega. Escobar Chavez does a little dance to reset his feet.
Noriega walks into a stiff left hand from Escobar Chavez.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Escobar Chavez throws an overhand right that lands on Noriega's shoulder, as Noriega tries to avoid the shot.
Noriega plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Noriega walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Escobar Chavez throws an overhand right that lands on Noriega's shoulder, as Noriega tries to avoid the shot.
Escobar Chavez throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Escobar Chavez dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Noriega has done a lot of speed work in the buildup to this fight.
Noriega throws out a powerful jab.
Escobar Chavez lands the left hand.
Noriega is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Noriega throws a nice outside leg kick.
A looping hook to the body misses from Escobar Chavez. Noriega does a little dance to reset his feet.
Escobar Chavez throws a wild body kick that Noriega sees coming a mile off.
Nice body punch from Noriega.
Escobar Chavez tries a low kick but Noriega avoids it.
A good leg kick by Noriega.
Escobar Chavez is looking light on his feet compared to last time was saw him fight.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Escobar Chavez misses with a looping right.
Escobar Chavez slips under a jab from Noriega.
Escobar Chavez dodges the punch combination from Noriega.
Noriega misses with a wild body shot.
Escobar Chavez throws an overhand right that lands on Noriega's shoulder, as Noriega tries to avoid the shot.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Noriega scores with a jab.
Escobar Chavez throws an off balance right hand
and Noriega counters with a stiff right hand.
Escobar Chavez wants to slow Noriega down by chopping away at his legs.
It seemed like Noriega was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Noriega displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Escobar Chavez throws out the jab.
A slow jab from Escobar Chavez misses its intended target.
Noriega moves out of range of the strikes.
Escobar Chavez thows a left - swing and a miss!
Noriega cracks Escobar Chavez with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Noriega moves out of range as Escobar Chavez strikes.
Noriega misses with a looping left.
Escobar Chavez looks to land a combination. Noriega sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Escobar Chavez walks into a stiff left hand from Noriega.
Escobar Chavez throws a lazy uppercut
enabling Noriega to counter with a crisp jab.
Escobar Chavez misses the shot to the body.
Noriega swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Noriega is landing a lot of head punches in this opening round! Escobar Chavez had better start moving his head a bit unless he wants his face to turn into mush.
Noriega jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Escobar Chavez waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Noriega.
Escobar Chavez connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Good standup being displayed there by Escobar Chavez as he connects with a hook.
Noriega will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Escobar Chavez misses with a looping left.
Noriega tries to land a front kick but Escobar Chavez steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Escobar Chavez cracks Noriega with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Escobar Chavez rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Noriega makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Escobar Chavez blocks a head kick by Noriega.
Noriega pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Escobar Chavez scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Escobar Chavez misses with a body shot.
Escobar Chavez misses with an uppercut
and Noriega counters with a straight right hand.
Noriega throws a hook but Escobar Chavez avoids it easily.
Escobar Chavez waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Noriega.
Noriega misses with a low kick.
Escobar Chavez connects with a body shot.
Noriega lands a nice looking body shot.
Noriega slips under a jab.
Noriega lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Escobar Chavez swings widly with a right hand
and Noriega counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Noriega lands a nice looking kick to the body. Escobar Chavez takes a step back to recover.
A low kick lands for Escobar Chavez.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Noriega cracks Escobar Chavez with an open hand slap.
Noriega tries a head kick but it misses.
Noriega displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Escobar Chavez throws out the jab.
Noriega slips under a jab from Escobar Chavez.
Noriega checks the leg kick.
Escobar Chavez throws a hook but Noriega avoids it easily.
Escobar Chavez missing with a left hand there. Noriega was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Escobar Chavez jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Noriega uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Escobar Chavez.
Escobar Chavez pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
A big right from Escobar Chavez misses.
A nice side step and Noriega releases a counter shot to the body, but it doesn't find it's home.
Escobar Chavez fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Noriega lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Noriega is looking to chop away at Escobar Chavez's legs.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Escobar Chavez throws a lazy right hand but Noriega sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Noriega checks a leg kick.
Escobar Chavez uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Noriega attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Escobar Chavez appeared to be looking to counter that last move with a leg kick.
Escobar Chavez works the jab nicely.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Pablo Noriega will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Escobar Chavez wants to land a leg kick but Noriega is out of range.
Escobar Chavez is looking to slow Noriega down with leg kicks.
Escobar Chavez throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Escobar Chavez misses with a looping right.
Noriega defending well as Escobar Chavez loads up on a big left hand.
Escobar Chavez takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
A jab from Escobar Chavez misses.
Noriega throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Escobar Chavez misses with a straight right.
Noriega slips under a jab from Escobar Chavez.
Escobar Chavez ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Noriega is looking to land body kicks.
Noriega slips under a jab from Escobar Chavez.
Noriega throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A slow jab from Escobar Chavez misses its intended target.
Escobar Chavez throws a hook but Noriega blocks it.
Noriega ducks under a wild hook from Escobar Chavez.
It seemed like Noriega was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Escobar Chavez throws a hook but Noriega avoids it easily.
Escobar Chavez throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Escobar Chavez throws a body punch but Noriega moves out of range.
Noriega counters with a body kick.
Escobar Chavez throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Noriega cracks Escobar Chavez with an open hand slap.
Noriega scores with a body shot.
Escobar Chavez staying out of range there.
Noriega takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Noriega lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Noriega doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Noriega missing with a left hand there. Escobar Chavez was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Jab by Escobar Chavez.
Escobar Chavez thuds a left hand into Noriega's body.
Escobar Chavez throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Escobar Chavez lands with a cross.
Noriega connects with an inside leg kick.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Noriega misses with a body kick.
Escobar Chavez throws a hook to the side of Noriega's head but Noriega sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Escobar Chavez scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Noriega uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Escobar Chavez.
Escobar Chavez avoids a kick to the body.
The fighters circling - Escobar Chavez throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Escobar Chavez throws a looping overhand right but Noriega ducks down to avoid it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Escobar Chavez misses with a hook. Noriega ducked under it nicely.
Escobar Chavez misses with a looping right.
Noriega connects with a leg kick.
Escobar Chavez avoids a kick to the body.
Noriega feints and then cracks Escobar Chavez's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Escobar Chavez down.
Noriega swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Escobar Chavez throws a shot from downtown. Noriega moves away and avoids it.
Escobar Chavez rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Noriega makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Escobar Chavez slips under a jab.
Escobar Chavez throws a hook to the side of Noriega's head but Noriega sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Noriega fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Escobar Chavez looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Escobar Chavez checks a leg kick.
Escobar Chavez swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Noriega shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Noriega plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Noriega wants to slow Escobar Chavez down by chopping away at his legs.
A leg kick checked by Escobar Chavez.
Escobar Chavez fires out a quick counter leg kick but Noriega just manages to avoid it.
A shot to the body from Escobar Chavez misses
letting Noriega counter with a right hand.
A swing and a miss from Escobar Chavez.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Escobar Chavez thows a left - swing and a miss!
A slow jab from Noriega misses its intended target.
A cross from Escobar Chavez lands.
Escobar Chavez misses with an uppercut. Noriega saw that one coming.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Escobar Chavez lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Noriega has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Noriega and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Escobar Chavez misses with a right hand
and Noriega counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Noriega misses with a low kick.
Escobar Chavez swings for the body but Noriega moves out of range.
Noriega lands a leg kick that knocks Escobar Chavez off balance momentarily.
Noriega connects with a body shot that sends Escobar Chavez's belly button to the back.
Escobar Chavez slips a straight right by Noriega.
Nice jab there from Noriega.
Noriega lands with a nice combination. Escobar Chavez backs away looking to recover.
A looping hook to the body misses from Escobar Chavez. Noriega does a little dance to reset his feet.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Noriega looks to land a body kick but Escobar Chavez moved away.
Escobar Chavez throws a hook but Noriega blocks it.
Noriega wants to land a leg kick but Escobar Chavez is out of range.
Escobar Chavez misses with an uppercut. Noriega saw that one coming.
Noriega misses with an uppercut.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Escobar Chavez throws a hook to the side of Noriega's head but Noriega sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Escobar Chavez misses with an uppercut. Noriega saw that one coming.
Noriega only half commits to the counter leg kick.
Noriega misses the jab.
Noriega displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Escobar Chavez throws out the jab.
Noriega tries a quick counter leg kick but Escobar Chavez is wise to it.
Escobar Chavez misses the jab.
Noriega uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Escobar Chavez.
Noriega checks a low kick from Escobar Chavez.
Escobar Chavez throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Noriega sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Noriega fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Escobar Chavez throws a hook but Noriega blocks it.
Nice body kick from Noriega.
Noriega throws a body kick that digs right into the meat.
Escobar Chavez is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Escobar Chavez misses with a wild body shot.
Escobar Chavez will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Escobar Chavez blocks a jab.
Noriega uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Escobar Chavez.
Escobar Chavez misses with a low kick.
Escobar Chavez wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Noriega slips under a jab.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Pablo Noriega will probably get the nod - 10:9.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Noriega displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Escobar Chavez throws out the jab.
Escobar Chavez lands a lovely overhand right.
Escobar Chavez takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Noriega.
Noriega lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Noriega avoids the body shot from Escobar Chavez.
Noriega connects with a right hand. Escobar Chavez shakes it off.
A looping hook to the body misses from Noriega. Escobar Chavez does a little dance to reset his feet.
Noriega turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Noriega connects with a solid leg kick.
Escobar Chavez pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Escobar Chavez takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Escobar Chavez lands a nice looking body shot.
Escobar Chavez misses with an uppercut.
Noriega connects with a jab.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Noriega ducks under a wild hook from Escobar Chavez.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Noriega! But no joy.
Escobar Chavez cracks a nice hook into Noriega's ribs.
Noriega takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
Noriega throws a wild body kick that Escobar Chavez sees coming a mile off.
Escobar Chavez throws a jab but it's blocked by Noriega.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Escobar Chavez tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Noriega was well out of range. Poor timing from Escobar Chavez.
Noriega looks like he wants to counter punch here.
A swing and a miss from Escobar Chavez.
Pablo Noriega seems to be getting the better of the standup.
A punch lands to the side of Noriega 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Nice body punch from Noriega.
Escobar Chavez throws a jab when Noriega was well out of range.
Escobar Chavez throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Escobar Chavez tried to score with a low kick but Noriega checks it.
Escobar Chavez throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Noriega sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Noriega looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Noriega moves out of range as Escobar Chavez strikes.
Escobar Chavez takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
A big left from Escobar Chavez misses.
Noriega throws a low kick, looking for Escobar Chavez's leg but Escobar Chavez calmly moves out of range.
Escobar Chavez half committed to a counter leg kick.
A jab from Escobar Chavez misses.
Noriega keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Escobar Chavez.
Escobar Chavez throws out a loose jab but Noriega uses good head movement to avoid it.
Noriega looks to score with a jab to the body but Escobar Chavez is just out of range.
Noriega looks to land a combination but Escobar Chavez avoids it well.
Escobar Chavez throws a shot from downtown. Noriega moves away and avoids it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Noriega moves out of range of the strikes.
Escobar Chavez lands a glancing blow to the side of Noriega's head.
Escobar Chavez throws a body shot but no joy.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Noriega throws a nice inside leg kick.
Noriega displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Escobar Chavez throws out the jab.
Noriega appeared to try and counter that last move with a leg kick.
Escobar Chavez throws a looping overhand right but Noriega ducks down to avoid it.
Escobar Chavez walks into a straight right hand from Noriega.
Escobar Chavez connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Noriega keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Escobar Chavez throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Noriega sees it coming and avoids it easily.
A little jabbing left from Noriega on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Noriega throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
The fighters circling - Escobar Chavez throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Noriega throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Escobar Chavez is looking to counter punch.
Escobar Chavez scores with a body shot.
Escobar Chavez throws a body punch but Noriega moves out of range.
Escobar Chavez is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Nice defenses there by Noriega.
Noriega is trying to counter with his kicks.
Escobar Chavez throws a shot from downtown. Noriega moves away and avoids it.
Noriega throws a shot from downtown. Escobar Chavez moves away and avoids it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Escobar Chavez takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Noriega takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Escobar Chavez throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Escobar Chavez throws a hook but Noriega blocks it.
Escobar Chavez throws a sloppy body shot
and Noriega counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Escobar Chavez tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Noriega was well out of range. Poor timing from Escobar Chavez.
Escobar Chavez ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Nice cross by Noriega.
Noriega looks to land a body kick but Escobar Chavez moved away.
Noriega throws a body kick that digs right into the meat.
Escobar Chavez dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Noriega tries to work over Escobar Chavez's front leg with a kick but Escobar Chavez checks it.
Escobar Chavez looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
A slow jab from Escobar Chavez misses its intended target.
Noriega moves away from the strike by Escobar Chavez.
Noriega lands a nice looking kick to the body. Escobar Chavez takes a step back to recover.
Escobar Chavez checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Noriega scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
A big left from Escobar Chavez misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Noriega tries to score with a low kick but Escobar Chavez moves his leg out of the way.
Escobar Chavez misses with a body shot.
Escobar Chavez keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Noriega.
Noriega throws a solid leg kick but Escobar Chavez takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Noriega.
Escobar Chavez throws a body punch but Noriega moves out of range.
Escobar Chavez throws a big shot that misses.
Noriega uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Escobar Chavez.
Noriega ducks under a wild hook from Escobar Chavez.
Noriega looks to land a body kick but Escobar Chavez moved away.
Escobar Chavez misses with a straight right.
Noriega looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Noriega moves away from the strike by Escobar Chavez.
Some bone on bone action there as Escobar Chavez checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Escobar Chavez throws a hook to the side of Noriega's head but Noriega sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Noriega slips under a jab from Escobar Chavez.
Noriega feints a counter leg kick.
Escobar Chavez throws a hook but Noriega blocks it.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Escobar Chavez has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Noriega.
Noriega lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Ramon Escobar Chavez has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Escobar Chavez checks a leg kick.
Escobar Chavez takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Pablo Noriega.
Well Noriega has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 29:29
Judge Frank Antenori scores the fight 28:30
Judge Jack Bonds scores the fight 30:27

The fight is ruled a draw!