PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Bucky Henderson (ranked 3564 p4p, 442 weight class) and Rick Rickerson (ranked 3953 p4p, 474 weight class). Rick Rickerson has the eye of the tiger tonight.

Henderson
vs
Rickerson

180 cm
26
175 lbs
6 - 2 - 0

177 cm
18
180 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Experienced

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Can Moonwalk

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 6 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Bucky Henderson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Rick Rickerson!
The judges for this bout are Gregory Folan, Robert Douchet and Alec Ball.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Henderson steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Rickerson.

Henderson looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Henderson slows the pace down in half guard.
Rickerson tries to roll over but Henderson keeps him under control.
Henderson takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Rickerson can do anything to dispel that myth.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rickerson is trying to maintain the position but Henderson is very close to passing his half guard.
Henderson working Rickerson over with strikes.
Rickerson is looking to control Henderson's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Rickerson avoid being mounted?
Rickerson tries to get to full guard but Henderson has control of the leg.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Henderson content to control rather than advance.
Rickerson trying to control but Henderson postures up.
Rickerson tries to get to full guard but Henderson has control of the leg.
Rickerson flails away from the bottom but he's not doing any damage.
Henderson perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Henderson is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Rickerson!
Henderson landing strikes, looking to finish!
Henderson has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Rickerson's face.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rickerson tries to reverse the position but Henderson maintains control.
Henderson avoids the attempt from Rickerson to control.
Henderson lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Henderson looking to control and managing it successfully.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Henderson 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.
Henderson looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Rickerson is working to get back to half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Henderson controlling his opponent.
Rickerson is working to get back to half guard.
Henderson controlling his opponent.
Rickerson in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Henderson lands a heavy elbow.
Rickerson can't escape the position.
Henderson putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Henderson lands a big elbow.
Henderson tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Henderson has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Rickerson's face.
Henderson controlling from the full mount.
Rickerson is working to get back to half guard.
Rickerson is in a horrible position here. Henderson smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Rickerson is looking to get to half guard.
Henderson lands a big elbow.
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 landing punches.
Henderson looking to control and managing it successfully.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bucky Henderson dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Henderson walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Henderson lands a jab to Rickerson's midsection.
Rickerson throws a sloppy head kick and Henderson moves out of range easily.
Henderson tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Rickerson manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.

Henderson closes the distance and clinches.
A nice left hand lands by Henderson.
Rickerson goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
We've been informed that Rickerson has been working hard on his conditioning in the buildup to the fight.
Henderson tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Rickerson's elbow.
Henderson lands with a short head shot on the inside.

Rickerson tightens his grip and picks Henderson up, before dumping him to the ground. Henderson manages to land in guard.
Rickerson postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Henderson is on top in guard.

Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Henderson is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Rickerson controls Henderson momentarily but Henderson frees himself.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Henderson showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Henderson is in close to Rickerson's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Rickerson is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Henderson postures up.
Rickerson might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Henderson haven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.
Henderson seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Rickerson is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.

Rickerson throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Henderson keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Rickerson's head.
Henderson sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Rickerson's guard.
Henderson controlling the action here.
Rickerson connecting with a few gentle strikes.
Henderson perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rickerson lands a slapping body shot.
Rickerson throws a right and a left that Henderson avoids nicely.
Henderson is looking for a counter combo.
Rickerson throws a body shot but no joy.
Rickerson misses with a wild body shot.
Henderson is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Rickerson can do to turn this around?
Sloppy strikes from Rickerson. Those never looked like landing.
Henderson looks to score with a jab to the body but Rickerson is just out of range.
Rickerson throws a leg kick that is checked

and Henderson holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
A nice left hand lands by Henderson.
Rickerson fails to pull guard.
Rickerson digs a right hand into Henderson's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Henderson's gas tank.
Henderson taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Henderson lands a body punch.
Rickerson is breathing heavily.
Henderson prevents the takedown attempt.
Henderson lands a right hand that snaps the head of Rickerson backwards.
Rickerson is trying to pull guard but Henderson has him pressed against the cage.
Bucky Henderson has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Rick Rickerson.
Henderson displaying some good clinch control by pressing Rickerson up against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Henderson misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Rickerson being controlled against the cage.

Henderson lands a takedown into guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Henderson stands and throws Rickerson's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Rickerson being controlled for a moment.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bucky Henderson dominated that second round.
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!

Rickerson uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Henderson.
Rickerson tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Henderson takes a swing at Rickerson's ribcage but misses.
Rickerson clobbers Henderson with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.

It looks like Bucky Henderson has been cut.

Henderson closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Rickerson fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Rickerson wants a takedown but no success here.
Nice body punch from Henderson - that landed with a thud.

Rickerson jumps into guard, dragging Henderson to the mat.
Henderson controlling from the top position.
Rickerson looking to hit a scissor sweep but Henderson is one step ahead there.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Henderson sitting in guard here, content to control.
Henderson landing with the ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Henderson makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Henderson content to stall in guard here.
Rickerson trying to strike from the bottom but really, it's not the best position to be doing that from!
Henderson controlling from the top position.
Henderson has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Henderson passes Rickerson's left leg - he's now in half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Rickerson taking some punishment here, with Henderson in his half guard.
Henderson is nestled in close to Rickerson, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Henderson seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Henderson blocks the strikes from Rickerson.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Henderson drops an elbow to the side of Rickerson's head.
Henderson seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Rickerson trying to control but Henderson postures up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rickerson wants to get back to full guard.
Henderson content to control rather than advance.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Henderson lands a nice short elbow.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Henderson lands a nice short elbow.
Henderson is thwarting Rickerson's attempts to control the position.
Henderson controlling the action here.
Rickerson tries to roll over but Henderson keeps him under control.
Henderson with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.

That's four 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.
Bucky Henderson overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Henderson seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Rickerson for as long as he can get away with.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Rickerson's jab looks to have found its range, popping Henderson under the eye.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Rickerson waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Henderson.
Henderson tries to close the distance and clinch up but Rickerson swats him away and circles back towards the center.

Rickerson clinches with his opponent.
Rick Rickerson has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Rickerson is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Henderson to keep the fight standing.
Bucky Henderson has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Rick Rickerson.

Rickerson ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Rickerson no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Bucky Henderson showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Henderson, 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 Gregory Folan scores the fight 30:26
Judge Robert Douchet scores the fight 30:27
Judge Alec Ball scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Bucky Henderson!