PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Mehdi Kanaani (ranked 2793 p4p, 3153 weight class) and Ryan Henderson (ranked 66 p4p, 83 weight class). Kanaani comes to the cage accompanied by Dr. Dre ft. Snoop Dogg - Nuthin' But A G Thang. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Kanaani
vs
Henderson

170 cm
27
170
14 - 10 - 0

170 cm
28
165
11 - 11 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

Brooklyn Apothecary
Brooklyn Threads

Voodoo Nutrition

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 14 - 10 - 0, fighting out of New York, Mehdi Kanaani!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 11 - 0, fighting out of New York, Ryan Henderson !
The judges for this bout are Johanna Lukiainen, Tarja Halkonen and Matti Vanhoillinen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kanaani walks into a stiff left hand from Henderson .
Henderson throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Kanaani counters with a straight right hand.

Kanaani throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Henderson tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Kanaani is in Henderson 's guard.

Henderson looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Kanaani lands a couple of digs.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Kanaani is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Henderson tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Henderson is trying to control the position but Kanaani postures up.
Kanaani distracts Henderson with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Kanaani postures up in Henderson 's guard and throws a big left but Henderson blocks it.
Kanaani loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Kanaani throwing strikes from guard but Henderson blocks nicely.
Henderson looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Henderson keeping moving, preventing Kanaani from controlling successfully.
Kanaani is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kanaani stopping the sweep attempt from Henderson .
Kanaani scoring with punches to the head and body.
Kanaani keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Henderson 's head.
Kanaani keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Henderson 's head.
Henderson is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Kanaani wants to control from the top but Henderson keeps moving.
Henderson wants to sweep but no luck.
Henderson throwing strikes off his back to little effect.
Kanaani working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kanaani postures up.
Kanaani has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Kanaani trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Henderson working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Kanaani.
Henderson avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Kanaani postures up in Henderson 's guard and throws a big left but Henderson blocks it.
Kanaani is working Henderson over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Kanaani working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Kanaani scoring with punches to the head and body.
Henderson avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Kanaani missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Kanaani trying to control the position from guard on top but Henderson is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Henderson working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Kanaani doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Kanaani manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Kanaani scoring with some ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Henderson working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Kanaani.
Henderson not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Kanaani trying to control but Henderson is working from the bottom.
Henderson looking for a sweep. Not yet Henderson , not yet.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Kanaani accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Kanaani trying to control the position from guard on top but Henderson is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Henderson wants to sweep but no luck.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Henderson wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Henderson throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Kanaani is looking to counter the offense by Henderson and move into the clinch.
Henderson throws a lazy right hand but Kanaani sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Kanaani looks to land a combination but Henderson avoids it well.

Kanaani rushes Henderson and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Henderson has had enough of the clinch but Kanaani keeps him there for the moment.

Henderson manages to break the clinch.
Henderson leaves Kanaani with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Henderson cracks Kanaani with a good jab.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Henderson rushes Kanaani and presses him up against the cage.
Henderson wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Kanaani is trying to stall.
Kanaani blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Mehdi Kanaani dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

A swing and a miss from Henderson .
Kanaani shoots in for a takedown but Henderson shows good takedown defense.
Henderson is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
Henderson lands the left hand.
Henderson takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Kanaani walks into a jab.

Kanaani forces Henderson back against the cage and clinches.
A frustrated look appears on Henderson 's face as he tries to break the clinch.
I was talking to Kanaani's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.
Henderson wants to break free but Kanaani has control.
Henderson wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Kanaani has him pressed against the cage.
Henderson wants to break the clinch but can't.
Kanaani lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Henderson is trying to break the clinch but Kanaani has him pressed against the cage.
Kanaani digs a right hand into Henderson 's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Henderson 's gas tank.
Henderson tries to break free but Kanaani pushes him back against the cage.
Henderson prevents a body shot from Kanaani.
Henderson is looking to break free of the clinch but Kanaani has double underhooks.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Henderson breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Kanaani throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Henderson on the side of the head.
Kanaani throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
The fighters circling - Henderson throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Henderson throws out a loose jab but Kanaani uses good head movement to avoid it.
Kanaani fails with a takedown attempt.
Kanaani closes this distance looking for a takedown but Henderson circles away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mehdi Kanaani. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Kanaani shoots in for a takedown but Henderson shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Kanaani throws a hook but Henderson avoids it easily.
Kanaani throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.

Kanaani clinches up with Henderson and pushes him back against the cage.

Henderson pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

Kanaani gets a clinch.
Henderson is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.

Henderson manages to break the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Henderson thuds a left hand into Kanaani's body.
No joy there for Kanaani, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Kanaani will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Kanaani doesn't succeed with the takedown
letting Henderson counter with a right hand.

Henderson rushes Kanaani and presses him up against the cage.

Henderson pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Henderson connects with a single shot there.
Kanaani shoots in and drives through. Henderson sprawls well.
Henderson looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Ryan Henderson seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Henderson dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Kanaani goes for a double leg but Henderson avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Henderson continues to drive forward.
Henderson blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Kanaani keeps control of Henderson as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.

Henderson escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Henderson tries to keep at a distance but Kanaani has taken the fight into the clinch.
Henderson has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kanaani has Henderson pressed against the cage, preventing Henderson from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Henderson is trying to push Kanaani away but Kanaani has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Henderson is trying to break the clinch but Kanaani is controlling him.
Henderson is looking to break free of the clinch but Kanaani has double underhooks.
Henderson can't break the clinch.
Kanaani is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Henderson is keeping busy.
Kanaani can't get the takedown.
Henderson is trying to force a seperation but Kanaani has the dominant position.
Henderson is trying to break free.
Kanaani tries a body shot but Henderson blocks it.
Kanaani prevents Henderson from breaking the clinch.
Henderson looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Henderson is trying to break the clinch but Kanaani has him pressed against the cage.

Kanaani breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
A lazy left from Kanaani finds it's target.
Kanaani takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
Henderson misses with a looping right.
Henderson blocks a head kick by Kanaani.
Ryan Henderson seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Henderson misses with a straight left.
Henderson getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Kanaani shoots in looking for a takedown. Henderson tries to sprawl out of it but Kanaani keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Henderson manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Henderson tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Henderson closes this distance looking for a takedown but Kanaani circles away.

Henderson darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Henderson prevents Kanaani from improving his position.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Ryan Henderson showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Kanaani drives through and clinches with Henderson against the cage.
Kanaani can't find room to land a body shot as Henderson controls the action.

Henderson 's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Kanaani tries to move into range but Henderson moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.

Henderson takes the fight into the clinch.

Kanaani breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Henderson digs a good body shot into Kanaani's ribs.
Henderson avoids the head kick by Kanaani.
Henderson misses with a looping right.
Mehdi Kanaani is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Kanaani drives through and clinches with Henderson against the cage.
Henderson misses with a body punch.

Henderson manages to break the clinch.

Henderson gets tackled into the cage by Kanaani. Kanaani maintains the clinch.
Henderson struggles to land a body shot inside as Kanaani controls his hands.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Henderson wants to break free but Kanaani has control.
Kanaani cracks Henderson with a nice body shot.

Henderson 's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Henderson digs a good body shot into Kanaani's ribs.

Kanaani takes the fight into the clinch.
Henderson tries to break the clinch but Kanaani is controlling the position.
Kanaani prevents Henderson from breaking the clinch.
Kanaani misses with a body punch.
A bit of stalling here from Kanaani.
Henderson prevents a body shot from Kanaani.
Henderson has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.

Henderson 's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
A big right from Kanaani misses.
Henderson thuds his right hand into Kanaani's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Kanaani feints and as Henderson raises his hands in defense, Kanaani changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Mehdi Kanaani overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Kanaani missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Henderson trying to control the position.
Kanaani with a nice head shot there.
Kanaani throws a big elbow that misses.
Kanaani wants to control from the top but Henderson keeps moving.
Henderson wants to stand up but Kanaani is controlling him.
Kanaani missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
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 has momentary wrist control but Kanaani slips an elbow through the middle.
Kanaani lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Henderson working a defensive guard here.
Henderson utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Kanaani missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

Henderson is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Kanaani is aware though and is defending well.
Kanaani content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Kanaani postures up in Henderson 's guard and throws a big left but Henderson blocks it.
Kanaani trying to control but Henderson is working from the bottom.
Kanaani scoring with some ground and pound.
Henderson is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Kanaani is controlling him.
Kanaani working some strikes from top position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kanaani postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Kanaani working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Kanaani looking to sit in guard and control but Henderson gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Kanaani pulls Henderson in close to prevent any damage.
Henderson sitting in guard here, content to control.
Henderson 's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

And that's the end of the fight!
Mehdi Kanaani showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Kanaani has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Johanna Lukiainen scores the fight 29:28
Judge Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 29:28
Judge Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Mehdi Kanaani!
After winning the bout, Mehdi Kanaani thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.