PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between James Howlett (ranked 1184 p4p, 1579 weight class) and Luigi Bonifacio (ranked 153 p4p, 201 weight class). Howlett comes to the cage accompanied by Indestructible. Bonifacio has chosen Karate - Kennedy as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Luigi Bonifacio will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Howlett
vs
Bonifacio

167 cm
25
160
9 - 3 - 0

184 cm
42
163
21 - 24 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Basic striking
Insanely flexible

BJJ Purple Belt
Decent boxing
Powerful

Senshi Fight Gear

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 9 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, James Howlett!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 21 - 24 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Luigi Bonifacio !
The judges for this bout are Steve Erwin, Damien Edna and Eliza Hachem.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Bonifacio gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Howlett to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Bonifacio controlling the position.
Howlett engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Howlett is fighting to break Bonifacio 's control of his arms but Bonifacio is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Howlett wants to control from the top but Bonifacio keeps moving.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Howlett sitting in guard here, content to control.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters, thinking about a standup.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Howlett looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Bonifacio !
Howlett wants to lay and pray for a moment but Bonifacio keeps working.

Howlett working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Bonifacio is trying to improve his position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Howlett tries for a kimura but Bonifacio is defending well.
Howlett wants to take a breather but Bonifacio manages to regain guard - a lesson learnt for Howlett.
Bonifacio wants to sweep but no luck.
Bonifacio controls Howlett momentarily but Howlett frees himself.
Bonifacio tries to land a sweep but no joy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Howlett is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Howlett slips nicely into half guard.
Howlett with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.

Howlett is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Bonifacio has managed to free his arm - good work.
Howlett controlling the action here.
Howlett has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Howlett trying to control the action but Bonifacio is working from the bottom.

Bonifacio is defending against the submission attempts here by Howlett.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Howlett seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Bonifacio does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

James Howlett dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Howlett closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Howlett tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Bonifacio manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Howlett looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
James Howlett seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Nice sprawl there from Bonifacio as Howlett shoots in.
Bonifacio is looking to clinch.
Bonifacio wants to clinch.
Bonifacio scores with a nice head shot.
James Howlett is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Bonifacio stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Bonifacio wants it to stay on the feet.
Bonifacio misses with a wild body shot.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Howlett shoots in looking for a takedown. Bonifacio tries to sprawl out of it but Howlett keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Bonifacio manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Bonifacio 's coach down at was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on Bonifacio 's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for James Howlett. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Bonifacio moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bonifacio misses with a wild body shot.
Bonifacio scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Howlett misses with a takedown
and Bonifacio counters with a right hand to the body.
A right-left combo lands from Bonifacio .
Howlett shoots for a takedown but Bonifacio saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Bonifacio is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.

Howlett scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.

Howlett is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Howlett perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.

Howlett is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Bonifacio is just riding it out for now. Howlett eventually gives up the hold.
Bonifacio wants to control but Howlett is keeping busy and won't allow it.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bonifacio is looking for a sweep. Howlett is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Bonifacio looks like he's trying to stand up.
Howlett is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Bonifacio trying to control from the bottom.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters, thinking about a standup.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Bonifacio is not content to let Howlett control the position.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bonifacio keeps the fight on the outside.
Howlett shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Bonifacio pinned against the cage. Bonifacio gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Howlett shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Bonifacio but Bonifacio pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Howlett closes the distance and clinches up with Bonifacio , looking for a takedown. Howlett pushes Bonifacio against the cage but Bonifacio circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Bonifacio swings for the body but Howlett moves out of range.
Howlett fails with a takedown attempt.
Bonifacio lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
Bonifacio tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Howlett tries to counter with a takedown but Bonifacio is quick to defend against it.
A punch combination from Bonifacio misses.
Bonifacio swinging wildly here.
Bonifacio avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
A nice side step and Bonifacio releases a counter shot to the body, but it doesn't find it's home.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Howlett is trying hard to land a takedown here. Bonifacio sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Howlett with a poor takedown
enabling Bonifacio to counter with a crisp jab.
Bonifacio stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Bonifacio wants it to stay on the feet.
Howlett avoids the body shot from Bonifacio .
Bonifacio misses the shot to the body.
Howlett fails with the takedown
and Bonifacio connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Bonifacio swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Howlett attempts a counter takedown but Bonifacio avoids it well and moves away.

Howlett dives in and scores a takedown into Bonifacio 's guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Howlett trying to control but Bonifacio is working from the bottom.
Howlett looking to sit in guard and control but Bonifacio gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Howlett is trying to keep Bonifacio in close.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Luigi Bonifacio 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! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Bonifacio scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Howlett.
James Howlett overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Howlett is trying to get an arm triangle but Bonifacio is defending well.

Howlett tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Bonifacio really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Howlett. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Howlett working away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Howlett tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Howlett has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!

Howlett is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Bonifacio has escaped the position, nice work there.

Howlett is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Bonifacio knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Howlett advances to mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Howlett looking to control but Bonifacio is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.

Howlett swings around for an armbar but it's a sloppy attempt and Bonifacio is now in Howlett's guard. A big mistake from Howlett there, giving up the dominant position!
Bonifacio is looking to pass into half guard but Howlett pushes him away with his feet and jumps on top - now Howlett is in guard.

Bonifacio keeping moving, preventing Howlett from controlling successfully.
Howlett controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Bonifacio keeping moving, preventing Howlett from controlling successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Howlett working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Bonifacio is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Howlett seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Howlett wants to control from the top but Bonifacio keeps moving.
Howlett is really struggling to control Bonifacio but he's trying to hold on to the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Howlett looking to control the position here, rather than advance.

Howlett is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Howlett slips nicely into half guard.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Howlett trying to advance position but Bonifacio counters by regaining guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
James Howlett showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Howlett 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 Steve Erwin scores the fight 29:28
Judge Damien Edna scores the fight 29:28
Judge Eliza Hachem scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... James Howlett!
James Howlett thanked the fans post fight for their support.
The defeated Luigi Bonifacio had this to say: 'I am the BEST!'.