PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Bennett Kent (ranked 24548 p4p, 0 weight class) and Giannis Karatzas (ranked 5593 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Kent
vs
Karatzas

176 cm
18
214 lbs
1 - 6 - 0

199 cm
18
200 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Experienced

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 6 - 0, fighting out of London, Bennett Kent!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Giannis Karatzas !
The judges for this bout are James Glass, Sam Margolis and Donald Grub.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kent goes for a double leg but Karatzas avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Karatzas continues to drive forward.

Karatzas dives in and scores a takedown into Kent's guard.
Karatzas is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Kent controlling the position.
Kent being controlled here, momentarily.
Kent has a closed guard, preventing Karatzas from standing up.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Karatzas looking to sit in guard and control but Kent gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Karatzas is trying to keep Kent in close.
Karatzas looking for a sweep. Not yet Karatzas , not yet.
Kent working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Karatzas 's head.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Kent chips away with some ground and pound.
Karatzas really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Kent. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Kent is looking to work some ground and pound but Karatzas has wrist control.
Kent could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Karatzas looking to control but Kent passes into half guard.
Karatzas has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Kent is working away from the top position though.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Kent winds up and cracks Karatzas with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Kent passes into side control, despite Karatzas 's attempt to control the position.
Kent 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.
Karatzas tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Karatzas looks winded!
Karatzas takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.

Kent is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Karatzas is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Kent scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Karatzas to see if he's OK.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Kent tries for a kimura but Karatzas is defending well.
Kent looks up at the clock and then as Karatzas takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Kent smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!
Karatzas tries to improve position but can't.
Kent is pausing for a moment. What's he doing? It looks like he's clearing his nose. Oh dude! He's shot a load of snot all down Karatzas 's shoulder. That is not cool.
Karatzas taking a bit of punishment here - Kent scoring with strikes.
You can see the frustration on Karatzas 's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Check out the look on Kent's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
Karatzas takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
A lull in the action here as Kent stalls from top position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kent lands an elbow.

Kent is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Karatzas knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Kent scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Karatzas to see if he's OK.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Karatzas takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
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!
Kent controlling from side mount.
Kent works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bennett Kent dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Kent shoots in for a takedown but Karatzas shows good takedown defense.

Karatzas decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Kent manages to get to full guard.
Karatzas trying to control but Kent is working from the bottom.
Karatzas has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Kent is proving hard to escape from.
Karatzas must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kent looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Kent is on top in guard.

Karatzas is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Karatzas is breathing heavily.

Kent drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Kent jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Kent is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Karatzas can do to turn this around?
Kent chips away with some ground and pound.
Kent is in close to Karatzas 's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Kent with a nice head shot there.
Kent is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

Kent stands up and waves to Karatzas to follow him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Karatzas drives through with a takedown into Kent's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.

Kent pushes Karatzas off and scrambles back to his feet.
Giannis Karatzas seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Kent shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Karatzas defends it nicely.
Kent closes this distance looking for a takedown but Karatzas circles away.
Karatzas unleashes a big counter combination but Kent bobs and weaves and avoids any damage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Bennett Kent. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Kent darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.

Kent is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Karatzas defends it well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kent landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Bennett Kent overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Kent controlling the pace.
Karatzas is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Kent lands a nice short elbow.
Kent is controlling the pace.
Kent lands with a punch from half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Kent takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Kent working the head and body with strikes.
Kent sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Kent seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Karatzas for as long as he can get away with.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Kent drops an elbow to the side of Karatzas 's head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bennett Kent dominated that second 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. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Kent throws a shot from downtown. Karatzas moves away and avoids it.

Karatzas decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Kent is looking to escape.
Kent keeping control of the leg, stopping his opponent passing to mount.
Kent is looking to improve his position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kent keeping hold of Karatzas 's head, controlling as best he can.
Kent is looking to improve his position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Karatzas stalling away here and it's allowed Kent to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.
Karatzas looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Karatzas trying to control but Kent is working from the bottom.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Karatzas takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Kent closes the distance and clinches up with Karatzas , looking for a takedown. Kent pushes Karatzas against the cage but Karatzas circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Karatzas fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Karatzas throws a body kick that misses

and Kent counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.

Kent stands up from guard. Let's bang!
Kent is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Karatzas .

Karatzas feints and as Kent raises his hands in defense, Karatzas changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Kent is adopting a defensive guard.
Kent lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kent lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Kent controlling from the top position.
Kent stands up over Karatzas , holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Kent controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Kent cracks Karatzas with a solid left hand.

That's four 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.
Kent is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.

Kent gets to his feet - Karatzas follows without any prompting.
Karatzas uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Kent.

Kent looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Kent content to control rather than advance.
Karatzas looks like he's trying to stand up.
Giannis Karatzas has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Bennett Kent is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Karatzas with the active half guard here but Kent passes nicely into side control.

And that's the end of the fight!
Bennett Kent showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Kent, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 James Glass scores the fight 30:27
Judge Sam Margolis scores the fight 30:27
Judge Donald Grub scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Bennett Kent!