PBP Commentary

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

Henderson
vs
Markos

184 cm
25
195 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

185 cm
25
185 lbs
4 - 4 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Big heart

Decent wrestler
Brawler
Knockout power

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, John Henderson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Matty Markos!
The judges for this bout are Alec Ball, Robert Douchet and Yves DeLean.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Markos fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Henderson to the ground. Markos is now in Henderson's guard.
Markos must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Markos trying to control but Henderson is working from the bottom.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Markos is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Henderson not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Markos trying to control but Henderson is working from the bottom.
Markos throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Henderson works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Markos throwing strikes but missing.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.

Henderson gets a takedown into half guard.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Markos can do anything to dispel that myth.
Henderson is thwarting Markos's attempts to control the position.
Henderson wants to control but Markos is keeping him busy.

Henderson seems to be working for a kimura but Markos defends the submission attempt.
Henderson works his way into side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Henderson working the ground and pound.
You can see the frustration on Markos's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Henderson scores with a couple of short elbows.
Henderson cracks Markos with an elbow. That is naaassty.
Henderson working the body and head with strikes.
Markos is trying to get back to half guard.
Henderson moves into full mount!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Markos tries to hold on but Henderson postures up.
Henderson with the ground and pound from mount.
Markos can't escape the position.
Henderson trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Markos is wriggling around trying to escape.
Markos keeps trying to improve his position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Henderson scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Markos?
Markos is looking to improve his position but Henderson isn't that keen on the idea.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Henderson tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John Henderson 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.

A punch combination from Henderson misses.
As Henderson backs off Markos throws a huge counter combo but Henderson manages to avoid it all.
Henderson looks to clinch

and Markos counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Markos is looking to take a break and control but Henderson is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Markos thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Markos throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Markos not landing any meaningful shots this time.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Markos throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Henderson is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Markos can do to turn this around?
Henderson blocking the ground and pound attempt from Markos.
Markos content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Henderson manages to get to full guard.
Markos with a flurry of punches that miss.

Henderson looking for a guillotine here but Markos defends easily.
Henderson throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.

Henderson had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Markos defends it easily.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Markos tries to free his leg and advance position but Henderson is retaining full guard.
Henderson keeping moving, preventing Markos from controlling successfully.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Markos looking to pass the guard.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

Markos drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Markos tries to get to his feet but he's trapped momentarily.
Markos tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
Markos in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Markos throws an elbow but Henderson slips to the side and avoids it well.
Markos misses with an attempted head punch from side control.
Markos tries to stand but Henderson controls the position and pulls Markos into his guard.
Markos trying to control the position from guard on top but Henderson is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Markos tries to stand but Henderson is controlling from the bottom.
Markos trying to control but Henderson is working from the bottom.

Henderson throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Markos working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Matty Markos will probably get the nod - 10:9.
That's time! Back to the action! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Markos throws a push kick but Henderson slaps the foot to one side.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Henderson is defended easily by Markos.
Markos throws a solid leg kick but Henderson takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Markos.
Henderson fails with the takedown

and Markos moves into the clinch.
Henderson trying to stall but Markos improves his position.
Henderson tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Markos smiles and moves away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for John Henderson. That's going to take a lot out of him.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Henderson with a poor takedown

and Markos counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Henderson!
Markos gets to mount! Henderson was on the offensive and wasn't defending properly.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Markos throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Markos tries to control but Henderson wriggling away.
Markos putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Markos throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Markos looking to ground and pound but Henderson is blocking nicely.
Markos misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.
Markos thowing shots but they're missing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Henderson is squirming around, avoiding Markos's attempts to control the action.
Markos with shots to the head and body - Henderson looks very uncomfortable down there.
Henderson is squirming around, avoiding Markos's attempts to control the action.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Markos is in full mount, looking to secure a guillotine but Henderson is surviving well by controlling Markos's body position as best he can.
Markos controlling his opponent.

Markos is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Henderson can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
Markos looking to control and managing it successfully.
Markos throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Markos looking to control but Henderson is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.

Markos is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Henderson can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
Henderson wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Markos.

And that's the end of the fight!
Matty Markos comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Markos has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 29:29
Judge Robert Douchet scores the fight 29:29
Judge Yves DeLean scores the fight 28:29

The fight is ruled a majority draw!