PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Sven Hensen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Leonel Gatti (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Hensen comes to the cage accompanied by Soul Coughing - Super Bon Bon. Leonel Gatti has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Hensen
vs
Gatti

200 cm
28
274 lbs
12 - 9 - 0

199 cm
37
261 lbs
13 - 9 - 0

Good wrestling
Lethal high kicks
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

Voodoo Nutrition

Conviction

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 12 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Sven Hensen!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 13 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Leonel Gatti!
The judges for this bout are Robert Douchet, Elvis Blanc and Yves DeLean.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hensen lands a nice looking body shot.
Crunch! Hensen slams his shin into Gatti's torso.
Hensen misses with a straight left.
Gatti changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.
Gatti displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Hensen throws out the jab.
Gatti tries for a takedown but Hensen circles away easily
and Hensen counters with an inside leg kick.
Hensen misses with a wild combination.
A looping hook to the body misses from Hensen. Gatti does a little dance to reset his feet.
Gatti takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.

It looks like Leonel Gatti has been cut.
Hensen swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Gatti throws a looping overhand right but Hensen ducks down to avoid it.
A big right from Hensen misses.
Hensen fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Gatti checks it well.
Hensen slips under a jab.
Gatti fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Hensen manages to avoid it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gatti swings for the body but Hensen moves out of range.
Hensen throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Gatti feints the counter takedown.
Gatti checks the leg kick.
Gatti uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Hensen.
Gatti uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Hensen.
Hensen cracks Gatti with a right hand to the side of the head.
Hensen takes a swing at Gatti's ribcage but misses.
Hensen throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
Gatti slips a straight right by Hensen.
Hensen looks to clinch
and Gatti connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.

It looks like Sven Hensen has been cut.
Gatti fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Hensen manages to avoid it.
Hensen throws a sloppy head kick and Gatti moves out of range easily.
Hensen cracks Gatti with a good jab.
Good work by Hensen as he checks the leg kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hensen takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Gatti pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Hensen is looking to counter punch.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Hensen tries a head kick but it misses.
Gatti walks into a stiff left hand from Hensen.

That has opened up Leonel Gatti's cut even more.
Hensen swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Hensen lands a kick to the ribs of his opponent. Nice work there - in and out in a flash.
Hensen ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Gatti moves away.
Gatti is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.
Sven Hensen seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Gatti on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Gatti throws an off balance right hand
and Hensen makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
No joy there for Hensen, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Hensen slips a straight right by Gatti.
Hensen avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Hensen looks to throw the jab but Gatti is out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hensen throws a quick inside leg kick.
Hensen throws a push kick but Gatti slaps the foot to one side.
Gatti slips under a jab.
Hensen looks to land a right hand but Gatti moved out of range.
Gatti keeps the fight on the outside.
Gatti moves out of range as Hensen strikes.
Hensen lands a high kick!
Hensen swings away with a body shot that misses

and Gatti counters with a shoot takedown. Hensen fights it but they end up in guard.
Gatti stopping the sweep attempt from Hensen.
Hensen working a defensive guard but Gatti manages to pass into side control anyway.
Hensen tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Gatti wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Hensen stops Gatti from passing to mount.
Hensen is positioning himself to get back to half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hensen trying to control but Gatti flips him over like a cheap hooker and has his back!
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Hensen staying busy and making it hard for Gatti to control.
Hensen just trying to survive but Gatti is wriggling into a better position, looking to finish.
I really don't envy Hensen right now.

Gatti is persistently looking for the submission but Hensen is defending it well.
Gatti struggling to keep hold of the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sven Hensen dominated that round.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
That's time! Hensen's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Gatti takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Hensen lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Gatti bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Gatti scores with a leg kick.
Hensen keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Hensen throws a body kick that misses

and Gatti counters with a takedown into side control.
Hensen is looking for a sweep.
Gatti trying to control the action but Hensen is working from the bottom.
Hensen sneaks back into half guard.
Gatti is pressing down on Hensen's thigh, looking to free his foot. Hensen is holding on for now.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The fighters are battling for position here. Hensen manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Gatti slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.

Hensen working for submissions but it's allowed Gatti to get to half guard.
Hensen is looking to control Gatti's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Hensen avoid being mounted?
Leonel Gatti has got the better of the ground game so far.
Gatti wants to free his trapped foot but Hensen is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Hensen is trying to maintain the position but Gatti is very close to passing his half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Gatti wants to take a breather but Hensen is having none of it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Hensen is looking to improve his position.
Hensen is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Gatti can do to turn this around?
Gatti wants to free his trapped foot but Hensen is holding on for dear life with his legs.

Hensen looking for submissions off his back.
Hensen gets back to full guard.

Gatti postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Hensen is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Gatti, into his guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hensen postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Hensen passes Gatti's left leg - he's now in half guard.

Gatti looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Hensen wants to pass to mount but Gatti is defending the position.
Hensen not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Gatti is pressing down on Hensen's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Hensen postures up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gatti is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Hensen trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Hensen scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Hensen trying to control the position from guard on top but Gatti is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Gatti throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Hensen in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Hensen advances position into side control!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Gatti manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
Gatti wants to control but Hensen is keeping busy and won't allow it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Sven Hensen will probably get the nod.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Hensen throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Hensen lands with a right hand.
A solid body kick from Hensen.
A bone on bone clash there as Hensen blocks the leg kick.
Hensen looks to land a left hand but Gatti moved out of range nicely.
Gatti throws a hook but Hensen blocks it.
As Gatti backs away, Hensen returns fire with a leg kick that just misses.
Hensen just misses with a punch to the body.
And Gatti tries to counter it with a takedown but Hensen pushes his down on his head and steps out.
Gatti steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Hensen.
A big right from Hensen misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hensen swings and misses with a hook to the body.
The crowd cheers as Gatti lands an impressive looking overhand right. Hensen doesn't seem phased though.
Gatti digs a good hook to Hensen's body.
Hensen throws a hook but Gatti avoids it easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gatti fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Hensen scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Hensen is looking to chop away at Gatti's legs.
Hensen throws a sloppy head kick and Gatti moves out of range easily.
Gatti is clearly trying to counter these attacks from Hensen with a body shot.
Hensen throws a leg kick that is checked
and Gatti counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Hensen throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Hensen throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Gatti appeared to try and counter that last move with a leg kick.
Gatti will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Hensen uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Gatti throws a right hand that Hensen ducks under and follows up with a left that Hensen also avoids with ease.
A swing and a miss from Hensen.
Gatti with the counter takedown but Hensen avoids it easily.
Gatti throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Gatti takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Leonel Gatti has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

The cut above Leonel Gatti's eye is starting to cause him problems now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hensen misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Gatti.
Hensen plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Gatti lands with a shot to the body.
Hensen connects with a body shot that sends Gatti's belly button to the back.
Hensen moves out of range as Gatti strikes.
That kick from Hensen tenderised Gatti's leg. Gatti is trying to keep his angry face on.
A low kick from Hensen misses

and Gatti counters with a single leg into guard. Hensen didn't expect that.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Gatti looking to sit in guard and control but Hensen gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Hensen wants to control from the top but Gatti keeps moving.

Gatti had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Hensen defends it easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hensen forces his way into half guard.
Sven Hensen is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Hensen controlling the pace.
Gatti wants to get back to full guard.

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.
Hensen not doing much here.
Hensen prevents Gatti from improving his position.
Hensen is trying to control the action in half guard but Gatti is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Hensen stalling.

And that's the end of the fight!
Sven Hensen showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Hensen, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Robert Douchet scores the fight 30:27
Judge Elvis Blanc scores the fight 30:27
Judge Yves DeLean scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Sven Hensen!
After the big win, Sven Hensen made sure to do all the important stuff like thanking his sponsors Voodoo Nutrition and telling the interviewer how much he loves him.
Leonel Gatti was interviewed post fight and said 'Congratulations to the winner. I tried my best. Some days things don't work out. '.