PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Jonthan Henry (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and El Misterioso Damballah (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Henry comes into the arena with hit em up blaring out of the sound system. Well, the cameraman is lingering on a pretty young lady for a bit too long there. Keep your eyes on the prize buddy or you'll miss the fighter intros!

Henry
vs
Misterioso Damballah

185 cm
30
180 lbs
7 - 4 - 0

179 cm
23
180 lbs
7 - 10 - 0

Good wrestling
Great elbows
Granite chin

Good takedowns
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 4 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Jonthan Henry !
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 10 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, El Misterioso Damballah!
The judges for this bout are Mauricio Rocha, Daniel Cesar and Leandro Rodrigues.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Henry moves into range and clinches up with Damballah.
Henry tries to land knees in the clinch but Damballah avoids the damage to the body.
Henry working Damballah over with knees to the body.
Henry blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Henry is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Damballah working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Damballah lands with a light punch inside.
Damballah has Henry pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Henry manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.

Henry wants the takedown. Damballah is fighting it off but Henry persists and manages to bring the fight to the ground, ending up in Damballah's guard against the cage.
Henry prevents Damballah from getting back to his feet.
Henry throwing strikes from guard but Damballah blocks nicely.
Both fighters have adopted an aggressive gameplan on the ground!
Henry stops Damballah from standing up.
Henry has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Henry slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Damballah wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
Damballah is not content to let Henry control the position.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Henry remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.
Damballah pushes Henry away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Henry gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Henry is looking to take a break and control but Damballah is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Henry works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
We've been hearing that Henry has been drilling a lot of ground and pound in training, so let's see if he get the finish.
Damballah is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Henry asserts his dominance and retains side control.
Henry throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.
Damballah told us pre-fight that he has been working on his escapes in training. Let's see if he can call on some of his new skills to get back to his feet.
Damballah is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Henry is controlling him well.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.
Henry in side control lands a decent elbow.
Damballah is working to avoid the ground and pound but Henry connects with a decent elbow.
Damballah wants to get back to his feet.
Henry tries to move to mount but Damballah blocks the move with his legs.
Henry is chipping away with strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Damballah takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Damballah tries to escape but Henry is in control.
Henry is chipping away with strikes.
Henry wants to control but Damballah is keeping him busy.
Damballah is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
Henry in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Henry connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Damballah some visible discomfort.
Henry tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
Henry scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Damballah to see if he's OK.
Damballah wants to get back to his feet but Henry drags him back down.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Henry scores with a couple of short elbows.
Henry in side control lands a decent elbow.
Henry in side control, just content to control the action for now.
Henry sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Damballah is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Damballah tries to escape but Henry is in control.
Henry creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Damballah sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Henry in side control lands a decent elbow.
Henry lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Henry fails to land a wild elbow strike.
Damballah wants to get back to his feet.
Henry controlling the position.
Henry scores with a couple of short elbows.
The strikes coming from Henry are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
Henry postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Damballah is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Henry asserts his dominance and retains side control.

Damballah explodes and escapes back to his feet! Nice escape there!
Damballah throws a shot from downtown. Henry moves away and avoids it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The fight stays on the outside here - Henry looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Henry shoots in for a takedown but Damballah shows good takedown defense.
Damballah misses with a few strikes there.
Henry half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.

Henry moves into the clinch.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Henry blocks an uppercut.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Henry .
Henry lands an uppercut.
Damballah tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Henry blocks an uppercut.
Henry tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Damballah avoids it.
Damballah throws a head punch that misses.
Damballah tries to score a body lock takedown but Henry shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Henry prevents the takedown attempt.
Jonthan Henry has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of El Misterioso Damballah.
Damballah lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Henry backwards.
Damballah misses with a hook to the ribs.
Damballah lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Henry tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Damballah pushes Henry back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Henry blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Damballah wants a takedown but no success here.
Damballah has a couple of punches blocked by Henry .
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jonthan Henry dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Henry shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Damballah as he jumps to the side.
Damballah throws a counter combo.
Damballah moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.

It looks like Jonthan Henry has been cut.
A combination from Damballah does no damage.
Henry slips a jab and a cross from Damballah.
Henry wants to clinch.
Damballah lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.

Henry shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Damballah manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Henry controlling from the top position.

Damballah wriggles free and stands up.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Henry has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.

Henry closes the distance and clinches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Henry tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Henry drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Damballah gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Damballah goes for a takedown in the clinch but Henry prevents it.
Damballah is working for takedown but Henry is calmly controlling the position for now.
Damballah pushes Henry back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
A body shot lands from Henry .
Henry tries to work over Damballah's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Damballah has a couple of punches blocked by Henry .
Damballah lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Damballah lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Henry backwards.
Damballah tries to pull guard but Henry holds him up against the cage and eventually Damballah drops back down to his feet.
Jonthan Henry has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of El Misterioso Damballah.
Damballah managing to block the knees to the body from Henry .
Henry creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Damballah's defenses.
Damballah managing to block the knees to the body from Henry .
A nice left hand lands by Damballah.
Henry lands a knee to the head.
Damballah lands a shoulder strike.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Damballah lands a left hand.
Henry gets underhooks to prevent Damballah's takedown attempt.
Henry tries for a takedown but Damballah manages to get underhooks.
Henry throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Henry 's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Henry is trying to drag Damballah to the mat but Damballah just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Damballah lands with a light punch inside.
Henry is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Damballah pulls him back up using the underhooks.

Damballah is trying to trip Henry . He has hold of a leg but Henry is hopping around, keeping his balance for the moment. Damballah persists though and gets the takedown into guard.
Damballah in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Henry looking to hit a scissor sweep but Damballah is one step ahead there.
Henry controlling Damballah's posture.
Damballah lands a couple of decent looking shots.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Damballah throwing strikes but missing.
Damballah with a flurry of punches that miss.
Damballah in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Damballah loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Damballah's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Henry working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Damballah.
Henry wants to sweep but no luck.
Henry trying to control the position here.
Damballah missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Henry wants to sweep but no luck.
Henry utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Henry wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
El Misterioso Damballah is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Henry takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Henry doesn't manage to clinch there - Damballah circles away.
Despite the aggression on Damballah's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Damballah looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
The fight stays on the outside here - Henry looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Henry fails with a takedown attempt.
Henry tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
El Misterioso Damballah seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Henry shoots in but no luck this time.
Damballah unleashes a big counter combination but Henry bobs and weaves and avoids any damage.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Nice takedown defense from Damballah. No joy for Henry on that attempt.
Henry is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Henry avoids a punch combination nicely.
Damballah misses with a series of wild punches.
Damballah throws a series of punches but Henry moves out of range.
Danga de danga de dang - Damballah scores with a four punch combination!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Damballah defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Henry .
Damballah throws a series of strikes that have Henry backpedaling.
Damballah throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Damballah lands a nice shot that snaps Henry 's head back.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

El Misterioso Damballah showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Jonthan Henry 's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Damballah misses with the combination.
Henry is looking to clinch but Damballah is avoiding it.
Henry tries to clinch up but Damballah circles away and keeps his distance.
Damballah swinging wildly here.
Damballah throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Henry tries to clinch up.
Henry wants to clinch up but Damballah keeps it at a distance.
Damballah slaps away a takedown attempt from Henry , before circling back to the center of the mat.
Damballah is looking for the big counter here.
Damballah misses with a series of wild punches.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Henry slips a jab and a cross from Damballah.
Damballah takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Damballah throws a right and a left that both miss.
Henry appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
Damballah misses with a double jab.
Henry tries to score a power double leg takedown but Damballah sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Henry somewhat.
Damballah lets it all go there with a big combo counter but none of the punches connected.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Damballah lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Henry will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jonthan Henry . That's going to take a lot out of him.
Henry fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Damballah changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
A right-left combo lands from Damballah.
Damballah swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Henry .

Henry clinches.
Damballah lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Damballah misses with a hook from the clinch.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Henry .
Henry struggles to land a body shot inside as Damballah controls his hands.
A short right from Damballah.
Damballah avoids a wild elbow strike from Henry .
Damballah blocks an elbow strike from Henry .
Damballah lands an uppercut.
Damballah lands a left hand.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Henry gets underhooks to prevent Damballah's takedown attempt.
Henry trying to land knees to the body.
Henry missing with knees to the body.
Henry missing with knees to the body.
Damballah lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Henry throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Damballah blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Henry pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Damballah tries for a takedown. No joy.
Henry is looking to take this one to the mat.
A nice left hand lands by Damballah.
Damballah swings wildly with an uppercut but Henry uses good head movement to avoid it.
Damballah lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Henry is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Damballah is defending well for now.
Henry tries to land a knee to the head but Damballah blocks with his arms.

Damballah ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Damballah no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Henry won't allow Damballah to get back to his feet.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Damballah has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Henry off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A punch combination from Damballah misses.
Henry avoids a punch combination nicely.
Damballah has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Henry goes for a double leg but Damballah avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Damballah continues to drive forward.
Despite the aggression on Damballah's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.
Henry takes one to the chin there.
Damballah looks to land a combination. Henry sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Henry fails with an attempt to clinch.
Damballah misses with a few strikes there.
Damballah throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Damballah!
Henry shoots in looking for a takedown. Damballah tries to sprawl out of it but Henry keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Damballah manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Henry throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Damballah's waist but Damballah gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Henry off to one side.
Henry fails in his attempt to clinch.
It seemed like Damballah was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Damballah looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Damballah fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Henry fails to land the takedown.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nice shot by Damballah.
A combination from Damballah does no damage.
Henry showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Damballah.

Henry takes the fight into the clinch.
Henry has Damballah pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Damballah manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Henry is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Damballah is defending well for now.
Damballah tries to score a body lock takedown but Henry shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Damballah prevents the takedown attempt.
Damballah lands with a right to the head.
Henry looking for a takedown.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Henry is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Damballah gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Damballah misses with the head strike.
A right hand to the body from Damballah.

Damballah lands a nice trip takedown into half guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
El Misterioso Damballah comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Damballah has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Mauricio Rocha scores the fight 28:29
Judge Daniel Cesar scores the fight 28:29
Judge Leandro Rodrigues scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... El Misterioso Damballah!
El Misterioso Damballah thanked the fans post fight for their support.