PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Thomas Benoit (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and tyson kidd (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Thomas Benoit has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Benoit
vs
kidd

180 cm
20
205 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

183 cm
18
200 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

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 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Thomas Benoit!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, tyson kidd!
The judges for this bout are Elvis Blanc, Ian Loll and Dillan Fox.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
kidd fails with a takedown attempt.
kidd tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Benoit paws at him with a jab and circles away.

Benoit shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches kidd napping and manages to drive through into side control!

Benoit decides to take the fight back to the feet.
kidd with a lazy takedown attempt

and Benoit counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Benoit perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
kidd trying to hold on to Benoit's head to control him but Benoit postures up.

kidd actively working from the bottom here.
kidd is trying to maintain the position but Benoit is very close to passing his half guard.
Ground and pound from Benoit.
Benoit controlling the action here.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Benoit looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.

Benoit stands up from half guard... He's had enough of that ground malarky for the time being.
Thomas Benoit seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Benoit looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Benoit tries to free his leg and advance position but kidd is retaining full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
kidd can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Benoit controls the pace.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Benoit wants to stand but kidd has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Benoit trying to control but kidd is working from the bottom.
Benoit is breathing heavily.

Benoit stands up from kidd's guard - Benoit perhaps looking for a knockout.
kidd throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A solid leg kick lands there for kidd.
kidd is looking to slow Benoit down with leg kicks.
Benoit shoots in but no luck this time.
kidd dives in and grabs Benoit's left leg, looking for a takedown. Benoit pushes down on kidd's head and hops out.
Thomas Benoit has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of tyson kidd.
Good exchange - kidd coming out on top.
kidd fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Benoit avoids it really well and circles away.
kidd has a takedown stuffed.
kidd tries to clinch up

and Benoit counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Benoit advances position into side control!
kidd is looking to regain half guard here but Benoit keeps moving and retains side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Benoit is looking to take a break and control but kidd is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
kidd is trying to improve his position.

Benoit is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but kidd is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
kidd wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Thomas Benoit dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

kidd fails to land with a series of punches.
kidd doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Benoit counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for kidd!
Benoit controlling his opponent.

Benoit is standing up out of mount! Strange tactic there - he must really want this one on the feet!

Benoit gets in close and instigates a clinch.
kidd looking for a takedown.
Benoit is trying to force a seperation but kidd has the dominant position.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

kidd escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Benoit throws a head kick but kidd moves out of range.
Nice sprawl there from kidd as Benoit shoots in.

That's one minute gone in the round.
kidd tries to clinch up

and Benoit counters with a takedown into side control.
kidd takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
kidd manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
Benoit keeping hold of kidd's head, controlling as best he can.
kidd wants to stand up but Benoit has a hold of him and won't allow it.

Benoit looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
kidd not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Benoit wants to control but kidd is keeping busy.
kidd tries to stand but his hand is stuck under Benoit.
kidd stalling away here and it's allowed Benoit to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
kidd wants to control from the top but Benoit keeps moving.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
kidd tries for a takedown but Benoit circles away easily

so Benoit counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Thomas Benoit has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of tyson kidd.
Benoit looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Benoit passes into half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Benoit content to control rather than advance.

Benoit is sneakily working for an arm triangle but kidd sees it coming and defends easily.
kidd makes his way to full guard. A much better position for kidd.
Benoit postures up in kidd's guard and throws a big left but kidd blocks it.
Benoit could do with loosing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Benoit controls from within his opponent's guard.

kidd had isolated an arm as going for an omaplata. Benoit is defending the submission well but is in a very vulnerable position. kidd Is leaning forward trying to finish the omaplata but decides to abandon it, and take Benoit's back instead.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Thomas Benoit dominated that second 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. And we move into the final round!

Benoit shoots in and bounces kidd off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.

kidd is working an open guard so Benoit takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.

Benoit shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Benoit is looking to take a break and control but kidd is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
kidd tries to kick Benoit off but Benoit keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
kidd wants to control but Benoit is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
kidd slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.

Benoit avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
kidd looking for a sweep. Not yet kidd, not yet.
Benoit controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

Benoit gets to his feet - kidd follows without any prompting.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Benoit throws a head kick that misses
and kidd counters with a solid body kick.

Benoit fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. kidd sprawls well initially but Benoit persists and gets the takedown into half guard.

Benoit is trying to work for a kimura but kidd is defending well.
Still in half guard, Benoit seems content to control.
kidd is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

Benoit is looking for a kimura but kidd is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Benoit to get the leverage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Benoit is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.

Benoit wants to work for an arm triangle but kidd is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
kidd tries to kick Benoit off but Benoit keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Benoit is taking a breather. kidd says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Benoit is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.

Benoit is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
kidd goes for a high kick. It partially lands.

Benoit shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Benoit showed some decent athleticism there.
Benoit throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Benoit is trying to control the action in half guard but kidd is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
tyson kidd has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Thomas Benoit is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

And that's the end of the fight!
Thomas Benoit showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Benoit, 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 Elvis Blanc scores the fight 30:27
Judge Ian Loll scores the fight 30:27
Judge Dillan Fox scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Thomas Benoit!