PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Manny Sessions (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Marcus Halberstram (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Halberstram has chosen Murder The Government as his entrance music. The crowd giving both fighters a great reception on their way into the arena. That's good to see.

Sessions
vs
Halberstram

169 cm
25
156 lbs
10 - 7 - 0

175 cm
24
147 lbs
11 - 8 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent MT
Very strong

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Heavy handed

Hellbent, Inc.™
Hell's Balls Recovery

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 10 - 7 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Manny Sessions!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 8 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Marcus Halberstram!
The judges for this bout are Igor Prikhodko, Illya Tyunina and Sergei Dronov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Halberstram swats away the attempt to clinch by Sessions.
Sessions looks to clinch
and Halberstram counters with a left to the body.
Sessions misses with a body punch

and Halberstram counters by moving into the clinch.
Halberstram pressing his opponent against the cage.
Sessions tries to land knees in the clinch but Halberstram avoids the damage to the body.
With the fighters up against the cage, Sessions throws an elbow but misses.
Sessions throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Sessions lands a body shot in the clinch.
Halberstram is leaning against Sessions and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Halberstram lands an uppercut.
Sessions is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Halberstram is defending well for now.
Knees in the clinch landing for Sessions.
Halberstram lands with a short shot to the head.
Halberstram takes an elbow to the forehead.
Sessions misses with some punches.
Sessions letting Halberstram take a breather here.
Sessions tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Halberstram avoids it.
Sessions throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Halberstram working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Sessions throws a punch but it's blocked by Halberstram.
Halberstram lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Halberstram working aggressively here.
A short right from Halberstram.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Halberstram goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Sessions is working for takedown but Halberstram is calmly controlling the position for now.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Halberstram.
Sessions looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Halberstram lands with a left to the head.
Halberstram lands a shoulder strike.
Halberstram avoids a wild elbow strike from Sessions.
Halberstram throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Sessions tries for a takedown but Halberstram manages to get underhooks.
Halberstram managing to block the knees to the body from Sessions.
Good body shot from Halberstram.
Sessions trying to land knees to the body.
Halberstram managing to block the knees to the body from Sessions.
Sessions lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Halberstram fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
A nice left hand lands by Sessions.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Halberstram creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Halberstram lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Halberstram makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Sessions misses with an elbow strike.
Sessions throws a punch but it's blocked by Halberstram.
Sessions blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Halberstram pushes Sessions back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Halberstram lands a hook that snaps the head of Sessions backwards.
Halberstram pushes Sessions back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Sessions gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Halberstram.
Halberstram blocks an elbow strike from Sessions.
Sessions misses with an elbow strike.
Sessions misses with an elbow strike.
Halberstram lands a body shot.
Sessions working aggressively here.
Sessions throws an elbow that misses.
Halberstram avoids the elbow strike from Sessions, against the cage.
Sessions is breathing heavily.
Sessions can't find room to land a body shot as Halberstram controls the action.
Sessions blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Sessions tries to land knees in the clinch but Halberstram avoids the damage to the body.
Sessions's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Sessions fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Halberstram digs a right hand into Sessions's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Sessions's gas tank.
A head punch on the inside from Sessions fails to land.
Sessions pushes off an throws an elbow but Halberstram leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Sessions lands an elbow just above Halberstram 's eye.
Halberstram lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Halberstram lands a hook to the side of the head.
Sessions's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Halberstram prevents a body shot from Sessions.
A short uppercut from Sessions.
Halberstram blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
A hook to the body from Halberstram.
Sessions goes for a takedown in the clinch but Halberstram prevents it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Manny Sessions. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Halberstram pushes Sessions back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Halberstram pushes Sessions back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
A nice right hand lands inside from Halberstram.
Sessions trying to land knees to the body.
Halberstram avoids a wild elbow strike from Sessions.
Halberstram lands with a left to the head.
Halberstram lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Sessions pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Halberstram lands a nice shot to the body.
Sessions misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Halberstram.
Halberstram has Sessions pressed against the cage.
Halberstram is working Sessions over against the cage.
Halberstram lands a right hand.
Sessions pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Halberstram lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Halberstram lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Sessions.
Good body shot from Halberstram.
A right hook to the body lands for Halberstram.
Halberstram lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Halberstram lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Good body shot from Halberstram.
Halberstram lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Sessions.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Halberstram.
Halberstram lands a body punch in the clinch.
Halberstram pushes Sessions back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Halberstram pushes Sessions back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Halberstram lands a body shot.
A short left from Halberstram.
Halberstram is leaning against Sessions and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Halberstram works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Halberstram lands a nice shot to the body.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Halberstram working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Sessions takes a shot to the head.
Halberstram stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Halberstram lands a shot to the body.
Halberstram lands a hook to the side of the head.
Halberstram lands a hook to the side of the head.
Halberstram lands an uppercut.
Halberstram is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Halberstram lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Sessions or not.
Halberstram scores with a shoulder strike.
Halberstram lands a nice shot to the body.
A left hand lands to the body for Halberstram.
Halberstram throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Halberstram lands a left hand that snaps the head of Sessions backwards.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Still in the clinch, Halberstram scores with a nice short uppercut.
Halberstram scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Halberstram presses Sessions against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Halberstram scores with a shoulder strike.
Halberstram presses Sessions against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Marcus Halberstram dominated that round.
That's time! Sessions's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Sessions darts in trying to clinch
and Halberstram counters with an outside leg kick.
Sessions throws a body kick, spinning off balance
and Halberstram counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
A decent looking body kick lands there for Halberstram.
A low kick from Sessions misses
and Halberstram makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Sessions doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Sessions shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
enabling Halberstram to counter with a crisp jab.
Sessions throws a head kick that misses
and Halberstram counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Manny Sessions seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Halberstram jabs at Sessions's body.
Sessions doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Halberstram counters with a nice body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The fighters circle momentarily. Halberstram darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.

Halberstram takes the fight into the clinch.
Halberstram lands a nice shot to the body.
Halberstram blocks an elbow strike.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Sessions just misses with a elbow thrown towards Halberstram's brow.
Halberstram blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Halberstram presses Sessions against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Halberstram makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Halberstram lands a body punch.
Halberstram digs a right hand underneath Sessions's ribcage. Sessions let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Halberstram lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Halberstram is leaning against Sessions and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Marcus Halberstram seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Halberstram.
A short right from Halberstram on the inside.
Halberstram stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
A left hand lands to the body for Halberstram.
Sessions tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Halberstram lands with a short shot to the head.
Halberstram lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Sessions's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Sessions throws a punch but it's blocked by Halberstram.
Halberstram lands a nice shot to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Halberstram is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
A short right from Halberstram.
Halberstram is working Sessions over against the cage.
Halberstram digs a right hand underneath Sessions's ribcage. Sessions let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Halberstram is stalling here.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Halberstram scores with a shot to the side of Sessions's head.
Halberstram pushes Sessions back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Halberstram effectively controlling the action here.
Halberstram lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Sessions or not.
Halberstram lands a right hand that snaps the head of Sessions backwards.
Sessions tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Halberstram avoids it.
Halberstram blocks an elbow strike.
Halberstram lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Sessions backwards.
A nice right hand lands inside from Halberstram.
Halberstram working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Halberstram is working Sessions over against the cage.
Halberstram lands with a right to the head.
Halberstram scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Halberstram lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Halberstram lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Halberstram lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Halberstram managing to block the knees to the body from Sessions.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Halberstram.
Sessions throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Halberstram blocks an elbow strike from Sessions.
Sessions tries to land knees in the clinch but Halberstram avoids the damage to the body.
Halberstram lands a hook to the side of the head.
Halberstram pushes Sessions back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Halberstram pushes Sessions back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Halberstram scores with a hook to the body.
Halberstram pushes Sessions back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Sessions trying to land knees to the body.
Sessions creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
A short body shot lands from Sessions as the two fighters clinch.
A right handed body shot lands from Halberstram.
Sessions pushes off an throws an elbow but Halberstram leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Sessions is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Halberstram is defending well for now.
Halberstram lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Halberstram.
Halberstram stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
A shot in the inside from Halberstram.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Halberstram.
Halberstram lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Sessions backwards.
Halberstram gets through Sessions's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Halberstram cracks Sessions with a nice body shot.
Halberstram lands a left hand.
Halberstram lands a body punch.
Halberstram scores with a nice hook to the head.

Sessions is rocked!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Oh Sessions is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Halberstram throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Sessions seems to have got his legs back now.
A hook to the body from Halberstram.
Halberstram lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Sessions or not.
Halberstram content to slow the pace in the clinch.
Halberstram lands a shot to the body.
A short right from Halberstram.
Halberstram pushes Sessions back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Halberstram works on Sessions's body with a couple of short punches.
Halberstram scores with a shoulder strike.
Halberstram leaning against his opponent.
Halberstram makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Halberstram lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Sessions or not.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Halberstram lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Sessions throws an elbow that misses.
Halberstram lands a hook that snaps the head of Sessions backwards.
Halberstram lands a left hand that snaps the head of Sessions backwards.
Halberstram working aggressively here.
Halberstram has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Halberstram blocks an elbow strike from Sessions.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Halberstram blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
A right hook to the body lands for Halberstram.
A short uppercut from Halberstram.
Halberstram lands an uppercut.
Halberstram scores with a shot to the side of Sessions's head.
Halberstram working some nice short punches in the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Marcus Halberstram showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Halberstram lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Sessions misses with an attempted mid kick.
Sessions tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Halberstram is able to avoid easily.
Halberstram blocks a leg kick.
Sessions cracks the inside of Halberstram's front leg.
An inside leg kick from Sessions misses.
Sessions does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Halberstram misses with a straight right.
Sessions throws an ugly left hook that misses

and Halberstram counters by clinching up.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Halberstram blocking some punches.
Sessions unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Halberstram dodges an elbow strike from Sessions.
Sessions pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Halberstram blocks an elbow strike.
Sessions is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Halberstram works on Sessions's body with a couple of short punches.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sessions looks to throw an elbow but misses.
A nice right hand lands inside from Halberstram.
Sessions is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Halberstram is defending well for now.
Sessions blocking some punches.
Sessions throws an elbow but it misses.
Halberstram managing to block the knees to the body from Sessions.
Halberstram misses with a punch on the inside.
Sessions misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Halberstram.
Sessions creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Halberstram blocks the elbow strike.
Halberstram is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Sessions is keeping busy.
Sessions misses with the head strike.
Halberstram lands a nice shot to the body.
Halberstram lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Sessions drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
A body shot lands from Halberstram.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Halberstram.
Sessions throws an elbow that misses.
A right hook to the body lands for Halberstram.
Halberstram lands a nice uppercut.
Halberstram lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Sessions backwards.
A short right from Halberstram.
Sessions throws an elbow but it's blocked.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Halberstram throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Sessionss head.
Nice body punch from Halberstram - that landed with a thud.
Halberstram lands a body punch in the clinch.
Halberstram lands with a short head shot on the inside.
The referee is keeping an eye on Halberstram - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Halberstram scores with a hook to the body.
Halberstram scores with a nice hook to the head.
Halberstram lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Halberstram lands with a short punch from the clinch.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Halberstram creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Halberstram scores with a shoulder strike.
Sessions can't find room to land a body shot as Halberstram controls the action.
Halberstram lands a body punch.
Halberstram lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
A right handed body shot lands from Halberstram.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Halberstram lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Sessions backwards.
Come on Halberstram - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
A right hook to the body lands for Halberstram.
Halberstram lands a body punch.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Halberstram.
Halberstram lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Sessions or not.
Nice body punch from Halberstram - that landed with a thud.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Halberstram leaning his opponent against the cage.
Halberstram scores with a hook to the body.
A short left from Halberstram.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Halberstram.
Halberstram throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Sessionss head.
Sessions is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Halberstram pulls him back up using the underhooks.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Manny Sessions. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Halberstram leaning his opponent against the cage.
Halberstram throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
A hook to the body from Halberstram.
A short uppercut from Halberstram.
Halberstram lands an uppercut.
Halberstram lands a hook to the side of the head.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Sessions just misses with a elbow thrown towards Halberstram's brow.
Nice body punch from Halberstram.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Halberstram creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
A left hand lands to the body for Halberstram.
A short uppercut from Halberstram.
Halberstram lands a hook that snaps the head of Sessions backwards.
Sessions throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Halberstram lands a nice uppercut.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Halberstram lands a nice uppercut.
Sessions blocks an uppercut.
Halberstram lands an uppercut.
Halberstram lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Sessions backwards.
Sessions tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Halberstram avoids it.
Halberstram lands a shoulder strike.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Halberstram.
Manny Sessions has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
A short left from Halberstram.
Sessions throws an elbow but it misses.
Halberstram throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Sessionss head.
Sessions pushes off an throws an elbow but Halberstram leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Halberstram scores with a shot to the side of Sessions's head.
Sessions tries to land knees in the clinch but Halberstram avoids the damage to the body.

Halberstram lands a big right hand that sends Sessions to the canvas! This could be the beginning of the end for Sessions!
Halberstram working Sessions over with strikes.
Sessions knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Halberstram on the ground.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Halberstram connects with a nice short shot to Sessions's temple.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Halberstram seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Halberstram sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Sessions defending well though.
Sessions on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.

And that's the end of the fight!
Marcus Halberstram comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Halberstram 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 Igor Prikhodko scores the fight 25:30
Judge Illya Tyunina scores the fight 25:30
Judge Sergei Dronov scores the fight 25:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Marcus Halberstram!