PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Phantom Menace (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ryan Kesler (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Menace comes to the cage accompanied by Leroy Brown. The crowd seem to be enjoying Kesler's choice of entrance music: Cancer Bats - Deathsmarch. Phantom Menace could well score a knockout today. He has the power to get to Ryan Kesler's chin.

Menace
vs
Kesler

190 cm
28
199 lbs
21 - 10 - 1

182 cm
26
200 lbs
20 - 6 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Rivers Edge Nutrition (Disciples of Pain)
Rivers Edge Nutrition (Disciples of Pain)

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 21 - 10 - 1, fighting out of New York, Phantom Menace!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 20 - 6 - 0, fighting out of New York, Ryan Kesler!
The judges for this bout are Dean Styles, John Roberts and Columbo Gatti.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kesler on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Menace lands with a shot to the body.
Kesler ducks right into an uppercut from Menace.
Menace takes a swing at Kesler's ribcage but misses.
Menace fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Kesler manages to avoid it.
Menace ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Kesler moves away.
Menace stuns Kesler with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Kesler slips a straight right by Menace.
Menace throws the kick towards the body but Kesler avoids it.
Menace looks to land a combination. Kesler sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Menace lands a glancing blow to the side of Kesler's head.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Menace lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Menace connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Thud! ouch! good body kick from Menace - that will leave a mark!
Menace lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Kesler avoids the body shot from Menace.
Menace swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Kesler throws a leg kick but Menace checks it.
Kesler takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Menace throws a low kick but it's checked well by Kesler.
Menace connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Kesler ducks under a wild hook from Menace.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Menace closes the distance and clinches up with Kesler, looking for a takedown. Menace pushes Kesler against the cage but Kesler circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Menace thows a body shot but no joy.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Kesler gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Kesler scores with a kick to the midsection.
Menace scores with a shot to the body.
Kesler dodges the punch combination from Menace.
Menace misses with a hook.
Menace misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Kesler.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kesler looks to throw the jab but Menace is out of range.
Kesler moves forwards but Menace connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Menace throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
The fighters circling - Kesler throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Kesler chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Menace fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Kesler manages to avoid it.
Menace moves out of range of the strikes.
Menace misses with a shot to the body
and Kesler counters with a thumping low kick.
Kesler uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Menace.
Kesler rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Menace moves out of range and avoids them all easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kesler bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Menace's head.
Menace thows a body shot but no joy.
Menace moves out of range of the strikes.
Menace checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
A big left from Menace misses.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Menace avoids the head kick by Kesler.

Menace closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Kesler to the mat! Kesler manages to get full guard.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Menace throws a big right hand that misses.
Menace throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Menace stopping the sweep attempt from Kesler.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Phantom Menace dominated that round.
That's time! Menace's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Kesler uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Menace.
Menace swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Kesler misses with a looping left.
Menace misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Kesler.
Menace jabs at Kesler's body.
Kesler on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Menace tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Kesler was well out of range. Poor timing from Menace.
A head kick misses from Kesler.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kesler works the jab nicely.
Kesler misses with a wild body shot.
Menace throws a right hand that Kesler ducks under and follows up with a left that Kesler also avoids with ease.

Menace dives in and scores a takedown into Kesler's guard.
Menace throwing strikes but missing.
Menace tries to free his leg and advance position but Kesler is retaining full guard.
Kesler looking for a sweep. Not yet Kesler, not yet.
Kesler avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Menace trying to control the position from guard on top but Kesler is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Menace wants to pass the guard but Kesler is keeping the position.
Menace throws a big right hand that misses.
Menace is looking to work some ground and pound but Kesler has wrist control.
Kesler is controlling Menace's posture.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Menace throws a strike but Kesler rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Menace trying to keep a closed guard but Kesler is proving a slippery customer.
Menace 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.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kesler engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Kesler trying to control but Menace is working from the bottom.

Ryan Kesler has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.

Menace looking to score a takedown here. Kesler is defending well but Menace drives through and ends up in Kesler's guard.
Menace trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Menace pushing down on Kesler's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Menace throwing shots but Kesler is blocking nicely.
Menace trying to control the action but Kesler is working from the bottom.
Menace thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Kesler is looking to improve his position.
Menace missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Menace misses with a head shot. Kesler uses the momentum to regain guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Kesler manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Phantom Menace dominated that second round.
That's time! Menace's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Kesler has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Menace finds it's way round the side to connect with Kesler's head.
Kesler throws a push kick but Menace slaps the foot to one side.
Phantom Menace is winning the standup battle so far.
Kesler buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.

Menace scores with a takedown into Kesler's guard.
Kesler preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Menace throwing strikes from guard but Kesler blocks nicely.
Menace is looking to work some ground and pound but Kesler has wrist control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kesler avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Kesler controlling Menace's posture.
Menace sitting in guard here, content to control.
Menace stopping the sweep attempt from Kesler.
Menace 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.
Menace throwing strikes from guard but Kesler blocks nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kesler keeping moving, preventing Menace from controlling successfully.
Menace throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Kesler works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Menace pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Kesler is keeping the position for now.
Kesler working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Menace.
Menace trying to control but Kesler is working from the bottom.
Menace is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Kesler is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Phantom Menace.
Menace fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Kesler.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Menace tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
A nice inside leg kick there by Menace. That's going to slow Kesler down.
Kesler pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Phantom Menace is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Kesler avoids a kick to the body.
A combination from Kesler does no damage.
Kesler moves out of range of the leg kick from Menace.
Menace falls off balance throwing a combination
and Kesler counters with a nice uppercut.
Menace is looking to wear down Kesler with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kesler keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Kesler drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Kesler avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Menace throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Menace shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Kesler sprawls well. Kesler wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Menace gets slowly back to his feet.
Phantom Menace seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Menace thuds his shin into the meat of Kesler's side.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Menace fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

And that's the end of the fight!
Phantom Menace showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Menace has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Dean Styles scores the fight 30:27
Judge John Roberts scores the fight 30:27
Judge Columbo Gatti scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Phantom Menace!
After the big win, Phantom Menace made sure to do all the important stuff like thanking his sponsors Rivers Edge Nutrition (Disciples of Pain) and telling the interviewer how much he loves him.