PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between John Henry (ranked 969 p4p, 114 weight class) and Leo Yaj (ranked 1381 p4p, 151 weight class). Yaj has chosen Dragula - Rob Zombie as his entrance music. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Henry
vs
Yaj

173 cm
35
151 lbs
28 - 19 - 0

156 cm
32
158 lbs
22 - 13 - 0

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Dangerous knees
Granite chin

FORCEE

Velocity Fightwear
FORCEE

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 28 - 19 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, John Henry!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 22 - 13 - 0, fighting out of New York, Leo Yaj!
The judges for this bout are Dillan Fox, Trevor Gratis and William Peck.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Henry cracks Yaj with a right hand to the side of the head.
Henry fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Henry ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Henry swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Yaj misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Yaj takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
A jab from Henry finds it's way through Yaj's defenses.
Henry lunges at Yaj with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Yaj's hand.
Yaj takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Henry comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
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!
Henry throws a body shot but no joy.
Henry scores with a nice strike.
Henry ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Henry is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.
Henry bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Yaj's head.
Yaj takes one on the button.
Yaj misses with a body shot
letting Henry counter with a right hand.
Henry has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.
Henry lands a right hook to the body.
Henry misses with a lunging right hand
and Yaj counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Henry steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Yaj.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Henry scores with a jab to the body.
Yaj keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Henry.
Yaj unleashes a big counter combination but Henry bobs and weaves and avoids any damage.
Henry looks to land a left hand but Yaj moved out of range nicely.

Yaj takes the fight into the clinch.
Yaj told us before the fight that he's been working on his elbows. An under utilised technique these days - let's see if it can sway the outcome of the fight.
Yaj lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.

It looks like John Henry has been cut.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Henry.
Henry wants to break the clinch but can't.
Henry blocking some punches.
Yaj throws a head punch that misses.
Henry cracks Yaj with a nice body shot.
Yaj tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Henry avoids it.
Yaj prevents a body shot from Henry.
Yaj throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Henry cracks Yaj with a nice body shot.
Still in the clinch, Henry scores with a nice short uppercut.

Henry manages to break the clinch.
Henry showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Yaj.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Henry throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Yaj counters with a straight right hand.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
A jab lands there for Henry.
Yaj tries to close the distance and clinch but Henry swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Yaj throws a big shot that misses.
John Henry is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Yaj throws a lazy uppercut
and Henry cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Henry uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Yaj has time to react.
Yaj misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Henry.
Yaj throws a body shot but no joy.
Henry circles away from the clinch attempt.
Henry is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Henry lands with a cross.
Henry throws a shot from downtown. Yaj moves away and avoids it.
Henry is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Henry lands a jab to the head.
Yaj has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Henry finds it's way round the side to connect with Yaj's head.
Yaj slips a straight right by Henry.
Yaj misses with a hook to the body
and Henry counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Henry uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Yaj.
Yaj dives in and grabs Henry's left leg, looking for a takedown. Henry pushes down on Yaj's head and hops out.
Yaj takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Henry misses with a straight right.
Henry showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Yaj.
Henry throwing a counter right hand but Yaj manages to avoid it.
A jab from Henry does it's job there.
Henry misses with a straight right.
Yaj misses the shot to the body.
The fighters circling - Henry throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Yaj throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Henry's waist but Henry gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Yaj off to one side.
Henry cracks Yaj with an open hand slap.
Henry lands with a shot to the body.
Nice defenses there by Henry.
Henry ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Henry lands a jab to Yaj's midsection.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Henry just misses with a punch to the body.
Henry throws out a token jab with nothing on it.

Henry gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Yaj accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Yaj has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Henry wants to sweep here but Yaj controlling him for the moment.
Yaj throws an elbow that misses. Henry uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Yaj's guard. Nice move by Henry!

Henry landing with the ground and pound.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Henry engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John Henry dominated that round.
The cut man is working on John Henry's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Yaj throws a sloppy body shot
and Henry counters with a nice uppercut.
Yaj takes one to the chin there.
Yaj bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Henry's head.
John Henry is winning the standup battle so far.
Yaj misses with a hook.
Yaj uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Henry.
Yaj let fly with a counter punch to the body but it didn't land.
Henry is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Yaj can do to turn this around?
Henry waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Yaj.
Henry lands with a cross.
Henry uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Henry walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Yaj shoots and misses
and Henry counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Henry looks to land a left hand but Yaj moved out of range nicely.
Henry lands a jab-cross combination.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Yaj moves into the clinch.
Henry lands on the inside with an uppercut.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Henry.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Yaj.
Henry stalls.
Yaj tries to throw a body punch but Henry avoids it by throwing Yaj back against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Still in the clinch, Henry scores with a nice short uppercut.
Yaj just leaning against Henry, taking a breather.

Henry's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Yaj takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Henry throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Yaj on the side of the head.
Henry cracks Yaj with an open hand slap.
Henry listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Henry misses the jab.
A nice side step and Yaj releases a counter shot to the body, but it doesn't find it's home.

Yaj clinches with his opponent.
Henry takes a shot to the head.
A hook to the body from Henry.
Yaj misses with some punches.
A frustrated look appears on Henry's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Henry has a couple of punches blocked by Yaj.
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!
Henry swings wildly with an uppercut but Yaj uses good head movement to avoid it.
Yaj blocks a punch to the side of the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Henry.
Yaj misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Henry.
Henry takes an elbow to the temple.
A head punch on the inside from Henry fails to land.
A short right from Henry.
Henry is looking to break free of the clinch but Yaj has double underhooks.
Henry throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Yajs head.
John Henry has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Yaj blocking some punches.

Yaj has moved round to his opponent's back and is looking for a suplex! Oh snap! He's tossed Henry clear over his head and slammed him to the mat!

Henry is trying to get back to his feet. He's worked up on to his knees and now he's on his feet with his head on the canvas, trying to shake Yaj off. It looks like it's working - Yaj slides off, much to his dismay, and we're back to standing! Henry displaying calm under pressure there.
Henry with a jab.
Yaj shoots in but no luck this time.
Henry lands a nice looking body shot.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Yaj fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Henry connects with a right hand. Yaj shakes it off.
Yaj connects with a right hand. Henry shakes it off.
Henry paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Yaj uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Henry.
Henry misses with a looping left.
Henry with a jab.

Yaj closes the distance and pushes Henry back into the cage.
Yaj working aggressively here.
Henry lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Yaj backwards.

Henry breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Henry tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Yaj was well out of range. Poor timing from Henry.
Yaj falls off balance throwing a combination
and Yaj takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Henry misses with a double jab
and Yaj counters with a nice body shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Yaj slips under a jab from Henry.
Henry uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Yaj.
Henry takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Henry lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Henry misses with a body shot.
Yaj throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Henry fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Yaj looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Yaj is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Henry rather than just go for the knockout.
Henry throws a body shot but no joy.
Henry avoids the body shot from Yaj.
Yaj swings away with a body shot that misses
and Henry counters with a nice body shot.
Yaj throws a sloppy body shot
and Yaj takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Yaj lands the left hand.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Yaj tries to clinch but Henry moves out of range.
Yaj on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Henry connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Yaj throws a body punch but Henry moves out of range.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John Henry dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on John Henry's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Henry throws a series of strikes that have Yaj backpedaling.
Yaj has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
Yaj misses with a left hand
and Henry counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Yaj thinking.
Yaj uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Henry.
Yaj bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Henry uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Yaj.
A jab from Henry misses.
Yaj misses with a combination
and Henry counters with a left and a right that stings Yaj.
Yaj thuds a left hand into Henry's body.
Henry tests Yaj's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Yaj on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Henry throws a right and a left that Yaj avoids nicely.
Henry walks into a stiff left hand from Yaj.
Henry takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Yaj digs a good body shot into Henry's ribs.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yaj slips a jab and a cross from Henry.
Yaj stuns Henry with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Yaj ducks under a wild hook from Henry.
Yaj closes the distance looking to clinch
and Henry counters with a straight right hand.
Henry throws a hook but Yaj blocks it.
Yaj walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Yaj misses with a wild body shot.
Yaj misses with a few strikes there.
Henry slips a straight right by Yaj.
Henry fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Yaj manages to avoid it.
Henry lands a body shot.
Henry lands a slapping body shot.
Henry throws a big shot that misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Yaj tries to close the distance and clinch but Henry swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Henry looks to land a right hand but Yaj moved out of range.
Yaj closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Good shot there by Henry.
Yaj misses with a wild body shot.
Good exchange - Henry coming out on top.
Yaj cracks Henry with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Yaj ducks under a wild hook from Henry.
Henry clobbers Yaj with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Henry moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Yaj is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Henry throws an overhand right that lands on Yaj's shoulder, as Yaj tries to avoid the shot.
Yaj throws a series of punches but Henry moves out of range.
Horrible takedown attempt by Yaj or perhaps it was just good defense by Henry, which made it look bad.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Yaj ducks right into an uppercut from Henry.
Henry keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Yaj avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
A nice side step and Yaj releases a counter shot to the body, but it doesn't find it's home.
Henry lands with a straight right. Yaj didn't see that one coming.
Henry lands a jab.
Henry's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Yaj connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Henry scrambles back to his feet.
Henry throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Yaj sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Henry works the jab nicely.
Henry smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Henry moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Yaj slips under a jab from Henry.
Yaj misses with a body punch
and Henry counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Yaj throws a right and a left that both miss.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Henry throws a body shot but no joy.
Henry avoids the body shot from Yaj.
It looked like Henry was trying to counter with a body shot coming off that last attack from Yaj.
Henry with a jab.
Henry throws a shot to the body.
Leo Yaj has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Henry throws an overhand right that lands on Yaj's shoulder, as Yaj tries to avoid the shot.
Yaj misses with a body punch
enabling Henry to counter with a crisp jab.
Henry missing with a left hand there. Yaj was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Yaj takes one to the chin there.
Yaj will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
John Henry is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Henry closes the distance and lands a one-two.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Nice defenses there by Yaj.
Henry throws a lazy uppercut
and Henry takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Yaj throws a lazy right hand but Henry sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
A little feinted left hand from Henry on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.

And that's the end of the fight!
John Henry showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Henry 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 Dillan Fox scores the fight 30:27
Judge Trevor Gratis scores the fight 30:27
Judge William Peck scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... John Henry!
A victorious John Henry thanked his army of followers in his post fight interview, telling people to make sure they follow him on Twitter.