PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Nigel Benn Jr (ranked 3977 p4p, 0 weight class) and Magnus Pyke (ranked 3940 p4p, 0 weight class). Pyke is bouncing up and down as he enters the arena, backed by Magnus Pyke. Well, I have no idea who's going to take this one!

Benn Jr
vs
Pyke

185 cm
31
203 lbs
16 - 12 - 0

190 cm
30
193 lbs
17 - 8 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Lethal high kicks
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 16 - 12 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Nigel Benn Jr!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 17 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Magnus Pyke!
The judges for this bout are Frank Antenori, Timothy Bukovac and Jack Bonds.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Benn Jr tests Pyke's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Benn Jr steps to his left, right into the path of a big body kick from Pyke. That one must have hurt.
Pyke shoots and misses
and Benn Jr counters with a nice uppercut.
Pyke moves into range and lands a nice body kick.
Pyke digs a good body shot into Benn Jr's ribs.
Benn Jr throws a hook but Pyke blocks it.
Benn Jr lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Benn Jr throws a jab when Pyke was well out of range.
Benn Jr throws an off balance right hand
and Pyke counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Benn Jr swings for the body but Pyke moves out of range.
Some wild striking there from Benn Jr.
Benn Jr walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pyke looks for the body kick but Benn Jr saw that one coming.
No joy there for Benn Jr, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
And Pyke responds with a good body kick, but Benn Jr manages to step out the way in time.
Benn Jr throws a jab when Pyke was well out of range.

Pyke gets a takedown into half guard.

Benn Jr manages to escape and get back to his feet!
Benn Jr throws a right hand that Pyke ducks under and follows up with a left that Pyke also avoids with ease.
Benn Jr swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Benn Jr lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Benn Jr.

It looks like Magnus Pyke has been cut.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Benn Jr walks into a straight right hand from Pyke.
Pyke throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Benn Jr swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Benn Jr misses with an attempted mid kick.
Benn Jr lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Pyke swings away with a body shot that misses
and Benn Jr counters with a stiff right hand.
Pyke comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Pyke uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Benn Jr.
A solid body kick from Pyke.
Benn Jr looks to land a combination but Pyke avoids it well.
Pyke swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Benn Jr seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.

Pyke instigates a clinch.
Benn Jr is looking to break free of the clinch but Pyke has double underhooks.
Pyke controlling the action here for a moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pyke blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Benn Jr misses with a short punch on the inside.
Pyke working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Pyke throws a punch but it's blocked by Benn Jr.
Pyke throws a head punch that misses.

Pyke manages to pull guard.
Benn Jr throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Benn Jr working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Benn Jr in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Pyke looking to sweep using the butterfly guard but Benn Jr puts pay to that idea as he passes nicely into half guard.

Benn Jr seems to be looking for submissions.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Benn Jr is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Pyke is looking to improve his position.
Benn Jr not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Benn Jr wants to stand up but Pyke is controlling the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Nigel Benn Jr will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Magnus Pyke'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.

Benn Jr walks into a straight right hand from Pyke.

Pyke closes the distance and pushes Benn Jr back into the cage.
Benn Jr tries to break the clinch but Pyke is controlling the position.
Pyke blocks a couple of punches on the inside.

Pyke manages to pull guard.

Pyke looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Benn Jr tries to free his leg and advance position but Pyke is retaining full guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Benn Jr chips away with some ground and pound.
Pyke has a closed guard, preventing Benn Jr from standing up.
Benn Jr is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Benn Jr accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pyke managing to control the position.
Benn Jr wants to pass the guard but Pyke is keeping the position.
Pyke preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Pyke has momentary wrist control but Benn Jr slips an elbow through the middle.
Nigel Benn Jr overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Pyke working away from the bottom but not quite defensive enough there because Benn Jr has passed into half guard!
Benn Jr is trying to control. Pyke wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Benn Jr thows a huge punch but Pyke dodges it nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Pyke wants to improve his position but Benn Jr is controlling well.
Benn Jr is looking to stall here but Pyke recovers full guard.
Benn Jr has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Pyke is proving hard to escape from.
Benn Jr missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Pyke trying to control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Benn Jr wants to stand and escape but instead Pyke has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

Pyke won't allow Benn Jr to get back to his feet.

Pyke postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Benn Jr is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Pyke, into his guard.

Pyke not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Benn Jr wants to stand and escape but instead Pyke has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

Pyke looking to pass the guard.
Pyke won't allow Benn Jr to get back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Benn Jr controls Pyke momentarily but Pyke frees himself.
Benn Jr wants to get back to his feet but Pyke is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Benn Jr keeping full guard, as Pyke tries to pass.
Pyke passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Pyke trying to control the action but Benn Jr is working from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Magnus Pyke showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Magnus Pyke's cut.
That's time! Benn Jr's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Benn Jr throws a body kick that misses
and Pyke connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Pyke takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Pyke misses with a body shot.
An attempted straight right counter from Benn Jr misses the target.
Pyke throws a leg kick which misses Benn Jr's front leg but catches the back leg as Benn Jr tries to avoid it.
Benn Jr throws a right hand that misses
letting Pyke counter with a right hand.
A jab from Benn Jr finds it's way through Pyke's defenses.
Benn Jr throws a series of punches but Pyke moves out of range.
A countering left hand to the body from Pyke misses.
Benn Jr uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Benn Jr rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Pyke moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Pyke tries a quick counter leg kick but Benn Jr is wise to it.
Magnus Pyke seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Benn Jr throws a hook but Pyke avoids it easily.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Benn Jr throws a body punch but Pyke moves out of range.
Benn Jr stalks Pyke and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Pyke's face. Pyke staggers backwards, shaken.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pyke tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Benn Jr defends well and Pyke ends up having to push Benn Jr into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Benn Jr throws a hard body shot but it just misses.

Pyke closes the distance and pushes Benn Jr back into the cage.
Benn Jr wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Pyke has him pressed against the cage.
Pyke stalls.
Pyke has Benn Jr pressed against the cage, preventing Benn Jr from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Benn Jr missing with knees to the body.
Pyke lands a hook that snaps the head of Benn Jr backwards.
Pyke prevents Benn Jr from breaking the clinch.
Benn Jr has a couple of punches blocked by Pyke.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Benn Jr.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Benn Jr misses with a short punch on the inside.
Benn Jr wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Benn Jr letting Pyke take a breather here.
Pyke lands a right hand that snaps the head of Benn Jr backwards.
Pyke tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Benn Jr misses with a punch on the inside.
Benn Jr is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Pyke just misses with a elbow thrown towards Benn Jr's brow.
Benn Jr can't break the clinch.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Our sources have told us that Benn Jr has been working on his knees in the buildup to the fight.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Benn Jr.
Benn Jr misses with a body punch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pyke throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Benn Jrs head.
Pyke misses with a hook from the clinch.
Pyke lands a shoulder strike.
Still in the clinch, Pyke scores with a nice short uppercut.
A right hook to the body lands for Benn Jr.
Benn Jr wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Pyke has him pressed against the cage.

Pyke pulls guard effortlessly.
Pyke is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

Pyke had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Benn Jr defends it easily.
Benn Jr wants to get up but he can't break Pyke's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Benn Jr 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 four minutes gone in the round.
Benn Jr is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Pyke is trying to keep Benn Jr in close.
Benn Jr working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Pyke bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Benn Jr's guard.

Benn Jr tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Benn Jr keeping full guard, as Pyke tries to pass.
Pyke looking to sit in guard and control but Benn Jr gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Benn Jr throwing strikes from guard but Pyke blocks nicely.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Magnus Pyke.
I think Pyke has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Frank Antenori scores the fight 29:29
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 28:29
Judge Jack Bonds scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Magnus Pyke!
A relieved looking Magnus Pyke thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.
The defeated Nigel Benn Jr had this to say: 'ill be back'.