PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Raffaele Esposito (ranked 4901 p4p, 4532 weight class) and Gu Yong Sun (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Raffaele Esposito has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Esposito
vs
Yong Sun

178 cm
24
215
1 - 0 - 0

190 cm
24
199
1 - 0 - 0

Good takedowns
Brawler
Cuts easily

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Determined

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Raffaele Esposito!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Gu Yong Sun!
The judges for this bout are Aleksandr Martynov, Ivan Kurochkin and Valeri Chadov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Esposito bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Yong Sun wants to get back to his feet but Esposito is dominant here and he's now got Yong Sun's back!
Esposito controlling from the back.
Esposito keeps control of the position as Yong Sun tries to break free.
A bit of a pause in the action here. Esposito controlling the positon.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Yong Sun is defending well here and trying to improve his position.
Esposito lands with a big left hand that may well have hurt his opponent. Can Yong Sun hold on?!

That's one minute gone in the round.

Yong Sun is displaying good submission defense - not really looking in danger of submitting to the rear naked choke at the moment. That could change in an instant of course if Esposito gets his way!
Esposito controls the action.
Yong Sun really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Esposito. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Esposito'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 two minutes gone in the round.

Esposito working for a RNC but it's not happening just yet.
Good control from Esposito.

Yong Sun showing good submission defense here.
Esposito loading up with punches from the back mount - how long can Yong Sun hold on?
Esposito is riding his opponent, not letting Yong Sun buck him off.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Yong Sun trying to control the hands but Esposito breaks the grip.
Esposito throwing strikes from the back - he gets a warning from the referee for striking the back of the head but all these shots are hurting Yong Sun!
Esposito throwing damaging strikes from the back! Yong Sun could be in trouble here!
Yong Sun rolls, trying to escape but Esposito keeps control of the position.
Yong Sun keeps trying to improve his position.
Esposito slows the pace down here. Having a little breather whilst he's in a dominant position, looking to rest and regain some energy, ready to go for the finish.
Esposito scores with punches and elbows.
Yong Sun trying to control but not successfully.
Yong Sun manages to reverse the position and now he's in Esposito's guard. Nice work there by Yong Sun.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Yong Sun stops Esposito from standing up.
Yong Sun looking to pass the guard.
Yong Sun throws an elbow that misses. Esposito uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Yong Sun's guard. Nice move by Esposito!

Esposito is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Esposito content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Raffaele Esposito dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Esposito gets a clinch.
Yong Sun prevents Esposito from breaking the clinch.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Yong Sun wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Esposito has him pressed against the cage.
Yong Sun is trying to force a seperation but Esposito has the dominant position.
Esposito is trying to break free.

Esposito manages to pull guard.
Yong Sun wants to get up but he can't break Esposito's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Esposito is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Esposito is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Yong Sun can do to turn this around?

Esposito looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Esposito looking for a sweep. Not yet Esposito, not yet.
Esposito might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yong Sun trying to control the position from guard on top but Esposito is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Yong Sun tries to free his leg and advance position but Esposito is retaining full guard.
Esposito wants to get back to his feet but Yong Sun is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Yong Sun trying to control but Esposito is working from the bottom.
Yong Sun must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Yong Sun won't allow Esposito to sweep him here.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Yong Sun wants to control from the top but Esposito keeps moving.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.

That's two 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.
Yong Sun fails with a takedown attempt.
Esposito slaps away a takedown attempt from Yong Sun, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Yong Sun shoots in for a double leg but Esposito sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Raffaele Esposito has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Gu Yong Sun.
Esposito takes one to the chin there.
Raffaele Esposito is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Esposito misses with a body kick.
Yong Sun fails in his attempt to clinch.
Yong Sun fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.

Esposito drives through with a takedown into Yong Sun's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Esposito controlling from the top position.
Esposito content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.

Yong Sun looking for a guillotine here but Esposito defends easily.
Yong Sun is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Yong Sun throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.
Esposito looking to pass the guard.
Yong Sun is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Yong Sun wants to get back to his feet.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Yong Sun stops Esposito from getting back to his feet.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Raffaele Esposito dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Yong Sun changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Esposito tries to avoid it but Yong Sun manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Esposito to the ground. Esposito escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
An attempted straight right counter from Esposito misses the target.

Esposito drives through with a takedown into Yong Sun's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Yong Sun wants to get back to his feet but Esposito passes into half guard.
Raffaele Esposito overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Esposito prevents Yong Sun from improving his position.
Still in half guard, Esposito seems content to control.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Yong Sun wants to control the action here but instead Esposito manages to pass to full mount!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Esposito lands a big shot there that rocks Yong Sun but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Yong Sun is trying desperately to improve position.
Yong Sun in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Yong Sun working to try and regain half guard.
Esposito controlling from mount.
Yong Sun working to try and regain half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Yong Sun wants to improve position but instead he's given up his back.
Esposito keeps control of the position as Yong Sun tries to break free.
Esposito lands with a hammerfist to the side of Yong Sun's head.

Esposito is persistently looking for the submission but Yong Sun is defending it well.
Esposito controlling well, preventing Yong Sun from escaping the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Yong Sun trying to control the position but Esposito manages to sink in the hooks.
Yong Sun covers up after taking a massive shot to the side of the head.
Good control from Esposito.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Yong Sun trying to control the action but Esposito just sinks the hooks in.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Yong Sun showing good submission defense here.
Watch the back of the head! Comes the shout from the referee towards Esposito.
Yong Sun trying to control the action but Esposito just sinks the hooks in.
Yong Sun wants to escape the position.
Gu Yong Sun has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Raffaele Esposito is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

And that's the end of the fight!
Raffaele Esposito showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Esposito has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight for Raffaele Esposito!
Judge Ivan Kurochkin scores the fight for Raffaele Esposito!
Judge Valeri Chadov scores the fight for Raffaele Esposito!

Raffaele Esposito wins by unanimous decision!