PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Issac Benton (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Bryan Kennedy (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Issac Benton has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Benton
vs
Kennedy

157 cm
22
278 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

225 cm
20
225 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Issac Benton!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Bryan Kennedy!
The judges for this bout are John Mangel, Chris Dean and Ben Hemmingworth.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Kennedy gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Benton blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Knees to the body from Kennedy.
Kennedy trying to land knees to the body.
Kennedy landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Kennedy lands a left hand.
Kennedy tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Kennedy misses with a knee to the head.
Benton tries to pull guard but Kennedy holds him up against the cage and eventually Benton drops back down to his feet.
Benton tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Kennedy smiles and moves away.
Benton really is a fat lump.
Benton is breathing heavily.

Kennedy rushes Benton and presses him up against the cage.
Kennedy lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Kennedy misses with a body punch.

Benton jumps guard.
Kennedy must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Kennedy trying to control the position from guard on top but Benton is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Kennedy wants to stand and escape but instead Benton has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kennedy wants to stand and escape but Benton is having none of it.

Kennedy has managed to wall walk up one of the corner posts to get back to his feet. Benton is pushing him up against the cage, looking to control the position.
A short left from Kennedy.
Benton is trying to pull guard but Kennedy turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Issac Benton. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Benton on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Benton fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Kennedy trying to land knees to the body.
Kennedy lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Kennedy has been looking to improve his clinch game in recent weeks. Benton seems to have the measure of him in the clinch so far, so let's see if Kennedy can turn it around.
Benton jumps guard but Kennedy stands there with Benton around his waist. Benton gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Benton jumps guard but Kennedy stands there with Benton around his waist. Benton gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Benton tries to pull guard but Kennedy holds him up against the cage and eventually Benton drops back down to his feet.
Kennedy is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Benton fails to pull guard.
Kennedy lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Benton prevents a body shot from Kennedy.
Kennedy is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Benton is defending well for now.
Kennedy lands a nice knee to the body.
Knees in the clinch landing for Kennedy.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Kennedy lands a hook that snaps the head of Benton backwards.
Kennedy misses with an elbow over the top.
Benton managing to block the knees to the body from Kennedy.
Kennedy is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Benton is defending well for now.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Kennedy obliges.
Kennedy connects with a knee to the head.
Kennedy lands a body shot in the clinch.
Kennedy lands a right hand that snaps the head of Benton backwards.
Kennedy lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Benton backwards.
Kennedy lands a body shot in the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kennedy lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Kennedy scores a nice knee to the body.
Benton blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Kennedy is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
A short left from Kennedy.
Kennedy trying to land knees to the body.
Kennedy lands a shot to the body.
A head punch on the inside from Kennedy fails to land.
Benton tries to pull guard but Kennedy holds him up against the cage and eventually Benton drops back down to his feet.
Benton blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Benton jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Kennedy walks away with a smile on his face. Benton gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Benton wants to clinch.
Kennedy throws a big counter head kick but Benton avoids it with no problem.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kennedy slaps away a takedown attempt from Benton, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Kennedy stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Benton takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Kennedy misses the body punch

and Benton counters by clinching up.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Kennedy tries to throw a body punch but Benton avoids it by throwing Kennedy back against the cage.
Kennedy misses with a hook from the clinch.
Benton blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Benton is trying to pull guard but Kennedy turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Benton tries to pull guard but Kennedy forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Benton dodges an elbow strike from Kennedy.
Kennedy scores with a nice hook to the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bryan Kennedy dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Kennedy keeps the fight on the outside.

Kennedy moves into range and clinches up with Benton.
Nice body punch from Kennedy.
Knees to the body from Kennedy.
Kennedy landing knees to the body.
Kennedy tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Benton blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Kennedy lands on the inside with an uppercut.
The step up in weight doesn't seem to be a problem for Kennedy. He's performing admirably here against the bigger man.
Benton managing to block the knees to the body from Kennedy.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Kennedy just misses with a elbow thrown towards Benton's brow.
Kennedy landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kennedy misses with a knee to the head.
Kennedy misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Benton.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Kennedy lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Kennedy lands a nice elbow.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Kennedy is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Benton is defending well for now.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Benton avoids a wild elbow strike from Kennedy.
Benton blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Benton tries to pull guard but Kennedy won't allow it.
Kennedy is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Benton is defending well for now.
Kennedy tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.

Benton pulls guard effortlessly.
Benton is trying to keep Kennedy in close.
Benton controlling the position.

Benton has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Kennedy can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Kennedy is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Kennedy scoring with some ground and pound.
Kennedy has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kennedy wants to control from the top but Benton keeps moving.
Benton is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Kennedy is controlling him.
Benton has momentary wrist control but Kennedy slips an elbow through the middle.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Issac Benton is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Benton tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Kennedy just stands there and leans against the cage.
Benton is trying to pull guard but Kennedy turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Issac Benton. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Benton fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Benton is trying to pull guard but Kennedy has him pressed against the cage.
Kennedy misses with an elbow over the top.
Bryan Kennedy seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Benton is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Kennedy to keep the fight standing.
Kennedy throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Kennedy landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Kennedy connects with a nasty looking knee right to Benton's face.
Kennedy tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Kennedy doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Benton managing to block the knees to the body from Kennedy.
A head punch on the inside from Kennedy fails to land.
Benton is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Kennedy to keep the fight standing.
Benton dodges an elbow strike from Kennedy.
Benton jumps guard but Kennedy stands there with Benton around his waist. Benton gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Kennedy misses with a hook to the ribs.

Benton manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.

Benton looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kennedy with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Kennedy controlling from the top position.
Kennedy wants to control from the top but Benton keeps moving.
Kennedy is looking to work some ground and pound but Benton has wrist control.
Kennedy in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Benton is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Kennedy trying to control the position from guard on top but Benton is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bryan Kennedy 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. This is the final round!

Benton moves in looking to clinch but Kennedy pushes him off.
Kennedy throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.

Kennedy moves into range and clinches up with Benton.
Benton on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
A nice left hand lands by Kennedy.
Benton tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Kennedy smiles and moves away.

Kennedy closes the distance and clinches.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Benton jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Kennedy walks away with a smile on his face. Benton gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Benton fails to land the takedown.
Kennedy replies with a solid counter kick to the body but Benton blocks it well.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Issac Benton. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

Kennedy darts in and clinches Benton up against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kennedy tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Benton avoids it.
Kennedy lands a knee to the body.
Kennedy tries a body shot but Benton blocks it.
A right hand to the body from Kennedy.
Kennedy is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Kennedy gets through Benton's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Kennedy utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Kennedy lands a body shot in the clinch.
Knees to the body from Kennedy.
With the fighters up against the cage, Kennedy throws an elbow but misses.
Benton dodges an elbow strike from Kennedy.
Kennedy trying to land knees to the body.
Kennedy lands an elbow inside that Benton shrugs off.
Benton tries to pull guard but Kennedy forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Kennedy lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kennedy misses with a hook to the ribs.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Kennedy lands a shoulder strike.
Kennedy lands an elbow inside that Benton shrugs off.
Benton avoiding damage as Kennedy throws knees to the body.
Kennedy doesn't land with the attempted body shot.

Benton pulls guard successfully.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Kennedy accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Kennedy trying to control the position from guard on top but Benton is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Kennedy is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Benton not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kennedy's corner is telling him to maintain position.

Kennedy decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Benton, up you get!
Benton tries to close the distance and clinch up but Kennedy swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Kennedy tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Kennedy pivots, looking for a leg kick but Benton is out of range and Kennedy settles back down.
Benton tries to clinch up.
Kennedy throws a head kick that misses.

Benton gets a clinch.

Benton successfully pulls guard.
Kennedy wants to stand but Benton has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Kennedy is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Benton working a defensive guard here.

Kennedy stands up and waves to Benton to follow him.
Benton tries to clinch up.

Kennedy closes the distance and clinches.
Benton avoids a wild elbow strike from Kennedy.
Benton fails to pull guard.

Benton pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Kennedy avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Kennedy tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Benton is able to avoid easily.
A swing and a miss from Kennedy.
Issac Benton has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Bryan Kennedy is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Bryan Kennedy seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Benton throws a combination that misses
and Kennedy counters with a two punch combo.

And that's the end of the fight!
Bryan Kennedy comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Kennedy 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 John Mangel scores the fight 27:30
Judge Chris Dean scores the fight 27:30
Judge Ben Hemmingworth scores the fight 26:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Bryan Kennedy!