PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Dan Henderson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ari Sotaheimo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd giving both fighters a great reception on their way into the arena. That's good to see.

Henderson
vs
Sotaheimo

179 cm
21
203 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

185 cm
25
192 lbs
7 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Knockout power

BeastMode

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 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Dan Henderson !
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Ari Sotaheimo!
The judges for this bout are Eliza Hachem, John Mangel and Damien Edna.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Henderson avoids the head kick by Sotaheimo.
Sotaheimo takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Sotaheimo swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Sotaheimo misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Sotaheimo throws a series of punches but Henderson moves out of range.
Henderson stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
The fighters circling - Henderson throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
A looping hook to the body misses from Henderson . Sotaheimo does a little dance to reset his feet.
Henderson throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Dan Henderson seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Henderson throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Henderson keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Sotaheimo.
Henderson misses with a jab, cross combination.
Sotaheimo checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Henderson avoids the head kick by Sotaheimo.
Henderson throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
A leg kick checked by Sotaheimo.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nice defenses there by Sotaheimo.
Sotaheimo keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Sotaheimo just misses with a punch to the body.
Henderson throws a one two combo.
Henderson is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Sotaheimo.
Henderson uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Sotaheimo.
Henderson throws a right and a left that both miss.
Henderson looks to land a left hand but Sotaheimo moved out of range nicely.
Sotaheimo missing with a left hand there. Henderson was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Some wild striking there from Henderson .
Henderson listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Henderson just misses with a punch to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Henderson throws out a loose jab but Sotaheimo uses good head movement to avoid it.
Henderson loads up on a big right hand but Sotaheimo slips the punch.
Henderson works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Henderson throws a leg kick that misses.
Henderson throws a right and a left that both miss.
Sotaheimo tries a head kick but it misses.
The crowd cheers as Sotaheimo lands an impressive looking overhand right. Henderson doesn't seem phased though.
Sotaheimo jabs Henderson to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Henderson misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Henderson ducks under a wild hook from Sotaheimo.
Henderson fails to land with a series of punches.
Sotaheimo scores with a body shot.
Henderson throws a combination that misses
and Sotaheimo counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Sotaheimo misses with an uppercut
and Henderson connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Henderson throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Henderson throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Sotaheimo uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Henderson .
Henderson ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Sotaheimo missing with a left hand there. Henderson was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Sotaheimo scores with a kick to the midsection.
Henderson is breathing heavily.
Sotaheimo throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Henderson .
Henderson lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Henderson waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Sotaheimo.
Sotaheimo fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Henderson misses the shot to the body.
Henderson moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Sotaheimo throws out a token jab with nothing on it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Henderson fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Sotaheimo throws a jab but it's blocked by Henderson .
Sotaheimo defending well as Henderson loads up on a big left hand.
Henderson swings widly with a right hand
and Sotaheimo counters with a straight right hand.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Nice jab there from Sotaheimo.
Sotaheimo misses with a head kick.
Sotaheimo throws a series of punches but Henderson avoids them all with ease.
Good leg kick by Sotaheimo there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Sotaheimo throws a hook but Henderson blocks it.
Sotaheimo goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Henderson blocks a head kick by Sotaheimo.
Henderson throws an off balance right hand
and Sotaheimo counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Henderson moves out of range of the body kick.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Dan Henderson will probably get the nod.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Henderson throws out a loose jab but Sotaheimo uses good head movement to avoid it.
A low kick from Henderson misses
and Sotaheimo counters with a head kick.
Sotaheimo just misses with a punch to the body.
Sotaheimo slips a jab from Henderson .
Sotaheimo throws a shot from downtown. Henderson moves away and avoids it.
Henderson is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Henderson fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Sotaheimo manages to avoid it.
Sotaheimo thumps Henderson with a low kick.
Sotaheimo takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Sotaheimo defending well as Henderson loads up on a big left hand.
Sotaheimo thows a body shot but no joy.
Nice defenses there by Sotaheimo.
Henderson throws a right and a left that Sotaheimo avoids nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Henderson throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Henderson lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Sotaheimo tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Henderson was well out of range. Poor timing from Sotaheimo.
Henderson swings for the body but Sotaheimo moves out of range.
Henderson throws a series of punches but Sotaheimo moves out of range.
Henderson misses with an uppercut. Sotaheimo saw that one coming.
Dan Henderson is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Sotaheimo misses with an uppercut.
Henderson moves away from the strike by Sotaheimo.
Dan Henderson is winning the standup battle so far.
Sotaheimo looks to land a left hand but Henderson moved out of range nicely.
Henderson avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Sotaheimo throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Henderson thows a left - swing and a miss!
Henderson swinging wildly here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Henderson avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Henderson throws a hook to the side of Sotaheimo's head but Sotaheimo sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Henderson misses the jab.
Henderson misses with a combination
and Sotaheimo counters with a head kick.
Henderson throws a nice looking combination but Sotaheimo bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
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!
Henderson throws a poor cross that misses
and Sotaheimo counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Sotaheimo throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Henderson pivots, looking for a leg kick but Sotaheimo is out of range and Henderson settles back down.
Sotaheimo misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Henderson throws a hook but Sotaheimo blocks it.
Henderson slips under a jab from Sotaheimo.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Henderson lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Sotaheimo has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Sotaheimo and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Sotaheimo throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Henderson lands with a right hand.
Henderson slips under a jab.
Henderson throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Henderson keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Henderson cracks Sotaheimo with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Sotaheimo throws a head kick that Henderson semi-blocks.
Henderson blocks a head kick by Sotaheimo.
Henderson thuds a left hand into Sotaheimo's body.
Henderson connects with a solid leg kick.
Sotaheimo has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Henderson finds it's way round the side to connect with Sotaheimo's head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Sotaheimo tries a head kick but it misses.
Henderson connects with the punch.
Sotaheimo takes a swing at Henderson 's ribcage but misses.
Sotaheimo tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Henderson was well out of range. Poor timing from Sotaheimo.
Sotaheimo avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Henderson fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.

Sotaheimo is rocked!
Henderson steps in with a hook that catches Sotaheimo right on the chin and knocks him to the floor! Henderson follows him down with more strikes and that's all she wrote! Sotaheimo looks absolutely devastated.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:35 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Dan Henderson !
Dan Henderson seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.