PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Kev Gastelum (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Lars Kenardly (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Kenardly has chosen Strokin as his entrance music. Lars Kenardly is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Gastelum
vs
Kenardly

175 cm
26
170 lbs
5 - 0 - 0

180 cm
24
175 lbs
6 - 10 - 0

Decent wrestler
Solid boxing
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

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 5 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Kev Gastelum!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 10 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Lars Kenardly!
The judges for this bout are Don Winkell, and Jack Bonds.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gastelum fails in his attempt to clinch.
Good shot there by Kenardly.
Gastelum throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Kenardly tries to bum rush Gastelum with a series of wild strikes but Gastelum uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Gastelum showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Kenardly.
Gastelum was looking to counter that last move with a shot to the body but he didn't commit.
Nice jab there from Kenardly.
Kenardly slips a jab from Gastelum.
Gastelum scores with a shot to the body.
Kenardly swinging wildly here.
Gastelum is looking to counter punch.
Gastelum scores with a crisp jab that stopped Kenardly in his tracks.
Gastelum misses the shot to the body.
Gastelum works the jab nicely.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Gastelum misses with a looping left.
Gastelum missing with a left hand there. Kenardly was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Gastelum has been working on his boxing with his coaches at Death Valley Training Facility in the buildup to the fight.
Gastelum misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Gastelum misses with a hook. Kenardly ducked under it nicely.
Kenardly misses with a series of wild punches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gastelum looks to score with a jab to the body but Kenardly is just out of range.
Kenardly lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Gastelum circles away quickly and effectively.

Kenardly gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Gastelum blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.

Gastelum has dropped down and is working for a takedown. Kenardly is trying to keep an underhook but Gastelum manages to get the takedown into half guard.
Gastelum scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Gastelum keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Gastelum trying to control the action but Kenardly is working from the bottom.
Kenardly moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Gastelum throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Kenardly keeping full guard, as Gastelum tries to pass.
Gastelum stands and throws Kenardly's legs to the side, diving into side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kenardly manages to work his way to half guard, despite Gastelum's best efforts.
Kenardly is looking for a sweep. Gastelum is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Gastelum stalling away here and it's allowed Kenardly to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Kenardly looking to hit a scissor sweep but Gastelum is one step ahead there.
Gastelum trying to control but Kenardly is working from the bottom.
Gastelum stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Kenardly swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Gastelum is working Kenardly over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gastelum is working Kenardly over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Gastelum scoring with punches to the head and body.
Kenardly tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Gastelum in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Gastelum trying to control but Kenardly is working from the bottom.
Gastelum 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.
Kenardly looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Kenardly throwing rabbit punches from the bottom - showing the judges that he's keeping busy.
Kenardly wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Gastelum throws an elbow that misses. Kenardly uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Gastelum's guard. Nice move by Kenardly!

Gastelum has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Kenardly can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Gastelum is looking for a triangle but Kenardly pushes his legs off easily.
Kenardly throws a big elbow that misses.
Kenardly missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Kenardly's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Gastelum on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Gastelum tries to get out of the position.

Gastelum has his foot on Kenardly's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Kenardly works his way back into a safe position though.
Kenardly lands a couple of digs.
Kenardly working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Gastelum working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Kenardly.
Kenardly wants to stand but Gastelum has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Kenardly cracks Gastelum with a solid left hand.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Kev Gastelum will probably get the nod.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Kenardly connects with a single shot there.

Kenardly drives through and clinches with Gastelum against the cage.
Gastelum drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Kenardly gets the underhooks and prevents it.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Kenardly.

Kenardly's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Kenardly throws a series of punches but Gastelum avoids them all with ease.
Gastelum fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Kenardly manages to avoid it.
Despite the aggression on Kenardly's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.
Kenardly misses with a body shot.
Kenardly tests Gastelum's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Kenardly misses with a few strikes there.
Gastelum misses with a jab, cross combination.
Kenardly showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Gastelum.
Kenardly lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Gastelum backs up against the cage.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Gastelum with a nice cross.
A nice combination there by Kenardly.
Lars Kenardly seems to be getting the better of the standup.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kenardly lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Kenardly takes one to the chin there.
Gastelum changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Kenardly tries to avoid it but Gastelum manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Kenardly to the ground. Kenardly escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Gastelum throws a hook but Kenardly blocks it.
Kenardly unleashes a big counter combination but Gastelum bobs and weaves and avoids any damage.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Kenardly looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Kenardly works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Kenardly takes a shot to the body in his stride.

Kenardly has taken the fight to the clinch.
Gastelum is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Kenardly pulls him back up using the underhooks.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Kev Gastelum. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Nice body punch from Kenardly.
Kenardly pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Gastelum tries to pull guard but Kenardly won't allow it.
Kenardly gets through Gastelum's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Kenardly lands a hook that snaps the head of Gastelum backwards.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Kenardly lands a nice shot to the body.
Kenardly stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Kenardly is trying to maintain a safe position but Gastelum gets an underhook and turns Kenardly into the cage.

Kenardly breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Kenardly has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gastelum smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Kenardly looks to score with a jab to the body but Gastelum is just out of range.
Kenardly scores with a jab. Gastelum acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Kenardly misses with the combination.
Kenardly cracks Gastelum with a right hand to the side of the head.
Kenardly throws a nice looking combination but Gastelum bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Kenardly has done a lot of speed work in the buildup to this fight.
Kenardly tries to bum rush Gastelum with a series of wild strikes but Gastelum uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Kenardly misses with a combination
and Gastelum counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Kenardly lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Kenardly misses with a straight right.
Kenardly keeps the fight on the outside.
Kenardly unleashes a big counter combination but Gastelum bobs and weaves and avoids any damage.
Gastelum lands with a hook. Kenardly tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Gastelum staying out of range there.
Kenardly misses with a jab, cross combination.
Kenardly throws a wild body kick that Gastelum sees coming a mile off.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kenardly misses with the combination.
Gastelum was looking to counter that last move with a shot to the body but he didn't commit.
Lars Kenardly is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Kenardly lands with a right hand.
Gastelum looks for a takedown but Kenardly sprawls well.
Good shot there by Gastelum.
Gastelum takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Kenardly lands with an overhand left.
Kenardly scores with the left hand. Gastelum knows he should have avoided that one.
Gastelum slips a jab and a cross from Kenardly.
Kenardly fails to land with a series of punches.
Kenardly misses with a series of wild punches.
Kenardly ducks under a wild hook from Gastelum.
Kenardly misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Kenardly ducks under a wild hook from Gastelum.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gastelum slips a jab and a cross from Kenardly.
Kenardly staying out of range there.
Kenardly might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
Kenardly lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Gastelum circles away quickly and effectively.

Gastelum gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Kenardly misses with a punch on the inside.

Kenardly escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Kenardly looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Gastelum jabs Kenardly right on the nose. Kenardly blinks but takes it well.
Kenardly throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Gastelum gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Gastelum throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Kenardly sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Kenardly throws out a counter right but Gastelum avoids it with no problem.
Lars Kenardly is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Kenardly stalks Gastelum and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Gastelum's face. Gastelum staggers backwards, shaken.
Gastelum throws a hook but Kenardly avoids it easily.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
A telegraphed right hand from Kenardly misses the target.
Kenardly misses with a series of wild punches.
Gastelum goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Lars Kenardly showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Gastelum's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Gastelum clinches.
Kenardly swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Kenardly is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Gastelum avoids a wild elbow strike from Kenardly.
Gastelum tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.

Kenardly breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Kenardly slips under a jab from Gastelum.
Kenardly lets it all go there with a big combo counter but none of the punches connected.

Kenardly closes the distance and clinches.
Still in the clinch, Kenardly scores with a nice short uppercut.
Kenardly lands an uppercut.
Gastelum is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Kev Gastelum. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Kenardly scores with a shoulder strike.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A right handed body shot lands from Kenardly.

Gastelum jumps guard and drags Kenardly to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Kenardly throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

Gastelum throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Gastelum wants to stand up but Kenardly is controlling him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kenardly would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.

Gastelum has his foot on Kenardly's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Kenardly works his way back into a safe position though.
Kenardly scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Kenardly slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Kenardly scoring with punches to the head and body.
Kenardly wants to control from the top but Gastelum keeps moving.

Gastelum is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Kenardly is aware though and is defending well.
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.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Kenardly wants to get up but he can't break Gastelum's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Gastelum just misses with a punch to the body.
Gastelum connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Kenardly staying out of range there.
A jab from Kenardly does it's job there.
Gastelum closes the distance and clinches up with Kenardly, looking for a takedown. Gastelum pushes Kenardly against the cage but Kenardly circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
A looping hook to the body misses from Gastelum. Kenardly does a little dance to reset his feet.
Kenardly lands with a nice combination. Gastelum backs away looking to recover.
Kenardly defending well as Gastelum loads up on a big left hand.
Gastelum doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Kenardly blocks a jab.
Kenardly will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Gastelum looks to land a left hand but Kenardly moved out of range nicely.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Kenardly.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kenardly pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Gastelum back to the cage. Kenardly follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.

Gastelum is rocked!
Gastelum dodges the punch combination from Kenardly.
Oh Gastelum is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Gastelum showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Kenardly.
A left and a right from Kenardly both land. Nice combination.
Gastelum ducks under a wild hook from Kenardly.
Gastelum seems to have got his legs back now.
Gastelum wants to clinch.
Kenardly throws a right hand that Gastelum ducks under and follows up with a left that Gastelum also avoids with ease.
Gastelum went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
Gastelum misses with a looping left.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Gastelum is defended easily by Kenardly.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gastelum scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Nice takedown defense from Kenardly. No joy for Gastelum on that attempt.
Kenardly misses with a wild combination.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Gastelum scores with the left hand. Kenardly knows he should have avoided that one.
Kenardly scores with a jab. Gastelum acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Gastelum walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Gastelum showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Kenardly.
Kenardly blocks a jab.
Gastelum connects with a crisp jab.
Gastelum throws an off balance right hand
and Kenardly counters with a straight right hand.
Kenardly throws a right hand that Gastelum ducks under and follows up with a left that Gastelum also avoids with ease.

And that's the end of the fight!
Lars Kenardly comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Kenardly 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 Don Winkell scores the fight 27:30
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 28:29
Judge Jack Bonds scores the fight 28:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Lars Kenardly!
A relieved looking Lars Kenardly thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.