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PBP Commentary |
Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Israel Whitaker (ranked 23151 p4p, 0 weight class) and Matas Kestenis (ranked 7426 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.
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| 170 cm
20
186 lbs
0 - 3 - 0 |
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182 cm
18
180 lbs
1 - 2 - 0 |
BJJ White Belt
Brawler
KO power |
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BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Granite chin |
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Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of
0 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Israel Whitaker!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of
1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Matas Kestenis!
The judges for this bout are Alexandre Firmino, Leandro Rodrigues and Seu Braga.
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kestenis has taken the fight to the clinch.
Whitaker fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Kestenis lands with a short shot to the head.
Kestenis stops a takedown attempt from Whitaker.
Kestenis breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Kestenis shoots and misses
and Whitaker counters with a nice uppercut.
Kestenis takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Israel Whitaker seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Kestenis fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Whitaker.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Israel Whitaker. That's going to take a lot out of him.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kestenis shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Kestenis was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Kestenis scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Whitaker to see if he's OK.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Whitaker defending against the ground and pound.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Kestenis working away.
Kestenis looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Whitaker is avoiding damage well.
Kestenis landing a few strikes.
Kestenis looks up at the clock and then as Whitaker takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Kestenis smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!
Kestenis working away.
Whitaker tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Kestenis wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Kestenis cracks Whitaker with an elbow. That is naaassty.
Whitaker might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Whitaker takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Kestenis cracks Whitaker with a big right hand but Whitaker just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Kestenis landing strikes.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kestenis throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.
Kestenis wants to control but Whitaker is keeping him busy.
Kestenis is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Kestenis is putting a hurting on Whitaker here, landing some big shots from side control.
Whitaker is looking for a sweep.
Kestenis tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Kestenis has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Whitaker is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kestenis is keen to just control but Whitaker is a slippery customer.
Whitaker makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Whitaker.
Kestenis looks winded!
Whitaker wants to improve his position but instead Kestenis has moved into half guard.
Whitaker controlling the position for now.
Whitaker manages to get to full guard.
Whitaker keeping moving, preventing Kestenis from controlling successfully.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Whitaker has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Kestenis can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Kestenis won't allow Whitaker to sweep him here.
Kestenis stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Whitaker swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Whitaker looking to control.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Whitaker keeping moving, preventing Kestenis from controlling successfully.
The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Whitaker drives through and clinches with Kestenis against the cage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
Matas Kestenis dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!
Whitaker gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Whitaker tries to land a knee to the head but Kestenis blocks with his arms.
Whitaker drops down looking for an ankle pick but Kestenis pulls his leg out and moves away.
A head kick from Kestenis lands but Whitaker takes it in his stride.
Kestenis has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Kestenis closes the distance and clinches.
Kestenis breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kestenis shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Whitaker defends it nicely.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Kestenis gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Kestenis.
Kestenis's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Whitaker looks for a takedown but Kestenis sprawls well.
Whitaker gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Kestenis breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Kestenis throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Whitaker's waist but Whitaker gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Kestenis off to one side.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Whitaker shoots in but Kestenis avoids the takedown attempt easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Israel Whitaker. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Whitaker throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Kestenis's waist but Kestenis gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Whitaker off to one side.
Whitaker has taken the fight to the clinch.
Kestenis stalling the fight.
Kestenis jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Whitaker walks away with a smile on his face. Kestenis gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Israel Whitaker is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Kestenis is breathing heavily.
Kestenis will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Kestenis closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Whitaker quickly recovers to half guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Whitaker wants to improve his position but Kestenis is controlling well.
Whitaker keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Whitaker is positioning himself well to prevent Kestenis advancing to mount.
Whitaker regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Kestenis.
Kestenis trying to control the position from guard on top but Whitaker is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Whitaker holds on and takes a little breather.
Whitaker is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Kestenis is aware though and is defending well.
Whitaker pushes Kestenis off and gets back to his feet.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Whitaker clinches up against the cage.
Whitaker is trying to pull guard but Kestenis has him pressed against the cage.
Kestenis looking to stall.
Whitaker slowing the pace effectively.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Whitaker tries to break free but Kestenis pushes him back against the cage.
Kestenis missing with knees to the body.
Whitaker tries for a takedown. No joy.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
That was a close second round but I would say that Israel Whitaker will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!
Whitaker drives through and clinches with Kestenis against the cage.
Kestenis gets control of Whitaker's arms and successfully pulls guard. Kestenis will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Kestenis has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Kestenis had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Whitaker defends it easily.
Whitaker is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Whitaker drops back, looking for a kneebar! Kestenis looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Kestenis looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Kestenis!
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
An elbow from Kestenis crashes against the mat.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Kestenis scoring with punches and elbows.
Kestenis misses with an attempted head punch from side control.
Whitaker gets back to half guard.
Kestenis takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Kestenis thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Whitaker's head.
Whitaker moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Kestenis trying to control but Whitaker is working from the bottom.
Whitaker 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 two minutes gone in the round.
Kestenis pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Whitaker is keeping the position for now.
Kestenis trying to control but Whitaker is working from the bottom.
Kestenis drops back, looking for a kneebar! Whitaker looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Whitaker looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Whitaker!
The referee asks Whitaker politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Whitaker prefers to stall for the moment though.
Kestenis struggling a bit here.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kestenis looking for a sweep but Whitaker has passed into full mount! Oh no!
Whitaker misses with a head shot.
Whitaker takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Whitaker misses with a head shot.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Whitaker stands up from the dominant position. He obviously fancies his chances standing.
Whitaker moves into range and clinches up with Kestenis.
Whitaker pulls guard.
Kestenis trying to control the position from guard on top but Whitaker is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Whitaker is scooting his butt against the cage and has managed to get back to his feet. Kestenis presses him back against the cage, presumably looking to take the fight back to the mat.
Whitaker tries to break the clinch but Kestenis is controlling the position.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Whitaker holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Whitaker looking for a takedown.
And that's the end of the fight!
Israel Whitaker showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Whitaker 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 Alexandre Firmino scores the fight 29:29
Judge Leandro Rodrigues scores the fight 29:28
Judge Seu Braga scores the fight 29:28
In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Israel Whitaker!
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| S |
C
A |
G |
S |
C
B |
G |
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S |
C |
G |
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energy
A | B |
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hype
A | B |
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pop
A | B |
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mgr
A | B |
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FIGHT
RATING
31% |
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