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PBP Commentary |
Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Hoyt Obrien (ranked 4988 p4p, 0 weight class) and Laeeq Essop (ranked 4970 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.
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| 224 cm
18
193 lbs
0 - 0 - 0 |
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170 cm
18
195 lbs
0 - 0 - 0 |
BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Prefers standup |
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BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Solid 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 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Hoyt Obrien!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of
0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Laeeq Essop!
The judges for this bout are Seu Braga, Mauricio Rocha and Thiago Cunha.
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Essop shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Obrien manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Obrien wants to get back to his feet but Essop passes into half guard.
Obrien desperately trying to maintain half guard.
Obrien slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Obrien really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Obrien is on top in guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Essop has an omoplata and is looking to use it perhaps as a submission or perhaps to transition. Obrien is in a bit of discomfort here, but he's managed to free himself and has dived into side control! That didn't work out too well for Essop.
Essop tries to buck Obrien off but Obrien is having none of it.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Obrien working the head with strikes.
Essop gets back to half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Essop is looking to improve his position.
Obrien working over Essop with some ground and pound. Essop looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Essop is looking to improve his position.
Essop works his way to full guard. Good work.
Obrien controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Essop is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Essop has his foot on Obrien's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Obrien works his way back into a safe position though.
Essop is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Essop misses with a leg kick
and Obrien counters with a one-two to the body.
Obrien uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Essop.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Essop throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Essop moves into range and clinches up with Obrien.
Obrien tries a knee to the head but Essop blocks it.
Obrien manages to pull guard.
Essop trying to control the position from guard on top but Obrien is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Essop is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Obrien looking to hit a scissor sweep but Essop is one step ahead there.
Obrien pulls Essop in close to prevent any damage.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Obrien can't keep his opponent in guard - Essop advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
Hoyt Obrien dominated that round.
That's time! Obrien's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.
Essop throws a jab but it's blocked by Obrien.
Essop gets a clinch.
Essop is trying to force a seperation but Obrien has the dominant position.
Essop has hold of one of Obrien's legs. Obrien is fighting the takedown attempt but Essop gets the trip and lands the takedown into guard.
Essop trying to control the position from guard on top but Obrien is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
We're hearing some news coming in from back stage. It's official - Essop has eaten all the pies!
Obrien has a closed guard, preventing Essop from standing up.
Essop being controlled here momentarily.
Obrien will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Essop passes into half guard.
Obrien is concentrating on defense, preventing Essop from advancing position.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Obrien gets back to full guard.
Obrien seems keen to control Essop's posture.
Obrien looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
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.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Essop wants to control from the top but Obrien keeps moving.
The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Obrien has Essop up against the cage in a clinch.
Essop escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Essop closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Obrien tries for a takedown but Essop manages to get underhooks.
Essop misses with a hook from the clinch.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Essop just misses with a elbow thrown towards Obrien's brow.
Essop fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Essop jumps into guard, dragging Obrien to the mat.
Obrien wanted to stand there but Essop had control of the position.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Essop is trying to control the position but Obrien postures up.
Essop pushes Obrien off and scrambles back to his feet.
Essop misses with the combination.
Hoyt Obrien is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Essop throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Obrien was covering up waiting for the punch and Essop finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Obrien is controlling Essop's posture.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Essop stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Obrien swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Essop trying to control the position from guard on top but Obrien is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Obrien wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Obrien has a closed guard, preventing Essop from standing up.
Essop has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Obrien is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
Laeeq Essop showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!
Essop tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Obrien was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Essop pushes Obrien away with a front kick.
Essop throws a head kick but Obrien moves out of range.
Essop clinches up against the cage.
Obrien trying to land knees to the body.
Essop throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Obrien blocks the elbow strike.
Obrien lands with a short punch from the clinch.
With the fighters up against the cage, Essop throws an elbow but misses.
Obrien scores with a shoulder strike.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Obrien with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Obrien has picked Essop up - he's going for a ride! Obrien dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard.
Essop is trying to escape back to his feet but Obrien uses the scramble to pass into side control.
Laeeq Essop has got the better of the ground game so far.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Obrien decides to stand back up. Obrien steps back and let's Essop get back to his feet.
That's one minute gone in the round.
A head kick misses from Essop.
Essop throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Obrien seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.
Essop has managed to clinch.
Essop has a couple of punches blocked by Obrien.
Essop is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Obrien tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Essop jumps guard.
Obrien engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Essop working for submissions but it's allowed Obrien to get to half guard.
Essop is looking for a sweep. Obrien is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Obrien in particular looking to stall.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Essop has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Obrien is working away from the top position though.
The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Essop closes the distance and pushes Obrien back into the cage.
Essop jumps guard.
Essop looking to control but Obrien passes into half guard.
Essop trying to control from the bottom.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Obrien trying to control the pace.
Obrien is nestled in close to Essop, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Obrien is controlling the pace.
And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Laeeq Essop.
Well Essop has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Seu Braga scores the fight 28:29
Judge Mauricio Rocha scores the fight 29:28
Judge Thiago Cunha scores the fight 28:29
In favor of your winner, by split decision... Laeeq Essop!
Laeeq Essop was full of energy after the big win and talked about how he thinks he can do big things in this sport. The crowd were appreciative of his determination to succeed.
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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
29% |
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