PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between A J Hearts (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Leonidas Katsaros (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Katsaros has chosen 卍卍卍 as his entrance music. 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.

J Hearts
vs
Katsaros

179 cm
32
222 lbs
28 - 6 - 0

193 cm
30
215 lbs
23 - 4 - 0

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Olympic wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Heisenberg
The Big Kabosh

Convicted Trap House
Conviction

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 28 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, A J Hearts!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 23 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Leonidas Katsaros!
The judges for this bout are Yukihiro Shimada, Yasuomi Hirokawa and Shirou Masuda.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hearts doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Katsaros lands with a right hand.
Katsaros connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Katsaros comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Katsaros throws a nice inside leg kick.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Hearts lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Katsaros has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Katsaros and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Katsaros misses with a two punch combination.
Hearts takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Katsaros fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Hearts manages to avoid it.
Hearts slips a jab from Katsaros.
Katsaros fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Hearts is out of range.
Katsaros loads up on a big right hand but Hearts slips the punch.
Katsaros looks for the body kick but Hearts saw that one coming.
Katsaros digs a good hook to Hearts's body.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Nice uppercut lands for Katsaros. That snapped Hearts's head back.
Hearts throws a leg kick which misses Katsaros's front leg but catches the back leg as Katsaros tries to avoid it.
Katsaros tests Hearts's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Hearts misses the shot to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Katsaros misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Hearts.
Hearts throws a right and a left that both miss.
Katsaros has been spending a lot of time sparring his boxing in the run up to the fight, trying to sharpen up those hands and look for a knockout.
Katsaros lands with a right hand.
Katsaros has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Katsaros takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Hearts is looking to chop away at Katsaros's legs.
Hearts has been working on his boxing with his coaches at Gym Beam in the buildup to the fight.
Hearts swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Katsaros lands with a kick to the ribs.
Katsaros swats away the attempt to clinch by Hearts.
Katsaros misses with an attempted mid kick.
Katsaros swinging wildly here.
Katsaros motions for Hearts to come forward. Katsaros throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Katsaros's jab looks to have found its range, popping Hearts under the eye.
A clash of legs there as Hearts blocks the low kick.
Hearts misses with an uppercut. Katsaros saw that one coming.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Katsaros throws a sloppy head kick and Hearts moves out of range easily.
Katsaros looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Hearts, as that shot connected.
Katsaros lands the left hand.
Hearts takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Hearts tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Katsaros is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.
Katsaros gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Hearts.
Hearts gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Leonidas Katsaros is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Hearts swings for the body but Katsaros moves out of range.
Hearts uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Katsaros.
Katsaros pivots, looking for a leg kick but Hearts is out of range and Katsaros settles back down.
A head kick misses from Katsaros.
Hearts takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Katsaros misses with a shot to the body

and Hearts counters with a nice double leg into side control. Katsaros won't be happy with that.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Katsaros tries to improve position but can't.
Hearts advances nicely into full mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Katsaros is working to get back to half guard.
Hearts is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Hearts lands a couple of good shots and Katsaros has given up his back, trying to escape the position!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Hearts lands punches and elbows.
Hearts trying to control momentarily.
Katsaros covering up well under a series of strikes from Hearts.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hearts punches Katsaros on the ear.
Katsaros looks to control his opponent's hands but he's not mananging it at the moment.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Hearts missing with strikes.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Katsaros manages to reverse the position and now he's in Hearts's guard. Nice work there by Katsaros.
Katsaros not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Leonidas Katsaros will probably get the nod.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Katsaros avoids a kick to the body.
Katsaros misses with a two punch combination.
Hearts takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Hearts throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Katsaros walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Hearts checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Leonidas Katsaros seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A left lands for Katsaros.
Hearts throws a low kick, looking for Katsaros's leg but Katsaros calmly moves out of range.
Hearts lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Katsaros scores with a jab to the body.
Hearts looks to score with a jab to the body but Katsaros is just out of range.
Katsaros with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Katsaros takes a swing at Hearts's ribcage but misses.
Katsaros lands a two punch combo.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Katsaros looks to throw the jab but Hearts is out of range.
Hearts uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Katsaros.
Katsaros throws the kick towards the body but Hearts avoids it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Katsaros lands a nice looking kick to the body. Hearts takes a step back to recover.
Katsaros misses with a wild combination.
Hearts on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Katsaros. Katsaros obviously looking to wear him down.
A slow jab from Katsaros misses its intended target.
A head kick misses from Katsaros.
Hearts staying out of range there.
Katsaros misses with a hook.
Hearts drops his hands momentarily and Katsaros takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Katsaros takes a swing at Hearts's ribcage but misses.
Katsaros throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
A punch combination from Katsaros misses.
Katsaros misses with a telegraphed body shot

and Hearts counters with a takedown into side control.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Hearts misses with an attempted head punch from side control.
Hearts throws a strike aimed at the side of Katsaros's head but Katsaros avoids it well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Katsaros manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
Hearts seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Katsaros does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Hearts throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Katsaros controlling the position for now.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Hearts not doing much here.
Katsaros tries to get to full guard but Hearts has control of the leg.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Hearts throwing shots but Katsaros is blocking nicely.
Hearts missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Hearts is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Katsaros wants to control but Hearts is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Hearts looks to land a strike but Katsaros avoids it nicely and regains full guard.
Hearts trying to control but Katsaros is working from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hearts looking to pass the guard.
Hearts postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Katsaros has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Katsaros utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Hearts postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Leonidas Katsaros will probably get the nod - 10:9.
That's time! Back to the action!

Katsaros moves away from the strike by Hearts.
Katsaros explodes with a nice body kick and back out of range. Nice work.
Leonidas Katsaros seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Hearts tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Katsaros will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Hearts shoots in but no luck this time.
Katsaros keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Katsaros takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Katsaros misses with a low kick as Hearts jumps back.
Katsaros tries to work over Hearts's front leg with a kick but Hearts checks it.
Katsaros lands a glancing blow to the side of Hearts's head.
Katsaros scores with the left hand. Hearts knows he should have avoided that one.
Katsaros lands with a right hand.
Hearts swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Hearts keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Katsaros.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Katsaros keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A swing and a miss from Katsaros.
Hearts misses with a looping right.
Katsaros takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Katsaros throws a series of punches but Hearts avoids them all with ease.
Katsaros misses the body punch

and Hearts counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Hearts seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Katsaros does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Hearts scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Hearts throws a strike but Katsaros avoids it easily and moves to full guard.
Katsaros not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Katsaros working a defensive guard but Hearts passes into half guard.
Hearts missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Katsaros keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
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. Hearts connects with a nice short shot to Katsaros's temple.
Hearts trying to mount his opponent but Katsaros defends it.
Hearts passes to side control.
Katsaros regains half guard.
Katsaros moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Hearts is working Katsaros over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Katsaros working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Hearts.
Katsaros is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Hearts passes Katsaros's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Katsaros is refusing to be controlled, as Hearts sits in half guard.
Katsaros keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Katsaros keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Katsaros is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Hearts is keen to just control but Katsaros is a slippery customer.
Hearts throwing shots but Katsaros is blocking nicely.
Katsaros tries to regain full guard. Instead though, Hearts has advanced to mount. Uh oh.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Hearts is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Katsaros can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A J Hearts clearly takes that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Jab, jab by Katsaros - just one landing.
A clash of legs there as Hearts blocks the low kick.
Katsaros throws a head kick but Hearts moves out of range.
Katsaros throws a body kick despite being completely out of range

and Hearts counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Hearts working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Katsaros's head.
Katsaros controls Hearts momentarily but Hearts frees himself.
Hearts is in close to Katsaros's body, working some short punches and elbows.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Katsaros preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Hearts wants to pass the guard but Katsaros is keeping the position.
Hearts wants to control from the top but Katsaros keeps moving.
Hearts might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hearts cracks Katsaros with a solid left hand.
Katsaros keeping moving, preventing Hearts from controlling successfully.
Katsaros is pulling down on Hearts's head. It's preventing any offense from Hearts, at least for the moment.
Hearts postures up and lands a big shot to Katsaros's brow.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Katsaros is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Hearts lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Hearts wants to control from the top but Katsaros keeps moving.
Hearts has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Hearts working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Katsaros looking to control.
Katsaros is pulling down on Hearts's head to control his posture.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Leonidas Katsaros hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Hearts on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Katsaros. Katsaros obviously looking to wear him down.
Katsaros fails to land with a series of punches.
Katsaros throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.

Hearts decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Hearts lands with a punch from half guard.
Katsaros tries to get to full guard but Hearts has control of the leg.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Katsaros gets full guard.
Hearts landing some decent shots from guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Katsaros managing to control the position.
Hearts working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Hearts trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A J Hearts had his way with Leonidas Katsaros in that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Katsaros takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Katsaros avoids the body shot from Hearts.
A head kick from Katsaros lands but Hearts takes it in his stride.
Hearts ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Hearts shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Hearts is looking to wear down Katsaros with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.

Hearts drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Katsaros manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
Hearts sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Katsaros defending well though.
Katsaros tries to roll over but Hearts keeps him under control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hearts is keen to just control but Katsaros is a slippery customer.
Katsaros moves into full guard.
Hearts looking to pass the guard.
Hearts throwing strikes from guard but Katsaros blocks nicely.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Hearts accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hearts tries to free his leg and advance position but Katsaros is retaining full guard.
Hearts throwing strikes but missing.
Hearts content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Katsaros wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Katsaros trying to keep a closed guard but Hearts is proving a slippery customer.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Hearts accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Katsaros is pulling down on Hearts's head to control his posture.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Leonidas Katsaros was stalling too much, according to the referee.
A slow jab from Katsaros misses its intended target.
Katsaros lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Katsaros connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
A solid leg kick lands there for Katsaros.
Katsaros lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Hearts circles away quickly and effectively.
Katsaros misses with a low kick.
A kick lands to the mid section there for Katsaros.
Nice uppercut there from Katsaros.
A swing and a miss from Katsaros.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Katsaros lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Hearts has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Hearts and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Katsaros misses with a kick to the body.
Hearts slips a jab from Katsaros.
Katsaros looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Katsaros slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.

Hearts closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Katsaros did well to prevent Hearts getting side control.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Katsaros is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Hearts missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Hearts missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Hearts is looking to stall here but Katsaros recovers full guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Leonidas Katsaros.
I think Katsaros has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Yukihiro Shimada scores the fight 50:46
Judge Yasuomi Hirokawa scores the fight 50:46
Judge Shirou Masuda scores the fight 47:48

In favor of your winner, by split decision... A J Hearts!
A J Hearts decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.