PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Hank Houston (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Tom Henke (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). This should be fireworks!

Houston
vs
Henke

182 cm
26
199 lbs
9 - 6 - 0

192 cm
22
202 lbs
9 - 4 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Good knees
Very strong

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Powerful

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 9 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Hank Houston!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Tom Henke!
The judges for this bout are , Frank Antenori and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Henke lands a lovely overhand right.
Houston fails in his attempt to clinch.
Henke closes the distance but Houston moves to the side
and Houston counters with a series of strikes. Henke will be more careful next time no doubt.
Henke wants to clinch up but Houston keeps it at a distance.
Houston is looking to take this fight into the clinch.

Houston darts in and clinches Henke up against the cage.
Henke avoiding damage.
Henke can't break the clinch.
Houston's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Houston doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Houston missing with knees to the body.
Henke lands a body shot in the clinch.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
A head punch blocked on the inside by Henke.
Henke scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Henke tries to break free but Houston pushes him back against the cage.
A hook to the body from Henke.
Houston looking to slow down the pace here.
Houston is breathing heavily.
Houston landing knees to the head.
Houston creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Henke's defenses.

It looks like Tom Henke has been cut.
Henke letting Houston take a breather here.
Houston goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Houston connects with a nasty looking knee right to Henke's face.
Henke lands with a short shot to the head.
Houston lands a hook to the side of the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Henke pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Henke connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Houston shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Henke pinned against the cage. Henke gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Henke looks to throw a body kick
and Houston counters with a good low kick that Henke was not able to check.
Houston is looking to clinch.
Houston on the wrong end of a kick to the body.
A cross from Henke lands.

Henke takes the fight into the clinch.
Henke works on Houston's body with a couple of short punches.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Henke lands a shot to the body.
Henke is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Houston's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
The referee calls for Henke to work.

Henke escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Houston closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Nice jab there from Henke.

Henke clinches up against the cage.
Henke lands a shoulder strike.
Henke taking a breather.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Henke.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Henke softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Houston is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Henke is keeping busy.
Henke pushes Houston back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
A left hand lands to the body for Henke.

Henke's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Houston closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Henke is looking to land body kicks.
Henke dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Houston has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Houston there as he acknowledges the shot.
Houston moves out of range of the body kick.
Henke lands a nice looking body kick.
Henke lands a front kick.
Henke tries to clinch but Houston moves out of range.
Henke scores with a jab. Houston acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Houston looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Houston throws a nice looking combination but Henke bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Houston circles away from the clinch attempt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Henke scores with a kick to the midsection.
Henke uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Houston has time to react.
Tom Henke seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Henke connects with a nice looking jab.

Houston is rocked!
Henke lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Oh Houston is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!

Henke has closed the distance and engaged Houston in a clinch.
Houston throws a punch but it's blocked by Henke.
Houston seems to have got his legs back now.
Henke is trying to break the clinch but Houston has him pressed against the cage.

Henke escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Henke is landing a lot of head punches in this opening round! Houston had better start moving his head a bit unless he wants his face to turn into pâté.

Henke pushes Houston up against the cage in a clinch.
Houston blocks a body shot from Henke.
Henke misses with a hook to the ribs.
Nice body punch from Henke - that landed with a thud.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Houston just misses with a elbow thrown towards Henke's brow.

Henke breaks the clinch.
Houston pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Henke has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Houston takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Henke keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Both fighters circling a little - Henke finishes the exchange with a kick to the body.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Henke scores with a jab. Houston acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Henke throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Henke tries to close the distance and clinch but Houston swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Henke connects with a single shot there.
Henke ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Henke lands a jab to the nose.
The fight stays on the outside here - Henke looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Houston takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Houston moves out of range of the body kick from Henke.
Henke throws a good cross that connects.
Henke throws a wild body kick that Houston sees coming a mile off.
Nice shot by Henke.
Henke throws a jab when Houston was well out of range.
Henke jabbing away but nothing is landing.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Houston takes one on the button.
Henke cracks Houston with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Houston avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Houston looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Houston scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tom Henke dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Tom Henke's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

A swing and a miss from Henke.
Houston shoots in but no luck this time.

Houston gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Henke has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Henke wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Henke lands a body shot in the clinch.
Good body shot from Henke.
Houston landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Henke is trying to stall.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Henke.
Houston misses with a hook to the ribs.

Henke breaks the clinch.
Houston scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Henke lands a lovely overhand right.
Henke jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Houston uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Henke.
Houston is looking to clinch but Henke is avoiding it.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Henke lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Houston throws a sloppy head kick and Henke moves out of range easily.
Houston moves in looking to clinch but Henke pushes him off.
Houston closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Henke uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Henke lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Houston at a distance.
Henke lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Henke lands a nice shot that snaps Houston's head back.
Tom Henke seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Houston takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Henke dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Henke sizes up Houston with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Houston takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Henke throws a shot to the body.
Henke slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Henke connects with a body shot.
Henke takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Henke connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
The fighters circling - Henke throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Henke lands with a hook. Houston tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Houston defending well as Henke loads up on a big left hand.
Houston is looking to land body kicks.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Henke missing with a left hand there. Houston was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Henke stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Henke takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Tom Henke is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

Houston moves into the clinch successfully.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Houston looking to slow down the pace here.
Henke blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Henke wants to break free but Houston has control.
Henke misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Nice body punch from Houston - that landed with a thud.

Henke's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Henke throws a half hearted mid kick.
Houston takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Henke tries to land a front kick but Houston steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Houston throws a sloppy head kick and Henke moves out of range easily.

Henke instigates a clinch.
Henke pushes Houston back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Houston lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Henke backwards.
Henke lands a hook to the side of the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Houston just misses with a elbow thrown towards Henke's brow.
Henke is leaning against Houston and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Henke lands a shot to the body.

Henke breaks from the clinch.
Henke lands with a cross.
Henke tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Houston paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Good shot there by Henke.
Henke scores with a hook.
Houston slips under a jab.
Nice uppercut lands for Henke. That snapped Houston's head back.
Houston defending well as Henke loads up on a big left hand.
Houston avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
The fight stays on the outside here - Henke looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Henke misses with the body kick

and Houston counters by moving into the clinch.
Henke is trying to force a seperation but Houston has the dominant position.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Houston.
Houston gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Houston lands an elbow just above Henke 's eye.
Houston wants to stall.
Henke wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Henke breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Houston tries to clinch but Henke is having none of it.
Henke throws a lazy right hand but Houston sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Henke uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Houston.
Houston throws a series of punches but Henke moves out of range.
Houston ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Houston shoots for a takedown but Henke saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Henke throws a half hearted mid kick.
Henke is looking to clinch but Houston is avoiding it.
Henke cracks Houston with a right hand to the side of the head.
Henke tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Houston paws at him with a jab and circles away.

Henke darts in and clinches Houston up against the cage.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Henke blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Houston lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Henke lands a body punch in the clinch.
Henke throws a punch but it's blocked by Houston.
Henke wants to get back to striking at distance but Houston won't allow it.
Henke looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tom Henke showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Tom Henke's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Houston throws out a loose jab but Henke uses good head movement to avoid it.
Henke dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Houston misses with a series of wild punches.
Henke tries to clinch there but Houston circles away.

Henke clinches up with Houston and pushes him back against the cage.

Henke breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Houston wants to clinch.
Henke misses with a straight right.
Houston misses with an uppercut. Henke saw that one coming.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Houston gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Henke scores with a nice strike.
Houston ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Houston shoots in for a double leg but Henke sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Nice body punch from Henke.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Henke lands with a nice body punch.
Houston gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Henke scores with a jab.
Houston tries to clinch but Henke moves out of range.
Houston takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Henke uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Henke with a nice cross.
Henke is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Henke.
A looping hook to the body misses from Houston. Henke does a little dance to reset his feet.
Houston misses with a kick to the body.
Houston looks to land a combination but Henke avoids it well.
Henke lands a front kick.
Henke cracks Houston with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Houston shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Houston takes a jab right on the kisser.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Henke scores with a jab to the body.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Henke with a jab.

Henke has managed to clinch.
Houston will be looking to protect his midsection after taking some solid kicks to the body.
Henke lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Tom Henke seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
A right hand to the body from Henke.
A shot in the inside from Henke.
Henke lands a body punch in the clinch.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Henke.
Henke digs a right hand into Houston's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Houston's gas tank.
Henke wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Henke.

Henke breaks the clinch.
Houston misses with a looping left.
Houston walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
A jab lands there for Henke.
Decent striking displayed by Henke there.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Henke checks a leg kick.
Houston is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Henke looks for the body kick but Houston saw that one coming.
Tom Henke is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Henke clinches with his opponent.
Henke avoids the elbow strike from Houston, against the cage.
Henke blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Henke misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Houston can't find room to land a body shot as Henke controls the action.
Houston has a couple of punches blocked by Henke.
Houston is trying to stall.
Houston lands a nice shot to the body.
Henke lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Henke lands a body shot in the clinch.
Henke misses with a hook to the ribs.
Houston slows down the pace here.
Henke is trying to break the clinch but Houston has him pressed against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Henke tries to throw a body punch but Houston avoids it by throwing Henke back against the cage.
Houston doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Houston looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Houston misses with the head strike.
Henke tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Houston's elbow.
Houston goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Henke is looking to control Houston's arms but Houston gets an underhook and turns him. Now Henke has his back to the cage.
Houston is leaning against Henke and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Houston can't find room to land a body shot as Henke controls the action.
Houston tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Henke's elbow.
Houston tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Henke avoids it.

Henke breaks the clinch.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Henke scores with a punch to the head.
Henke lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Henke throws a jab when Houston was well out of range.
Hank Houston has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Houston takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Henke throws a body kick, spinning off balance
enabling Houston to counter with a crisp jab.

And that's the end of the fight!
Tom Henke comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Henke 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 Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 27:30
Judge Frank Antenori scores the fight 27:30
Judge Suge Night scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Tom Henke!