PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Outlaw Hardy (ranked 1173 p4p, 134 weight class) and Henson Benderson (ranked 1363 p4p, 153 weight class). Benderson has chosen The Time is Now as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Hardy
vs
Benderson

180 cm
36
156 lbs
25 - 11 - 1

168 cm
36
145 lbs
24 - 19 - 0

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Heavy handed

Arcticus University: London

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 25 - 11 - 1, fighting out of Amsterdam, Outlaw Hardy!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 24 - 19 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Henson Benderson!
The judges for this bout are Frank Antenori, Timothy Bukovac and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hardy throws a predictable looking body shot
and Benderson counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Benderson uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Hardy.

Benderson has taken the fight to the clinch.
Benderson misses with some punches.
Hardy misses with the head strike.
Hardy wants to get back to striking at distance but Benderson won't allow it.
Benderson tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Hardy throws a head punch that misses.
Hardy managing to block the knees to the body from Benderson.
Benderson's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Benderson looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Hardy blocks an elbow strike.
Hardy has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.
Hardy working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Hardy misses with a short punch on the inside.
Hardy is trying to push Benderson away but Benderson has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hardy's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Hardy misses with a short punch on the inside.
Benderson has been looking to improve his clinch game in recent weeks. Hardy seems to have the measure of him in the clinch so far, so let's see if Benderson can turn it around.
Hardy doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Benderson lands a knee to the body.
Hardy blocks a body shot from Benderson.
Benderson lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Hardy backwards.
Benderson is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Hardy tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Benderson stalls.

Hardy breaks the clinch.
Hardy tries to land a leg kick but Benderson saw it coming and moves away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Benderson throws a big shot that misses.
Benderson tries to clinch there but Hardy circles away.
Benderson bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Hardy's head backwards.
Benderson swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Benderson closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Hardy misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Benderson counters with a straight right hand.
Hardy misses with a looping left.
Hardy swings for the body but Benderson moves out of range.
Hardy throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Hardy lands with an uppercut that bounces Benderson off the cage and back into range.
Hardy avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
A big right from Benderson misses.
Hardy missing with a left hand there. Benderson was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hardy misses with a low kick.
Benderson throws out a counter right but Hardy avoids it with no problem.
Hardy swings away with a body shot that misses
enabling Benderson to counter with a crisp jab.
Benderson throws an overhand right that lands on Hardy's shoulder, as Hardy tries to avoid the shot.
Benderson takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Benderson tries to clinch but Hardy moves out of range.
A lazy left from Benderson finds it's target.
Hardy swings widly with a right hand
and Benderson counters with a stiff right hand.
Benderson doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Benderson staying out of range there.
Hardy scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Benderson doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Hardy fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Benderson is out of range.
Benderson looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Hardy just misses with a punch to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hardy ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Nice body punch from Hardy.
A shot to the liver by Hardy. Beautiful body shot.
Outlaw Hardy seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Benderson uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Hardy.
Hardy misses with a body shot
and Benderson counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Benderson takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Benderson looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Benderson is looking to clinch.
Benderson might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
Hardy misses with a low kick.
Hardy blocks a jab.
Benderson shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Benderson is looking to clinch but Hardy is avoiding it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Outlaw Hardy 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.

Good leg kick by Hardy there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Benderson scores with a jab. Hardy acknowledges it with a nod of the head.

Benderson moves into the clinch.
Hardy gets through Benderson's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Benderson lands with a left to the head.
Benderson lands a shoulder strike.
Benderson lands with a light punch inside.
Benderson can't find room to land a body shot as Hardy controls the action.

Hardy escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Hardy throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Hardy swings for the body but Benderson moves out of range.
Hardy misses with a body punch
and Benderson counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Benderson doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Hardy fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Benderson has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Benderson uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Hardy.
It seemed like Benderson was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Outlaw Hardy is winning the standup battle so far.
Hardy fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Benderson manages to avoid it.
Hardy connects with a solid leg kick.
Hardy throws a predictable looking body shot
and Benderson connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Benderson missing with a left hand there. Hardy was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Benderson throws a sloppy body shot
and Hardy counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Hardy is looking to wear down Benderson with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Hardy moves into range and connects with a jab.
Benderson throws the left hand but Hardy avoids the punch easily.
Hardy keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Benderson takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Hardy swings and misses with a shot to the body
enabling Benderson to counter with a crisp jab.
Benderson waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Hardy.
Hardy swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hardy misses with an uppercut.
Hardy punishes Benderson's body with a nice straight punch.
Hardy keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Benderson.
As Benderson backs away, Hardy returns fire with a leg kick that just misses.
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!
Hardy misses the shot to the body.
Hardy fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Benderson is out of range.
Despite the aggression on Benderson's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Hardy, right into the meat.
A looping hook to the body misses from Hardy. Benderson does a little dance to reset his feet.
Benderson misses with a hook. Hardy ducked under it nicely.
Benderson throws a nice looking combination but Hardy bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
A shot to the liver by Benderson. Beautiful body shot.
Hardy steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Benderson.
Hardy pivots, looking for a leg kick but Benderson is out of range and Hardy settles back down.
Benderson missing with a left hand there. Hardy was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hardy circles away from the clinch attempt.
Hardy is looking to score with low kicks.
Hardy fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Hardy throws a body shot but no joy.
Hardy misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Benderson counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Benderson looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Hardy smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Benderson gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Hardy.
Benderson throws a hook but Hardy blocks it.

Benderson closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.

Hardy's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Benderson wants to clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Benderson throws a looping overhand right but Hardy ducks down to avoid it.
Benderson misses with a jab, cross combination.
Hardy throws a big counter combination but Benderson scrambles out of danger and avoids any damage.
Hardy lands a jab.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Hardy is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
A nice inside leg kick there by Hardy. That's going to slow Benderson down.
Benderson tries to clinch but Hardy is having none of it.
Hardy moves out of range of the strikes.
It looked like Hardy wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Benderson on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Benderson tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Hardy manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
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 Outlaw Hardy will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

A jab from Benderson misses.
Hardy moves away from the strike by Benderson.
Hardy looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Benderson looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Hardy throws a one two combo.
Hardy pivots, looking for a leg kick but Benderson is out of range and Hardy settles back down.
Hardy goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Benderson swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
Hardy misses with a kick to the body
and Benderson counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Hardy lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Hardy throws a body punch but Benderson moves out of range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Benderson misses with a two punch combination.
Hardy showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Benderson.
Hardy looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A big left from Benderson misses.
Benderson throws a shot from downtown. Hardy moves away and avoids it.
Hardy displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Benderson throws out the jab.
Benderson misses with a wild combination.
A counter left hand to the body from Hardy misses its target.
Benderson misses with an uppercut
and Hardy counters with an inside leg kick.
Hardy fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Benderson has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Benderson tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Hardy paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Hardy swung with a counter punch to the body but it didn't connect.
Hardy getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Hardy throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Nice cross by Hardy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Benderson defending well as Hardy loads up on a big left hand.
Benderson looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Hardy throws out a loose jab but Benderson uses good head movement to avoid it.
Benderson throws out a counter right but Hardy avoids it with no problem.
No joy there for Benderson, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Benderson's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Benderson wants to clinch up but Hardy keeps it at a distance.
Hardy lands a slapping body shot.
Hardy misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Benderson.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Benderson! But no joy.
Hardy pivots, looking for a leg kick but Benderson is out of range and Hardy settles back down.
A little jabbing left from Benderson on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Hardy fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Sloppy strikes from Benderson. Those never looked like landing.
Benderson uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Hardy.
Benderson throws a shot from downtown. Hardy moves away and avoids it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The fight stays on the outside here - Benderson looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Benderson displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Hardy throws out the jab.
A little jabbing left from Benderson on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Hardy scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Hardy avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Hardy misses with a shot to the body
and Benderson counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Hardy is looking to chop away at Benderson's legs.
A jab from Benderson misses.
Hardy scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Benderson doesn't seem bothered though.
Benderson keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Hardy.
Benderson throws a combination that misses
and Hardy counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Hardy swings widly with a right hand
enabling Benderson to counter with a crisp jab.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Benderson fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Hardy, pushing him back against the cage.
Hardy lands a nice uppercut.
Hardy softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Hardy breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Benderson stuns Hardy with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Hardy fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Benderson manages to avoid it.
Henson Benderson has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
A low kick from Benderson misses
and Hardy counters with a nice low kick that buckles Benderson's knee momentarily.
Hardy delivers a nice body kick.
A big left from Benderson misses.
Hardy misses with a low kick as Benderson jumps back.
It seemed like Benderson was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Hardy keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Benderson.
Outlaw Hardy is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Hardy stuns Benderson with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.

And that's the end of the fight!
Outlaw Hardy showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Hardy, 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 Frank Antenori scores the fight 30:27
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 30:27
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Outlaw Hardy!
Outlaw Hardy 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.
The defeated Henson Benderson had this to say: 'Damn...'.