PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Shane Blankenship (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jr StClair (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Blankenship's entrance music is Crazy Train. A fine choice. On his way into the cage it seems that Shane Blankenship has been attacked by a crazed fan! It looks like it might have been the just bleed guy! Luckily Shane Blankenship seems to be OK! I thought that lunatic was in prison!?

Blankenship
vs
StClair

183 cm
18
210 lbs
1 - 6 - 0

188 cm
18
205 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

Nature's Edge Nutrition

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 1 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Shane Blankenship!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Jr StClair!
The judges for this bout are Skip Squint, Winston Howard and Steve Erwin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Blankenship shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as StClair sprawls well. StClair wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Blankenship gets slowly back to his feet.
Blankenship showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from StClair.
Blankenship fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Blankenship throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
StClair looks to land a combination but Blankenship avoids it well.
Blankenship displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from StClair.
StClair tries to bum rush Blankenship with a series of wild strikes but Blankenship uses good footwork to avoid the assault.

Blankenship instigates a clinch.
StClair is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
StClair has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
StClair wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Blankenship has him pressed against the cage.
StClair has had enough of the clinch but Blankenship keeps him there for the moment.
Blankenship keeps the fight in the clinch, despite StClair's efforts to push away.
Blankenship tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
StClair is trying to push Blankenship away but Blankenship has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Blankenship can't get the takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Shane Blankenship. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Blankenship tries to pull guard but StClair won't allow it.
StClair has had enough of the clinch but Blankenship keeps him there for the moment.
StClair tries to circle away but Blankenship has him pinned against the cage.

Blankenship breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Jr StClair seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Blankenship looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? StClair is fending him off so far but Blankenship persists. Nope, StClair circles away and we're back to standing.
StClair doesn't manage to clinch there - Blankenship circles away.
Blankenship throws a series of punches but StClair avoids them all with ease.
StClair bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Blankenship's head backwards.
An inside leg kick from StClair misses.

StClair shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than StClair was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
StClair landing shots from mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Blankenship is trying to escape the mount.
StClair looking to ground and pound but Blankenship is blocking nicely.
StClair throwing strikes here but Blankenship is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
StClair punching from mount but Blankenship doing a good job of avoiding damage.
StClair lands a heavy elbow.
StClair thowing shots but they're missing.
StClair throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Blankenship is squirming around, avoiding StClair's attempts to control the action.
StClair with shots to the head and body - Blankenship looks very uncomfortable down there.
StClair tries to control but Blankenship wriggling away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Blankenship is in all sorts of trouble here.
StClair misses with a head shot.
StClair throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Blankenship because StClair loaded up on that one.
Blankenship holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as StClair tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Blankenship avoids a series of strikes thrown by StClair.
StClair throws some wild stikes that Blankenship manages to avoid easily.
Blankenship knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for StClair on the ground.
StClair controlling from mount.
StClair's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Blankenship is working to get back to half guard.
StClair controlling the pace for now.
StClair misses with a head shot.
Blankenship blocking the ground and pound.
StClair thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Blankenship tries to hold on but StClair pushes him away.
StClair looking to ground and pound but Blankenship is blocking nicely.
StClair throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Blankenship because StClair loaded up on that one.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jr StClair 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.

StClair ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Blankenship moves away.
Nice takedown defense from StClair. No joy for Blankenship on that attempt.

Blankenship drives through with a takedown into StClair's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.

StClair has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Blankenship off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.
StClair throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Blankenship.
Blankenship looks for a takedown but StClair sprawls well.
Blankenship swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and StClair counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
StClair on the wrong end of a kick to the body.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Blankenship fails with an attempt to clinch.
StClair fails with a takedown attempt.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
StClair fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Blankenship is looking to take this fight into the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Blankenship takes a shot to the body in his stride.
StClair misses with a double jab.
StClair lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
StClair shoots in but no luck this time.
Blankenship shoots in looking for a takedown but StClair manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Blankenship's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Shane Blankenship. That's going to take a lot out of him.
StClair keeps the fight on the outside.
StClair shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Blankenship sprawls well. Blankenship wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. StClair gets slowly back to his feet.

Blankenship moves into range and clinches up with StClair.
StClair wants to get back to striking at distance but Blankenship won't allow it.

Blankenship manages to break the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
StClair wants to clinch.
StClair misses with a body shot.
Blankenship connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Blankenship shoots in looking for a takedown. StClair tries to sprawl out of it but Blankenship keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. StClair manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
StClair pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Blankenship will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Blankenship stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Blankenship wants it to stay on the feet.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
No luck for Blankenship with that takedown attempt.
Shane Blankenship is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
StClair tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Blankenship paws at him with a jab and circles away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Blankenship tries to close the distance and clinch but StClair swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Blankenship throws a series of punches but StClair moves out of range.
Blankenship fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
StClair swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.

Blankenship drives through and clinches with StClair against the cage.

Blankenship gets control of StClair's arms and successfully pulls guard. Blankenship will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
StClair with a flurry of punches that miss.
Blankenship wants to stand but StClair is controlling the position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

StClair stands and steps away. Blankenship gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
A head kick misses from StClair.
StClair throws a wild combination but nothing lands.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Blankenship digs a good body shot into StClair's ribs.
Blankenship shoots for a takedown but StClair saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.

StClair rushes Blankenship and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Blankenship jumps guard but StClair turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
StClair is trying to force a seperation but Blankenship has the dominant position.
Blankenship drops to a knee looking for a takedown but StClair gets the underhooks and prevents it.
StClair is trying to break free.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
StClair wants to break free but Blankenship has control.
A frustrated look appears on StClair's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Blankenship tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Jr StClair will probably get the nod - 10:9.
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. This is the final round!

Blankenship dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Blankenship wants to clinch.
A punch combination from StClair misses.
Jab by StClair.
A head kick misses from Blankenship.
Jr StClair seems to be getting the better of the standup.

Blankenship looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for StClair!

StClair somehow manages to escape the mount and get back to his feet!
StClair tries to bum rush Blankenship with a series of wild strikes but Blankenship uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Blankenship tries to clinch there but StClair circles away.
StClair misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
StClair takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Blankenship showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from StClair.
StClair changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Blankenship tries to avoid it but StClair manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Blankenship to the ground. Blankenship escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Blankenship shoots in for a takedown but StClair shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Blankenship blocks the body kick.
Blankenship shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as StClair sprawls well. StClair wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Blankenship gets slowly back to his feet.
StClair shoots in for a takedown but Blankenship shows good takedown defense.
Blankenship shoots in but StClair avoids the takedown attempt easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Shane Blankenship. That's going to take a lot out of him.
StClair lands with a nice combination. Blankenship backs away looking to recover.

Blankenship shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in StClair's guard.

StClair kicks Blankenship off and gets to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Blankenship wants to clinch up but StClair keeps it at a distance.
StClair misses with a few strikes there.
Blankenship defends well against a solid takedown attempt from StClair.
Blankenship tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but StClair paws at him with a jab and circles away.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Blankenship shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. StClair defends it nicely.
StClair swinging wildly here.
Blankenship moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
StClair will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Blankenship misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
StClair shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Blankenship thows a body kick. StClair tries to catch it but that hurt him.

Blankenship closes the distance and clinches.
Blankenship jumps guard but StClair turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
StClair is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
StClair has had enough of the clinch but Blankenship keeps him there for the moment.
Blankenship keeps the fight in the clinch, despite StClair's efforts to push away.
Come on Blankenship - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
StClair is trying to break the clinch but Blankenship has him pressed against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
StClair stops a takedown attempt from Blankenship.
StClair is trying to break the clinch but Blankenship has him pressed against the cage.
Knees to the body from Blankenship.
Blankenship is trying to drag StClair to the mat but StClair just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
StClair wants to get back to striking at distance but Blankenship won't allow it.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Blankenship keeps the fight in the clinch, despite StClair's efforts to push away.
StClair wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.

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 Shane Blankenship.
Well StClair has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Skip Squint scores the fight 28:29
Judge Winston Howard scores the fight 28:29
Judge Steve Erwin scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Jr StClair!