PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Jorma Katkeroinen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Michael Benoit (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Benoit has chosen Praise as his entrance music. Michael Benoit is staring across the cage at his opponent, tweaking his nipples.

Katkeroinen
vs
Benoit

167 cm
27
142 lbs
8 - 2 - 1

170 cm
39
140 lbs
32 - 13 - 1

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Kemists ↑™ 5x160Q - $149-199

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 8 - 2 - 1, fighting out of Los Angeles, Jorma Katkeroinen!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 32 - 13 - 1, fighting out of Montreal, Michael Benoit!
The judges for this bout are Gregory Folan, William Peck and Trevor Gratis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Katkeroinen tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Benoit paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Benoit ducks under a wild hook from Katkeroinen.
Benoit only half commits to the counter leg kick.
Benoit lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Katkeroinen has been working on his boxing with his coaches at Team Beta Male in the buildup to the fight.
Katkeroinen takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Benoit lands with an overhand left.
Benoit looks to land a combination but Katkeroinen avoids it well.
Katkeroinen fires out a quick counter leg kick but Benoit just manages to avoid it.
Katkeroinen takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Benoit throws a shot from downtown. Katkeroinen moves away and avoids it.
Katkeroinen throws an ugly left hook that misses

and Benoit counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Benoit blocking some punches.
Benoit throws a head punch that misses.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Benoit.
Benoit lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Katkeroinen working aggressively here.
A short body shot lands from Benoit as the two fighters clinch.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Katkeroinen is trying to maintain a safe position but Benoit gets an underhook and turns Katkeroinen into the cage.
Good body shot from Benoit.
Benoit stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Benoit misses with the head strike.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Katkeroinen takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Katkeroinen lands a left hand.
Katkeroinen misses with a punch on the inside.
Benoit lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.

Benoit breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Benoit takes a swing at Katkeroinen's ribcage but misses.
Katkeroinen ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Benoit misses with a lunging right hand

and Katkeroinen counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Katkeroinen.
Benoit misses with a hook from the clinch.
Benoit lands a left hand.
Katkeroinen misses with a body punch.
Katkeroinen with a knee to the head.
Katkeroinen throws a knee to the head but misses.
Benoit tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Benoit.
Benoit is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Benoit lands with a short shot to the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Benoit misses with a short punch on the inside.
Benoit misses with a punch on the inside.
Katkeroinen swings wildly with an uppercut but Benoit uses good head movement to avoid it.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Katkeroinen takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Benoit blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Benoit misses with a short punch on the inside.
Katkeroinen lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Benoit blocks an uppercut.
Benoit pushes Katkeroinen back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Benoit leaning against his opponent.
Benoit lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Katkeroinen backwards.
Still in the clinch, Benoit scores with a nice short uppercut.
Benoit lands on the inside with an uppercut.
A bit of stalling here from Katkeroinen.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Benoit.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Benoit working aggressively here.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Katkeroinen.
Katkeroinen misses with a knee to the head.
Benoit misses with a punch to the body.
Katkeroinen misses with a knee strike.
Benoit pushes Katkeroinen back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Benoit takes a shot to the head.
Katkeroinen stalling the fight.
Benoit on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Benoit lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Katkeroinen stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Katkeroinen tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Benoit swings wildly with an uppercut but Katkeroinen uses good head movement to avoid it.
Katkeroinen throws a punch but it's blocked by Benoit.
Katkeroinen struggles to land a body shot inside as Benoit controls his hands.
Katkeroinen lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Katkeroinen prevents a body shot from Benoit.
Benoit lands a nice uppercut.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Katkeroinen tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Benoit avoids it.
Benoit softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Benoit misses with a punch on the inside.
Benoit tries a body shot but Katkeroinen blocks it.
Katkeroinen swings wildly with an uppercut but Benoit uses good head movement to avoid it.
Benoit stalling in the clinch.
Benoit misses with a punch to the body.
Benoit makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Benoit tries to throw a body punch but Katkeroinen avoids it by throwing Benoit back against the cage.
Benoit misses with the head strike.
Katkeroinen tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Benoit avoids it.
Katkeroinen slowing the pace effectively.
Katkeroinen is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Benoit is keeping busy.
A left hand lands to the body for Benoit.
Benoit blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Katkeroinen tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Katkeroinen is trying to maintain a safe position but Benoit gets an underhook and turns Katkeroinen into the cage.
Katkeroinen misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Benoit.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Michael Benoit dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Benoit uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Katkeroinen.
A swing and a miss from Benoit.
Katkeroinen tries to counter by clinching up but Benoit breaks away and moves out of range.
Nice jab there from Katkeroinen.
Benoit ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Katkeroinen moves away.
Katkeroinen has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Benoit.
Katkeroinen defending well as Benoit loads up on a big left hand.
Benoit wants to clinch up but Katkeroinen keeps it at a distance.
Katkeroinen walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Benoit attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Katkeroinen closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Katkeroinen looks to land a right hand but Benoit moved out of range.
Benoit throws out a counter right but Katkeroinen avoids it with no problem.
The fighters circling - Katkeroinen throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Michael Benoit seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Katkeroinen 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.
Benoit has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Benoit moves away from the strike by Katkeroinen.
Benoit connects with the punch.
Katkeroinen keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Benoit.
Katkeroinen swung with a counter punch to the body but it didn't connect.
Katkeroinen takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Katkeroinen connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Katkeroinen loads up on a big right hand but Benoit slips the punch.
Some wild striking there from Benoit.
Katkeroinen throws a right hand that misses
and Benoit counters with a straight right hand.
Benoit avoids the body shot from Katkeroinen.
Benoit shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Katkeroinen eats them both and turns towards Benoit to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.
Katkeroinen takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Benoit uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Katkeroinen.
Katkeroinen swings away with a body shot that misses
and Benoit cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

Katkeroinen takes the fight into the clinch.
Stalling in the clinch from Katkeroinen.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Katkeroinen lands a right hand.
A right hand to the body from Benoit.
Benoit misses with a punch to the body.
Benoit lands a nice shot to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Katkeroinen tries to land knees in the clinch but Benoit avoids the damage to the body.
Benoit scores with a shoulder strike.
Katkeroinen looking to throw knees to the head but Benoit is blocking nicely.
Benoit lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Benoit.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Benoit.
Katkeroinen blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Benoit lands a body shot in the clinch.
Katkeroinen blocks a punch to the side of the head.
The referee calls for Benoit to work.
Katkeroinen scores with a nice hook to the head.
Benoit softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Katkeroinen.
Katkeroinen blocking some punches.
A shot in the inside from Benoit.
Benoit scores with a hook to the body.
Katkeroinen swings wildly with an uppercut but Benoit uses good head movement to avoid it.
Katkeroinen is trying to maintain a safe position but Benoit gets an underhook and turns Katkeroinen into the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Katkeroinen blocking some punches.
Benoit misses with a short punch on the inside.
Benoit lands a left hand.
A head punch on the inside from Katkeroinen fails to land.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Katkeroinen.
Benoit lands with a light punch inside.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Benoit.
Benoit blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Benoit lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Katkeroinen or not.
Benoit swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Benoit lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Katkeroinen.
Benoit tries to work over Katkeroinen's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Benoit lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Katkeroinen backwards.
Benoit works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Benoit has a couple of punches blocked by Katkeroinen.
Benoit tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Benoit.
Benoit lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Katkeroinen backwards.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Benoit misses with some punches.
Katkeroinen looking to throw knees to the head but Benoit is blocking nicely.
Benoit managing to block the knees to the body from Katkeroinen.
Benoit lands with a right to the head.
Benoit'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.
Benoit tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Katkeroinen's elbow.
Benoit throws a punch but it's blocked by Katkeroinen.
Benoit misses with a hook from the clinch.
Katkeroinen blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Katkeroinen tries a knee to the head but Benoit blocks it.
Benoit lands a left hand.
Still in the clinch, Benoit scores with a nice short uppercut.
Katkeroinen misses with a punch on the inside.
Benoit tries to throw a body punch but Katkeroinen avoids it by throwing Benoit back against the cage.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Katkeroinen.
Katkeroinen lands a hook that snaps the head of Benoit backwards.
Katkeroinen is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Benoit is defending well for now.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Michael Benoit showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Jab by Benoit.
Katkeroinen takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Katkeroinen tries to clinch but Benoit is having none of it.
A big right from Benoit misses.
Benoit needs to keep his hands up - Katkeroinen had a free shot at his head there.
Katkeroinen throws a hook but Benoit avoids it easily.
Katkeroinen slips under a jab.
Benoit is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Michael Benoit seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Benoit throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Benoit displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Katkeroinen throws out the jab.
Katkeroinen walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Benoit lands with a cross.
Benoit lands a head shot.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Katkeroinen misses with a straight right.
Despite the aggression on Benoit's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.
Katkeroinen gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Benoit.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Benoit scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Benoit takes a kick to the side of the head.
Katkeroinen uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Benoit.
Benoit throws a hook but Katkeroinen avoids it easily.
Benoit throws a nice looking combination but Katkeroinen bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Katkeroinen wants to clinch up but Benoit keeps it at a distance.
That kick from Benoit tenderised Katkeroinen's leg. Katkeroinen is trying to keep his angry face on.
Jab, jab by Benoit - just one landing.
A looping hook to the body misses from Benoit. Katkeroinen does a little dance to reset his feet.
Katkeroinen misses with a hook. Benoit ducked under it nicely.
Benoit misses with a low kick.
Nice shot by Benoit.
Katkeroinen closes the distance but Benoit moves to the side
and Benoit counters with a stiff right hand.
Benoit throws a series of punches but Katkeroinen moves out of range.
Jorma Katkeroinen has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Benoit motions for Katkeroinen to come forward. Benoit throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Katkeroinen misses with a body shot.
Katkeroinen throws a nice looking combination but Benoit bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Katkeroinen scores with a jab to the body.
Nice body punch from Benoit.
The fighters circle momentarily. Benoit darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Katkeroinen waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Benoit.
Benoit doesn't fully commit to the body shot counter.
Katkeroinen takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.

Benoit gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Benoit lands a left hand.
Katkeroinen tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Katkeroinen manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Katkeroinen tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Benoit's elbow.
Benoit misses with a punch on the inside.
Benoit misses with the head strike.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Katkeroinen misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Benoit pushes Katkeroinen back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Benoit misses with a hook from the clinch.
Benoit makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Benoit scores with an uppercut up the middle.

Katkeroinen is rocked!
Benoit lands a shot to the body.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Benoit.
Oh Katkeroinen is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Benoit misses with a hook from the clinch.
Benoit misses with some punches.
Benoit fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Katkeroinen trying to land knees to the body.
Benoit misses with the head strike.
Benoit swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Katkeroinen seems to have got his legs back now.
Katkeroinen misses with a short punch on the inside.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Benoit as Katkeroinen tries to tie him up.
Benoit leaning his opponent against the cage.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Benoit creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Benoit gets through Katkeroinen's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Katkeroinen stalling.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
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!
Katkeroinen prevents a body shot from Benoit.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Benoit gets through Katkeroinen's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Benoit lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Katkeroinen backwards.
Benoit pushes Katkeroinen against the cage. Benoit is working some dirty boxing. Benoit pushes off with a quick right hook! Katkeroinen goes down! Katkeroinen tries to stand but stumbles back to his kness! Benoit moves in to finish and the ref steps in to prevent any more damage!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:27 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Michael Benoit!
During a confident post fight interview, Michael Benoit thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.