PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Kenny Kawaguchi (ranked 4174 p4p, 400 weight class) and Jesse Henley (ranked 4643 p4p, 432 weight class). Kawaguchi has a slight injury, which hopefully won't affect the fight too much. Kenny Kawaguchi looks tired to me. Hopefully he has got enough gas left in the tank to put in a good performance.

Kawaguchi
vs
Henley

170 cm
25
152 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

175 cm
25
152 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Big right hand

BJJ Brown Belt
Counter fighter
Very confident

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Kenny Kawaguchi!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Jesse Henley!
The judges for this bout are Aafke Stam, Daniel Blasius and Paulsen Ambrosius.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Henley misses with a series of wild punches.
Kawaguchi is breathing heavily.
Kawaguchi misses with a looping left.
Kawaguchi throws a right hand that misses
and Henley counters with a nice uppercut.
Henley uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Kawaguchi.
A slow jab from Henley misses its intended target.
Nice defenses there by Kawaguchi.
Henley loads up on a big right hand but Kawaguchi slips the punch.
A looping hook to the body misses from Henley. Kawaguchi does a little dance to reset his feet.
Henley swings for the body but Kawaguchi moves out of range.
Henley misses with a looping left.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kawaguchi misses with a body punch
and Henley counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Henley misses with a series of wild punches.
Henley throws a right hand that misses
and Kawaguchi counters with a straight right hand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A punch combination from Henley misses.
Henley throws a body shot but no joy.
Henley throws out a loose jab but Kawaguchi uses good head movement to avoid it.
We can't be sure of the tactics at this early stage but we have heard that Henley has been working on his takedowns a lot in the buildup to the fight and we can only assume he's going to look to take this to the mat.
Kawaguchi takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Kawaguchi doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Kawaguchi moves out of range as Henley strikes.
Kenny Kawaguchi seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Kawaguchi keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Kawaguchi keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Henley.
A shot to the liver by Kawaguchi. Beautiful body shot.
Henley throws a looping overhand right but Kawaguchi ducks down to avoid it.
Henley misses with a straight right.
A jab from Kawaguchi finds it's way through Henley's defenses.
Henley jabs Kawaguchi to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Kawaguchi blocks a jab.
It looked like Kawaguchi wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Henley throws a hook but Kawaguchi avoids it easily.
Henley misses with a double jab.
Henley throws a body punch but Kawaguchi moves out of range.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Kawaguchi misses with a right hand
and Henley counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
A shot to the liver by Henley. Beautiful body shot.
Henley throws a hook but Kawaguchi blocks it.
A telegraphed right hand from Henley misses the target.
Kawaguchi swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Kawaguchi rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Henley counters with a stiff right hand.
A looping hook to the body misses from Henley. Kawaguchi does a little dance to reset his feet.
Henley misses with a wild body shot.
Kawaguchi swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Henley looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Henley misses with a wild body shot.
Henley uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Kawaguchi has time to react.
Kawaguchi looks to be in better condition than last time we saw him fight. Obviously he's been working hard on his cardio.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kawaguchi throws a lazy right hand but Henley sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Henley lands a slapping body shot.
Kawaguchi doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Henley comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Henley throws a nice looking combination but Kawaguchi bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Kawaguchi avoids the body shot from Henley.
Henley missing with a left hand there. Kawaguchi was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Henley misses the jab.
Henley throws a body punch but Kawaguchi moves out of range.
Henley misses with an uppercut. Kawaguchi saw that one coming.
Kawaguchi slips a straight right by Henley.
Kawaguchi throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Kawaguchi avoids a punch combination nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kawaguchi takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Kawaguchi takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
A big right from Kawaguchi misses.
Henley throws a hook but Kawaguchi avoids it easily.
Henley thows a left - swing and a miss!
A little feinted left hand from Kawaguchi on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Henley tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Kawaguchi was well out of range. Poor timing from Henley.
Kawaguchi takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Henley looks to land a right hand but Kawaguchi moved out of range.
Henley misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Henley misses with a hook.
Henley digs a good hook to Kawaguchi's body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jesse Henley dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Kawaguchi moves away from the strike by Henley.
A counter left hand to the body from Kawaguchi misses its target.
A shot to the liver by Henley. Beautiful body shot.
Kawaguchi pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Kawaguchi moves out of range of the strikes.
Henley throws a big shot that misses.
Henley tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Kawaguchi was well out of range. Poor timing from Henley.
Jesse Henley seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Henley thows a left - swing and a miss!
Henley misses with a few strikes there.
Kawaguchi misses with a left hand
and Henley counters with a lovely straight right hand!
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kawaguchi slips a straight right by Henley.
Kawaguchi throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
A big right from Henley misses.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Kawaguchi throws a jab but it's blocked by Henley.
A big left from Henley misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Henley misses with a wild body shot.
Henley lands with a nice combination. Kawaguchi backs away looking to recover.
Henley tries to bum rush Kawaguchi with a series of wild strikes but Kawaguchi uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Henley misses with a straight left.
Kawaguchi swung with a counter punch to the body but it didn't connect.
Henley is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Kawaguchi.
Henley throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Kawaguchi avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
A telegraphed right hand from Henley misses the target.
A quick step to the side and Kawaguchi tries to counter with a shot to the body but it doesn't connect.
Henley loads up on a big right hand but Kawaguchi slips the punch.
Henley throws a looping overhand right but Kawaguchi ducks down to avoid it.
Henley fails to land with a series of punches.
Kawaguchi swings widly with a right hand
and Henley counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Henley just misses with a punch to the body.
Henley looks to score with a jab to the body but Kawaguchi is just out of range.
Kawaguchi uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Henley.
Henley rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Kawaguchi moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Kawaguchi swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Henley has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
A big right from Henley misses.
A big left from Henley misses.
A big right from Kawaguchi misses.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Henley throws a body shot but no joy.
The fighters circling - Henley throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Henley misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Kawaguchi.
Kawaguchi misses with a hook
and Henley counters with a two punch combo.
Kawaguchi throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Kawaguchi avoids the body shot from Henley.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A shot to the body from Kawaguchi misses
and Henley counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Henley lands a nice shot to the body.
Henley lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Henley throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Kawaguchi.
Kawaguchi is looking to counter punch.
Henley misses with a jab, cross combination.
A punch lands to the side of Kawaguchi 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Nice defenses there by Henley.
A little jabbing left from Henley on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Henley throws a hook but Kawaguchi blocks it.
Henley throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Henley misses with a straight right.
Nice defenses there by Kawaguchi.
Henley scores with a hook to the body. Kawaguchi takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Henley connects with a body shot.
Kawaguchi misses with a hook.
Kawaguchi staying out of range there.
Henley throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Kawaguchi staying out of range there.
Henley waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Kawaguchi.
A swing and a miss from Henley.
Henley lands a jab to the head.
Henley throws a lazy right hand but Kawaguchi sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Kawaguchi throwing a counter right hand but Henley manages to avoid it.
Kawaguchi uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Henley.
Kawaguchi was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Kawaguchi avoids the body shot from Henley.
Kawaguchi just misses with a punch to the body.
It seemed like Henley was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jesse Henley showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Henley throws a lazy right hand but Kawaguchi sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Henley slips a jab from Kawaguchi.
Henley misses with a few strikes there.
Kawaguchi slips under a jab from Henley.
Henley dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Henley looks to land a left hand but Kawaguchi moved out of range nicely.
A little feinted left hand from Kawaguchi on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Kawaguchi slips a jab from Henley.
Kawaguchi is looking to counter punch.
Henley throws a poor cross that misses
and Kawaguchi counters with a stiff right hand.
Kawaguchi swings widly with a right hand
and Henley counters with a lovely straight right hand!
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kawaguchi keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Henley.
Henley misses with a hook. Kawaguchi ducked under it nicely.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Kawaguchi throws a sloppy body shot
and Henley counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Henley throws a big shot that misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Henley lands with a shot to the body.
Henley throws a hook to the side of Kawaguchi's head but Kawaguchi sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Henley fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Kawaguchi moves out of range as Henley strikes.
Henley throws a one two combo.
Henley misses with a series of wild punches.
Henley fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Kawaguchi slips a jab from Henley.
Henley misses with a straight right.
Henley throws a one two combo.
Kenny Kawaguchi has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A big left from Kawaguchi misses.
Henley appears to be waiting to throw a counter punch to the body.
Henley is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Kawaguchi.
It looked like Kawaguchi wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Henley lands a slapping body shot.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Henley misses the shot to the body.
Henley throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Henley throws a right and a left that Kawaguchi avoids nicely.
Henley swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Kawaguchi misses with a left hand
and Henley counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Henley connects with a single shot there.
Henley misses with a series of wild punches.
A little feinted left hand from Kawaguchi on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Kawaguchi tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Henley was well out of range. Poor timing from Kawaguchi.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Henley throws a body punch but Kawaguchi moves out of range.
Henley lands with a hook. Kawaguchi tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Henley scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Henley looks to throw the jab but Kawaguchi is out of range.
Henley throws the left hand but Kawaguchi avoids the punch easily.
Henley jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Kawaguchi throws out a loose jab but Henley uses good head movement to avoid it.
A looping hook to the body misses from Henley. Kawaguchi does a little dance to reset his feet.
Kawaguchi misses with a left hand
letting Henley counter with a right hand.
Kawaguchi takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Henley throws a looping overhand right but Kawaguchi ducks down to avoid it.
Kawaguchi is looking to counter punch.
Henley misses with a looping right.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Henley fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Kawaguchi manages to avoid it.
Henley comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Kawaguchi defending well as Henley loads up on a big left hand.
Kawaguchi waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Henley.
Henley throws a hook but Kawaguchi avoids it easily.
Henley connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
The fighters circling - Henley throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Kawaguchi misses the shot to the body.
Henley jabs. That one connects to the head of his opponent.
Kawaguchi ducks under a wild hook from Henley.
Kawaguchi looks to land a right hand but Henley moved out of range.

And that's the end of the fight!
Jesse Henley comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Henley 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 Aafke Stam scores the fight 26:30
Judge Daniel Blasius scores the fight 26:30
Judge Paulsen Ambrosius scores the fight 26:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Jesse Henley!