PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Yong Blankenship (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Keith Werdum (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Yong Blankenship has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Blankenship
vs
Werdum

161 cm
24
215 lbs
0 - 4 - 0

185 cm
25
201 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Inexperienced

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 0 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Yong Blankenship!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Keith Werdum!
The judges for this bout are Donatello Bradman, Summer Carpenter and Ron Honeybunn.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Werdum pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Blankenship back to the cage. Werdum follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.

Werdum darts in and clinches Blankenship up against the cage.

Werdum jumps into guard, dragging Blankenship to the mat.

Blankenship gets to his feet - Werdum follows without any prompting.
Blankenship takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Werdum lands a nice looking body shot.
Blankenship throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Werdum makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Werdum uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Blankenship.
Werdum is looking for the big counter here.
Blankenship throws a combination that misses
and Werdum cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Some wild striking there from Blankenship.
Yong Blankenship seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Werdum ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Blankenship moves away.
Blankenship tries to counter by clinching up but Werdum breaks away and moves out of range.
Werdum lands a slapping body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Blankenship on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Blankenship with a hook.
Werdum displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Werdum works Blankenship's body with a nice hook.
Werdum with a hook.
Werdum is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Blankenship rather than just go for the knockout.
Werdum scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Blankenship doesn't seem bothered though.
Blankenship tries to clinch up but Werdum circles away and keeps his distance.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Werdum! But no joy.
Blankenship misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Werdum let fly with a counter punch to the body but it didn't land.
Blankenship could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.

Werdum closes the distance and clinches.
Blankenship wants to take the fight to the mat but Werdum manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Blankenship avoiding damage.
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!

Blankenship manages to break the clinch.
Blankenship takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Werdum has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Nice jab there from Werdum.
A low kick from Blankenship misses
and Werdum connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Werdum ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Blankenship moves away.
Blankenship wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
Werdum takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
A big right from Blankenship misses.
Werdum lets it all go there with a big combo counter but none of the punches connected.
Werdum displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Blankenship looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Despite the aggression on Werdum's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.
Werdum has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Blankenship.
A kick lands to the mid section there for Blankenship.
Werdum paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Werdum looks winded!
Werdum displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Blankenship.
Werdum swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.

Werdum has taken the fight to the clinch.

Blankenship breaks from the clinch.
Blankenship avoids the body shot from Werdum.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Blankenship moves to clinch but Werdum breaks away
and Werdum makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Werdum rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Blankenship moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Blankenship misses with the combination.
Werdum tries to counter by closing the distance.
Blankenship tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Werdum counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Blankenship thinking.

Blankenship tries to sprawl but Werdum drives through with a takedown into half guard.
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!
Blankenship tries to kick Werdum off but Werdum keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Keith Werdum 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.

Werdum keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Blankenship misses with a few strikes there.
Werdum cracks Blankenship with a right hand to the side of the head.
Werdum stuffs the takedown attempt from Blankenship. Blankenship gets slowly back to his feet.
Nice body punch from Werdum.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Blankenship tries a head kick but it misses.
Yong Blankenship is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Werdum drives through and clinches with Blankenship against the cage.

Werdum drags the fight down to the ground.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Werdum wants to stand but Blankenship is controlling the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Blankenship distracts Werdum with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Blankenship won't allow Werdum to get back to his feet.
Werdum has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Blankenship scoring with punches to the head and body.
Blankenship throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Werdum works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

Werdum has an active guard here but Blankenship has managed to pass into half guard.
Werdum is breathing heavily.
Werdum blocking the ground and pound attempt from Blankenship.
Werdum really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Blankenship. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Blankenship is keen to just control but Werdum is a slippery customer.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Werdum blocking the ground and pound attempt from Blankenship.
Werdum tries to roll over but Blankenship keeps him under control.
Blankenship throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Werdum tries to kick Blankenship off but Blankenship keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Werdum has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Werdum is not content to let Blankenship control the position.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Blankenship looks to land a right hand but Werdum moved out of range.
Blankenship tries a head kick but it misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Blankenship throws a head kick that misses.
Werdum stuffs the takedown attempt from Blankenship. Blankenship gets slowly back to his feet.
A decent looking cross lands there for Blankenship.
Werdum moves into range and connects with a jab.
Werdum thuds his right hand into Blankenship's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Werdum thows a left - swing and a miss!
Werdum tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Keith Werdum seems to be getting the better of the standup.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Werdum avoids the head kick by Blankenship.
Blankenship tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Werdum swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
Blankenship lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Blankenship tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Blankenship tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Blankenship misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Yong Blankenship. That's going to take a lot out of him.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Blankenship tries to clinch up.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Werdum! But no joy.
Blankenship shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Werdum pinned against the cage. Werdum gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
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 Yong Blankenship will probably get the nod.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Werdum scores with a crisp jab that stopped Blankenship in his tracks.
Blankenship tried to score with a low kick but Werdum checks it.
Werdum looks to land a combination but Blankenship avoids it well.
Werdum is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.
Blankenship throws a leg kick
and Werdum cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Werdum throws a right hand that Blankenship ducks under and follows up with a left that Blankenship also avoids with ease.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Blankenship throws a sloppy head kick and Werdum moves out of range easily.

Werdum rushes Blankenship and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

Werdum manages to pull guard.
Blankenship 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.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Werdum working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Blankenship.
Blankenship trying to control the position from guard on top but Werdum is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Blankenship chips away with some ground and pound.
Werdum takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Blankenship with a flurry of punches that miss.
Werdum pulls Blankenship in to control the position.
Werdum wants to get back to his feet but he's too absorbed in his own little project and Blankenship manages to pass to side control.
Werdum avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Blankenship.

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.
Blankenship throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Blankenship lands with a punch from half guard.
Werdum pushes Blankenship off looking to stand but Blankenship dives back in and keeps control.
Blankenship takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Blankenship missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Blankenship throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Blankenship working over Werdum with some ground and pound. Werdum looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Werdum avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Blankenship.
Blankenship is looking to take a break and control but Werdum is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Blankenship thows a huge punch but Werdum dodges it nicely.
Yong Blankenship overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Blankenship missing with the ground and pound from half guard.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Good exchange - Blankenship coming out on top.
Werdum looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Blankenship tries to counter with a takedown but Werdum is quick to defend against it.
Blankenship shoots in for a takedown but Werdum shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Blankenship scores to the head and body with a nice combination!

Werdum is rocked!
Werdum wants to stay close but Blankenship steps back to make room for something. Werdum seems frozen to the spot and bam! huge swing of the leg from Blankenship and Werdum drops like he has been shot! A huge head kick and it's all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:44 of round 3, we have a winner by way of KO (Head Kick). Yong Blankenship!