PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Alejandro Esteban (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Sascha Koniezko (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Koniezko is bouncing up and down as he enters the arena, backed by Imperial March (L.O.D. Rage Mix). The fight MMA fans around the world have waited their entire lives for!

Esteban
vs
Koniezko

189 cm
22
190 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

185 cm
18
185 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Alejandro Esteban!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Sascha Koniezko!
The judges for this bout are Yukihiro Yamamoto, Yasuomi Hirokawa and Kenichi Hosakawa.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Esteban fails to land with a series of punches.
Koniezko tries to counter with a clinch but Esteban shakes him off and moves away.

Esteban closes the distance and pushes Koniezko back into the cage.
Esteban is struggling to control the position.
Koniezko misses with a body punch.
Esteban wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.

Esteban jumps guard and drags Koniezko to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Esteban pulls Koniezko in to control the position.
Koniezko trying to control but Esteban is working from the bottom.
Esteban thows some rabbit punches from the bottom but they don't do any damage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Esteban tries to strike from the bottom.
Esteban wants to stand up but Koniezko is controlling him.
Koniezko must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

That's one minute gone in the round.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Esteban is on top in guard.

Koniezko trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.
Esteban lands a couple of digs.
Koniezko looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Koniezko controls Esteban momentarily but Esteban frees himself.

Koniezko throws his legs up looking for a submission but Esteban uses it to pass to side control.
Koniezko tries to buck Esteban off but Esteban is having none of it.
Esteban in side control lands a decent elbow.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Esteban is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.
Koniezko taking a bit of punishment here - Esteban scoring with strikes.
Esteban scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Koniezko to see if he's OK.
Koniezko is not content to let Esteban control the position.
Esteban throwing strikes but missing, from side control.
Esteban wants to lay and pray for a moment but Koniezko keeps working.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Esteban tries to stand but Koniezko is controlling his head.

Esteban is trying to get an arm triangle but Koniezko is defending well.
Esteban is putting a hurting on Koniezko here, landing some big shots from side control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Koniezko is trying to get back to half guard.

Esteban tries for a kimura but Koniezko is defending well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Esteban tries to stand but Koniezko is controlling his head.
Esteban is looking to take a break and control but Koniezko is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

Esteban decides to stand back up.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Koniezko displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Esteban.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Koniezko tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Esteban paws at him with a jab and circles away.

Koniezko shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Koniezko was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Esteban gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Koniezko is trying to control. Esteban wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Esteban moves into full guard.
Esteban is controlling Koniezko's posture.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Koniezko engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Koniezko wants to control from the top but Esteban keeps moving.
Esteban looking to hit a scissor sweep but Koniezko is one step ahead there.
Koniezko wants to control from the top but Esteban keeps moving.
Esteban trying to keep a closed guard but Koniezko is proving a slippery customer.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Esteban shoots in but no luck this time.
Koniezko has done a lot of speed work in the buildup to this fight.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Esteban enables Koniezko to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Esteban manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Esteban wants to sweep here but Koniezko controlling him for the moment.
Koniezko trying to control the position from guard on top but Esteban is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Koniezko really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Esteban. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Esteban is looking to stand up but Koniezko isn't so interested in that idea.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Koniezko slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Koniezko is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Esteban has a closed guard, preventing Koniezko from standing up.
Koniezko trying to control the position from guard on top but Esteban is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Esteban tries to bum rush Koniezko with a series of wild strikes but Koniezko uses good footwork to avoid the assault.

Esteban moves into the clinch successfully.

Koniezko breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Koniezko tries to clinch up.
Koniezko fails to land the takedown.
Esteban attempts a counter takedown but Koniezko avoids it well and moves away.
Esteban stuffs the takedown attempt from Koniezko. Koniezko gets slowly back to his feet.

Esteban looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Esteban with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Alejandro Esteban will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Koniezko swats away the attempt to clinch by Esteban.
Esteban slips a jab and a cross from Koniezko.
Koniezko moves in looking to clinch but Esteban pushes him off.

Esteban shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Esteban was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Koniezko tries to bench press Esteban off him but Esteban keeps the position.
Esteban is pausing for a moment. What's he doing? It looks like he's clearing his nose. Oh dude! He's shot a load of snot all down Koniezko's shoulder. That is not cool.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Koniezko is not content to let Esteban control the position.
Koniezko wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Koniezko struggling a bit here.
Esteban is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Koniezko can do to turn this around?

Esteban thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Koniezko tries to control the position but he's not in luck - Esteban easily slips into full mount!
Koniezko taking shots to the head.
Esteban content just to control the position here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Esteban has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Koniezko's face.
Koniezko keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Koniezko wants to hold on but Esteban pushes him away.
Koniezko in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Esteban looking to control and managing it successfully.
Esteban trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Koniezko is in a horrible position here. Esteban smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Koniezko wants to hold on but Esteban pushes him away.
Esteban controlling the position easily from mount.
Koniezko tries to hold on but Esteban postures up.
Esteban trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Esteban sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Koniezko takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Alejandro Esteban overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Esteban takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Sascha Koniezko has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Esteban with shots to the head and body - Koniezko looks very uncomfortable down there.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Koniezko defends a decent attempt at a guillotine from Esteban.
Esteban controlling the position easily from mount.

And that's the end of the fight!
Alejandro Esteban showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Esteban has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Yukihiro Yamamoto scores the fight 30:27
Judge Yasuomi Hirokawa scores the fight 30:27
Judge Kenichi Hosakawa scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Alejandro Esteban!
The defeated Sascha Koniezko had this to say: 'He cheated! Check his gloves, they've got chloroform on them!'.