PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Mickey Henson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Antonio Davis (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Henson comes to the cage accompanied by Hit the Lights by Metallica. Davis has chosen Deicide - as his entrance music. Mickey Henson is staring across the cage at his opponent, tweaking his nipples... Tweaking his own nipples that is.

Henson
vs
Davis

180 cm
22
192 lbs
10 - 7 - 0

188 cm
26
198 lbs
11 - 8 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Very strong

Powerful takedowns
Counter striker
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the middleweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 10 - 7 - 0, fighting out of London, Mickey Henson!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 8 - 0, fighting out of London, Antonio Davis!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Bishop, Donald Grub and James Atkins.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Henson throws a shot from downtown. Davis moves away and avoids it.
Henson lands a jab to Davis's midsection.
A looping hook to the body misses from Henson. Davis does a little dance to reset his feet.
Davis blocks a low kick nicely.

Davis gets a takedown into half guard.
Henson keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Henson blocking the ground and pound attempt from Davis.
Davis missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Henson on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Henson has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Davis is working away from the top position though.
Henson avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Davis.
Henson wants to get back to full guard.
Henson is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Davis's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Davis's back!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Even with his hooks in, Henson manages to miss with strikes from the back.
Henson is trying to stick to Davis's back but Davis is turning into Henson. He's managed to reverse the position - now he's in Henson's guard. Polite applause from the crowd in appreciation of some nice Jiu Jitsu by Davis.
Davis throws and elbow that misses. Henson uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Davis's guard. Nice move by Henson!
Henson throwing strikes from guard but Davis blocks nicely.
Henson trying to control the position from guard on top but Davis is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Henson has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Henson is really struggling to control Davis but he's trying to hold on to the position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Henson throws a big right hand that misses.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.

Henson fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Davis sprawls well initially but Henson persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Henson not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Henson looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Davis keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Davis is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Henson's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Henson's back!
Davis lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Davis connects with a series of strikes and the referee is calling for Henson to escape the position.
Davis loading up with punches from the back mount - how long can Henson hold on?
Davis is striking from the back but Henson escapes and manages to recover to half guard.
Henson keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Henson has hold of Davis's hands but Davis slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Davis thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Henson's head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Davis throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Davis thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Henson works his way to full guard. Good work.
Davis throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Henson trying to control the position here.
Davis keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Henson's head.
Davis throws a strike but Henson rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Henson throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Davis works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Davis is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Henson throwing strikes from guard but Davis blocks nicely.

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.
Henson trying to control but Davis is working from the bottom.
Henson wants to pass the guard but Davis is keeping the position.
Davis trying to control the position.
Henson lands a couple of digs.
Henson wants to pass the guard but Davis is keeping the position.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Davis shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Henson defends it nicely.
Henson looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Antonio Davis will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Davis throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Henson's waist but Henson gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Davis off to one side.
Henson tries to clinch up but Davis circles away and keeps his distance.
Davis with a poor takedown
and Henson counters with a nice body shot.
Henson buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
No joy there for Henson, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
A combination from Henson does no damage.
Henson throws a leg kick but Davis checks it.
Henson attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Henson throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Davis is breathing heavily.
Davis tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Davis blocks a leg kick.

Henson gets a takedown into half guard.
Henson wants to pass to mount but Davis is defending the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Davis wants to improve his position but Henson is controlling well.
Davis wants to control but Henson passes into side.
You can see the frustration on Davis's face as Henson controls the position.
Davis manages to work his way to half guard, despite Henson's best efforts.
Henson winds up and cracks Davis with a swinging punch to the side of the head.

Henson is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Davis sees it coming and defends easily.
Henson lands with a punch from half guard.
Davis is staying active underneath Henson, who seems content to just control the action from this position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Henson not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Henson thows a huge punch but Davis dodges it nicely.
Davis trying to control here.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Henson throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Henson missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Davis trying to control from the bottom.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Henson doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Davis counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Davis.
Davis throwing strikes but missing.
Henson preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Henson bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Davis's guard.
Davis is trying to control the position from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Henson in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Davis looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Henson throws a big right hand that misses.
Henson postures up in Davis's guard and throws a big left but Davis blocks it.
Davis manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Davis punching from mount but Henson doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Davis thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.
Davis avoids the attempt from Henson to control.
Davis throwing strikes but Henson bucks up and reverses the position. He's now in guard on top.

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.
Davis with a flurry of punches that miss.
Davis with a flurry of punches that miss.
Henson is adopting a defensive guard.
Davis distracts Henson with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Davis throws and elbow that misses. Henson uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Davis's guard. Nice move by Henson!
Davis seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Henson is looking to work some ground and pound but Davis has wrist control.
Henson is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Henson is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mickey Henson dominated that second round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Henson tries to clinch but Davis moves away

and Davis counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Henson!
Davis is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Henson can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Davis connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Henson tries to lock up and control but Davis gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Henson tries to reverse the position but Davis maintains control.
Henson slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
Henson trying to hold on to Davis's head to control him but Davis postures up.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Davis connects with a nice short shot to Henson's temple.
Davis looks to land a strike but Henson avoids it nicely and regains full guard.
Henson looking to hit a scissor sweep but Davis is one step ahead there.
Davis throws and elbow that misses. Henson uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Davis's guard. Nice move by Henson!
Davis takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Henson trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Davis manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Davis throwing strikes here but Henson is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Henson wants to control but Davis is having none of it.
Davis fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Davis looking to finish with strikes here!
Henson tries to lock up and control but Davis gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Davis unloads with some shots from mount but Henson bucks and avoids them well.
Henson taking shots to the head.
Henson gets back to half guard.
Davis wants to free his trapped foot but Henson is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Davis lands strikes from half guard.
Henson keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Henson is looking for a sweep. Davis is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Davis throwing shots but Henson is blocking nicely.
Davis not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Henson regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Davis.
Davis postures up in Henson's guard and throws a big left but Henson blocks it.
Davis throwing strikes from guard but Henson blocks nicely.
Henson manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Davis manages to get himself to full guard.
Davis trying to keep a closed guard but Henson is proving a slippery customer.
Henson trying to control the position from guard on top but Davis is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Davis keeping full guard, as Henson tries to pass.
Henson trying to control but Davis is working from the bottom.

That's four 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.
Davis is trying to control the position but Henson postures up.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Henson lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Henson postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Davis is pulling down on Henson's head to control his posture.
Henson won't allow Davis to sweep him here.
Henson trying to control but Davis is working from the bottom.
Henson lands a couple of elbows.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Davis holds on and takes a little breather.
Henson slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Henson misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Henson trying to control the position but Davis is working away.
Henson looks up at the clock and then as Davis takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Henson smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Antonio Davis really dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Davis fails to land the takedown.
Good shot there by Henson.

Henson shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.
Henson cracks Davis with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Henson throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.
Henson lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Davis hang on?
Henson lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Henson avoids the attempt from Davis to control.

Henson working for a guillotine from mount but Davis is in no mood to give up.
Henson scores with a couple of good head shots there.

Henson is working for a guillotine from mount but Davis frees his head quite easily.
It's got to the stage where if one of these guys blows hard enough, the other might fall over.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Davis really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Henson thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!
Davis can't escape the position.
Henson lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Davis is in all sorts of trouble here.
Davis tries to hold on but Henson pushes him away.
Henson is landing with some decent strikes but Davis is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Davis is looking to get to half guard.
Davis tries to hold on but Henson postures up.
A nice elbow there by Henson.

That's two 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.
Henson avoids the attempt from Davis to control.
Henson scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Davis?
Henson looking to finish Davis with some ground and pound. This is bad for Davis!
Davis is in a horrible position here. Henson smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Henson trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Davis is looking to get to half guard.
Henson is landing with some decent strikes but Davis is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Davis sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.
Henson trying to control the action but Davis is working from the bottom.
Henson working Davis over with strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Henson wants to pass to mount but Davis is defending the position.
Davis trying to control but Henson postures up.
Davis makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Davis.
Henson postures up.
Davis looking to hit a scissor sweep but Henson is one step ahead there.
Henson working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Henson with a lazy takedown attempt

and Davis counters with a takedown into side control.
Henson tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Henson parries the strikes from Davis easily there. Davis is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Henson to escape.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Henson tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Davis wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Davis is working Henson over with some ground and pound from side control.
Davis postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Henson is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Davis looks up at the clock and then as Henson takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Davis smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!
Henson tries to bench press Davis off him but Davis keeps the position.
Henson manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
Henson trying to control the action but Davis is working from the bottom.
Davis is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Henson's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Henson's back!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close fourth round but I would say that Mickey Henson will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Davis shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Davis showed some decent athleticism there.
Henson is pressing down on Davis's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Davis working some strikes from top position.
Henson manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Davis is wriggling around trying to escape.
Henson throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Davis in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Davis keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Both of our modern day gladiators look out of it here - an gruelling 5 rounds of action taking it's toll on them, no doubt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Henson lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Davis hang on?
Henson punishing his opponent with strikes.
Davis is desperately trying to improve his position but Henson has a good base and remains in mount.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Henson cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Davis wants to hold on but Henson pushes him away.
Henson lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Henson landing shots from mount.
Davis is in all sorts of trouble here.
Henson is landing with some decent strikes but Davis is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Henson lands a big elbow.
Davis wants to hold on but Henson pushes him away.
Henson lands a nice shot to the head.
Henson working Davis over with strikes here.
Antonio Davis has got the better of the ground game so far.
Henson landing punches.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Henson cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Henson breaks from Davis's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Davis sneaks a leg back under and regains half guard and is working straight away to try and get back to guard. He hasn't managed just yet though.
Henson not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Davis wants to improve his position but Henson is controlling well.
Henson not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Davis trying to control but Henson postures up.
Davis keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Henson wants to control but Davis is keeping him busy.
Henson wants to free his trapped foot but Davis is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Davis manages to get to full guard.
Henson won't allow Davis to sweep him here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Henson shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Davis avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Henson.
Davis works his way to full guard. Good work.
Henson throwing strikes but missing.
Davis is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Henson trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Davis looking to control.
Davis looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Davis working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Henson.
Henson throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Davis works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Henson content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Henson gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

so Davis counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Henson is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Davis throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Henson has control of Davis's left arm, preventing Davis from doing any damage.
Davis with a flurry of punches that miss.
Henson controls Davis momentarily but Davis frees himself.
Davis working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.

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 Mickey Henson.
I think Henson 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 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Daniel Bishop scores the fight 48:48
Judge Donald Grub scores the fight 47:48
Judge James Atkins scores the fight 48:47

The fight is ruled a draw!
Mickey Henson retains his title. It's always disappointing when a championship fight ends as a draw but that's what happens when you leave the fight in the judges hands!