PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between BJ Penn (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and John Cena (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Penn comes to the cage accompanied by Bebot-Black Eyed Pease. BJ Penn has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Penn
vs
Cena

183 cm
25
178 lbs
1 - 5 - 1

198 cm
19
197 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid boxing
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Very confident

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 1 - 5 - 1, fighting out of Amsterdam, BJ Penn!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, John Cena!
The judges for this bout are Saam Ante, Aafke Stam and Wagner Zegers.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Penn will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Penn looks exhausted already! Oh dear, he should have come in in better shape than this!

Cena closes the distance and clinches.

Cena pulls Penn into guard.
Penn looking to pass the guard.
Cena has his hands on Penn's head, controlling the position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

John Cena has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Penn misses with a double jab

and Cena counters by clinching up.
Penn wants to take the fight to the mat but Cena manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.

Cena escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Cena throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Penn was covering up waiting for the punch and Cena finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Cena seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cena pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Penn is keeping the position for now.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Cena is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. John Cena wasn't active enough on the ground.
Cena tries a head kick but it misses.
BJ Penn seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Cena closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Penn did well to prevent Cena getting side control.
Penn is trying to stand back up but Cena is controlling him
Well, if Cena is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.

Cena stands, ready to strike. The ref makes him back up and allows Penn to get to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Cena has managed to clinch.
Cena scores with a knee to the head.

Cena pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Cena misses with a few strikes there.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Cena has managed to clinch.

Cena ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Cena no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Cena trying to strike off his back.

Cena pushes Penn off and gets back to his feet.

Cena closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Penn quickly recovers to half guard.
Penn is trying to stand up here but Cena is controlling him well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cena prevents Penn from improving his position.
Cena lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Cena connects with a nice short shot to Penn's temple.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Cena in particular looking to stall.

Cena decides to stand and escape the position.

Cena feints and as Penn raises his hands in defense, Cena changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Cena seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Penn working a defensive guard but Cena passes into half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cena controlling the action here.

Cena seems to be looking for submissions.
Penn has improved his flexibility recently so we will have to see if he can use that to his advantage.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Well, if Cena is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Cena passes to full mount!
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Penn working to try and regain half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Cena takes a swing at Penn's ribcage but misses.
The fight stays on the outside here - Penn looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

Cena gets the takedown into side control.
Cena controlling the position.

Cena decides to take the fight back to the feet.

Cena darts in and clinches Penn up against the cage.

Cena breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Cena fails with a takedown attempt.

Cena clinches up against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Come on Cena - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Penn wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Cena lands an elbow that stopped Penn in his tracks for a moment.
Cena softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Penn is looking to take this one to the mat.

Cena ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Cena no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Cena seems keen to control Penn's posture.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Cena has managed to wall walk up one of the corner posts to get back to his feet. Penn is pushing him up against the cage, looking to control the position.

Cena gets control of Penn's arms and successfully pulls guard. Cena will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Penn won't allow Cena to sweep him here.

Cena has his feet on Penn's hips. He pushes off and gets to his feet. Nice work.

Cena rushes Penn and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Penn can't break the clinch.

Cena ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Cena no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Cena is adopting a defensive guard.
Cena is striking from the bottom but Penn uses the opportunity to pass into half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cena is staying active underneath Penn, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
John Cena has got the better of the ground game so far.
Cena trying to control but Penn postures up.
Penn is keen to just control but Cena is a slippery customer.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Cena is trying to maintain the position but Penn is very close to passing his half guard.
Cena won't allow Penn to pass to mount.

John Cena has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Penn looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Penn keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Penn looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Cena is fending him off so far but Penn persists. Nope, Cena circles away and we're back to standing.
Penn swings away with a leg kick that misses.

Cena has taken the fight to the clinch.

Cena escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
BJ Penn is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Penn tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Cena manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Cena has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

Cena shoots in and bounces Penn off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Cena is stalling in the full guard.
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.
Penn wants to get back to his feet but he's too absorbed in his own little project and Cena manages to pass to side control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John Cena showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Cena shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Penn's guard.
Cena's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Cena won't allow Penn to sweep him here.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Cena scoring with punches to the head and body.
Cena is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by John Cena.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Cena.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Penn gets caught napping as Cena dives in and scores a takedown. Penn manages to retain guard.
Penn can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Cena controls the pace.
Let's hope that Cena has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. John Cena wasn't active enough on the ground.
Cena slips a jab and a cross from Penn.

Cena gets the takedown into side control.
Cena wants to lay and pray for a moment but Penn keeps working.
BJ Penn has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Penn looks to move to half guard but instead Cena has passed into mount! Damn!
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Penn tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Cena tries to control but Penn wriggling away.
Cena takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Cena trying to control but Penn is having none of it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Penn is desperately trying to improve his position but Cena has a good base and remains in mount.
Cena controlling from the full mount.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by John Cena.
Cena slips a jab and a cross from Penn.

Penn gets caught flat footed, as Cena shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Penn wants to get back to his feet but Cena is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cena not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Cena trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Cena trying to control but Penn is working from the bottom.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.

OK we're going to have a standup here. John Cena hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Cena throws a lazy head kick
and Penn counters with a body kick that brings a smile to the face of both fighters.

Cena closes the distance and clinches.
Penn throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Cena blocks it with crossed arms.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
A frustrated look appears on Penn's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Penn tries for a takedown but Cena manages to get underhooks.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Cena breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

Cena fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Penn sprawls well initially but Cena persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
John Cena is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Cena trying to control the pace.

And that's the end of the fight!
John Cena comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Cena has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Saam Ante scores the fight 27:30
Judge Aafke Stam scores the fight 27:30
Judge Wagner Zegers scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... John Cena!