PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Tom Henke (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Giril Kovalenko (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Kovalenko comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Judas Priest - Grinder kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! Giril Kovalenko has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Henke
vs
Kovalenko

192 cm
23
202 lbs
10 - 5 - 0

185 cm
27
195 lbs
11 - 6 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
World class boxer
Very quick

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
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 10 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Tom Henke!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Giril Kovalenko!
The judges for this bout are Frank Antenori, and Timothy Bukovac.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Henke looks to score with a jab to the body but Kovalenko is just out of range.

Kovalenko closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Henke did well to prevent Kovalenko getting side control.

Kovalenko seems to be working for a kimura but Henke defends the submission attempt.
Henke blocking the ground and pound attempt from Kovalenko.
Kovalenko seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Henke does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Kovalenko trying to mount his opponent but Henke defends it.
Kovalenko sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Henke defending well though.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kovalenko controlling the pace.
Henke is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Kovalenko's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Kovalenko's back!
Kovalenko rolls and manages to get back to half guard. Nicely done.
Kovalenko tries to roll over but Henke keeps him under control.
Kovalenko makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Kovalenko.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Henke preventing the sweep.
Kovalenko wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Kovalenko tries to land a sweep but no joy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kovalenko seems keen to control Henke's posture.
Kovalenko wants to sweep but no luck.
Henke postures up.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Henke looks to land a body kick but Kovalenko moved away.
Henke throws a looping overhand right but Kovalenko ducks down to avoid it.
Kovalenko avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Henke fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Kovalenko manages to avoid it.
Kovalenko avoids the body shot from Henke.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Henke ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Kovalenko moves away.
A big right from Henke misses.
Henke scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Henke misses with an uppercut.
Henke looks to land a left hand but Kovalenko moved out of range nicely.

Kovalenko throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Henke was covering up waiting for the punch and Kovalenko finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Kovalenko throwing strikes but missing.
Henke is breathing heavily.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Kovalenko throws and elbow that misses. Henke uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Kovalenko's guard. Nice move by Henke!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Giril Kovalenko dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Kovalenko bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Kovalenko moves out of range of the strikes.
Kovalenko slips under a jab from Henke.
Henke looks to land a left hand but Kovalenko moved out of range nicely.

Kovalenko shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Henke keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Kovalenko prevents Henke from improving his position.
Kovalenko is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Henke kicks off Kovalenko and gets to his feet.
Henke misses with a body kick.
Kovalenko looks to score with a jab to the body but Henke is just out of range.
Henke throws a predictable looking body shot
enabling Kovalenko to counter with a crisp jab.
Henke throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Henke throws an overhand right that lands on Kovalenko's shoulder, as Kovalenko tries to avoid the shot.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Kovalenko connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
A big right from Henke misses.

Kovalenko bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Kovalenko fails to land a wild elbow strike.
Kovalenko working the head with strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The ground and pound from Kovalenko seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.
Kovalenko in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Kovalenko throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.
Kovalenko postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Henke dodges the ground and pound from Kovalenko.
Kovalenko scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Henke to see if he's OK.
Henke is not in a great position here, taking some shots.

Henke is rocked!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
An elbow from Kovalenko crashes against the mat.
Kovalenko has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Kovalenko tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kovalenko lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Oh Henke is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Kovalenko landing a few strikes.
Henke avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Kovalenko.
Henke seems to have got his legs back now.
Henke taking a bit of punishment here - Kovalenko scoring with strikes.
Kovalenko working the ground and pound.
Henke avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Kovalenko.
Kovalenko taking a break here but Henke is having none of it and regains half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kovalenko not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Kovalenko missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Kovalenko missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Kovalenko lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Kovalenko missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Kovalenko slows the pace down in half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Giril Kovalenko showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

A swing and a miss from Henke.
Nice defenses there by Henke.
Kovalenko slips under a jab.
Henke misses with a hook.
Kovalenko jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Henke misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Kovalenko counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Henke thinking.
Kovalenko slips a straight right by Henke.
Kovalenko blocks a jab.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Henke throws a body punch but Kovalenko moves out of range.
Kovalenko throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.

It looks like Tom Henke has been cut.
Kovalenko scores with a crisp jab that stopped Henke in his tracks.
Henke throws a looping overhand right but Kovalenko ducks down to avoid it.
Henke misses with a hook to the body
and Kovalenko counters with a nice low kick that buckles Henke's knee momentarily.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Kovalenko throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Henke stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Henke uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Kovalenko.

Kovalenko looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Henke avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Kovalenko cracks Henke with a solid left hand.
Kovalenko trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Kovalenko working some strikes from top position.
Kovalenko missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Kovalenko slips nicely into half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kovalenko lands with a punch from half guard.
Nice strikes from Kovalenko there.
Kovalenko throwing shots but Henke is blocking nicely.
Kovalenko seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Kovalenko throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Kovalenko is keen to just control but Henke is a slippery customer.
Henke avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Kovalenko.
Kovalenko missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kovalenko wants to control but Henke is keeping him busy.
Kovalenko not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Kovalenko missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Giril Kovalenko is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Kovalenko slows the pace down in half guard.
Tom Henke has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Kovalenko bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.

Kovalenko shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Henke is trying to defend but Kovalenko finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Kovalenko slows the pace down in half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kovalenko thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.

And that's the end of the fight!
Giril Kovalenko comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Kovalenko 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 Frank Antenori scores the fight 26:30
Judge Suge Night scores the fight 26:30
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 26:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Giril Kovalenko!