PBP Commentary

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

Nelson
vs
shamel

183 cm
20
260 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

195 cm
18
288 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
KO power

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

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 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Roy Nelson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, matt shamel!
The judges for this bout are Yukihiro Yamamoto, Ren Mimura and Sosuke Kotani.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
shamel lands a jab to the head.

It looks like Roy Nelson has been cut.
shamel has a takedown stuffed.
Nelson checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
shamel tries to clinch up but Nelson circles away and keeps his distance.

Nelson scores with a takedown into shamel's guard.
Nelson stays in close to shamel's body and controls the position.
shamel is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Nelson won't allow shamel to sweep him here.
Nelson controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Nelson throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Nelson sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Nelson is pushing down on shamel's leg trying to pass to half guard. shamel is fighting to maintain full guard but Nelson has managed to sneak the leg through.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ground and pound from Nelson.
shamel really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Nelson. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Nelson scoring with strikes to the body and head.
shamel tries to roll over but Nelson keeps him under control.
shamel holds on for dear life, maintaining half guard for now.

Nelson decides to stand and escape the position.
shamel lands with a shot to the body.
shamel lands an overhand right.
shamel gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Nelson counters into the clinch. Nicely done.

Nelson has clasped his hands together around shamel's back... aaand, he's got a takedown into side control. Nicely done.
Nelson is breathing heavily.
This has been an exciting period of action!
shamel managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Nelson.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
shamel tries to improve position but can't.
shamel is trying to get back to his feet.
Nelson tries to advance to mount but shamel denies him.

Nelson decides to stand back up.
Nelson takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
shamel throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
shamel throws a one two combo.
shamel fails with the takedown

so Nelson counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Roy Nelson has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of matt shamel.
Nelson prevents shamel from getting back to his feet.
Nelson is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Nelson postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nelson throwing strikes from guard but shamel blocks nicely.
Nelson prevents shamel from getting back to his feet.
shamel keeping moving, preventing Nelson from controlling successfully.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
shamel is trying to keep Nelson in close.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
shamel tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
shamel misses with a takedown

and Nelson counters with a nice double leg into side control. shamel won't be happy with that.

Nelson stands up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
shamel lands a jab-cross combination.
shamel goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
shamel throws a combination. Nelson tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
This has been an exciting period of action!
shamel tries to clinch up but Nelson circles away and keeps his distance.
shamel is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.
A low kick from shamel is predictable there

so Nelson counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Nelson controlling from the top position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
shamel is looking to stand up but Nelson isn't so interested in that idea.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

Nelson thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain 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 Roy Nelson will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Roy Nelson's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Nelson takes a jab right on the kisser.

Nelson moves into the clinch successfully.
Nelson wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
shamel blocks the elbow strike.
shamel is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Nelson gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.

Nelson manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Nelson is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Nelson looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Nelson's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
shamel is trying to control but can't.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
shamel is trying to stand up here but Nelson is controlling him well.
Nelson trying to control the pace.
Nelson 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.
shamel has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Nelson is working away from the top position though.
Well, if Nelson is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.

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.
shamel scrambles, trying to get to his feet, but Nelson manages to mount him!
Nelson landing strikes from the mount and shamel is in trouble!
shamel is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Nelson looking to control and managing it successfully.
Nelson has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
shamel is trying to stand up.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Nelson pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
shamel is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Nelson lands with some strikes.

Nelson is in full mount, looking to secure a guillotine but shamel is surviving well by controlling Nelson's body position as best he can.
Nelson controlling from the full mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
shamel is looking to improve his position but Nelson isn't that keen on the idea.
Nelson avoids the attempt from shamel to control.
Nelson sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.

The referee stands the fighters back up. Roy Nelson just wasn't active enough from the dominant position.
shamel throws the kick towards the body but Nelson avoids it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Roy Nelson dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Roy Nelson's cut.
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!

shamel cracks Nelson with a good jab.

Nelson closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming shamel to the mat! shamel manages to get full guard.
Nelson advances position into side control!
shamel is trying to get back to half guard.

Nelson stands up and beckons shamel to his feet.
Nelson throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and shamel counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
shamel throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
shamel lands with a nice combination. Nelson backs away looking to recover.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Nelson walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
shamel misses with a takedown

and Nelson counters with a single leg into guard. shamel didn't expect that.
shamel is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nelson throwing strikes but missing.
Nelson wants to control from the top but shamel keeps moving.
shamel looking to control.
Roy Nelson overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Nelson stops shamel from standing up.
Nelson wants to control from the top but shamel keeps moving.
Nelson stops shamel from standing up.
Nelson tries to free his leg and advance position but shamel is retaining full guard.

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.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
A decent looking cross lands there for shamel.
Nelson takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
shamel looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Nelson is fending him off so far but shamel persists. Nope, Nelson circles away and we're back to standing.

Nelson shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Nelson showed some decent athleticism there.

Nelson stands up from half guard.
Nice uppercut there from shamel.
Nelson tries for a takedown but shamel sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
shamel lands a two punch combo.
A jab from shamel does it's job there.
shamel scores with a jab. Nelson acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
shamel shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Nelson counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Nelson.
Roy Nelson has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of matt shamel.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
shamel wants to stand up but Nelson is controlling him.
shamel is looking to stand back up but Nelson counters by passing into half guard. Oops... bit sloppy there by shamel.
matt shamel has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

Nelson stands, ready to strike. The ref makes him back up and allows shamel to get to his feet.
shamel cracks Nelson with a right hand to the side of the head.
Nelson has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from shamel finds it's way round the side to connect with Nelson's head.
shamel shoots in but Nelson avoids the takedown attempt easily.

Nelson is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in shamel's half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nelson content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Nelson trying to mount his opponent but shamel defends it.
Nelson thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
shamel pushes Nelson off looking to stand but Nelson dives back in and keeps control.
Nelson looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
shamel wants to get back to his feet.
Roy Nelson is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

shamel looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.

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 Roy Nelson.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Nelson, 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 Yukihiro Yamamoto scores the fight 30:27
Judge Ren Mimura scores the fight 30:27
Judge Sosuke Kotani scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Roy Nelson!