PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Hakuna Matata (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jacob Connor Kenway (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Kenway has chosen Warriors as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Jacob Connor Kenway has the eye of the tiger tonight.

Matata
vs
Connor Kenway

188 cm
28
195 lbs
5 - 7 - 0

184 cm
26
195 lbs
5 - 1 - 1

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Experienced

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Granite chin

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 5 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Hakuna Matata!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 1 - 1, fighting out of Sydney, Jacob Connor Kenway !
The judges for this bout are Damien Edna, Winston Howard and John Mangel.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kenway misses with a low kick.
Matata misses with a series of wild punches.
Matata fails in his attempt to clinch.
Matata swinging wildly here.
Kenway lands a nice hook to Matata's body. Matata takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Matata blocks a head kick by Kenway .

Matata fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Kenway , pushing him back against the cage.

Matata breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Kenway showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Matata.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Matata throws out a loose jab but Kenway uses good head movement to avoid it.
Kenway scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Sloppy strikes from Kenway . Those never looked like landing.

Kenway dives in and scores a takedown into Matata's guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Matata wants to get back to his feet but Kenway is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kenway seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Matata avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Kenway postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Kenway connects with a couple of short punches.
Kenway wants to control from the top but Matata keeps moving.
Kenway in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Matata utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Kenway throwing strikes from guard but Matata blocks nicely.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Kenway cracks Matata with a solid left hand.
Kenway makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.

Matata manages to escape and get back to his feet.
Hakuna Matata seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Matata slaps away a takedown attempt from Kenway , before circling back to the center of the mat.
A left and a right from Matata both land. Nice combination.
A combination from Kenway does no damage.
Hakuna Matata is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Kenway fails to land with a series of punches.
Kenway lands a two punch combo.
Kenway misses with a series of wild punches.
A big left from Matata misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Matata throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Despite the aggression on Kenway 's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.

Kenway changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Matata looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Matata wants to get back to his feet but Kenway is dominant here and he's now got Matata's back!
Matata has his hands over his head blocking the strikes from Kenway .
Oooh a big shot gets through from Kenway . Many more shots like that and the referee will have to think about stepping in!

Matata fending off the submission attempt from Kenway .
Kenway is controlling his opponent, waiting for an opportunity to finish.

Kenway working for the rear naked choke here. He's got one arm under but Matata is defending well. A couple of punches soften him up though and Kenway has tightened the hold! This one could be all over! It is! Matata taps out!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:56 of round 1, we have a winner by way of Submission (RNC). Jacob Connor Kenway !
Jacob Connor Kenway decided to go for the less than humble approach in his post fight interview, telling everyone how he is going to conquer the world. The crowd seemed to like it when really that sort of approach could have gone either way.