PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Ben Henderson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Tim Leech (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Henderson
vs
Leech

180 cm
23
155 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

177 cm
23
145 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Very confident

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Ben Henderson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Tim Leech!
The judges for this bout are Ivan Kurochkin, Vladimir Khabensky and Viktor Lagutenko.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Leech misses with the combination.
Leech lands with a cross.

Henderson clinches with his opponent.
Henderson connects with a knee to the head.
Leech is looking to break free of the clinch but Henderson has double underhooks.
Henderson creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Henderson dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
A short uppercut from Henderson.
Leech drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Henderson gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Henderson misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Leech.
Henderson tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Henderson lands with a left to the head.
Henderson lands a body punch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Henderson landing knees to the head.
Henderson manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Leech fails to pull guard.
Leech has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Henderson is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Ben Henderson has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Tim Leech.
Leech throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Henderson lands an elbow just above Leech 's eye.
Leech avoiding damage as Henderson throws knees to the body.
Henderson throws an elbow but it's blocked.
A bit of stalling here from Henderson.
Henderson lands with a short shot to the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Henderson holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Leech changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Henderson fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Tim Leech seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Henderson slows down the pace here.
Henderson lands a damaging elbow.
Leech is trying to force a seperation but Henderson has the dominant position.
Henderson misses with a knee to the head.
Leech tries to pull guard but Henderson holds him up against the cage and eventually Leech drops back down to his feet.
Henderson displaying some good clinch control by pressing Leech up against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nice elbow from Henderson.
Nice elbow from Henderson.
Leech tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Henderson just stands there and leans against the cage.
Leech looks gassed!
Henderson throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Leech blocks it with crossed arms.
Henderson lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Leech is trying to break free.
Leech managing to block the knees to the body from Henderson.
Henderson tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Henderson prevents a takedown attempt there.
Leech drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Henderson gets the underhooks and prevents it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Henderson connects with a nasty looking knee right to Leech's face.
Henderson misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Leech.
Henderson prevents Leech from breaking the clinch.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Henderson takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Henderson misses with a knee to the head.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Leech wants to break the clinch but can't.
Henderson displaying some good clinch control by pressing Leech up against the cage.
Leech blocks an elbow strike from Henderson.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ben Henderson dominated that round.
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.

A telegraphed takedown attempt from Leech is defended easily by Henderson.
Ben Henderson is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Nice takedown defense from Henderson. No joy for Leech on that attempt.

Leech moves into the clinch successfully.

Leech drags the fight down to the ground.
Henderson thows a big elbow that misses.

The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Henderson stands up from guard. Let's bang!

Henderson gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Henderson slows down the pace here.
Henderson tries to land knees in the clinch but Leech avoids the damage to the body.
Henderson pushes Leech back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Ben Henderson has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Henderson using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Leech has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Leech misses with an elbow strike.
Henderson lands a hook to the side of the head.
Leech has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Henderson is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Ben Henderson has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Tim Leech.
Leech is breathing heavily.
Leech jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Henderson walks away with a smile on his face. Leech gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

Henderson rushes Leech and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Henderson misses with a knee strike.
Henderson's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Henderson pushes off an throws an elbow but Leech leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Leech's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Henderson is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Nice body punch from Henderson.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Henderson working Leech over with knees to the body.
Henderson misses with a knee to the head.
Henderson looking to throw knees to the head but Leech is blocking nicely.
Henderson tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Leech avoids it.
Henderson is pushing Leech up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Leech wants a takedown but no success here.
Henderson lands a shoulder strike.
Henderson working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Henderson lands with a short shot to the head.
Henderson throws an elbow that misses.
Henderson connects with a nasty looking knee right to Leech's face.
Henderson is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Leech is defending well for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Henderson crunches a lovely knee into Leech's ribcage.
Leech fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Henderson using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Leech has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Henderson connects with a knee to the head.
Henderson dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Leech throws an elbow but it misses.
Henderson has Leech pressed against the cage, preventing Leech from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Henderson misses with a knee to the head.
Henderson misses with a knee strike.
Henderson is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Leech can't break the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Henderson creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Henderson managing to block the knees to the body from Leech.
Henderson lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Leech avoiding damage as Henderson throws knees to the body.
Henderson connects with a nasty looking knee right to Leech's face.
Henderson missing with knees to the body.
Henderson misses with a knee strike.
Henderson throws a knee to the head but misses.

Leech pulls guard successfully.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Henderson accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

Henderson drops back, looking for a kneebar! Leech looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Leech looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Leech!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Leech is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Henderson has escaped the position, nice work there.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ben Henderson dominated that second round.
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!

Leech with a poor takedown
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.

Henderson closes the distance and clinches.
Henderson leaning against his opponent.
Leech fails to pull guard.
Henderson tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Henderson lands with a right to the head.
Henderson with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Henderson looking to throw knees to the head but Leech is blocking nicely.
Henderson tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Leech is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Henderson pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Ben Henderson has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Tim Leech.
Leech working hard to break the clinch.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Henderson tries a knee to the head but Leech blocks it.
Leech jumps guard but Henderson stands there with Leech around his waist. Leech gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Leech is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Henderson is keeping busy.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Leech gets control of Henderson's arms and successfully pulls guard. Leech will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Henderson tries to free his leg and advance position but Leech is retaining full guard.
Henderson cracks Leech with a solid left hand.
Henderson pushes down on Leech's leg and manages to get into half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Henderson stands up from half guard... He's had enough of that ground malarky for the time being.

Henderson moves into the clinch successfully.
Leech blocks an elbow strike from Henderson.
Henderson utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Henderson tries to land knees in the clinch but Leech avoids the damage to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Leech managing to block the knees to the body from Henderson.
A shot in the inside from Henderson.
Henderson landing knees to the head.
Leech jumps guard but Henderson stands there with Leech around his waist. Leech gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
A knee to the head by Henderson.
Henderson using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Henderson throws a knee to the head but misses.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Henderson looking to throw knees to the head but Leech is blocking nicely.

Leech has dropped down and is working for a takedown. Henderson is trying to keep an underhook but Leech manages to get the takedown into half guard.

Henderson has one foot on Leech's thigh - he pushes off and manages to get back to his feet.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Leech.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Henderson tries to close the distance and clinch but Leech swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Henderson stuffs the takedown.

Henderson gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Henderson stalling in the clinch.
Henderson connects with a knee to the head.
Henderson tries a knee to the head but Leech blocks it.
Henderson keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Leech's efforts to push away.
Henderson working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Leech tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Henderson smiles and moves away.
Henderson scores with a hook.
Tim Leech has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Leech throws a looping overhand right but Henderson ducks down to avoid it.
Henderson fails with an attempt to clinch.

Henderson pushes Leech up against the cage in a clinch.
Henderson blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Henderson tries to land a knee to the head but Leech blocks with his arms.
Henderson pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Henderson lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Henderson takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ben Henderson showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Henderson has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Ivan Kurochkin scores the fight 30:27
Judge Vladimir Khabensky scores the fight 30:27
Judge Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ben Henderson!