PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Rob Hammond (ranked 3793 p4p, 422 weight class) and Mark Henderson (ranked 2776 p4p, 324 weight class). Henderson is bouncing up and down as he enters the arena, backed by 2Pac - Ambitionz Az A Ridah. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Hammond
vs
Henderson

190 cm
25
190 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

185 cm
25
199 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
KO power

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

ZZ POPS

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 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Rob Hammond!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Mark Henderson!
The judges for this bout are David Hoff, Peter Branson and Daniel Franklin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hammond throws a shot to the body.
Henderson has been working on his striking defense in training and it's paying off as Hammond is landing a low percentage of strikes.
Hammond throws out a powerful jab.
A big right from Hammond misses.
A little jabbing left from Henderson on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Henderson ducks under a wild hook from Hammond.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Henderson! But no joy.
Hammond avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Henderson walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Hammond thows a left - swing and a miss!
Henderson moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Henderson looks to land a right hand but Hammond moved out of range.
Hammond works over Henderson's head and body with a nice combination.
Henderson throws a shot from downtown. Hammond moves away and avoids it.
Hammond fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Henderson looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Henderson misses with an uppercut.
Hammond was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Henderson swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Hammond was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Rob Hammond seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Hammond cracks Henderson with a good jab.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A looping hook to the body misses from Hammond. Henderson does a little dance to reset his feet.
The fighters circling - Hammond throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Hammond misses the jab.
Henderson looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Henderson uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Hammond.
Henderson throws a right hand that misses
and Hammond counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Henderson lands a lovely overhand right.
Nice shot lands for Hammond.
Hammond fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Henderson manages to avoid it.
Hammond avoids the body shot from Henderson.
A shot to the liver by Henderson. Beautiful body shot.
Henderson looks to throw the jab but Hammond is out of range.
Hammond swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Hammond throws a hook but Henderson blocks it.
Hammond rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Henderson counters with a lovely straight right hand!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Henderson jabs Hammond to the body, keeping him at a distance.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Hammond connects with a crisp jab.
Hammond with a jab.
Nice defenses there by Henderson.
Henderson defending well as Hammond loads up on a big left hand.
Henderson fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Hammond scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Hammond throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Henderson.
Henderson moves out of range as Hammond strikes.
Hammond takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
A telegraphed right hand from Henderson misses the target.
Hammond misses with a looping left.
Hammond keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Henderson.
A quick step to the side and Hammond tries to counter with a shot to the body but it doesn't connect.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A swing and a miss from Hammond.
Hammond throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Hammond dips to his left and cracks Henderson with an uppercut!
Henderson jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Jab from Hammond.
Hammond throws a lazy right hand but Henderson sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Hammond keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Hammond misses with an uppercut.
A little jabbing left from Henderson on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Henderson defending well as Hammond loads up on a big left hand.
Hammond misses with a combination
and Henderson counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Henderson misses with a wild body shot.
A little feinted left hand from Hammond on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Henderson ducks under a wild hook from Hammond.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Henderson moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Henderson throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Hammond lands with a straight right. Henderson didn't see that one coming.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Henderson bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Henderson let fly with a counter punch to the body but it didn't land.
Henderson misses the jab.
Hammond lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Hammond lands with an overhand left.
A swing and a miss from Henderson.
A slow jab from Hammond misses its intended target.
Hammond is really peppering his opponent's head with punches.
Hammond throws a big shot that misses.
Henderson jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Henderson throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Hammond stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Hammond is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
Hammond misses with a right hand
and Henderson counters with a stiff right hand.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rob Hammond 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.

Hammond comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Henderson misses with an uppercut. Hammond saw that one coming.
Hammond looks to land a left hand but Henderson moved out of range nicely.
Henderson fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Hammond manages to avoid it.
A big left from Hammond misses.
Hammond throws a jab but it's blocked by Henderson.
Henderson waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Hammond.
Henderson lands a nice shot to the body.
Henderson throws a sloppy body shot
and Hammond counters with a stiff right hand.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Henderson slips under a jab from Hammond.
Henderson slips a straight right by Hammond.
Henderson misses with a looping left.
Henderson swings for the body but Hammond moves out of range.
Henderson walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Henderson takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Henderson misses with a hook.
Hammond misses with a straight left.
Hammond looks to throw the jab but Henderson is out of range.
Henderson is clearly trying to counter these attacks from Hammond with a body shot.
Henderson throws out a loose jab but Hammond uses good head movement to avoid it.
Hammond throwing a counter right hand but Henderson manages to avoid it.
A big right from Henderson misses.
Hammond connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Hammond scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Henderson throws a shot from downtown. Hammond moves away and avoids it.
Hammond throws a big shot that misses.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Hammond, as that shot connected.
Henderson misses with a wild body shot.
Hammond misses with a left hand
and Henderson counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Hammond thinking.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hammond ducks under a wild hook from Henderson.
A slow jab from Hammond misses its intended target.
Hammond missing with a left hand there. Henderson was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Henderson throws out a counter right but Hammond avoids it with no problem.
Henderson misses the shot to the body.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Hammond misses with a looping right.
Henderson slips under a jab from Hammond.
Henderson bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Hammond's head.
Hammond keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Henderson.
Hammond throws a hook to the side of Henderson's head but Henderson sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Henderson looks to land a left hand but Hammond moved out of range nicely.
Rob Hammond is winning the standup battle so far.
Henderson uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Hammond.
It seemed like Henderson was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Henderson keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Hammond.
Hammond lunges at Henderson with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Henderson's hand.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hammond takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Henderson misses with a hook. Hammond ducked under it nicely.
It looked like Hammond was looking amped, ready to throw a big counter but didn't commit.
Henderson lands with a right hand.
Henderson waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Hammond.
Henderson cracks Hammond with a right hand to the side of the head.
Henderson staying out of range there.
Henderson connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Henderson slips a straight right by Hammond.
A big right from Hammond misses.
Hammond misses with a straight right.
Henderson throws out a loose jab but Hammond uses good head movement to avoid it.
A jab from Henderson misses.
Henderson steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Hammond.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Henderson fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Hammond lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Hammond swings widly with a right hand
letting Henderson counter with a right hand.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Hammond avoids the body shot from Henderson.
Hammond swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Henderson ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Henderson scores with a nice right hand.
Henderson throws a jab when Hammond was well out of range.
Hammond moves away from the strike by Henderson.
Hammond throws the left hand but Henderson avoids the punch easily.
Hammond misses with a looping right.
Henderson gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Hammond is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Henderson can do to turn this around?
Henderson doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Hammond throws a combination that misses
and Henderson counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Rob Hammond will probably get the nod.
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. This is the final round!

Hammond takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Henderson keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Hammond.
Henderson ducks under a wild hook from Hammond.
Henderson looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Hammond throws a jab when Henderson was well out of range.
Hammond throws a looping overhand right but Henderson ducks down to avoid it.
Henderson rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Hammond counters with a straight right hand.
Henderson throws a shot from downtown. Hammond moves away and avoids it.
Hammond throws the left hand but Henderson avoids the punch easily.
Henderson misses with a hook.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Henderson avoids the body shot from Hammond.
Henderson looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Hammond ducks under a wild hook from Henderson.
Hammond thows a left - swing and a miss!
Henderson is clearly trying to counter these attacks from Hammond with a body shot.
Henderson connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Henderson comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
A jab lands there for Henderson.
Hammond throws a hook but Henderson avoids it easily.
Henderson throws a counter combo.
Hammond pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Henderson works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Nice defenses there by Henderson.
Hammond misses the body punch
and Henderson connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Hammond misses with a body punch
and Henderson cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Hammond misses the shot to the body.
Henderson rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Hammond counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
A jab lands there for Henderson.
A left and a right from Henderson both land. Nice combination.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Hammond throws a looping overhand right but Henderson ducks down to avoid it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Henderson misses with an uppercut. Hammond saw that one coming.
Henderson misses the jab.
Hammond is looking to counter with a shot to the body.
Hammond avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
An attempted straight right counter from Hammond misses the target.
Hammond uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Henderson.
Hammond rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Henderson moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Hammond throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Henderson counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Hammond throws a right hand that misses
and Henderson counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Henderson throws a hook but Hammond avoids it easily.
Hammond misses with a looping right.
The fighters circling - Henderson throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Henderson misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Hammond.
Henderson works the jab nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hammond throws a hook to the side of Henderson's head but Henderson sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Hammond throws an off balance right hand
and Henderson counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Hammond scores with a nice head shot.
Hammond scores with a shot to the body.
Hammond keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Henderson.
Henderson misses with a looping left.
Henderson steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Hammond.
Hammond throws a hook to the side of Henderson's head but Henderson sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Henderson throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
A left lands for Henderson.
Henderson misses with a straight left.
Hammond looks to score with a jab to the body but Henderson is just out of range.
A left lands for Henderson.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Jab, jab by Hammond - just one landing.
Hammond throws a looping overhand right but Henderson ducks down to avoid it.
Henderson slips a straight right by Hammond.
Henderson has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Hammond takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
A looping hook to the body misses from Henderson. Hammond does a little dance to reset his feet.
Hammond jabbing away but nothing is landing.
As Hammond backs off Henderson throws a huge counter combo but Hammond manages to avoid it all.
Hammond uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Henderson.
Mark Henderson has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Hammond takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Hammond stuns Henderson with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Henderson swings and misses with a hook to the body.
A big left from Henderson misses.
Rob Hammond is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Hammond cracks Henderson with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.

And that's the end of the fight!
Mark Henderson comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Hammond has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 David Hoff scores the fight 29:28
Judge Peter Branson scores the fight 29:28
Judge Daniel Franklin scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rob Hammond!
Our winner, Rob Hammond, made sure he spent some time buttering up the crowd during his post fight interview, which will no doubt bring him a few more fans.