PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Jackson Shaw (ranked 2914 p4p, 2360 weight class) and Frank Mir (ranked 343 p4p, 0 weight class). Frank Mir told me before the fight that he's been watching a lot of DVDs so let's see if that helps him in this one! I can't wait to find out!

Shaw
vs
Mir

170 cm
26
250
5 - 2 - 0

190 cm
25
265
4 - 2 - 0

Good takedowns
Brawler
Experienced

BJJ Brown Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 2 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Jackson Shaw!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 2 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Frank Mir!
The judges for this bout are Winston Alpacca, Sandra Marshall and David Hoff.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Mir shoots for a takedown but Shaw saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
As Mir tries to get set, Shaw tries to push him back and clinch up but Mir manages to avoid the attempt.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Shaw.
Mir can't do much from the bottom here.
A control attempt from Mir but he's now mounted!
Shaw wants to stand but Mir is holding on to him, trying to stop him posturing up.
Mir wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Shaw.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mir tries to lock up and control but Shaw gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Shaw tries to control but Mir wriggling away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mir is in all sorts of trouble here.
Mir tries to lock up and control but Shaw gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Shaw could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Shaw trying to control but Mir is having none of it.
Mir tries to get back to half guard but can't.

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.

Shaw is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Mir can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
A nice elbow there by Shaw.
Shaw controlling from mount.
Shaw has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Mir's face.
Mir avoids a series of strikes thrown by Shaw.
Mir is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mir is squirming around, avoiding Shaw's attempts to control the action.
Mir's corner are shouting for him to stand up but that's bad cornering - how is he meant to stand up when he's mounted? He should be looking to improve his position on the ground before trying to stand back up.
Shaw content just to control the position here.
Shaw unloads with some shots from mount but Mir bucks and avoids them well.
Mir tries to hold on but Shaw pushes him away.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Mir regains half guard.
Shaw content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mir gets back to full guard.
Mir is looking to sweep but instead, Shaw has passed into half guard.
Mir trying to control here.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Jackson Shaw 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.

Mir gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Shaw to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Mir is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Shaw is controlling him.
Mir 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.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mir is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Shaw is controlling him.
Shaw trying to control the position from guard on top but Mir is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shaw controlling from the top position.
Shaw slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Mir is trying to get back to half guard.
Mir throws a couple of strikes from the bottom.
Shaw tries to advance to mount but Mir denies him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
You can see the frustration on Mir's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

Shaw tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Shaw has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Mir manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
Shaw throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Shaw tries to pass to full mount but Mir defends it.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Shaw misses with a head shot. Mir uses the momentum to regain guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mir trying to control the position.
Shaw postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.

Mir gets tackled into the cage by Shaw. Shaw maintains the clinch.

Shaw gets a trip takedown into half guard.
Mir is doing well to avoid being mounted. He's controlling the position at the moment.
Mir pushes Shaw off looking to stand but Shaw dives back in and keeps control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shaw seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Mir does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Mir gets back to full guard.
Mir looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Shaw wants to control from the top but Mir keeps moving.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Mir trying to control the position.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Shaw fails to land the takedown.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Mir closes the distance and pushes Shaw back into the cage.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Jackson Shaw dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Mir closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Mir perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Shaw is looking to control Mir's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Shaw avoid being mounted?
Shaw is in a bad position, trying to hold on for dear life but he is really struggling to maintain any sort of control.

Mir is looking for a kimura but Shaw is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Mir to get the leverage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mir seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Mir tries to pass the half guard into mount. Shaw knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Shaw tries to get to full guard but Mir has control of the leg.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mir perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Mir wants to stand but Shaw has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.
Mir looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Mir is taking a breather. Shaw says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.

Shaw closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Mir to the mat! Mir manages to get full guard.

Mir is looking for a triangle but Shaw pushes his legs off easily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shaw sitting in guard here, content to control.
Shaw preventing the sweep.
Mir preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Shaw trying to control but Mir is working from the bottom.
Shaw tries to stand but Mir is controlling from the bottom.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mir misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Shaw fails with the takedown.

Shaw has closed the distance and engaged Mir in a clinch.
Shaw is working for takedown but Mir is calmly controlling the position for now.
Mir tries to pull guard but Shaw forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Shaw missing with knees to the body.
Mir tries for a takedown but Shaw manages to get underhooks.

Shaw pulls guard.

Shaw is working an open guard so Mir takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Shaw looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Mir!
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

Shaw looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Mir tries to improve position but can't.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Shaw throws an elbow but Mir slips to the side and avoids it well.

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 Jackson Shaw.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Shaw, 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 Winston Alpacca scores the fight 30:28
Judge Sandra Marshall scores the fight 29:28
Judge David Hoff scores the fight 30:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Jackson Shaw!
Jackson Shaw was full of energy after the big win and talked about how he thinks he can do big things in this sport. The crowd were appreciative of his determination to succeed.