PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Tangerine Dream (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Matthieu Benoit (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Dream kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is One 24. Matthieu Benoit has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Tangerine Dream's chin.

Dream
vs
Benoit

188 cm
27
194 lbs
12 - 1 - 1

185 cm
27
193 lbs
16 - 9 - 2

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

ADCC Champion
World class boxer
Good gas tank

BioPharm Nutrition

Milwaukee's Best 160 -$150 SALE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the middleweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 12 - 1 - 1, fighting out of New York, Tangerine Dream!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 16 - 9 - 2, fighting out of New York, Matthieu Benoit!
The judges for this bout are Eddie Farnsworth, Chad Campbell and Columbo Gatti.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Dream lands with a slapping head kick.
A low kick from Dream misses
and Benoit counters with a right hand to the body.
Dream misses with a hook.
Benoit checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Dream just misses with a punch to the body.
Dream fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
An inside leg kick lands from Benoit.
Tangerine Dream seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Dream scores with a crisp jab that stopped Benoit in his tracks.
A good leg kick by Dream.
Dream scores with a head kick.

It looks like Matthieu Benoit has been cut.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Benoit misses with a low kick.
Dream stuffs the takedown attempt from Benoit. Benoit gets slowly back to his feet.
Benoit misses with a leg kick.
Benoit lands with a nice body kick.
Dream thumps Benoit with a low kick.
Dream stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Benoit.
Benoit lands a jab to Dream's midsection.
A kick lands to the mid section there for Benoit.
Benoit motions for Dream to come forward. Benoit throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A good leg kick by Dream.
Benoit checks a low kick from Dream.
Benoit misses the shot to the body.
Dream keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Benoit.

Benoit scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Benoit controlling the pace.

Benoit is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Benoit seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Dream does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Benoit looks to land a strike but Dream avoids it nicely and regains full guard.
Benoit trying to control but Dream is working from the bottom.

Benoit drops back, looking for a kneebar! Dream looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Dream looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Dream!
Benoit is trying to control Dream's posture but Dream avoids it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Benoit tries to buck Dream off but Dream is having none of it.
Benoit tries to strike but it doesn't land.
Dream tries to stand but Benoit is controlling his head.
Benoit tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Dream wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Benoit can't do much from the bottom here.
I wouldn't like to be where Benoit is right now.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Benoit is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Benoit wings away with a couple of strikes but they don't land.
The referee asks Dream politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Dream prefers to stall for the moment though.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
You can see the frustration on Benoit's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Dream controls the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Matthieu Benoit dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Matthieu Benoit's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Dream tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Dream throws a half hearted mid kick.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Benoit checks a leg kick.
Benoit swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Dream fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Benoit.
Dream throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Dream misses the shot to the body.
Dream throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Dream throws a right and a left that both miss.
A nice inside leg kick there by Benoit. That's going to slow Dream down.
Dream is looking to score with low kicks.
Benoit throws a wild body kick that Dream sees coming a mile off.
Dream throws a poor cross that misses
and Benoit makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Benoit moves out of range as Dream throws a body kick.
Benoit darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Benoit tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Dream moves out of range of the body kick from Benoit.
Tangerine Dream is winning the standup battle so far.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Dream throws a leg kick
and Benoit counters with a stiff right hand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Benoit checks the leg kick nicely there.
Benoit's jab looks to have found its range, popping Dream under the eye.
Dream tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Dream closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Benoit uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Dream.
Benoit ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Dream moves away.
Dream fails in his attempt to clinch.
Benoit fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Dream manages to avoid it.
Benoit checks the leg kick.
Dream wants to clinch.
Benoit throws a body kick that misses.
A jab from Benoit misses.
Benoit throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Benoit does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Dream scores with a decent looking hook.
Dream is looking to score with low kicks.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dream fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Benoit.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Benoit misses the shot to the body.
Benoit checks a low kick from Dream.
Benoit throws out a loose jab but Dream uses good head movement to avoid it.

Dream clinches up with Benoit and pushes him back against the cage.
Benoit misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Dream's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Dream lands a body punch.
Benoit tries for a takedown. No joy.
A short right from Dream.
Benoit blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
A body shot lands from Benoit.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Benoit.
Dream lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Benoit or not.
Benoit goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Benoit tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Benoit misses with a shot to the kidneys.
A short right from Dream on the inside.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Benoit wants to stall.
Benoit misses with a hook to the ribs.
Benoit is looking to control Dream's arms but Dream gets an underhook and turns him. Now Benoit has his back to the cage.
Benoit tries to throw a body punch but Dream avoids it by throwing Benoit back against the cage.
Benoit swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Dream working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Benoit blocking some punches.
Benoit lands a hook that snaps the head of Dream backwards.
Benoit blocks an uppercut.

Dream's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Benoit looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Dream lands a front kick.
Dream fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Good leg kick by Dream there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Dream tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Tangerine Dream is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Dream lands a lovely overhand right.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Thud! ouch! good body kick from Dream - that will leave a mark!
Dream throws an overhand right that lands on Benoit's shoulder, as Benoit tries to avoid the shot.
Dream blocks a leg kick.
Dream moves away from the strike by Benoit.
Dream throws a sloppy head kick and Benoit moves out of range easily.
Benoit lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Dream lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Benoit circles away quickly and effectively.
Dream walks forward, straight into a front kick from Benoit.
Dream wants to clinch
and Benoit counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
A bone on bone clash there as Dream blocks the leg kick.
Dream pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Dream throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Benoit moves out of range of the leg kick from Dream.
Dream tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Benoit manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Dream feints and then cracks Benoit's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Benoit down.
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 Tangerine Dream will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Matthieu Benoit's cut.
That's time! Dream's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Benoit moves out of range of the leg kick from Dream.
Dream gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Dream throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Dream on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Dream looks to throw a body kick
and Benoit counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Benoit takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.
Benoit slips under a jab from Dream.
Benoit's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Benoit keeps Dream at a distance using the push kick.
Dream tries a head kick but it misses.
Dream ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Dream looks to land a body kick but Benoit moved away.
Dream checks a leg kick.
A punch combination from Benoit misses.
Benoit feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Dream's calf.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
This has been an exciting period of action!
An inside leg kick lands from Dream.
Benoit shoots in for a takedown but Dream shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Benoit throws the kick towards the body but Dream avoids it.
Dream misses with a low kick.
Dream keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Benoit tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Benoit takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Dream lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Benoit circles away quickly and effectively.
Dream blocks a jab.
Dream jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Dream slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Benoit lands with a cross.
Benoit fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Dream manages to avoid it.
Dream sizes up Benoit with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
A shot to the liver by Dream. Beautiful body shot.
Dream pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Dream swings and misses with a shot to the body
letting Benoit counter with a right hand.
Dream misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Benoit shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
A jab from Benoit misses.
Benoit takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Benoit connects with a body shot.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Benoit pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Dream connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Dream tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Dream moves out of range of the body kick.
Benoit takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Benoit shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Dream as he jumps to the side.
Dream fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Dream thows a left - swing and a miss!
A slow jab from Dream misses its intended target.
Benoit throws a push kick but Dream slaps the foot to one side.
Dream turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Benoit thuds a left hand into Dream's body.
Dream is looking to clinch.
Benoit misses with a low kick.
Benoit paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Benoit looks to land a body kick but Dream moved away.
Dream tries to close the distance and clinch but Benoit swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Dream throws a nice outside leg kick.
Dream goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
Dream bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.

Benoit closes the distance and clinches.
Dream misses with some punches.
Benoit misses with a hook to the ribs.
Benoit tries to work over Dream's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Dream lands a shot to the body.
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!

Dream pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Benoit.
Tangerine Dream has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Matthieu Benoit.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Benoit punishes Dream's body with a nice straight punch.
Dream tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Benoit looks to throw the jab but Dream is out of range.
Dream lands a leg kick that knocks Benoit off balance momentarily.
Dream fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Benoit is out of range.
Dream pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Benoit keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Benoit takes a head kick and keeps coming.
Benoit throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Benoit staying out of range there.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Benoit fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Benoit throws a series of punches but Dream avoids them all with ease.
Benoit throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but Tangerine Dream did the better work so I'd imagine he'll take it.
The cut man is working on Matthieu Benoit's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

A decent looking body kick lands there for Dream.
Dream scores with a body shot.
Dream tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Dream misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Dream keeps Benoit at a distance using the push kick.
Benoit swats away the attempt to clinch by Dream.
Dream throws a quick inside leg kick.
Dream lands a head shot.
Jab from Dream.
Benoit jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Some bone on bone action there as Dream checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Benoit has developed a nice purple lump on his ribcage, as a result of some heavy body kicks from Dream.
A slapping leg kick lands for Dream.
Benoit throws a nice inside leg kick.
Benoit checks the leg kick.
A nice leg kick lands there from Dream.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dream throws a looping overhand right but Benoit ducks down to avoid it.
Dream tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Benoit manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
A solid leg kick lands there for Benoit.
Benoit's corner calls for a 1-2. Benoit obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Benoit takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Dream lands a nice leg kick that just misses Benoit's sensitive parts.
Benoit tries a head kick but it misses.
Benoit is absolutely dripping with sweat - he looks exhausted.
Benoit looks to land a combination. Dream sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Dream uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Benoit.
Benoit swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Dream fails in his attempt to clinch.
That kick from Dream tenderised Benoit's leg. Benoit is trying to keep his angry face on.
A right-left combo lands from Dream.
Benoit moves out of range of the body kick from Dream.
Dream misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Benoit.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A decent looking body kick lands there for Benoit.
A telegraphed right hand from Benoit misses the target.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Dream lands with a kick to the ribs.
Benoit misses with the combination.
Dream throws a head kick but Benoit moves out of range.
Benoit walks forward, straight into a front kick from Dream.
Benoit misses with a low kick.
Benoit throws the left hand but Dream avoids the punch easily.
Nice jab there from Benoit.
Dream misses with a wild body shot.
Dream throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Benoit misses with a looping left.
Dream connects with a leg kick. Benoit looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
A cross from Dream lands.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dream misses with a straight right.

Benoit shoots in and gets a takedown into Dream's guard.
Dream trying to control the position here.
Benoit content to stall in guard here.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Dream looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Dream scores with a jab to the body.
Benoit misses with a wild body shot.
Dream throws a quick inside leg kick.
A jab from Benoit misses.
A solid leg kick lands there for Dream.
Both fighters circling a little - Dream finishes the exchange with a kick to the body.
Benoit checks the leg kick nicely there.
Dream checks the leg kick nicely there.
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!
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Benoit is defended easily by Dream.

Dream closes the distance and clinches.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Dream doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Nice body punch from Dream - that landed with a thud.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tangerine Dream had his way with Matthieu Benoit in that round.
The cut man is working on Matthieu Benoit's cut.
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. And we move into the final round!

Dream's corner calls for a 1-2. Dream obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Thud! ouch! good body kick from Benoit - that will leave a mark!
Benoit throws a predictable looking body shot
and Dream counters with a good low kick that Benoit was not able to check.
A kick lands to the mid section there for Dream.
Dream fails with an attempt to clinch.
Dream throws a hook but Benoit avoids it easily.
Dream looks for the body kick but Benoit saw that one coming.
Benoit connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Dream takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Dream throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Dream lands with a thumping leg kick.
A good leg kick by Dream.
Benoit throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Dream bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Benoit's head.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Dream thuds a mid kick into his opponent's body. That will wear on Benoit if he has to take too many more of those.
Benoit tries to land a front kick but Dream steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dream tries to clinch but Benoit is having none of it.
Benoit connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Dream doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Benoit looks to score with a jab to the body but Dream is just out of range.
Dream throws the left hand but Benoit avoids the punch easily.
Dream keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Benoit throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Benoit swings for the body but Dream moves out of range.
Benoit dips to his left and cracks Dream with an uppercut!
Good work by Benoit as he checks the leg kick.
Benoit is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Dream.
Benoit takes a nasty kick to the mid section... That should keep him thinking. Does he try and block and risk a head kick landing?
Benoit is wobbling all over the place through exhaustion. Will he make it to the final bell?
Dream uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Benoit.
Dream misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Benoit avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Benoit swats away the attempt to clinch by Dream.
Benoit gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Benoit throws a good cross that connects.
Dream slips under a jab.
Dream throws a nice inside leg kick.
Dream on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Dream motions for Benoit to come forward. Dream throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Dream ducks right into an uppercut from Benoit.
Dream fails in his attempt to clinch.
Benoit tests Dream's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Benoit wants to slow Dream down by chopping away at his legs.
Dream lands with an overhand left.
Nice body kick from Dream.
Dream throws a leg kick that is checked
and Benoit counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dream swings for the body but Benoit moves out of range.
Benoit takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
A jab from Benoit finds it's way through Dream's defenses.
Benoit is looking to chop away at Dream's legs.
Benoit throws a body punch but Dream moves out of range.
Good work by Dream as he checks the leg kick.
Dream lands a body shot.
Tangerine Dream is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Benoit throws a push kick but Dream slaps the foot to one side.
Nice body kick there by Benoit.
Dream punishes Benoit's body with a nice straight punch.
Nice body punch from Dream.
Dream scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Benoit doesn't seem bothered though.
Benoit motions for Dream to come forward. Benoit throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Dream slips under a jab.
Benoit chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Dream can pounce on him.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Dream works the jab nicely.
Dream shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Benoit jabs at Dream's body.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Nice straight punches there by Dream. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Dream.
Dream scores with a push kick.
Matthieu Benoit has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Dream throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
A solid leg kick lands there for Benoit.

Benoit drives through with a takedown into guard.
Benoit postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

Dream uses the cage to get back to his feet.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Dream ducks under a wild hook from Benoit.
Dream tries to clinch up but Benoit circles away and keeps his distance.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Tangerine Dream.
I think Dream has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Eddie Farnsworth scores the fight 49:46
Judge Chad Campbell scores the fight 49:46
Judge Columbo Gatti scores the fight 48:48

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Tangerine Dream!
Tangerine Dream retains his middleweight title!