PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Dan Henderson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mike Taylor (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Henderson
vs
Taylor

185 cm
22
205 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

191 cm
21
205 lbs
4 - 4 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, Dan Henderson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 4 - 0, fighting out of New York, Mike Taylor!
The judges for this bout are David Schapiro, Steve Montenegro and Jorge Garcia.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Taylor shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Henderson as he jumps to the side.
Henderson tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Taylor paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Taylor dodges the punch combination from Henderson.
Taylor keeps the fight on the outside.
Henderson moves in looking to clinch but Taylor pushes him off.
Taylor throws a sloppy head kick and Henderson moves out of range easily.
Henderson doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Taylor counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Henderson's guard now.
Taylor forces his way into half guard.
Henderson is in trouble now - Taylor has advanced to mount!
Taylor prevents Henderson from getting the reversal.
Taylor controlling the pace for now.
Henderson sneaks a leg back under and regains half guard and is working straight away to try and get back to guard. He hasn't managed just yet though.
Henderson is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Taylor trying to control the action but Henderson is working from the bottom.
Taylor not doing much here.
Taylor wants to pass the guard but Henderson is defending well.
Henderson trying to control here.
Taylor is trying to control. Henderson wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Henderson is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Taylor wants to lay and pray for a moment but Henderson keeps working.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Taylor fails to land the takedown.
Taylor moves out of range of the body kick from Henderson.
Taylor swings for the body but Henderson moves out of range.
Taylor misses with a double jab.
Henderson looks to clinch

and Taylor moves into the clinch.
Henderson tries to score a body lock takedown but Taylor shows good agility there to stay on his feet.

Henderson breaks the clinch.
Henderson closes the distance looking to clinch
and Taylor cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Henderson wants to clinch but Taylor slips to the side

and Taylor counters with a shoot takedown. Henderson fights it but they end up in guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Taylor tries to free his leg and advance position but Henderson is retaining full guard.

Henderson is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Henderson keeping moving, preventing Taylor from controlling successfully.

The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Henderson is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Taylor trying to control but Henderson is working from the bottom.
Taylor stays in close to Henderson's body and controls the position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Taylor throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Taylor stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Henderson swivels though and keeps the full 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.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Henderson with a lazy takedown attempt

and Taylor counters with a nice double leg into side control. Henderson won't be happy with that.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Dan Henderson. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Taylor decides to take the fight back to the feet.
Taylor swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Taylor is looking to land body kicks.
Henderson has his takedown stuffed

and Taylor counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Henderson!
Henderson wants to control but Taylor is having none of it.
Henderson is desperately trying to improve his position but Taylor has a good base and remains in mount.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Henderson wants to hold on but Taylor pushes him away.
Taylor tries to control but Henderson wriggling away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mike Taylor dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Taylor looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Taylor trying to control the position from guard on top but Henderson is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Taylor slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Henderson tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Taylor wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Mike Taylor has got the better of the ground game so far.
Taylor wants to control but Henderson is keeping him busy.

Taylor decides to stand up, so the ref orders Henderson to his feet.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Taylor darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Henderson throws a strike from the bottom that misses.
Henderson has hold of Taylor's hands but Taylor slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.

Taylor decides to return to a standing position.
Taylor keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.

Taylor closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Taylor lands in his opponent's guard.
Henderson 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.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Taylor working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Henderson's head.
Taylor trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

Henderson has his foot on Taylor's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Taylor works his way back into a safe position though.
Henderson keeping moving, preventing Taylor from controlling successfully.
Taylor prevents Henderson from getting back to his feet.
Taylor pushing down on Henderson's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Henderson looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Taylor tries to stand but his hand is stuck under Henderson.

Taylor is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Taylor is looking to advance position but Henderson won't allow it.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Henderson actively working from the bottom here.
Taylor wants to free his trapped foot but Henderson is holding on for dear life with his legs.

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.
Taylor performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Henderson wants to get back to full guard.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Taylor looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Henderson is fending him off so far but Taylor persists. Nope, Henderson circles away and we're back to standing.
Henderson wants to clinch
and Taylor counters with a left and a right that stings Henderson.
Taylor walks forward, straight into a front kick from Henderson.

Taylor drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Henderson wants to control but Taylor postures up.
Henderson tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Taylor wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mike Taylor showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Henderson is looking to clinch but Taylor is avoiding it.
Taylor throws out a leg kick but Henderson moves out of range and Taylor only half commits.
Henderson tries to clinch there but Taylor circles away.
Henderson with a poor takedown

and Taylor counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Henderson!
Henderson is trying to reverse the position but instead Taylor has taken his back - oops!
Taylor not allowing Henderson to control his hands.
Henderson looking very determined here, making life difficult for Taylor.
Taylor lands with a couple of good shots - one to the side of the head and one questionable shot that could be viewed as to the back of the head but the referee lets it go.
Taylor is looking to finish with some ground and pound!
Taylor struggling to keep hold of the position.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
You can see the frustration on Henderson's face… He knows he is in trouble unless he improves his position sooner rather than later.

That's one minute gone in the round.
So, who will make the next big move? In this position it could be crucial.
A lull in the action here.
You can see the frustration on Henderson's face… He knows he is in trouble unless he improves his position sooner rather than later.
What can Henderson do to escape this position? He's going to have to figure it out pretty quick if he wants to stay in the fight!
Henderson trying to control but not successfully.
Taylor really has the hooks in deep now - there seems like no escape for Henderson.
Dan Henderson has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

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.

Henderson fending off the submission attempt from Taylor.
Henderson tries to escape the position - he's now mounted. Is that better or worse? Hard to tell!
Henderson tries to hold on but Taylor pushes him away.
Henderson is trying to escape the mount.
Taylor is in the full mount, landing strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Taylor trying to control but Henderson is having none of it.
Taylor raining down shots from the mount!
Taylor tries to control but Henderson wriggling away.
Henderson wants to control but Taylor is having none of it.
Taylor wants to control the pace but Henderson is squirming around nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Henderson is in all sorts of trouble here.
Taylor looking to control but Henderson is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Taylor working Henderson over with strikes here.
Henderson wants to control but Taylor is having none of it.
Taylor tries to control but Henderson wriggling away.

Despite being in the dominant position, Mike Taylor just isn't active enough and the referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Taylor shoots in but Henderson avoids the takedown attempt easily.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Henderson fails to land the takedown.
Mike Taylor is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Taylor misses with an attempted mid kick.

And that's the end of the fight!
Mike Taylor comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Taylor has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 David Schapiro scores the fight 27:30
Judge Steve Montenegro scores the fight 27:30
Judge Jorge Garcia scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Mike Taylor!