PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Arlen Henderson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Safar Rire (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Henderson
vs
Rire

204 cm
18
140 lbs
1 - 5 - 0

170 cm
18
143 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Experienced

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 5 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Arlen Henderson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Safar Rire!
The judges for this bout are Igor Prikhodko, Ivan Kurochkin and Vladimir Khabensky.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Rire shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Rire is pressing down on Henderson's thigh, looking to free his foot. Henderson is holding on for now.
Henderson trying to control but Rire postures up.
Henderson really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Rire tries to stand but his arm is trapped.
Rire works his way into side control.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
You can see the frustration on Henderson's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Henderson has one of Rire's arms on lockdown, trying to prevent him from doing any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rire fails to land a wild elbow strike.
Henderson is trying to get back to his feet.

Rire thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Rire tries to move into full mount but can't pass Henderson's legs.
Henderson is not content to let Rire control the position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Rire is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Henderson has escaped the position, nice work there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Henderson tries to escape but Rire is in control.
Rire with the ground and pound but Henderson regains half guard under the barage of strikes.
Henderson is trying to stand back up but Rire is controlling him
Henderson connecting with a few gentle strikes.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Rire throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Henderson.
Sloppy strikes from Rire. Those never looked like landing.

Rire closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Rire tries to move into full mount but can't pass Henderson's legs.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Henderson is trying to control Rire's posture but Rire avoids it.

Rire decides to stand up, so the ref orders Henderson to his feet.

Rire closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Rire looks winded!
Rire working the ground and pound but Henderson is defending the strikes.
Rire prevents Henderson from escaping the position.
Rire has knee on belly momentarily but Henderson bucks him off and regains half guard.
Henderson is not content to let Rire control the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Rire seems to be looking for submissions.
Rire wants to stand up but Henderson manages to regain full guard.
Rire missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Henderson striking off his back but it's not causing Rire any problems.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Henderson escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Rire gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.

Henderson working for a triangle but Rire defends it easily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Safar Rire 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.

Rire throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.

Rire shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Henderson napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Henderson is not content to let Rire control the position.

Rire stands up and beckons Henderson to his feet.

Rire looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Henderson keeping moving, preventing Rire from controlling successfully.
Rire controlling from the top position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rire trying to control the position from guard on top but Henderson is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Henderson is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Rire has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Rire trying to control but Henderson is working from the bottom.

Henderson pushes Rire off for just long enough to get back to his feet. Very athletic spring there.
Rire swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Henderson counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Rire is breathing heavily.
Rire is trying to keep Henderson in close.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Rire has an omoplata and is looking to use it perhaps as a submission or perhaps to transition. Henderson is in a bit of discomfort here, but he's managed to free himself and has dived into side control! That didn't work out too well for Rire.
Henderson will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Henderson throws an elbow but Rire slips to the side and avoids it well.
Rire is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Henderson is chipping away with strikes.
Henderson looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Rire is avoiding damage well.
Henderson in side control, throwing shots but Rire defends.
Rire parries the strikes from Henderson easily there. Henderson is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Rire to escape.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Henderson tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Henderson has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
The ground and pound from Henderson seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.

Henderson tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Henderson is trying to ground and pound but Rire uses the momentary lack of control by Henderson to regain half guard.
Henderson lands with a punch from half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rire blocking the ground and pound attempt from Henderson.
Rire keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Safar Rire has got the better of the ground game so far.
Rire is looking to control Henderson's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Rire avoid being mounted?
Henderson winds up and cracks Rire with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Rire is trying to stand back up but Henderson is controlling him
Henderson takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Arlen Henderson dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Henderson shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Rire wants to get back to full guard.
Henderson thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Rire's head.
Rire has hold of Henderson's hands but Henderson slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Rire is staying active underneath Henderson, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Henderson prevents Rire from improving his position.
Rire wants to control but Henderson is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Henderson missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Rire takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Henderson lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Henderson thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Rire's head.
Henderson not doing much here.
Henderson thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
A slapping leg kick lands for Rire.

Rire feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Rire stops Henderson from standing up.
Henderson trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Henderson preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Henderson keeping moving, preventing Rire from controlling successfully.
Rire throwing strikes but missing.
Henderson working a defensive guard here.

Henderson has managed to work for a loose triangle. I think Rire should be able to defend this one pretty easily though. Oh, Henderson has tightened it up now! Rire should have reacted faster there - he's in big trouble and yes, he's tapped out! This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:54 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle). Arlen Henderson!