PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Benoit Kong (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Damon Stone (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Stone has chosen One Step Closer by Linkin Park as his entrance music. This should be fireworks!

Kong
vs
Stone

189 cm
23
178 lbs
6 - 5 - 0

170 cm
20
180 lbs
3 - 3 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Solid boxing
Big right hand

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Benoit Kong!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Damon Stone!
The judges for this bout are , and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kong moves out of range of the strikes.
Stone has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Stone there as he acknowledges the shot.
Stone fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Stone lands with a cross.
Kong tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Stone was well out of range. Poor timing from Kong.
Stone throws a chopping leg kick but Kong manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Kong misses with a hook. Stone ducked under it nicely.
A jab from Stone misses.
Stone jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Stone throws a sloppy body shot
and Kong counters with a right hand to the body.
Kong misses with a wild combination.
Kong throws a hook but Stone blocks it.
Kong throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Stone sees it coming and avoids it easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stone takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Stone fails with a takedown attempt.
Stone lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Stone tries to move into range but Kong moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Stone throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Kong sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Kong misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Stone.
Benoit Kong is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Kong blocks a leg kick.
Stone fails to land the takedown.
Stone misses the body punch
and Kong counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Stone closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Kong bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Stone's head.
Stone drops his hands momentarily and Kong takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Kong avoids the head kick by Stone.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Kong.
Kong misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Stone.
Stone takes a swing at Kong's ribcage but misses.
The fighters circling - Kong throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Kong looks to land a left hand but Stone moved out of range nicely.
Stone uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Kong.
Kong misses the shot to the body.
A big right from Kong misses.
Kong looks to land a left hand but Stone moved out of range nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A big right from Stone misses.
Stone is really struggling to land any decent head shots against his taller opponent.
A big right from Kong misses.
Stone shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Kong pinned against the cage. Kong gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Benoit Kong has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Damon Stone.
Kong misses with a wild combination.
Kong uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Stone.
Kong looks to land a right hand but Stone moved out of range.
Kong defending well as Stone loads up on a big left hand.
Kong throws the left hand but Stone avoids the punch easily.
Stone has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.

It looks like Damon Stone has been cut.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kong keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Horrible takedown by Stone or perhaps it was just good defense by Kong which made him look bad.
Kong takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Kong misses with a combination

and Stone counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Kong's guard now.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Kong utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Stone postures up.
Stone must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Kong holds on and takes a little breather.
Stone pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Kong is keeping the position for now.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Benoit Kong dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Damon Stone's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Kong waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Stone.
Benoit Kong is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Stone uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Kong.
A punch combination from Kong misses.
Stone takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Kong missing with a left hand there. Stone was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Kong moves out of range as Stone strikes.
Kong swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Stone blocks a jab.
Kong has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Kong there as he acknowledges the shot.

It looks like Benoit Kong has been cut.
Stone swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Kong counters with a straight right hand.
Kong slips a jab from Stone.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stone shoots in looking for a takedown. Kong tries to sprawl out of it but Stone keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Kong manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Stone swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Kong.
Kong avoids the body shot from Stone.
Kong throws a looping overhand right but Stone ducks down to avoid it.
Kong scores with a punch to the head.
Kong stuffs the takedown attempt from Stone. Stone gets slowly back to his feet.
Kong is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
Kong misses with an uppercut.
Kong lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Stone circles away quickly and effectively.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kong swings for the body but Stone moves out of range.
Stone takes a body punch but keeps moving.
A big left from Stone misses.
Stone throws a combination that misses
and Kong counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Kong lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Stone backs up against the cage.
Kong connects with a nice looking jab.
Kong smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Kong swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Stone counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Stone working Kong over with strikes.
Stone trying to mount his opponent but Kong defends it.
Stone looks to land a strike but Kong avoids it nicely and regains full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kong has his hands on Stone's head, controlling the position.
Stone with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Kong looking for a sweep. Not yet Kong, not yet.
Stone throws a big right hand that misses.
Kong will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Stoneis looking to pass into half guard but Kong pushes him away with his feet and jumps on top - now Kong is in guard.
Stone tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Kong postures up and lands a big shot to Stone's brow.
Stone keeping moving, preventing Kong from controlling successfully.
Kong preventing the sweep.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Stone shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Kong but Kong pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Benoit Kong has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Damon Stone.
Stone misses with an uppercut.
Kong ducks under a wild hook from Stone.
Stone throws a hook to the side of Kong's head but Kong sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Stone scores with a jab to the body.
Kong displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Stone throws out the jab.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Stone misses with a straight left.
Stone keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Kong.
Kong throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
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 Benoit Kong will probably get the nod.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Kong lands a lovely overhand right.
Stone misses with an uppercut.
Stone showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Kong.
Stone throws out a loose jab but Kong uses good head movement to avoid it.
Kong throws out a loose jab but Stone uses good head movement to avoid it.
Kong misses with a hook. Stone ducked under it nicely.
Stone avoids the body shot from Kong.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kong changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
A telegraphed right hand from Stone misses the target.
Stone takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Kong looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kong throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Stone.
Kong throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Stone throws a looping overhand right but Kong ducks down to avoid it.
Stone swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Kong cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Kong misses the jab.
Kong is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.
Stone keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Stone keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Kong.
Kong throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Stone misses with a straight right.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nice cross by Kong.
Stone fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Stone has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
Stone misses with a hook to the body
and Kong counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Kong throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Kong keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Stone throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Stone misses with a double jab
and Kong counters with a straight right hand.
Good shot there by Stone.
Stone misses with a hook. Kong ducked under it nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stone takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Kong stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Kong wants it to stay on the feet.
The fighters circling - Kong throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Kong scores with a three punch combo!
Stone fails with the takedown.
Benoit Kong has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Damon Stone.
Kong misses with a straight right.
Stone throws a combination that misses
and Kong counters with a straight right hand.
Stone shoots in looking for a takedown. Kong tries to sprawl out of it but Stone keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Kong manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Kong lands a nice looking body shot.
Damon Stone has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kong stuns Stone with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Kong catches Stone with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Kong misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Stone.
Stone throws an overhand right that lands on Kong's shoulder, as Kong tries to avoid the shot.
Kong scores with a nice head shot.
A punch combination from Kong misses.
Kong throws a jab when Stone was well out of range.
Kong throws a lazy right hand but Stone sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.

And that's the end of the fight!
Benoit Kong showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Kong, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Andi Peters scores the fight 30:27
Judge Gordon Ramsey scores the fight 29:28
Judge Frank Skinner scores the fight 30:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Benoit Kong!