PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Sam Benton (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and George Grendel (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Benton comes to the cage accompanied by Kung Fu Fighting. Grendel has chosen Rjd2 - Ghostwriter as his entrance music. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Benton
vs
Grendel

185 cm
27
185 lbs
11 - 4 - 0

186 cm
26
195 lbs
8 - 1 - 0

Powerful takedowns
Solid boxing
Very quick

Decent wrestler
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

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 11 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Sam Benton!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, George Grendel!
The judges for this bout are Chris Downing, Daniel Franklin and Alan Glass.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Benton fakes the leg kick and cracks Grendel in the body.
Benton has a takedown stuffed.
No luck for Benton with that takedown attempt.
Grendel missing with a left hand there. Benton was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Grendel defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Benton.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Sam Benton. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Benton fails with the takedown.
Grendel connects with a nice looking jab.
Benton takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Benton with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Benton keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Benton throws a wild body kick that Grendel sees coming a mile off.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Benton throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Benton looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Grendel on the wrong end of a kick to the body.
No joy there for Grendel, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
A good leg kick by Benton.
Grendel misses with the combination.
Benton goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Grendel sizes up Benton with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Benton motions for Grendel to come forward. Benton throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Grendel lands a body shot.
Grendel cracks Benton with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Grendel misses with a straight right.
Benton will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Grendel thows a body shot but no joy.
Grendel tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Grendel lands a right hook to the body.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Benton avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Benton tries to land a leg kick but Grendel saw it coming and moves away.
Benton needs to keep his hands up - Grendel had a free shot at his head there.
Benton uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Grendel.
Benton pivots, looking for a leg kick but Grendel is out of range and Benton settles back down.
George Grendel is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Grendel throws an overhand right that lands on Benton's shoulder, as Benton tries to avoid the shot.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Grendel fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Grendel connects with a good right hand that stumbles Benton. Benton circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
Benton walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Grendel checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Grendel looks to land a right hand but Benton moved out of range.
Benton connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Benton takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Grendel lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Grendel tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Benton looks for the body kick but Grendel saw that one coming.
Benton avoids the body shot from Grendel.
Grendel is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A shot to the liver by Grendel. Beautiful body shot.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
A looping hook to the body misses from Grendel. Benton does a little dance to reset his feet.
Benton throws a push kick but Grendel slaps the foot to one side.
A looping hook to the body misses from Grendel. Benton does a little dance to reset his feet.
Grendel swings and misses with a hook to the body.
The fighters circling - Grendel throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Grendel throws out a powerful jab.
Benton has a takedown stuffed.
Benton on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Grendel connects with the punch.
Benton scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

George Grendel dominated that round.
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.

A slapping body kick lands there for Benton.
Benton explodes with a nice body kick and back out of range. Nice work.
Grendel fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Benton manages to avoid it.
Grendel takes a swing at Benton's ribcage but misses.
Grendel pushing out the jab but it's not landing.

Benton gets the takedown into side control.
Benton staying calm.
Grendel tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Benton wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Grendel can't do much from the bottom here.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Benton wants to lay and pray for a moment but Grendel keeps working.
Grendel tries to bench press Benton off him but Benton keeps the position.
You can see the frustration on Grendel's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Benton in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
A big left from Grendel misses.
Benton slips a straight right by Grendel.
George Grendel seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Grendel sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.
Nice takedown defense from Grendel. No joy for Benton on that attempt.
Benton takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Benton misses with an attempted mid kick.
Benton displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Grendel throws out the jab.
Benton throws a leg kick which misses Grendel's front leg but catches the back leg as Grendel tries to avoid it.
Grendel looks to score with a jab to the body but Benton is just out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Grendel cracks Benton with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Grendel looks to throw the jab but Benton is out of range.
Grendel throws a looping overhand right but Benton ducks down to avoid it.
Benton looks for the body kick but Grendel saw that one coming.
Benton misses with a low kick.
Benton throws a body kick that sends a sickening thudding noise reverberating around the arena.
Benton throws a front kick aimed at Grendel's knee but Grendel avoids it well.
Grendel throws a nice looking combination but Benton bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Grendel lands with a shot to the body.
Benton circles away from the clinch attempt.
A good leg kick by Benton.
Benton moves out of range as Grendel strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Grendel ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Benton moves away.
Grendel throws a body punch but Benton moves out of range.
Benton lands a nice leg kick that just misses Grendel's sensitive parts.
Grendel throws a right and a left that Benton avoids nicely.
Benton throws a body kick that digs right into the meat.
Benton misses with a body kick.
Benton closes this distance looking for a takedown but Grendel circles away.
Benton walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Grendel checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Benton misses with a body kick.
Benton misses with a low kick.
Benton scores with a leg kick.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sam Benton dominated that second round.
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. 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.

A looping hook to the body misses from Grendel. Benton does a little dance to reset his feet.
Grendel's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
A solid body kick from Benton.
Benton cracks the inside of Grendel's front leg.
A slapping leg kick lands for Benton.
Benton takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Grendel stuffs the takedown.
Grendel checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Benton throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Grendel paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Grendel is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Grendel looks to land a right hand but Benton moved out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Grendel moves out of range as Benton throws a body kick.
Grendel is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Benton.
Benton misses with a kick to the body.
Benton explodes with a nice body kick and back out of range. Nice work.
A big left from Grendel misses.
Benton buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Grendel missing with a left hand there. Benton was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Benton has a takedown stuffed.
Grendel throws a series of punches but Benton avoids them all with ease.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Benton slips under a jab.
Grendel has developed a nice purple lump on his ribcage, as a result of some heavy body kicks from Benton.
Grendel jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Benton fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Sam Benton. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Benton displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Grendel throws out the jab.
Benton uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Grendel.
Grendel misses with a body shot.
Benton bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.

Benton throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Grendel was covering up waiting for the punch and Benton finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Benton loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Grendel controlling Benton's posture.
Grendel looking for a sweep. Not yet Grendel, not yet.
Grendel keeping moving, preventing Benton from controlling successfully.
Grendel tries to land a sweep but no joy.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Benton postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Grendel is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Benton has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Grendel is working away from the top position though.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Grendel in particular looking to stall.
Benton wants to get back to full guard but Grendel has mounted him!
Benton is looking to improve his position but Grendel isn't that keen on the idea.
Grendel controlling from the full mount.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to George Grendel.
I think Grendel has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Chris Downing scores the fight 29:29
Judge Daniel Franklin scores the fight 29:29
Judge Alan Glass scores the fight 29:29

The fight is ruled a draw!