PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Radar Salter (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Erik Bennett (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Salter
vs
Bennett

180 cm
25
173 lbs
11 - 8 - 0

183 cm
26
182 lbs
17 - 7 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

Milwaukee's Best 160 SALE $140

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 11 - 8 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Radar Salter!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 17 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Erik Bennett!
The judges for this bout are Illya Tyunina, Fedor Mirinova and Ivan Kurochkin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A combination from Salter does no damage.
A punch combination from Salter misses.
Bennett tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Salter was well out of range. Poor timing from Bennett.
Bennett swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Salter has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Bennett.
Salter misses with a wild body shot.
Salter throws a looping overhand right but Bennett ducks down to avoid it.

Bennett throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Salter tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Bennett is in Salter's guard.
Bennett postures up in Salter's guard and throws a big left but Salter blocks it.
Bennett stands up over Salter, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Bennett throwing strikes from guard but Salter blocks nicely.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Bennett accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

Salter is edging up against the cage. He's using the cage to get back to his feet. Nice work there - the fighters are clinched.
Salter is trying to push Bennett away but Bennett has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Bennett looking for a takedown.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Salter breaks the clinch.
Salter throws out a loose jab but Bennett uses good head movement to avoid it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Salter throws a jab when Bennett was well out of range.
Salter lands with a slapping head kick.
Bennett steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Salter.
A swing and a miss from Bennett.
Salter looks to throw the jab but Bennett is out of range.
Salter with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Bennett to score with a decent uppercut.
Nice defenses there by Salter.
Bennett fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Salter lands with a right hand.
Salter lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
A punch combination from Bennett misses.
Bennett shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Salter pinned against the cage. Salter gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
A slow jab from Salter misses its intended target.
Bennett goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Salter misses with a double jab

and Bennett counters with a single leg into guard. Salter didn't expect that.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bennett throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Bennett content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Bennett stops Salter from standing up.
Salter keeping moving, preventing Bennett from controlling successfully.
Bennett won't allow Salter to get back to his feet.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Bennett postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Bennett won't allow Salter to get back to his feet.
Bennett stands up over Salter, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Salter is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Bennett is controlling him.
Bennett is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Salter is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Bennett is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Salter is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Bennett is controlling him.
Bennett is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Bennett passes Salter's left leg - he's now in half guard.

Bennett is looking for a kimura here.
Salter is trying to stand.
Bennett working over Salter with some ground and pound. Salter looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Bennett is keen to just control but Salter is a slippery customer.
Salter tries to kick Bennett off but Bennett keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Bennett thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Bennett is working for a kimura but Salter is defending it quite comfortably.
Bennett throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Salter wants to get back to his feet.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Salter kicks Bennett off and gets back to his feet.
Salter misses with a wild body shot.
Salter stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Salter misses with a double jab
and Bennett counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Salter thinking.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Bennett avoids the body shot from Salter.
Bennett with a jab.
A punch combination from Salter misses.
Bennett ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Salter moves away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Salter misses with a body punch
and Bennett counters with a nice uppercut.
Salter jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Salter fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Bennett manages to avoid it.
Salter looks to land a right hand but Bennett moved out of range.
Bennett will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
A head kick misses from Salter.
Salter takes a swing at Bennett's ribcage but misses.
Salter looks to land a combination but Bennett avoids it well.
Bennett just misses with a punch to the body.
A looping hook to the body misses from Bennett. Salter does a little dance to reset his feet.
Bennett defending well as Salter loads up on a big left hand.
Salter stuffs the takedown attempt from Bennett. Bennett gets slowly back to his feet.
Bennett shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Salter pinned against the cage. Salter gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Radar Salter has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Erik Bennett.
Sloppy strikes from Bennett. Those never looked like landing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bennett takes a swing at Salter's ribcage but misses.
Salter fails to land with a series of punches.
Salter throws a predictable looking body shot

and Bennett counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Erik Bennett has got the better of the ground game so far.
Salter wants to get back to his feet but Bennett is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Bennett with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Bennett stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Salter swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Bennett stops Salter from standing up.

Salter pushes Bennett off for just long enough to get back to his feet. Very athletic spring there.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Bennett throws a low kick but Salter moves out of range easily.

Bennett shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Bennett thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Salter has one foot on Bennett's thigh - he pushes off and manages to get back to his feet.
Radar Salter seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Salter throws a one two combo.
Bennett throws a right and a left that Salter avoids nicely.
Salter lands a right hook to the body.
Radar Salter is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Bennett shoots in looking for a takedown. Salter tries to sprawl out of it but Bennett keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Salter manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Bennett has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Bennett there as he acknowledges the shot.
Bennett avoids the head kick by Salter.
A big right from Salter misses.
Radar Salter is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Salter misses with a jab to the body
and Bennett counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Salter throws a right and a left that both miss.
Salter waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Bennett.
Bennett staying out of range there.
Bennett smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Bennett connects with a good right hand that stumbles Salter. Salter circles away out of range and recomposes himself.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Salter stuffs the takedown.
Salter misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Bennett.
Salter moves away from the strike by Bennett.
Salter lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Salter connects with a good right hand that stumbles Bennett. Bennett circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
Salter fails to land with a series of punches.
Bennett slips under a jab from Salter.
Salter leaves Bennett with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.

Bennett closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Salter to the mat! Salter manages to get full guard.
Bennett sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Salter's guard.

Salter pushes Bennett off and gets back to his feet.
Bennett avoids a punch combination nicely.
Bennett fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Salter keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Bennett.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Salter ducks under a wild hook from Bennett.
Radar Salter is winning the standup battle so far.
Nice body punch from Salter.
Salter will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Good shot there by Bennett.
Bennett throws a big shot that misses.
Salter swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Bennett.
Bennett misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

Bennett 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.
Salter utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Bennett stops Salter from standing up.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Bennett distracts Salter with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Bennett with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.

Bennett drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Bennett jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Bennett stops Salter from standing up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Erik Bennett showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Salter's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Bennett loads up on a big right hand but Salter slips the punch.
Bennett showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Salter.
Bennett scores with the left hand. Salter knows he should have avoided that one.
Nice defenses there by Bennett.
Salter throws a left and a right that both miss
and Bennett counters with a straight right hand.
A punch combination from Salter misses.
Salter bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
Salter swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Salter looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Salter throws a series of punches but Bennett moves out of range.
Bennett keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Salter.
A combination from Salter does no damage.
Bennett connects with a body shot.

Bennett 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.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Salter is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Bennett is controlling him.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Bennett trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bennett scoring with punches to the head and body.
Bennett working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Salter is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Bennett is controlling him.
Bennett content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Bennett lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Bennett with a nice head shot there.

Salter is rocked!
Salter wants to get back to his feet but Bennett is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Bennett has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Bennett throwing strikes from guard but Salter blocks nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Bennett's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Oh Salter is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Bennett trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Salter seems to have got his legs back now.
Salter working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Bennett.
Salter working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Bennett.
Salter keeping full guard, as Bennett tries to pass.
Salter is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Bennett is controlling him.
Bennett throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Salter works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Salter is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Bennett trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Bennett is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bennett cracks Salter with a solid left hand.
Bennett throwing strikes but missing.
Bennett looking to pass the guard.
Salter is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Bennett is controlling him.
Bennett landing with the ground and pound.
Bennett scoring with punches to the head and body.
Bennett prevents Salter from getting back to his feet.
Bennett slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Bennett lands an elbow.
Bennett working the ground and pound.
Erik Bennett is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bennett is looking to take a break and control but Salter is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Bennett is working Salter over with some ground and pound from side control.
Sloppy strikes there by Bennett.
Salter wants to get back to his feet but Bennett drags him back down.
Bennett misses with the ground and pound.
Bennett throws a strike aimed at the side of Salter's head but Salter avoids it well.
Bennett sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Salter is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Bennett in side control, throwing shots but Salter defends.

Bennett looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Salter is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Bennett is controlling him well.

And that's the end of the fight!
Erik Bennett comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Bennett winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Illya Tyunina scores the fight 27:30
Judge Fedor Mirinova scores the fight 27:30
Judge Ivan Kurochkin scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Erik Bennett!
In his post fight interview, Erik Bennett started talking himself up. Luckily his charisma kept the crowd on side and gave him a good reception.