PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Don Joe (ranked 1427 p4p, 40 weight class) and Steven Kennedy (ranked 1660 p4p, 43 weight class). Joe comes to the cage accompanied by Johnny Cash - Big Iron. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Joe
vs
Kennedy

187 cm
26
190 lbs
6 - 2 - 0

183 cm
27
178 lbs
6 - 4 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

BJJ Brown Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

IniTech Nutrition

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Don Joe!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Steven Kennedy!
The judges for this bout are Jack Bonds, and Don Winkell.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A clash of legs there as Joe blocks the low kick.
It looked like Joe was trying to counter with a body shot coming off that last attack from Kennedy.
Kennedy throws a sloppy head kick
and Joe counters with a stiff right hand.
Kennedy throws a head kick that half lands.
Kennedy swings widly with a right hand
and Joe counters with a stiff right hand.
Joe steps to his left, right into the path of a big body kick from Kennedy. That one must have hurt.
Kennedy has his takedown stuffed
and Joe counters with a straight right hand.
Kennedy lands a right hook to the body.
Joe cracks a nice hook into Kennedy's ribs.
Joe keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
A little feinted left hand from Joe on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Kennedy takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Steven Kennedy seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Joe moves out of range of the strikes.
An attempted straight right counter from Joe misses the target.
Joe scores with the left hand. Kennedy knows he should have avoided that one.
Joe blocks a jab.
A counter left hand to the body from Joe misses its target.
Kennedy tries to clinch up
and Joe counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
A telegraphed right hand from Joe misses the target.
Kennedy throws a body kick, spinning off balance
and Joe counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Don Joe is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Joe throws a big shot that misses.
Kennedy works Joe's body with a nice hook.
Joe looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Kennedy misses with a double jab
and Joe counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Kennedy has been spending a lot of time sparring his boxing in the run up to the fight, trying to sharpen up those hands and look for a knockout.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kennedy throws a sloppy body shot
and Joe counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
A jab from Joe misses.
Kennedy comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Kennedy throws a leg kick
and Joe counters with a stiff right hand.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
A jab from Joe does it's job there.
Joe thows a left - swing and a miss!
Kennedy tries to score with a low kick but Joe moves his leg out of the way.
Kennedy misses with a left hand
and Joe counters with a left to the body.
Kennedy moves away from the strike by Joe.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Joe lands a nice hook to Kennedy's body. Kennedy takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Kennedy misses with a head kick.
Kennedy dives in and grabs Joe's left leg, looking for a takedown. Joe pushes down on Kennedy's head and hops out.
Kennedy fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Don Joe has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Steven Kennedy.
Joe lands a nice shot to the body.
Joe is really peppering his opponent's head with punches.
Kennedy tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Joe paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Kennedy fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Joe manages to avoid it.
Joe throws a body punch but Kennedy moves out of range.
A shot to the liver by Joe. Beautiful body shot.
Kennedy takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Kennedy tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Joe tests Kennedy's chin there with a solid looking shot.

Kennedy shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Kennedy showed some decent athleticism there.

Joe kicks off Kennedy and gets to his feet.
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 shoots in looking for a takedown but Joe manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Kennedy's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Kennedy fails with the takedown
and Joe counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Kennedy throws a hook but Joe blocks it.
Joe is looking to counter punch.
Kennedy throws a leg kick
and Joe counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Don Joe dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Kennedy throws a body kick, spinning off balance
and Joe counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.

Kennedy has closed the distance and engaged Joe in a clinch.

Joe breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
That's a knee to de groin and it's over and out! Joe crumples to the ground after an illegal strike from Kennedy - the referee stops the clock and Joe gets 5 minutes to recover from that one. "I'm sorry" says Kennedy. Joe manages to get back to his feet and the fight resumes.
Kennedy misses the body punch
and Joe counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Kennedy throws a left and a right that both miss
and Joe counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Joe jabs Kennedy to the body, keeping him at a distance.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kennedy throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Kennedy throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Joe scores with a crisp jab that stopped Kennedy in his tracks.
Kennedy tries for a takedown but Joe circles away easily
and Joe counters with a right hand to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Joe feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Kennedys jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Kennedy tries to land a body kick
and Joe connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Kennedy throws a poor cross that misses
and Joe counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Kennedy thinking.
Kennedy looks to land a combination but Joe avoids it well.
Joe was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
A left lands for Joe.
A head kick by Kennedy misses
and Joe counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Kennedy misses with a looping right.
It looked like Joe wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Don Joe is winning the standup battle so far.
Kennedy throws a wild body kick that Joe sees coming a mile off.
Kennedy throws a head kick but Joe moves out of range.
A little feinted left hand from Joe on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Kennedy.
Kennedy does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
An attempted straight right counter from Joe misses the target.
Joe misses the shot to the body.
Kennedy throws a body kick, spinning off balance
and Joe counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Kennedy throws a leg kick
and Joe connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Kennedy walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.

Kennedy closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Kennedy lands in his opponent's guard.
Joe looking to hit a scissor sweep but Kennedy is one step ahead there.
Kennedy is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Joe looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Kennedy sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Joe is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Kennedy can do to turn this around?
Kennedy pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Joe is keeping the position for now.
Joe pulls Kennedy in close to his closed guard and prevents Kennedy from doing any damage or advancing position.
Joe wants to control but Kennedy passes easily into half guard.
Kennedy passes the guard and advances to mount!
Joe is working to get back to half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Kennedy looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
Kennedy scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Joe?
Kennedy throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Joe reaches up to try and control the position but Kennedy seems to have an arm triangle now! Uh oh! Joe rolls and tries to escape and now Kennedy has his back!
Joe tries to break free.
Kennedy missing with punches from the back.
Joe rolls, trying to escape but Kennedy keeps control of the position.

Kennedy is looking to finish the fight by rear naked choke. Joe knows exactly what he's got planned though, so he's defending well. Maybe a few strikes would soften Joe for a finish.
Joe tries to break free.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Kennedy working for a choke but Joe is defending well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Steven Kennedy will probably get the nod - 10:9.
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!

Joe tries to keep at a distance but Kennedy has taken the fight into the clinch.
Come on Kennedy - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Kennedy has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
Kennedy fails to pull guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kennedy has Joe pressed against the cage.
Kennedy tries to pull guard but Joe won't allow it.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Kennedy's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Kennedy tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Joe counters with a right hand to the body.
Kennedy tries to clinch up.
Kennedy is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Joe rather than just go for the knockout.
Joe slaps away a takedown attempt from Kennedy, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Don Joe has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Steven Kennedy.
Joe avoids the head kick by Kennedy.
Kennedy moves forwards but Joe connects with a nice, crisp jab.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kennedy misses with a body punch
and Joe counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Kennedy has his takedown stuffed
and Joe counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Kennedy throws a half hearted mid kick.
Joe takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Joe misses the shot to the body.
Kennedy replies with a solid counter kick to the body but Joe blocks it well.
Kennedy pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Joe connects with a body shot that sends Kennedy's belly button to the back.
Joe lands a jab to the nose.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Joe lands with an uppercut that bounces Kennedy off the cage and back into range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kennedy swings for the body but Joe moves out of range.
Kennedy misses with an uppercut
letting Joe counter with a right hand.
Kennedy throws a leg kick
and Joe counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
A jab from Joe misses.
Kennedy replies with a solid counter kick to the body but Joe blocks it well.
Joe wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Kennedy tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Joe was well out of range. Poor timing from Kennedy.
Joe scores with a jab to the head.
Nice sprawl there from Joe as Kennedy shoots in.
That kick from Kennedy tenderised Joe's leg. Joe is trying to keep his angry face on.
Jab from Joe.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kennedy moves forwards but Joe connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Joe throws a jab but it's blocked by Kennedy.
Joe works the jab nicely.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Joe staying out of range there.
Kennedy takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
Kennedy misses with a leg kick
and Joe counters with a left to the body.
Kennedy throws a head kick that misses
and Joe counters with a nice uppercut.
Jab, jab by Joe - just one landing.
Kennedy misses with a body punch
and Kennedy takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Kennedy goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.

And that's the end of the fight!
Don Joe showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Joe has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Jack Bonds scores the fight 29:28
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 29:28
Judge Don Winkell scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Don Joe!
A very excited looking Don Joe made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.