PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Ben Shamrock (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Tom Cute (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Cute has chosen Eye of the Tiger as his entrance music. Tom Cute will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Shamrock
vs
Cute

190 cm
23
220 lbs
2 - 3 - 0

185 cm
21
220 lbs
3 - 5 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Knockout power

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 2 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Ben Shamrock!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Tom Cute!
The judges for this bout are Hirohito Nitta, Sosuke Kotani and Yuuki Gou.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Shamrock shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Cute's guard.
Shamrock not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Cute is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Shamrock slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Ben Shamrock.
Cute tries for a takedown but Shamrock circles away easily

and Shamrock counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Cute has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Shamrock is working away from the top position though.
Shamrock controlling the action here.

Shamrock is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cute tries to roll over but Shamrock keeps him under control.
Cute is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Shamrock's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Shamrock's back!
Cute doesn't have the hooks in and Shamrock manages to turn into his guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Shamrock is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Cute has control of Shamrock's left arm, preventing Shamrock from doing any damage.
Shamrock trying to control but Cute is working from the bottom.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Ben Shamrock.
Cute leaves Shamrock with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shamrock with a lazy takedown attempt

and Cute counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Shamrock is breathing heavily.
Shamrock keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Cute sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Cute is trying to control the action in half guard but Shamrock is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shamrock is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Shamrock is not content to let Cute control the position.

Cute decides to stand and escape the position.
Cute looks to clinch

and Shamrock decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Cute's guard.
Shamrock controlling from the top position.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Cute is trying to control the position from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ben Shamrock dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Cute shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Shamrock counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Cute's guard now.
Cute can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Shamrock controls the pace.
Shamrock has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Ben Shamrock.
Cute stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Cute wants it to stay on the feet.

Shamrock shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Well, if Shamrock 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.

Shamrock looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.

Shamrock seems to be looking for submissions.
Shamrock tries to pass the half guard into mount. Cute knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.

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.
Cute regains full guard. Nicely done.
Cute keeping moving, preventing Shamrock from controlling successfully.
Cute working a defensive guard here.
Shamrock trying to control but Cute is working from the bottom.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Cute fails with the takedown

and Shamrock counters with a takedown into side control.

Shamrock working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shamrock wants to control but Cute is keeping him busy.

Shamrock tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.

Shamrock is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Cute has escaped the position, nice work there.

Shamrock looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.

Shamrock is trying to get an arm triangle but Cute is defending well.
Cute is looking for a sweep.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Shamrock is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Cute knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Cute throws a head kick that looked like it stung.
Cute gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

so Shamrock counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ben Shamrock dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Cute looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Shamrock is fending him off so far but Cute persists. Nope, Shamrock circles away and we're back to standing.

Shamrock shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Cute manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Cute trying to control the position here.
Cute being controlled here, momentarily.
Cute keeping moving, preventing Shamrock from controlling successfully.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Shamrock controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shamrock'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.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Ben Shamrock.

Shamrock gets the takedown into side control.
Shamrock happy to just control the position for now.
Shamrock is looking to take a break and control but Cute is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

Shamrock is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Cute knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shamrock taking a break here but Cute is having none of it and regains half guard.
Shamrock is stalling here. Cute is in no mood to hang around though. He's locked up a kimura from the bottom! Shamrock seems to be keeping calm but he's forced to roll out of the hold and Cute has ended up in side control on the top. Nice work.
Shamrock wants to control but Cute postures up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cute tries to advance to mount but can't.
Shamrock tries to improve position but can't.
Tom Cute has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Cute misses with a takedown attempt

and Shamrock counters by moving into the clinch.
Cute jumps guard but Shamrock stands there with Cute around his waist. Cute gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Ben Shamrock has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Tom Cute.
Cute tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Cute has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Shamrock is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.

That's four 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.
Shamrock is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Shamrock changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Cute fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Cute throws a head kick but Shamrock moves out of range.

Shamrock shoots in and bounces Cute off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Shamrock passes Cute's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Shamrock seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Cute does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Ben Shamrock is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Shamrock is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ben Shamrock showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Shamrock, 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 Hirohito Nitta scores the fight 30:27
Judge Sosuke Kotani scores the fight 30:27
Judge Yuuki Gou scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ben Shamrock!