PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Ben Henderson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and David Mclevain (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). David Mclevain has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Henderson
vs
Mclevain

198 cm
22
220 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

190 cm
18
205 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
KO power

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Ben Henderson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, David Mclevain!
The judges for this bout are , and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Henderson swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Mclevain shoots in for a takedown but Henderson shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.

Henderson throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Mclevain was covering up waiting for the punch and Henderson finishes the takedown easily into guard.
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.
Henderson throws and elbow that misses. Mclevain uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Henderson's guard. Nice move by Mclevain!
Mclevain throws a big right hand that misses.
Mclevain sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Mclevain trying to control but Henderson is working from the bottom.
Mclevain stops Henderson from standing up.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Mclevain tries for a takedown but Henderson circles away easily

and Henderson counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Mclevain's guard now.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Henderson throws and elbow that misses. Mclevain uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Henderson's guard. Nice move by Mclevain!
Mclevain looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Mclevain wants to pass the guard but Henderson is keeping the position.
Henderson is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Mclevain trying to control the position from guard on top but Henderson is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Mclevain is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Henderson wants to stand and escape but Mclevain is having none of 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.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.

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

and Mclevain counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Henderson!
Mclevain landing strikes from the mount and Henderson is in trouble!
Mclevain controlling from the full mount.
Henderson really wants to buck Mclevain off and get back to his feet.
Mclevain cracks Henderson with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Mclevain controlling from the full mount.
Mclevain landing punches.
Mclevain controlling the position easily from mount.
Mclevain has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Henderson really wants to buck Mclevain off and get back to his feet.
Henderson is breathing heavily.
Mclevain content just to control the position here.
Henderson is trying to stand up.
A nice elbow there by Mclevain.
Mclevain looking to control and managing it successfully.
Henderson wants to get back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Mclevain takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Henderson is trying to get back to his feet but can't.
Mclevain controlling from mount.
Henderson really wants to buck Mclevain off and get back to his feet.
Mclevain content just to control the position here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

David Mclevain dominated that 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.

Mclevain gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.

Despite being in the dominant position, David Mclevain just isn't active enough and the referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Henderson has his takedown stuffed

and Mclevain counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Mclevain sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Henderson keeping moving, preventing Mclevain from controlling successfully.
Mclevain won't allow Henderson to get back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Henderson on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Henderson tries to get out of the position.
Mclevain controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Mclevain pushing down on Henderson's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Mclevain controlling the action here.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Mclevain lands a nice short elbow.
Mclevain stops Henderson from getting back to his feet.
Mclevain is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Henderson!
Henderson is trying to get to the cage to help him get back to his feet.
Mclevain looking to control and managing it successfully.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Henderson squirming around on the bottom, looking to escape.
Mclevain tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Henderson wants to use the cage to get back to his feet here.
Mclevain content just to control the position here.
Henderson's corner are shouting for him to stand up but that's bad cornering - how is he meant to stand up when he's mounted? He should be looking to improve his position on the ground before trying to stand back up.
Mclevain sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Henderson trying desperately to get to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mclevain controlling from mount.
Mclevain looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Mclevain lands with some strikes.
Mclevain pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Henderson really wants to buck Mclevain off and get back to his feet.
Mclevain controlling the pace for now.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.

Despite being in the dominant position, David Mclevain just isn't active enough and the referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Henderson misses with a takedown

and Mclevain counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Mclevain is taking a breather. Henderson says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
David Mclevain has got the better of the ground game so far.
Mclevain prevents Henderson from standing back up.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Mclevain lands a nice short elbow.
Mclevain working Henderson over with strikes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

David Mclevain showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Back to the action! So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Henderson fails with the takedown

and Mclevain counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Well, if Mclevain is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Henderson wants to get back to his feet.
Mclevain slows the pace down in half guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Mclevain trying to control the action but Henderson is working from the bottom.
Henderson wants to get back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mclevain trying to control the pace.
Henderson is trying to stand up here but Mclevain is controlling him well.
Still in half guard, Mclevain seems content to control.
Henderson wants to get back to his feet.
Mclevain content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Henderson is looking to escape.
Mclevain performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Ben Henderson has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

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.
Henderson is trying to stand.
Henderson is looking to get back to is feet but Mclevain passes into side control.
Mclevain just content to control the position.
Henderson is pushing Mclevain's head away, looking to escape. Mclevain manages to hold on to the position though.
Mclevain controlling from side mount.

Despite being in the dominant position, David Mclevain just isn't active enough and the referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Henderson with a lazy takedown attempt

and Mclevain decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Henderson's guard.
Mclevain is working Henderson over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Mclevain is working Henderson over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Mclevain controls from within his opponent's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Henderson wants to stand but Mclevain is controlling the position.
Henderson can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Mclevain controls the pace.
Henderson keeping moving, preventing Mclevain from controlling successfully.
Henderson is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Mclevain is controlling him.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.

Mclevain closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Henderson to the mat! Henderson manages to get full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Henderson is looking to stand up but Mclevain isn't so interested in that idea.
Mclevain is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Henderson is looking to stand up but Mclevain isn't so interested in that idea.
Mclevain is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Henderson wants to stand and escape but Mclevain is having none of it.

Henderson looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.

And that's the end of the fight!
David Mclevain comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Mclevain winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 27:30
Judge Gordon Ramsey scores the fight 27:30
Judge Frank Skinner scores the fight 26:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... David Mclevain!