PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Kazuyuki Shimizu (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kendall Clarke (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Clarke has chosen Seven Nation Army as his entrance music. I can't wait for this one - let's get the fighter introductions out of the way and get this one started!

Shimizu
vs
Clarke

196 cm
23
193 lbs
8 - 4 - 0

198 cm
27
193 lbs
11 - 11 - 0

Decent wrestler
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 8 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Kazuyuki Shimizu!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 11 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Kendall Clarke!
The judges for this bout are Alec Ball, Ian Loll and Gregory Folan.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Clarke pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Shimizu uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Clarke.
Kendall Clarke seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Shimizu lands a nice shot to the body.
Clarke rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Shimizu moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Clarke throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
enabling Shimizu to counter with a crisp jab.
Clarke misses with a looping right.
A right-left combo lands from Clarke.

It looks like Kazuyuki Shimizu has been cut.
A looping hook to the body misses from Shimizu. Clarke does a little dance to reset his feet.

Clarke fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Shimizu, pushing him back against the cage.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Shimizu fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Clarke can't break the clinch.
Shimizu has Clarke pushed against the cage.
Shimizu lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Clarke or not.
Shimizu scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Clarke is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shimizu is pushing Clarke up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Shimizu working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Shimizu throws a head punch that misses.
A head punch on the inside from Shimizu fails to land.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Clarke.
Shimizu keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Clarke's efforts to push away.
Clarke is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Clarke wants to break free but Shimizu has control.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Clarke blocking some punches.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shimizu swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Shimizu is struggling to control the position.
Clarke prevents a body shot from Shimizu.
Shimizu swings away with an uppercut that misses.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Clarke.
A head punch on the inside from Shimizu fails to land.
Shimizu misses with a punch on the inside.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shimizu tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Clarke's elbow.
Clarke blocks an uppercut.
Shimizu doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Shimizu lands a shot to the body.
Shimizu is trying to maintain a safe position but Clarke gets an underhook and turns Shimizu into the cage.
Shimizu scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Good body shot from Shimizu.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Shimizu.
Shimizu fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Shimizu misses with a punch on the inside.
Shimizu lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Shimizu swings away with an uppercut that misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Clarke is looking to take this one to the mat.
Shimizu lands an uppercut.
Shimizu scores with a shoulder strike.
Clarke blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Shimizu gets through Clarke's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Shimizu tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Clarke's elbow.
Shimizu misses with a hook from the clinch.
The referee is keeping an eye on Shimizu - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Clarke is trying to push Shimizu away but Shimizu has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Clarke.
Shimizu taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kazuyuki Shimizu dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Kazuyuki Shimizu's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Clarke fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Clarke showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Shimizu.

Clarke gets the takedown into side control.
Shimizu is not content to let Clarke control the position.
Clarke working the ground and pound but Shimizu is defending the strikes.
Clarke misses with the ground and pound.
Shimizu struggling a bit here.
Clarke throws a strike aimed at the side of Shimizu's head but Shimizu avoids it well.
Clarke advances nicely into full mount.
Clarke has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Clarke misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.
Shimizu knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Clarke on the ground.

Clarke has hold of Shimizu's left arm, perhaps looking for a submission. The two fighters tussle over control of the isolated limb and Shimizu manages to get his arm back to his side and away from danger.
Shimizu holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Clarke tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
The referee warns Shimizu that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Clarke lands a big elbow.
Clarke misses with a head shot.
A nice elbow there by Clarke.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Clarke tries to control but Shimizu wriggling away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Clarke thowing shots but they're missing.
Clarke looking to ground and pound but Shimizu is blocking nicely.
Shimizu on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Shimizu tries to get out of the position.
Clarke thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.
Shimizu wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Clarke.
Shimizu is squirming around, avoiding Clarke's attempts to control the action.
Clarke throwing strikes here but Shimizu is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Shimizu wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Clarke.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Clarke thowing shots but they're missing.
Clarke scoring with strikes but Shimizu is staying in there.
Clarke misses with a head shot.
Clarke unloads with some shots from mount but Shimizu bucks and avoids them well.
Clarke throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Shimizu because Clarke loaded up on that one.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Clarke wants to control the pace but Shimizu is squirming around nicely.
Clarke unloads with some shots from mount but Shimizu bucks and avoids them well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shimizu is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.

Clarke working for a guillotine from mount but Shimizu is in no mood to give up.
Clarke sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Shimizu blocking the ground and pound.
Clarke throwing strikes here but Shimizu is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Kendall Clarke has got the better of the ground game so far.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Clarke lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Clarke looks like he's working for a submission but he's not found anything just yet.
Clarke thowing shots but they're missing.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kendall Clarke showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Kazuyuki Shimizu's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Clarke avoids a punch combination nicely.

Clarke shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Shimizu napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Clarke working the ground and pound.
Clarke scoring with punches from side control.
Shimizu tries to buck Clarke off but Clarke is having none of it.
Shimizu is looking to slip a leg under and get half guard but Clarke is one step ahead and moves to full mount!
Clarke landing strikes, looking to finish!
Clarke throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Clarke is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Shimizu can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Shimizu holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Clarke tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shimizu tries to lock up and control but Clarke gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Shimizu holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Clarke tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Shimizu tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Clarke looking to ground and pound but Shimizu is blocking nicely.
Clarke lands with some strikes.
Clarke breaks from Shimizu's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Clarke sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
Clarke lands a heavy elbow.
Clarke sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Clarke looking to finish with strikes here!
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Clarke controlling from mount.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Clarke throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.
Clarke trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Clarke landing punches.
Clarke trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Clarke throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shimizu tries to hold on but Clarke pushes him away.
Clarke throwing strikes here but Shimizu is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Clarke throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.

Clarke looks like he's working for a submission but he's not found anything just yet.
Clarke misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.

Clarke goes for an armbar but he's fallen flat on his backside there and now Shimizu is on top in guard.

Shimizu avoids a guillotine attempt easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Clarke trying to control the position here.

Clarke is looking for a triangle but Shimizu pushes his legs off easily.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Shimizu content to stall in guard here.

And that's the end of the fight!
Kendall Clarke comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Clarke has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Alec Ball scores the fight 27:29
Judge Ian Loll scores the fight 27:29
Judge Gregory Folan scores the fight 27:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Kendall Clarke!
A very excited looking Kendall Clarke made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.