PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Dan Henderson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Darwin Miraballes (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Dan Henderson has a significant reach advantage - let's see if he can make it count.

Henderson
vs
Miraballes

183 cm
24
185 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

170 cm
21
195 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid boxing
KO power

BJJ Blue Belt
Good kicks
Intelligent

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 Los Angeles, Dan Henderson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Darwin Miraballes!
The judges for this bout are , Frank Antenori and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Henderson darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Miraballes wants to get back to his feet.

Henderson stands up and beckons Miraballes to join him on the feet.
Miraballes scores with a head kick.
Henderson swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

so Miraballes counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Henderson wants to sweep here but Miraballes controlling him for the moment.
Henderson managing to control the position.
Henderson is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Henderson looking to sweep using the butterfly guard but Miraballes puts pay to that idea as he passes nicely into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Henderson slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Henderson looking for a sweep. Not yet Henderson, not yet.
Henderson has his hands on Miraballes's head, controlling the position.

Henderson pushes Miraballes off and gets back to his feet.
Henderson lands with a nice combination. Miraballes backs away looking to recover.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Henderson throws a left and a right that both miss
and Miraballes counters with a stiff right hand.
Henderson avoids a kick to the body.
Henderson swinging wildly here.

Henderson drives through with a takedown into guard.
Miraballes looks gassed!

Henderson stands up from Miraballes's guard - Henderson perhaps looking for a knockout.
Danga de danga de dang - Henderson scores with a four punch combination!
Miraballes tries to close the distance and clinch up but Henderson swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Henderson rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Miraballes moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
A left and a right from Henderson both land. Nice combination.
Henderson throws a series of strikes that have Miraballes backpedaling.
Miraballes with a poor takedown

and Henderson counters with a nice double leg into guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Miraballes is working an open guard so Henderson takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
Henderson throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Some wild striking there from Henderson.
Henderson looks to land a combination but Miraballes avoids it well.
Henderson shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Miraballes eats them both and turns towards Henderson to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.
Some wild striking there from Henderson.

Henderson is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Miraballes's half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Henderson working Miraballes over with strikes.
Henderson passes the guard and advances to mount!
Henderson controlling his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Henderson seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Miraballes for as long as he can get away with.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Henderson's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dan Henderson dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Henderson lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Miraballes tries a head kick but it misses.
Henderson misses with a double jab

and Miraballes counters with a shoot takedown. Henderson fights it but they end up in guard.

Henderson has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Miraballes off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.
Henderson misses with a low kick.
Henderson feints a jab promting Miraballes to slip. Henderson then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Miraballes slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.
Henderson scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Miraballes has his takedown stuffed
and Henderson counters with a three punch combo that has Miraballes backing up. Miraballes nods at Henderson to acknowledge the strikes.
Henderson scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Miraballes tries to clinch but Henderson moves away
and Henderson counters with a left and a right that stings Miraballes.
Miraballes is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Henderson throws a nice outside leg kick.

Henderson closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Henderson lands in his opponent's guard.

Henderson decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Miraballes, up you get!
Henderson lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Miraballes circles away quickly and effectively.
Henderson goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Henderson lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Miraballes circles away quickly and effectively.
Henderson lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Dan Henderson seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Henderson lands a jab-cross combination.

Henderson throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Miraballes tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Henderson is in Miraballes's guard.
Henderson controls from within his opponent's guard.
Henderson will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

Henderson gets to his feet - Miraballes follows without any prompting.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Henderson fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Miraballes sprawls well initially but Henderson persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Henderson decides to stand up and try his luck on the feet.
Henderson tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Miraballes is able to avoid easily.
Henderson feints a jab promting Miraballes to slip. Henderson then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Miraballes slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.

Henderson feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Henderson with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.

Henderson stands up from guard. Let's bang!
Miraballes with a lazy takedown attempt

and Henderson counters with a single leg into guard. Miraballes didn't expect that.
Miraballes lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Henderson!
Henderson just holding on.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Miraballes prevents Henderson from getting the reversal.
Henderson sneaks a leg back under and regains half guard and is working straight away to try and get back to guard. He hasn't managed just yet though.
Miraballes trying to control the action but Henderson is working from the bottom.

Miraballes is looking for a kimura. It's pretty deep but Henderson still has the half guard so he's probably OK. Oh, Henderson has exploded into a beautiful escape there and after a quick scramble, he's ended up in side control on top! Nice work!
Henderson tries to advance to mount but Miraballes denies him.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Miraballes wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!

Henderson stands up and we're back to a striking position.
Miraballes pulls out of a head kick attempt.
No joy there for Henderson, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Henderson misses with a few strikes there.
Henderson throws a right and a left that both miss.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Henderson will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Miraballes fails with the takedown
and Henderson counters with a series of strikes. Miraballes will be more careful next time no doubt.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dan Henderson dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Henderson fails to land with a series of punches.
Miraballes scores with a leg kick.

Henderson shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Henderson controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Henderson distracts Miraballes with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Miraballes is trying to keep Henderson in close.
Henderson content to stall in guard here.

Henderson stands up from Miraballes's guard - Henderson perhaps looking for a knockout.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Henderson throws a series of punches but Miraballes avoids them all with ease.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Henderson shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Miraballes eats them both and turns towards Henderson to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.
A right-left combo lands from Henderson.
A left and a right from Henderson both land. Nice combination.
Henderson fails to land with a series of punches.
Miraballes has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Henderson throws a right and a left that both miss.
Danga de danga de dang - Henderson scores with a four punch combination!
Henderson misses with a low kick.
Henderson throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Miraballes.
Dan Henderson is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
A left and a right from Henderson both land. Nice combination.
Henderson misses with a few strikes there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Henderson looks to land a combination but Miraballes avoids it well.
A combination from Henderson does no damage.
Henderson misses with a combination
and Miraballes counters with a leg kick.
Henderson lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Henderson.

Henderson shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.
Henderson controlling his opponent.
Henderson has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Dan Henderson.

Henderson closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Henderson scores with a couple of good hammerfists.

Henderson stands up out of the half guard.
Henderson throws a leg kick that is checked

and Miraballes counters by clinching up.
Henderson jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Miraballes walks away with a smile on his face. Henderson gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Miraballes gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Henderson counters with a nice double leg into guard.

Henderson stands and steps away. Miraballes gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Henderson misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Henderson pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Miraballes back to the cage. Henderson follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.

Henderson shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Miraballes is trying to defend but Henderson finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Henderson escapes and gets back to his feet.
Dan Henderson is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Henderson shoots in but Miraballes avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Dan Henderson is winning the standup battle so far.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Henderson scores with a three punch combo!
Darwin Miraballes has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Miraballes tries a head kick but it misses.
Henderson lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!

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

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Dan Henderson!