PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Hank Henry (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jimmy Esperanza (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Henry
vs
Esperanza

190 cm
32
207 lbs
12 - 14 - 0

187 cm
31
222 lbs
25 - 22 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Very quick

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Powerful

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 12 - 14 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Hank Henry!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 25 - 22 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Jimmy Esperanza!
The judges for this bout are Fedor Mirinova, Aleksandr Martynov and Igor Prikhodko.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Esperanza walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Henry scores with the left hand. Esperanza knows he should have avoided that one.
Henry misses with a body shot.
Esperanza displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Henry.
Henry ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Esperanza is looking to clinch but Henry is avoiding it.
Henry misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Esperanza.
Esperanza tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Hank Henry seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Decent striking displayed by Henry there.
Henry misses with a straight right.
Esperanza scoring well with a low kick there.
Esperanza takes a swing at Henry's ribcage but misses.

Esperanza closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Esperanza lands in his opponent's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Henry wants to sweep but no luck.

Esperanza gets to his feet. Henry looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!
Esperanza throws a sloppy head kick and Henry moves out of range easily.
Esperanza throws a head kick but Henry moves out of range.
A left and a right from Henry both land. Nice combination.
Henry throws a hook but Esperanza blocks it.
Esperanza misses with a body shot.
Esperanza cracks Henry with a right hand to the side of the head.
Henry will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Jab by Henry.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Esperanza throws a good cross that connects.
Henry swats away the attempt to clinch by Esperanza.
Henry loads up on a big right hand but Esperanza slips the punch.
Henry avoids a punch combination nicely.
Jab, jab by Esperanza - just one landing.
Henry thows a left - swing and a miss!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Esperanza tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Henry makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.

Esperanza shoots in and bounces Henry off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Esperanza loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Henry can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Esperanza controls the pace.

Henry had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Esperanza defends it easily.
Esperanza passes into half guard under a barage of strikes.
Esperanza slips a nice elbow through Henry's hands, connecting with Henry's forehead.
Henry is trying to get back to full guard.
Esperanza wants to control but Henry is keeping him busy.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Esperanza is taking a breather. Henry says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Jimmy Esperanza hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
A head kick from Esperanza lands but Henry takes it in his stride.
Esperanza stuffs the takedown.
Henry throws a lazy uppercut
letting Esperanza counter with a right hand.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Esperanza fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Henry.
Henry looks to land a left hand but Esperanza moved out of range nicely.
Esperanza scores with a jab to the jaw.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Esperanza takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
Esperanza tries to close the distance and clinch up but Henry swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Esperanza misses with a body shot.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jimmy Esperanza dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

The fight stays on the outside here - Esperanza looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Esperanza moves away from the strike by Henry.
Jimmy Esperanza seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Esperanza displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Henry.
Esperanza doesn't manage to clinch there - Henry circles away.
Henry misses the shot to the body.
Henry on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Esperanza. Esperanza obviously looking to wear him down.
Henry misses with a wild combination.
Esperanza pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Henry keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Esperanza.
Henry throws an overhand right that lands on Esperanza's shoulder, as Esperanza tries to avoid the shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Esperanza takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Esperanza tries to clinch but Henry is having none of it.
Henry swings for the body but Esperanza moves out of range.
Esperanza bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
Henry tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Esperanza was well out of range. Poor timing from Henry.
A looping hook to the body misses from Esperanza. Henry does a little dance to reset his feet.
Esperanza moves in looking to clinch but Henry pushes him off.
Nice defenses there by Esperanza.
Esperanza takes a jab right on the kisser.
Esperanza fails with an attempt to clinch.
Henry throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Esperanza tries to clinch up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Esperanza drives through with a takedown into guard.
Henry wants to sweep but no luck.
Esperanza missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Esperanza keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Henry's head.
Esperanza trying to control but Henry is working from the bottom.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Esperanza preventing the sweep.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Henry working a defensive guard here.
Esperanza wants to control from the top but Henry keeps moving.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Jimmy Esperanza wasn't active enough on the ground.
Henry moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Esperanza pulls out of a head kick attempt.

Esperanza pushes Henry up against the cage in a clinch.
Henry is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Henry is looking to break free of the clinch but Esperanza has double underhooks.
Esperanza connects with a knee to the head.

Henry jumps guard and drags Esperanza to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Esperanza is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Esperanza trying to control but Henry is working from the bottom.
Henry wants to sweep here but Esperanza controlling him for the moment.
Esperanza stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Henry swivels though and keeps the full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Esperanza is in close to Henry's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Esperanza must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Henry keeping moving, preventing Esperanza from controlling successfully.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Esperanza postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Esperanza slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Henry looking to hit a scissor sweep but Esperanza is one step ahead there.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Henry doesn't do any damage with a couple of strikes from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jimmy Esperanza showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Henry looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Esperanza misses with a hook.
Henry throws a lazy right hand but Esperanza sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Esperanza is looking to clinch but Henry is avoiding it.
Henry shoots for a takedown but Esperanza saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Henry throws a body punch but Esperanza moves out of range.
Esperanza dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Henry. That did some damage!
Henry takes a swing at Esperanza's ribcage but misses.
Henry lands the left hand.
Esperanza fails with an attempt to clinch.
Esperanza feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Henrys jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Esperanza ducks right into an uppercut from Henry.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Esperanza shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.
Henry can't escape the position.
Esperanza with the ground and pound from mount.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Esperanza pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Henry really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
The referee warns Henry that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Henry is in all sorts of trouble here.
Henry is squirming around, avoiding Esperanza's attempts to control the action.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Esperanza lands a big elbow.
Esperanza wants to control the pace but Henry is squirming around nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Esperanza controlling from the full mount.
Esperanza looking to control but Henry is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Hank Henry has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Esperanza tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Jimmy Esperanza was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Esperanza connects with a leg kick. Henry looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Jimmy Esperanza is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nice cross by Esperanza.
Henry avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Esperanza lands with a shot to the body.
Henry throws a lazy uppercut
and Esperanza counters with an outside leg kick.
Henry shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Esperanza pinned against the cage. Esperanza gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Esperanza scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Henry doesn't seem bothered though.
Esperanza with a nice cross.

Esperanza instigates a clinch.
Henry wants to break free but Esperanza has control.
Henry is trying to push Esperanza away but Esperanza has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Henry is trying to break the clinch but Esperanza is controlling him.
Henry can't break the clinch.
Henry tries to throw a body punch but Esperanza avoids it by throwing Henry back against the cage.
Esperanza is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Esperanza keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Henry's efforts to push away.
Henry wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Esperanza has him pressed against the cage.
Henry pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Esperanza slowing the pace effectively.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Esperanza's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Henry throws a combination that misses
and Esperanza counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Henry swats away the attempt to clinch by Esperanza.

And that's the end of the fight!
Jimmy Esperanza comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Esperanza winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Fedor Mirinova scores the fight 27:30
Judge Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight 27:30
Judge Igor Prikhodko scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Jimmy Esperanza!
Our winner, Jimmy Esperanza, made sure he spent some time buttering up the crowd during his post fight interview, which will no doubt bring him a few more fans.