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PBP Commentary |
Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Gage Bennett (ranked 2405 p4p, 2797 weight class) and Constantin Niculescu (ranked 312 p4p, 365 weight class). Gage Bennett had a look across the cage there at his opponent. He definitely means business
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| 189 cm
23
211
4 - 3 - 0 |
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183 cm
22
205
7 - 5 - 0 |
BJJ Purple Belt
World class MT
Granite chin |
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Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Good gas tank |
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Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 3 - 0, fighting out of New York, Gage Bennett!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 5 - 0, fighting out of London, Constantin Niculescu!
The judges for this bout are James Ackerman, Paul Tew and William Gold.
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Niculescu checks a leg kick.
Niculescu throws an overhand right that lands on Bennett's shoulder, as Bennett tries to avoid the shot.
Bennett steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Niculescu.
Bennett gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Niculescu to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Niculescu's corner is telling him to maintain position.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Bennett is on top in guard.
Bennett postures up.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Niculescu tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Bennett sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Niculescu looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Niculescu looking for a guillotine here but Bennett defends easily.
Bennett trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Niculescu trying to control the position.
Niculescu looking for a sweep. Not yet Niculescu, not yet.
Niculescu keeps trying to improve his position.
Niculescu is trying to control the position but Bennett postures up.
Bennett is stalling in the full guard.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Niculescu looking for a sweep. Not yet Niculescu, not yet.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Bennett slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Bennett misses the shot to the body.
Bennett has been working on his boxing with his coaches at Blacktalians MMA in the buildup to the fight.
Niculescu takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Niculescu tries to clinch there but Bennett circles away.
Nice shot by Niculescu.
Niculescu throws a hook to the side of Bennett's head but Bennett sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Bennett tries to work over Niculescu's front leg with a kick but Niculescu checks it.
Niculescu is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.
Bennett uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Niculescu.
Bennett throws a solid leg kick but Niculescu takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Bennett.
Niculescu throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Bennett doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Niculescu feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Niculescu passes into half guard.
Niculescu not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Bennett regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Niculescu.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Niculescu accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Niculescu scoring with some ground and pound.
Niculescu postures up in Bennett's guard and throws a big left but Bennett blocks it.
Niculescu throwing strikes from guard but Bennett blocks nicely.
My spies in Alfred Top Team inform me that Niculescu has been getting involved in the gym's BJJ sparring sessions. Let's see whether that pays dividends!
Bennett looking to hit a scissor sweep but Niculescu is one step ahead there.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Niculescu connects with a couple of short punches.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Niculescu loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Niculescu missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Bennett controls Niculescu momentarily but Niculescu frees himself.
Niculescu postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Niculescu trying to control the position from guard on top but Bennett is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Niculescu is looking to work some ground and pound but Bennett has wrist control.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Niculescu trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Niculescu throws a big elbow that misses.
Niculescu stays in close to Bennett's body and controls the position.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.
Constantin Niculescu dominated that round.
That's time! Bennett's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.
Niculescu on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Niculescu throws a jab when Bennett was well out of range.
Niculescu misses with a body punch
enabling Bennett to counter with a crisp jab.
Niculescu scores with a hook to the body. Bennett takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Niculescu wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Bennett swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Niculescu decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Bennett's guard.
Niculescu pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Bennett is keeping the position for now.
Bennett preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Niculescu loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Niculescu trying to control but Bennett is working from the bottom.
Niculescu looking to sit in guard and control but Bennett gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Niculescu throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Bennett not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Bennett preventing the sweep.
Niculescu working for submissions but it's allowed Bennett to get to half guard.
Niculescu has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Niculescu is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Bennett's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Bennett's back!
Bennett is trapped and Niculescu is scoring with shots to the head and body.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Niculescu is looking to control Bennett but Bennett is wriggling around and keeping busy.
Niculescu looking to soften up his opponent with punches.
Niculescu trying to control.
Bennett covers up after taking a massive shot to the side of the head.
Niculescu misses with a punch to the head.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Bennett avoids the strikes from Niculescu.
Constantin Niculescu has got the better of the ground game so far.
Bennett wants to escape the position.
Niculescu somehow managing to miss with a strike from the back.
Niculescu throws a big right hand but he misses and hits the mat. Ouch.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Niculescu somehow managing to miss with a strike from the back.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
The crowd hopeful of a finish here - Niculescu's supporters are on their feet, screaming for him to go for the rear naked choke.
Well, with Niculescu on his back, surely it's only a matter of time before Bennett is tapping out... Can he escape the position?
Niculescu missing with strikes.
Niculescu trying desperately to keep hold of the dominant position.
Niculescu lands a shot to the head.
Niculescu misses with a punch to the head.
Even with his hooks in, Niculescu manages to miss with strikes from the back.
Bennett is being controlled on the ground here - he must escape this position otherwise surely the end is near.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Niculescu somehow managing to miss with a strike from the back.
Niculescu throwing sloppy strikes.
Niculescu scores with strikes from the back.
Niculescu lands a shot to the body.
Niculescu is controlling the position but Bennett somehow manages to roll and ends up with half guard.
Niculescu not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Niculescu throwing shots but Bennett is blocking nicely.
Niculescu working over Bennett with some ground and pound. Bennett looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.
Constantin Niculescu 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!
Niculescu looks to land a left hand but Bennett moved out of range nicely.
Niculescu is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Bennett.
Bennett waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Niculescu.
Niculescu throws a shot from downtown. Bennett moves away and avoids it.
Niculescu misses with a double jab.
Bennett throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Bennett takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Niculescu shoots in for a takedown but Bennett shows good takedown defense.
An attempted straight right counter from Bennett misses the target.
Niculescu misses with a straight left.
Niculescu works the jab nicely.
Niculescu has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Bennett lands with a right hand.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A nice leg kick from Bennett, right into the meat of the thigh.
Niculescu connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Niculescu cracks Bennett with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Bennett lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Bennett lands a nice shot that snaps Niculescu's head back.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Bennett attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Niculescu lands a jab to the nose.
Niculescu misses with a takedown attempt
and Bennett counters with a stiff right hand.
Niculescu avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
A big right from Niculescu misses.
A nice leg kick lands there from Bennett.
Bennett takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Niculescu scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Bennett doesn't seem bothered though.
Bennett throws a low kick but it's checked well by Niculescu.
Bennett misses with a looping left.
Niculescu checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Bennett misses with an uppercut.
Niculescu takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Niculescu throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Niculescu throws the left hand but Bennett avoids the punch easily.
Niculescu swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Niculescu throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Jab from Bennett.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Bennett just misses with a punch to the body.
Bennett fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Bennett gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Niculescu to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Niculescu trying to pass the guard. He's being very persistent here but Bennett manages to land a sweep and now he's on top!
Niculescu is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Bennett has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Niculescu trying to keep a closed guard but Bennett is proving a slippery customer.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Niculescu might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Bennett haven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.
Niculescu is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Niculescu can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Bennett controls the pace.
Gage Bennett has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Constantin Niculescu is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Niculescu wants to sweep here but Bennett controlling him for the moment.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Niculescu pulls Bennett in close to prevent any damage.
Niculescu 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.
Niculescu is still trying to improve position.
And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Constantin Niculescu.
Well Niculescu 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 James Ackerman scores the fight 27:30
Judge Paul Tew scores the fight 27:30
Judge William Gold scores the fight 27:30
In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Constantin Niculescu!
A less than humble Constantin Niculescu misjudged his post fight interview somewhat and came across a little too arrogant whilst trying to hype up his own abilities.
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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
40% |
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