PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Holden Easterly (ranked 22997 p4p, 23258 weight class) and Thiago Cortes (ranked 380 p4p, 371 weight class). Holden Easterly has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Easterly
vs
Cortes

190 cm
29
192
5 - 4 - 0

189 cm
27
182
1 - 3 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Heavy handed

HELLS BALLS RECOVERY

Conviction

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Holden Easterly !
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Thiago Cortes!
The judges for this bout are Elvis Blanc, Gregory Folan and Steve Smith.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
We've got one fighter who appears to only be looking to counter and the other not looking particularly aggressive either, so we could be in for a dull fight.
Cortes rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
letting Easterly counter with a right hand.
A low kick from Cortes is predictable there
and Easterly counters with a lovely straight right hand!
A shot to the body from Cortes misses
and Easterly counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Easterly looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Cortes looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Easterly was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.

Cortes takes the fight into the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cortes throws a punch but it's blocked by Easterly .
Easterly blocks a punch to the side of the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Easterly managing to block the knees to the body from Cortes.
Cortes goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Easterly dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Easterly blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Cortes fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Cortes tries to land knees in the clinch but Easterly avoids the damage to the body.
Easterly is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Cortes is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Cortes struggles to land a body shot inside as Easterly controls his hands.
Easterly on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
A shot in the inside from Cortes.
A nice left hand lands by Cortes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cortes effectively controlling the action here.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Easterly .
Cortes lands with a left to the head.

Cortes breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Cortes misses with the body kick
and Cortes takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Thiago Cortes seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Cortes misses with a lunging right hand
and Easterly cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Cortes tries a head kick but it misses.
Easterly swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Cortes digs a good hook to Easterly 's body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cortes closes the distance but Easterly moves to the side
and Easterly cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Cortes throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Cortes throws a lazy uppercut
and Easterly counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
A low kick from Cortes misses
and Easterly counters with a straight right hand.
Cortes connects with a body shot that sends Easterly 's belly button to the back.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cortes tries to land a body kick
and Easterly counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Cortes tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Easterly counters with a lovely straight right hand!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Cortes throws a chopping leg kick but Easterly manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Both fighters are looking to counter, which isn't making for the most exciting fight in the world.
Cortes throws a jab but it's blocked by Easterly .
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Thiago Cortes will probably get the nod.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Easterly takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Holden Easterly is winning the standup battle so far.
Cortes throws a sloppy head kick
and Easterly counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Cortes cracks Easterly with an open hand slap.
Cortes misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Easterly counters with a straight right hand.
Cortes throws a leg kick that is checked
and Easterly counters with a nice uppercut.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Cortes has managed to clinch.
Easterly avoiding damage as Cortes throws knees to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Easterly effectively controlling the action here.
Easterly content to slow the pace in the clinch.
Easterly stalling in the clinch but Cortes improves position.
Cortes misses with a body punch.
Cortes misses with a hook to the ribs.
Cortes utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Cortes struggles to land a body shot inside as Easterly controls his hands.
Easterly is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Cortes doesn't land with the attempted body shot.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Easterly taking a breather.
Easterly blocks a body shot from Cortes.
Easterly content to slow the pace in the clinch.
Easterly stalling in the clinch.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Holden Easterly .
Cortes throws the left hand but Easterly avoids the punch easily.
An attempted straight right counter from Easterly misses the target.
Cortes misses with an uppercut
and Easterly counters with a stiff right hand.
Cortes throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Easterly counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Cortes throws a body kick that sends a sickening thudding noise reverberating around the arena.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cortes looks for the body kick but Easterly saw that one coming.
Easterly swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Cortes tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Easterly connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Cortes throws a sloppy body shot
and Easterly counters with a nice uppercut.
Cortes throws a body punch but Easterly moves out of range.
Easterly swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Cortes swings away with a body shot that misses
and Easterly counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Cortes misses with a double jab
and Easterly cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cortes swings for the body but Easterly moves out of range.
Easterly throwing a counter right hand but Cortes manages to avoid it.
Cortes connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Easterly is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
Cortes throws a right hand that misses
and Easterly counters with a nice uppercut.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Cortes lands with a thumping leg kick.

Cortes fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Easterly , pushing him back against the cage.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Holden Easterly 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!

Cortes misses with a hook to the body
and Easterly connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Cortes scores with a hook to the body. Easterly takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Cortes has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
Easterly takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Cortes pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Easterly was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cortes throws a combination that misses
enabling Easterly to counter with a crisp jab.

Cortes has taken the fight to the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cortes is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Easterly is defending well for now.
Easterly on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Cortes is leaning against Easterly and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Cortes unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Cortes misses with the head strike.
We are yet to see a takedown attempt from Cortes in the fight. On paper you would think he is the more dominant ground fighter so let's see if these unusual tactics pay off.
Cortes trying to land knees to the body.
A bit of stalling here from Easterly .
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Cortes.
Cortes misses with some punches.
Cortes goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Cortes swings wildly with an uppercut but Easterly uses good head movement to avoid it.
Come on Easterly - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Easterly on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Easterly has Cortes pressed against the cage.

Cortes breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Cortes throws an off balance right hand
and Easterly cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Cortes tries a head kick but it misses.
Cortes swings and misses with a hook to the body.
A little feinted left hand from Easterly on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cortes misses with a body shot.
Easterly steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Cortes.
Cortes throws a poor cross that misses
and Easterly counters with a stiff right hand.
Cortes misses with a hook
and Easterly counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
A shot to the body from Cortes misses
and Easterly connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
The fight stays on the outside here - Cortes looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cortes throws a poor cross that misses
and Easterly counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Cortes wants to slow Easterly down by chopping away at his legs.
Easterly swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Cortes misses with a low kick.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Cortes throws a body kick despite being completely out of range
and Easterly counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Cortes throws a leg kick that is checked
and Easterly counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Holden Easterly .
I think Easterly 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 Elvis Blanc scores the fight 29:28
Judge Gregory Folan scores the fight 30:28
Judge Steve Smith scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Holden Easterly !