PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Shakim Goethe (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Marcus Santos (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Santos has chosen Ransom as his entrance music. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Goethe
vs
Santos

170 cm
23
205 lbs
3 - 4 - 0

185 cm
23
205 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Solid boxing
KO power

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Determined

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 3 - 4 - 0, fighting out of New York, Shakim Goethe!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, Marcus Santos!
The judges for this bout are John Kavanagh, John Roberts and Dean Styles.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Goethe lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Santos at a distance.
Goethe fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Santos is out of range.

Goethe shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than Goethe was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Santos is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
Goethe with a couple of short strikes.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Goethe thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.
Santos throwing punches from his back but nothing is landing.
Goethe thowing shots but they're missing.
Santos is desperately trying to improve his position but Goethe has a good base and remains in mount.
Goethe looking to control but Santos is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Goethe thowing shots but they're missing.

Goethe looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
Santos is trying to escape the mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Santos bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!
Santos won't allow Goethe to get back to his feet.
Goethe might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Goethe tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Santos controls from within his opponent's guard.

Santos stands and steps away. Goethe gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Goethe moves in looking to clinch but Santos pushes him off.
Santos lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Goethe circles away quickly and effectively.
Santos has his takedown stuffed
and Goethe counters with a right hand to the body.
Santos looks gassed!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Goethe shoots in looking for a takedown. Santos tries to sprawl out of it but Goethe keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Santos manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Goethe with a lazy takedown attempt

and Santos counters with a shoot takedown. Goethe fights it but they end up in guard.
Goethe is trying to control the position but Santos postures up.
Goethe is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Santos is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Santos sitting in guard here, content to control.

Santos gets to his feet - Goethe follows without any prompting.
Santos throws a head kick but Goethe moves out of range.
Goethe throws a body kick the misses
and Santos counters with a big head kick but Goethe shrugs it off.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Santos swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Goethe counters with a thumping low kick.
Goethe closes the distance but Santos moves to the side
and Santos counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Goethe could do with loosing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Goethe pivots, looking for a leg kick but Santos is out of range and Goethe settles back down.
Goethe slips a jab and a cross from Santos.
Goethe uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Santos.
Goethe darts in trying to clinch
and Santos counters with a head kick.
Goethe throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Santos.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Marcus Santos will probably get the nod.
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.

Santos throws a head kick that half lands.
Santos stuffs the takedown.
Shakim Goethe seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Goethe shoots in but Santos avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Santos misses with a double jab

so Goethe counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Santos seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Goethe throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Goethe loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Santos pulls Goethe in to control the position.
Goethe pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Santos is keeping the position for now.

Goethe stands and steps away. Santos gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Santos shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Goethe pinned against the cage. Goethe gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Santos will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.

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.
Santos misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Goethe has a takedown stuffed.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Shakim Goethe. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Santos misses with a double jab

and Goethe counters with a single leg into guard. Santos didn't expect that.
Goethe wants to control from the top but Santos keeps moving.
Goethe wants to stand and escape but instead Santos has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Santos accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Goethe is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Goethe 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.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Goethe is trying to keep Santos in close.
Goethe can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Santos controls the pace.
Goethe trying to control the position.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Santos fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

That's four 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.
Both fighters circling a little - Goethe finishes the exchange with a kick to the body.
Goethe misses with a takedown attempt
and Santos counters with a head kick.
Goethe gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Santos counters with a single leg into guard. Goethe didn't expect that.
Goethe can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Santos controls the pace.
Goethe is trying to control the position but Santos postures up.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Santos wants to stand and escape but instead Goethe has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.
Goethe trying to control but Santos is working from the bottom.
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 Shakim Goethe 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. This is the final round!

Goethe misses with a takedown
and Santos connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.

Goethe drives through with a takedown into guard.
Santos wants to stand but Goethe is controlling the position.
Goethe being controlled here momentarily.
Goethe prevents Santos from getting back to his feet.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Goethe looking to sit in guard and control but Santos gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Santos decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Goethe, up you get!
Goethe doesn't manage to clinch there - Santos circles away.
Santos throws a hook but Goethe avoids it easily.
A head kick by Goethe misses
and Santos counters with a three punch combo that has Goethe backing up. Goethe nods at Santos to acknowledge the strikes.
Santos throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Goethe on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Santos. Santos obviously looking to wear him down.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.

Goethe moves into the clinch.
Goethe is trying to maintain a safe position but Santos gets an underhook and turns Goethe into the cage.
A left hand lands to the body for Santos.
Santos takes a knee to the side of the body.
Goethe is trying to drag Santos to the mat but Santos just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Santos gets underhooks to prevent Goethe's takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Shakim Goethe. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Goethe wants to stall.
Goethe gets underhooks to prevent Santos's takedown attempt.
Santos lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Goethe.

Santos jumps into guard, dragging Goethe to the mat.
Santos is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Goethe is controlling him.
Santos keeping moving, preventing Goethe from controlling successfully.
Goethe has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Goethe stands and throws Santos's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Santos prevents Goethe from improving position.
Goethe trying to control the position but Santos is working away.

That's four 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.
Santos tries to bench press Goethe off him but Goethe keeps the position.

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 Shakim Goethe.
I think Goethe 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 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge John Kavanagh scores the fight 29:28
Judge John Roberts scores the fight 29:28
Judge Dean Styles scores the fight 29:29

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Shakim Goethe!