PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Bashar Essassani (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Chad Chadderton (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Bashar Essassani could well score a knockout today. He has the power to get to Chad Chadderton's chin.

Essassani
vs
Chadderton

172 cm
18
153 lbs
4 - 1 - 0

175 cm
18
156 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

Good wrestler
Counter fighter
Tends to cut

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 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Bashar Essassani!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Chad Chadderton!
The judges for this bout are Jack Bonds, Timothy Bukovac and Frank Antenori.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Chadderton misses with a hook.
Chadderton goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.

Essassani takes the fight into the clinch.
Essassani misses with a knee to the head.
Essassani missing with knees to the body.
Essassani with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Essassani blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Chadderton tries a body shot but Essassani blocks it.
Essassani lands a nice knee to the body.
Chadderton has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Essassani after a bit of a struggle.
Essassani definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Chadderton changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Essassani fights it off and pushes away nicely.

Essassani has taken the fight to the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Chadderton is looking to take this one to the mat.
Bashar Essassani has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Chad Chadderton.
Chadderton misses with a hook to the ribs.
Essassani using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Chadderton has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Chadderton on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

Essassani drops Chadderton with a big knee straight up the middle! Chadderton is covering up against the cage but manages to escape and gets back to his feet!

Chadderton is rocked!

It looks like Chad Chadderton has been cut.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!

Chadderton closes the distance and clinches.
Chadderton is still on wobbly legs! Can Essassani finish him?
Chadderton is trying to drag Essassani to the mat but Essassani just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Essassani tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Chadderton can't find room to land a body shot as Essassani controls the action.
Chadderton seems to have recovered his senses.
Chadderton blocks an elbow strike.
Essassani with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Essassani using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Chadderton has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Chadderton trying to control the position but instead, Essassani has worked for underhooks and has pushed Chadderton into the cage.
Chadderton has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Essassani avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Chadderton on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Essassani tries a knee to the head but Chadderton blocks it.
Essassani using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Chadderton has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Chadderton on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Essassani working Chadderton over with knees to the body.

Chadderton turns his back and goes for a hip toss. It's a bit messy but it gets the job done and Chadderton manages to end up in side control.
Essassani is looking for a sweep.
Chadderton is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Essassani will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.

Chadderton tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Chadderton has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Chadderton is pausing for a moment. What's he doing? It looks like he's clearing his nose. Oh dude! He's shot a load of snot all down Essassani's shoulder. That is not cool.
Essassani is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Essassani is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Chadderton off and has taken his back!
The crowd hopeful of a finish here - Essassani's supporters are on their feet, screaming for him to go for the rear naked choke.

Essassani has his hand under the chin of his opponent looking for the choke. He's nearly got it! This one could be all over! But no, Chadderton has freed his hand and lives to survive another… well, another couple of seconds at least!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Chadderton tries to escape the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Chadderton trying to control the hands but Essassani breaks the grip.
Chadderton is in bad spot here.
Essassani misses with an elbow to the head.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Chadderton wants to escape the position.
Essassani missing with punches from the back.
Essassani trying desperately to keep hold of the dominant position.
Essassani is really struggling to control Chadderton but he's trying to hold on to the position.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
You know, I was talking to some of our celebrities at ringside tonight and they were split right down the middle on who was going to win this fight.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Essassani keeps control of the position as Chadderton tries to break free.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bashar Essassani dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Chad Chadderton's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Essassani goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
Essassani looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Chadderton attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.

Essassani closes the distance and clinches.
Essassani missing with knees to the body.
Chadderton is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Essassani pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Essassani tries to land a knee to the head but Chadderton blocks with his arms.
Essassani is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Chadderton is defending well for now.
Essassani tries a knee to the head but Chadderton blocks it.
Chadderton gets through Essassani's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Chadderton slowing the pace effectively.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Chadderton throws a punch but it's blocked by Essassani.
Essassani tries to land knees in the clinch but Chadderton avoids the damage to the body.

Chadderton has Essassani pressed up against the cage. He's trying to work for a single leg takedown. Chadderton pulls back from the cage and twists to the side, sending Essassani tumbling to the mat - Chadderton dives into Essassani's guard.
Chadderton trying to control the position from guard on top but Essassani is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Chadderton sitting in guard here, content to control.
Let's hope that Chadderton has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Chad Chadderton.

Chadderton gets tackled into the cage by Essassani. Essassani maintains the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Essassani using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Chadderton has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Chadderton working aggressively here.
Essassani is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Chadderton is defending well for now.
Chadderton blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Chadderton misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Essassani looking to throw knees to the head but Chadderton is blocking nicely.
Essassani tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Chadderton misses with an elbow strike.
Chadderton fails to pull the fight into his guard.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Essassani missing with knees to the body.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Essassani can't seem to implement his control oriented gameplan at the moment. That's no bad thing of course, for those of us who want to see a good fight.
Essassani tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Chadderton wants to break the clinch but can't.
Chadderton is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Bashar Essassani has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Chad Chadderton.
Chadderton trying to stall but Essassani improves his position.
Chadderton goes for a takedown in the clinch but Essassani prevents it.
Chadderton avoiding damage as Essassani throws knees to the body.
Essassani trying to stall but Chadderton improves his position.
Chadderton swings wildly with an uppercut but Essassani uses good head movement to avoid it.
Chadderton is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Essassani gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Essassani tries to land knees in the clinch but Chadderton avoids the damage to the body.
Chadderton misses with some punches.

Chadderton lands a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Chad Chadderton has got the better of the ground game so far.
Chadderton wants to control but Essassani is keeping him busy.
Essassani is trying to stand up here but Chadderton is controlling him well.
Chadderton frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.

Chadderton with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Essassani is trying to get back to his feet but can't.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Chadderton takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Chad Chadderton showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Chad Chadderton's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Chadderton clinches up against the cage.
Essassani trying to stall but Chadderton improves his position.
Essassani using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Chadderton has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Chadderton throws an elbow that misses.
With the fighters up against the cage, Chadderton throws an elbow but misses.
Essassani throws a knee to the head but misses.
Essassani blocks the elbow strike.
Chadderton wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Essassani has him pressed against the cage.
Essassani landing knees to the body.
Essassani is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Chadderton is defending well for now.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Essassani misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Chadderton.
Essassani prevents a body shot from Chadderton.
Bashar Essassani has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Essassani throws an elbow but it misses.
Essassani misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Chadderton.
Essassani connects with a nasty looking knee right to Chadderton's face.
Essassani misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Chadderton.
Chadderton tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Essassani's elbow.
Essassani connects with a nasty looking knee right to Chadderton's face.
Chadderton tries to score a body lock takedown but Essassani shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Essassani tries a knee to the head but Chadderton blocks it.
Essassani blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Essassani prevents a body shot from Chadderton.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Chadderton changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Essassani fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Bashar Essassani is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Chadderton feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Essassanis jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!

Essassani instigates a clinch.
Essassani misses with a knee to the head.
Essassani missing with knees to the body.
Essassani is looking to control Chadderton's arms but Chadderton gets an underhook and turns him. Now Essassani has his back to the cage.
Essassani misses with a knee to the head.
Essassani misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Chadderton.
Essassani tries to land a knee to the head but Chadderton blocks with his arms.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Essassani with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Chadderton blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Essassani gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Chadderton.
Bashar Essassani has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Chad Chadderton.
Chadderton on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Chadderton managing to block the knees to the body from Essassani.
Essassani with an attempt at a knee that misses.
A frustrated look appears on Chadderton's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Chadderton on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Essassani tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Chadderton is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Essassani gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Essassani drops Chadderton with a big knee straight up the middle! Chadderton is covering up against the cage but manages to escape and gets back to his feet!
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!

Chadderton gets tackled into the cage by Essassani. Essassani maintains the clinch.
Chadderton is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Essassani tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Essassani throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Chadderton blocks it with crossed arms.
Chadderton pushes off an throws an elbow but Essassani leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Chadderton blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Chadderton blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Chadderton has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Essassani after a bit of a struggle.
Chadderton on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Chadderton.

And that's the end of the fight!
Bashar Essassani showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Essassani 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 Jack Bonds scores the fight 29:28
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 29:28
Judge Frank Antenori scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Bashar Essassani!
Post fight, Bashar Essassani took to the microphone: 'Excitement is the physical translation of the vibrational resonance that is your true, core natural being. Follow your excitement!'.