PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Dino Lirios (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kevin Claessens (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Lirios
vs
Claessens

196 cm
21
205 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

180 cm
24
210 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Dino Lirios!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Kevin Claessens!
The judges for this bout are Paulsen Ambrosius, Nard Betker and Albert Achterberg.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Lirios swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Lirios misses with a double jab.
Lirios fails to land with a series of punches.
Lirios is looking to clinch but Claessens is avoiding it.
Claessens throws a head kick but Lirios moves out of range.

Lirios closes the distance and clinches.
Claessens keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Lirios's efforts to push away.
Lirios tries to break the clinch but Claessens is controlling the position.
Lirios is trying to break the clinch but Claessens has him pressed against the cage.
Claessens keeps control of Lirios as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Claessens tries to pull guard but Lirios holds him up against the cage and eventually Claessens drops back down to his feet.

Claessens pulls Lirios into guard.
Lirios has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Claessens is proving hard to escape from.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Lirios decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Claessens, up you get!
Claessens tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Lirios swivels and escapes.
Claessens misses with a body kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Claessens forces Lirios back against the cage and clinches.

Lirios breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Lirios misses with a jab, cross combination.
Lirios throws a combination. Claessens tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
Dino Lirios seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Lirios throws a right and a left that Claessens avoids nicely.
Lirios throws a series of punches but Claessens avoids them all with ease.
Lirios scores with a jab to the body.
Lirios tries to clinch

and Claessens counters with a takedown into side control.
Lirios seems a little lost for a moment, as Claessens dominates the positioning.
Lirios is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
Claessens just content to control the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Claessens landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.

Claessens decides to stand back up. Claessens steps back and let's Lirios get back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lirios tries to clinch up but Claessens circles away and keeps his distance.
Lirios misses with a series of wild punches.
Lirios moves in looking to clinch but Claessens pushes him off.
Claessens fails with a takedown attempt.
Dino Lirios has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Kevin Claessens.
Lirios attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Lirios fails to land with a series of punches.
Claessens misses with a few strikes there.
Claessens tries to clinch up but Lirios circles away and keeps his distance.
Lirios lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.

Lirios drives through and clinches with Claessens against the cage.
Claessens has Lirios pressed against the cage, preventing Lirios from circling away and getting back to striking at range.

Claessens manages to break the clinch.
Lirios scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Claessens is defended easily by Lirios.
Claessens shoots in for a takedown but Lirios shows good takedown defense.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lirios fails with an attempt to clinch.
Lirios lands a jab-cross combination.
Lirios throws a nice looking combination but Claessens bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Claessens moves in looking to clinch but Lirios pushes him off.
Lirios tries to bum rush Claessens with a series of wild strikes but Claessens uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Lirios!
Claessens moves in looking to clinch but Lirios pushes him off.
Lirios connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Lirios swinging wildly here.
Claessens showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Lirios.
Lirios throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Claessens.
Lirios avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Claessens on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Lirios is working the combinations to good effect here.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Claessens throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Lirios counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Dino Lirios will probably get the nod.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Lirios misses with a jab, cross combination.
Lirios misses with a wild combination.
Claessens shoots in and drives through. Lirios sprawls well.
Dino Lirios is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Claessens is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Lirios.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Lirios, as that shot connected.
Lirios throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Claessens shoots in looking for a takedown. Lirios tries to sprawl out of it but Claessens keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Lirios manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Lirios blocks the body kick.
Claessens tries to clinch but Lirios is having none of it.
Lirios stuffs the takedown attempt from Claessens. Claessens gets slowly back to his feet.
Dino Lirios has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Kevin Claessens.
Lirios scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Claessens is breathing heavily.
Lirios misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Lirios fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Claessens fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Lirios avoids it really well and circles away.
Claessens showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Lirios.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lirios fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
A punch combination from Lirios misses.
Lirios lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Lirios lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Lirios misses with a double jab

and Claessens counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Claessens.
Lirios wants to stand up but Claessens is controlling him.

Lirios pushes Claessens off for just long enough to get back to his feet. Very athletic spring there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Claessens has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Lirios goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Lirios pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Claessens fails with the takedown.
Lirios misses with a few strikes there.
Some wild striking there from Lirios.

Lirios gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Lirios wants to break free but Claessens has control.
Lirios has had enough of the clinch but Claessens keeps him there for the moment.
Claessens fails to pull guard.
Claessens tries to pull guard but Lirios won't allow it.
Lirios is trying to force a seperation but Claessens has the dominant position.

Lirios breaks from the clinch.
Lirios cracks a nice hook into Claessens's ribs.
Lirios with a nice cross.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Lirios has Claessens up against the cage in a clinch.
Lirios is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Lirios is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Claessens tries to pull guard but Lirios holds him up against the cage and eventually Claessens drops back down to his feet.
Claessens trying to stall but Lirios improves his position.
Lirios has had enough of the clinch but Claessens keeps him there for the moment.
Lirios is trying to break free.
Lirios is trying to break the clinch but Claessens is controlling him.
Lirios prevents a takedown attempt there.
Lirios tries to break the clinch but Claessens is controlling the position.

Lirios escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Lirios moves in looking to clinch but Claessens pushes him off.
A combination from Lirios does no damage.
Claessens looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Lirios is fending him off so far but Claessens persists. Nope, Lirios circles away and we're back to standing.
Dino Lirios is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Lirios throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Claessens.
Claessens takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Lirios is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Claessens wants to clinch.
Lirios throws a series of punches but Claessens moves out of range.
Lirios lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Claessens circles away quickly and effectively.

Claessens forces Lirios back against the cage and clinches.
Claessens has Lirios pressed against the cage, preventing Lirios from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Lirios can't break the clinch.

Lirios escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Lirios misses with a few strikes there.
A punch combination from Lirios misses.
Lirios closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Lirios rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Claessens moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Claessens gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Lirios counters with a good low kick that Claessens was not able to check.
Lirios lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Claessens circles away quickly and effectively.

Lirios moves into the clinch successfully.
Claessens is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Lirios pulls him back up using the underhooks.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dino Lirios 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. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Lirios throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Claessens.
No luck for Claessens with that takedown attempt.
Lirios fails to land with a series of punches.
Claessens dives in and grabs Lirios's left leg, looking for a takedown. Lirios pushes down on Claessens's head and hops out.
Lirios fails in his attempt to clinch.
Lirios throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Claessens.
Lirios looks to land a combination but Claessens avoids it well.
Lirios tries to clinch up but Claessens circles away and keeps his distance.
Lirios throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.

Claessens takes the fight into the clinch.
Lirios wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Lirios is trying to break the clinch but Claessens has him pressed against the cage.
Claessens takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Lirios is trying to break the clinch but Claessens is controlling him.
Claessens tries to land knees in the clinch but Lirios avoids the damage to the body.
Lirios gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Claessens.
Dino Lirios has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Kevin Claessens.
Lirios wants to get back to striking at distance but Claessens won't allow it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lirios is trying to break the clinch but Claessens has him pressed against the cage.
Lirios wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
A frustrated look appears on Lirios's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Claessens looking for a takedown.
A frustrated look appears on Lirios's face as he tries to break the clinch.

Lirios breaks from the clinch.

Claessens shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Claessens showed some decent athleticism there.
Claessens is just content to waste time from the top position. Lirios takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Claessens trying to control the position from guard on top but Lirios is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Claessens missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Claessens is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Claessens trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Claessens stands and throws Lirios's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Lirios is trying to buck Claessens off.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Claessens trying to control the action but Lirios is working from the bottom.
Lirios regains half guard, as Claessens was trying to land strikes.

And that's the end of the fight!
Kevin Claessens comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Lirios has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Paulsen Ambrosius scores the fight 29:28
Judge Nard Betker scores the fight 29:28
Judge Albert Achterberg scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Dino Lirios!