PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Frank Mir (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Dan Henderson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Mir
vs
Henderson

190 cm
25
210 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

180 cm
24
204 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Great elbows
Very quick

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Solid chin

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 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Frank Mir!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Dan Henderson!
The judges for this bout are Shigeki Fujiwara, Yukihiro Yamamoto and Ren Mimura.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Henderson tries to close the distance and clinch up but Mir swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Mir fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Henderson checks it well.
Henderson looks to clinch
and Mir counters with a leg kick.
Mir showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Henderson.
Mir throws a chopping leg kick but Henderson manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Mir throws a low kick but it's checked well by Henderson.
Henderson tries to clinch but Mir moves out of range.
Mir tries a low kick but Henderson avoids it.
Henderson moves in looking to clinch but Mir pushes him off.
Henderson throws a nice looking combination but Mir bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Mir wants to land a leg kick but Henderson is out of range.
Mir pivots, looking for a leg kick but Henderson is out of range and Mir settles back down.
Henderson tries to clinch up but Mir circles away and keeps his distance.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mir misses with a low kick.

Henderson scores with a takedown into Mir's guard.
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.
Mir controls Henderson momentarily but Henderson frees himself.

Henderson avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Henderson postures up.
Henderson really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Mir. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Henderson got a little sloppy there for a moment and Mir has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Henderson has managed to get both his arms back between Mir's legs - danger averted.
Mir throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.
Henderson wanted to stand there but Mir had control of the position.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Mir is on top in guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mir stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Henderson swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Mir wants to control from the top but Henderson keeps moving.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Henderson is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Mir is controlling him.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.

Frank Mir has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Henderson shoots for a double leg takedown but Mir sprawls well. He's pushed Henderson's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Henderson tries to clinch but Mir moves out of range.
An inside leg kick from Mir misses.
Mir is looking to chop away at Henderson's legs.
Mir attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Henderson checks a leg kick.
Henderson closes the distance but Mir moves to the side
and Mir makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Mir throws a low kick, looking for Henderson's leg but Henderson calmly moves out of range.
Henderson checks a low kick from Mir.
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 Frank Mir will probably get the nod.
That's time! Mir's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Mir throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Mir throws a low kick, looking for Henderson's leg but Henderson calmly moves out of range.
Henderson avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Dan Henderson seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Henderson tries to clinch up.
Mir misses with a leg kick.
Henderson looks to score with a jab to the body but Mir is just out of range.
Henderson throws a right hand that misses
and Mir counters with a low kick, right behind Henderson 's knee.
Henderson tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Mir paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Mir circles away from the clinch attempt.

Henderson shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Mir napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Mir struggling a bit here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Henderson in the domination position with Mir hanging on.
Mir tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Henderson wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Mir struggling a bit here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Frank Mir.
Mir throws a low kick but Henderson moves out of range easily.
Mir throws out a leg kick but Henderson moves out of range and Mir only half commits.
A leg kick checked by Henderson.
Mir keeps the fight on the outside.
Henderson has a takedown stuffed.
Henderson is breathing heavily.
Henderson tries to clinch there but Mir circles away.
Mir tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Henderson manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Henderson throws a combination that misses

and Mir counters by moving into the clinch.
Mir is trying to break the clinch but Henderson is controlling him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Henderson tries to pull guard but Mir holds him up against the cage and eventually Henderson drops back down to his feet.

Mir manages to break the clinch.
Frank Mir is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
A bone on bone clash there as Henderson blocks the leg kick.
Mir circles away from the clinch attempt.

Mir clinches up against the cage.

Mir decides to pull guard.
Mir manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Poor strikes thrown by Mir there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mir looking to finish with strikes here!
Mir content just to control the position here.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Henderson holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Mir tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Frank Mir dominated that second round.
That's time! Mir's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Mir tries to close the distance and clinch but Henderson swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Mir tries a low kick but Henderson avoids it.
Henderson shoots for a takedown but Mir saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Mir fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Henderson checks it well.
Henderson stalks Mir and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Mir's face. Mir staggers backwards, shaken.
Mir tries to clinch but Henderson is having none of it.
Henderson tries to clinch up but Mir circles away and keeps his distance.
Mir throws a solid leg kick but Henderson takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Mir.
Mir throws a leg kick but Henderson sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Mir motions for Henderson to come forward. Mir throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Henderson checks a low kick from Mir.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mir wants to slow Henderson down by chopping away at his legs.
Mir throws a low kick but it's checked well by Henderson.
Mir is looking to score with low kicks.
Henderson doesn't manage to clinch there - Mir circles away.
Mir circles away from the clinch attempt
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Mir throws a leg kick but Henderson moved away.
Henderson tries to clinch up.
Henderson closes the distance looking to clinch
and Mir counters with a nice low kick that buckles Henderson's knee momentarily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Henderson blocks a leg kick.
Mir misses with a low kick as Henderson jumps back.
Mir wants to clinch.
A big left from Henderson misses.
Mir throws a leg kick but Henderson moved away.
Henderson tries to close the distance and clinch up but Mir swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Henderson is looking to clinch.
Mir finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Frank Mir is winning the standup battle so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mir shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Henderson tries to close the distance and clinch but Mir swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Mir tries to clinch but Henderson moves away

and Henderson counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Henderson takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Mir actively working from the bottom here.
Mir is looking to escape.
Dan Henderson has got the better of the ground game so far.
Mir is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Henderson has decided to stand back up but his arm is trapped. Whilst he's worrying about his arm, Mir works to full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Henderson prevents Mir from getting back to his feet.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Dan Henderson hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Mir throws a leg kick but Henderson checks it.
Mir looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Dan Henderson has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Frank Mir is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Henderson rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Mir moves out of range and avoids them all easily.

And that's the end of the fight!
Dan Henderson comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Mir 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 Shigeki Fujiwara scores the fight 29:28
Judge Yukihiro Yamamoto scores the fight 29:28
Judge Ren Mimura scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Frank Mir!