PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Sean Benoit (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jackson Faber (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Faber is bouncing up and down as he enters the arena, backed by m.o.v.e - around the world. Sean Benoit has a significant reach advantage - let's see if he can make it count.

Benoit
vs
Faber

180 cm
31
181 lbs
25 - 15 - 0

168 cm
30
169 lbs
20 - 11 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

Milwaukee's Best 159's - $49

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 25 - 15 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Sean Benoit!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 20 - 11 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Jackson Faber!
The judges for this bout are Alec Ball, Yves DeLean and Gregory Folan.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Faber avoids the body shot from Benoit.
Faber uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Benoit.
Benoit throws a head kick that half lands.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Benoit, right into the meat.
Benoit thows a left - swing and a miss!

Faber has closed the distance and engaged Benoit in a clinch.
Faber taking a breather.
Benoit has a couple of punches blocked by Faber.
Benoit misses with a hook to the ribs.
Benoit stalls.
Benoit blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Faber lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Faber blocks an uppercut.
Benoit tries to throw a body punch but Faber avoids it by throwing Benoit back against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Benoit lands a hook that snaps the head of Faber backwards.
Benoit scores with a hook to the body.
Faber stalling.
Faber lands a nice uppercut.
Benoit working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Faber stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Benoit effectively controlling the action here.
Benoit is pressed up against the cage. Faber has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Benoit down to the mat. Benoit avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Benoit wants to land a leg kick but Faber is out of range.
A punch combination from Faber misses.
Benoit scores with a jab to the head.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Benoit misses with a two punch combination.
Faber throws a head kick that looked like it stung.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Benoit keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Faber.
Faber keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Benoit.
Benoit throws a leg kick which misses Faber's front leg but catches the back leg as Faber tries to avoid it.

Benoit has managed to clinch.
Benoit misses with a body punch.
Benoit misses with a short punch on the inside.
Benoit blocking some punches.
Faber scores with a shoulder strike.
Benoit on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
A short left from Faber.
Benoit scores with a hook to the body.
Benoit blocking some punches.
Faber fails to land with a short punch on the inside.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Benoit misses with a short punch on the inside.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Faber tries to work over Benoit's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Benoit misses with a shot to the kidneys.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Benoit.
Benoit tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Faber's elbow.
Faber doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Faber has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Benoit avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Benoit goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Faber dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Benoit.
Benoit fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Benoit prevents the takedown attempt.
Sean Benoit has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jackson Faber.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Faber.
Benoit misses with a punch to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Benoit softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Faber can't find room to land a body shot as Benoit controls the action.
Benoit misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Faber with an attempt at a knee that misses.
A shot in the inside from Faber.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Faber.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Faber's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Benoit struggles to land a body shot inside as Faber controls his hands.
Benoit misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Faber presses Benoit against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Come on Faber - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Faber has a couple of punches blocked by Benoit.
Faber swings wildly with an uppercut but Benoit uses good head movement to avoid it.
Benoit gets through Faber's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sean Benoit dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Faber looks to land a left hand but Benoit moved out of range nicely.
Benoit avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Faber shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Benoit sprawls well. Benoit wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Faber gets slowly back to his feet.
Benoit walks into a jab.
Benoit fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Faber checks it well.
Benoit just misses with a punch to the body.
Benoit staying out of range there.
Faber throws a jab but it's blocked by Benoit.
Benoit fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Faber manages to avoid it.
Faber tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Faber misses with a jab to the body
and Benoit counters with a leg kick.
Benoit throws the kick towards the body but Faber avoids it.
Benoit ducks under a wild hook from Faber.
Benoit displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Faber.
Benoit ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Benoit throws a sloppy head kick and Faber moves out of range easily.
Faber throws an overhand right that lands on Benoit's shoulder, as Benoit tries to avoid the shot.
Faber shoots in looking for a takedown. Benoit tries to sprawl out of it but Faber keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Benoit manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Sean Benoit has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jackson Faber.
Benoit takes a swing at Faber's ribcage but misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Faber swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Faber is really struggling to land any decent head shots against his taller opponent.
Benoit lands a slapping body shot.
Benoit is looking to wear down Faber with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Faber blocks a leg kick.
Faber throws a hook to the side of Benoit's head but Benoit sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
A lazy left from Faber finds it's target.
Benoit throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Faber throws a series of punches but Benoit moves out of range.
Benoit cracks Faber with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Benoit looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Faber looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Faber keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Benoit.
Benoit throws a head kick but Faber moves out of range.
Benoit staying out of range there.
Faber rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Benoit moves out of range and avoids them all easily.

Benoit clinches with his opponent.
Faber taking a breather.
Benoit blocks an uppercut.
Benoit misses with a hook to the ribs.

Faber has dropped down and is working for a takedown. Benoit is trying to keep an underhook but Faber manages to get the takedown into half 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.
Faber is looking to advance position but Benoit won't allow it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Faber seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Benoit does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Faber is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Faber wants to control but Benoit is keeping him busy.

Benoit kicks Faber off and gets back to his feet.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
A nice combination there by Benoit.
Faber throws a hook but Benoit blocks it.
Faber throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Benoit sees it coming and avoids it easily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Jackson Faber will probably get the nod - 10:9.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Faber steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Benoit.
Faber walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Benoit checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Faber changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Benoit tries to avoid it but Faber manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Benoit to the ground. Benoit escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Benoit tries a head kick but it misses.
Benoit misses with a looping right.
Faber looks to land a combination but Benoit avoids it well.
Benoit misses with a body shot.
Benoit lands with an uppercut that bounces Faber off the cage and back into range.
Benoit throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
Benoit wants to slow Faber down by chopping away at his legs.
Faber misses with a low kick.
Sean Benoit is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Faber defending well as Benoit loads up on a big left hand.
A looping hook to the body misses from Faber. Benoit does a little dance to reset his feet.
Faber checks a low kick from Benoit.
Nice body punch from Benoit.
A slow jab from Benoit misses its intended target.
Faber swinging wildly here.
Faber looks to throw the jab but Benoit is out of range.
Benoit is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Jackson Faber is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Benoit will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Faber's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Faber duly obliges.
Faber keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Benoit moves forwards but Faber connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Nice cross by Faber.
Benoit with a nice cross.
A combination from Faber does no damage.
Benoit paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Benoit gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Sean Benoit is winning the standup battle so far.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Benoit lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Sloppy strikes from Faber. Those never looked like landing.
Nice shot by Benoit.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Faber moves out of range of the leg kick from Benoit.
Benoit lands a nice shot to the body.
Benoit lands a lovely overhand right.
Benoit misses with a straight right.
Benoit misses with a few strikes there.
Benoit throws a lazy right hand but Faber sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Benoit takes a shot to the body in his stride.

Benoit instigates a clinch.
Sean Benoit has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Faber goes for a takedown in the clinch but Benoit prevents it.
Faber misses with a punch on the inside.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Benoit blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Benoit throws a punch but it's blocked by Faber.
Benoit scores with a shoulder strike.
Benoit prevents the takedown attempt.
Sean Benoit has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jackson Faber.
Benoit blocks an uppercut.
Benoit scores with a nice hook to the head.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Faber misses with the head strike.

Faber escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Faber drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Faber wants to control for a moment but Benoit uses the opportunity to move back to half guard.
Faber perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.

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 Sean Benoit.
I think Benoit 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 Alec Ball scores the fight 29:28
Judge Yves DeLean scores the fight 29:28
Judge Gregory Folan scores the fight 29:28

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