PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Kid Kamakazi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Michael Shields (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Kamakazi's ring entrance music is that housewives' favourite, Cooking by the book. Shields has chosen Last Resort - Papa Roach as his entrance music. Kid Kamakazi has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Kamakazi
vs
Shields

155 cm
24
130 lbs
7 - 5 - 0

172 cm
21
136 lbs
5 - 3 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent MT
Cardio machine

Decent wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Kid Kamakazi!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Michael Shields!
The judges for this bout are Tarja Halkonen, Ben Zyskovitsi and Anni Minnemäki.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Shields swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
A slow jab from Shields misses its intended target.
Shields throws out a powerful jab.
Kamakazi misses with a body kick.
Michael Shields seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Kamakazi takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Kamakazi fails with an attempt to clinch.
A slow jab from Shields misses its intended target.
Kamakazi staying out of range there.
Shields shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Kamakazi eats them both and turns towards Shields to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.
Kamakazi fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
A big left from Shields misses.
Shields dips to his left and cracks Kamakazi with an uppercut!
Shields is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nice straight punches there by Shields. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Shields.
Kamakazi ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Shields misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Kamakazi.
Shields looks to score with a jab to the body but Kamakazi is just out of range.
Shields throws a shot from downtown. Kamakazi moves away and avoids it.
Shields throws a shot from downtown. Kamakazi moves away and avoids it.
Shields misses with a body punch
and Kamakazi finishes the little exchange by landing a big kick to the body.
Kamakazi is trying hard to land a takedown here. Shields sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
A head kick misses from Kamakazi.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shields scores with a jab. Kamakazi acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Kamakazi tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Shields manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Nice defenses there by Kamakazi.
Shields lands with a shot to the body.
Shields cracks Kamakazi with an open hand slap.
Shields cracks Kamakazi with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Nice body punch from Shields.
Kamakazi misses with a head kick.
Shields misses the shot to the body.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Donk. Shields catches Kamakazi right on the button with a cross.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shields swats away the attempt to clinch by Kamakazi.
Shields throws a shot from downtown. Kamakazi moves away and avoids it.
The fighters circle momentarily. Shields darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Shields throws a body punch but Kamakazi moves out of range.
Shields keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Shields misses the shot to the body.
Shields slaps away a takedown attempt from Kamakazi, before circling back to the center of the mat.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Kid Kamakazi. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shields scores with the left hand. Kamakazi knows he should have avoided that one.
Shields lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Shields scores with a crisp jab that stopped Kamakazi in his tracks.
Shields fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Shields fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Kamakazi manages to avoid it.

Kamakazi closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Shields quickly recovers to half guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Kamakazi thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Shields's head.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Shields controlling the position well.
Kamakazi 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.
Shields is trying to get back to full guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Michael Shields dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Nice defenses there by Kamakazi.

Kamakazi closes the distance and clinches.
The referee calls for Kamakazi to work.

Shields manages to break the clinch.
Kamakazi slips under a jab.
A head kick misses from Kamakazi.
Kamakazi closes the distance looking to clinch
and Shields counters with a lovely straight right hand!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shields ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Kamakazi moves away.
Shields swings widly with a right hand
and Kamakazi counters with a nice leg kick.
Kamakazi is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Shields checks a leg kick nicely.
Kamakazi tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Shields paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Shields has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Kamakazi throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Shields throws an off balance right hand
and Kamakazi counters with a flying knee. Nice.
Some wild striking there from Shields.
A left lands for Shields.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shields throws a shot from downtown. Kamakazi moves away and avoids it.
Shields misses the jab.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Shields enables Kamakazi to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Shields manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Shields working a defensive guard here.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Kamakazi tries to free his leg and advance position but Shields is retaining full guard.
Kamakazi trying to control the position from guard on top but Shields is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.

We're going to have a standup here because Kid Kamakazi wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Shields scores with a body shot.
Kamakazi throws a series of punches but Shields moves out of range.
Shields moves into range and connects with a jab.
Kamakazi takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Kamakazi staying out of range there.
Shields misses with a series of wild punches.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kamakazi walks into a left hand.
Shields throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Kamakazi throws a right hand that Shields ducks under and follows up with a left that Shields also avoids with ease.
Shields connects with a single shot there.
Shields fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Kamakazi manages to avoid it.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Kamakazi looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Shields jabs Kamakazi to the body, keeping him at a distance.
A solid body kick from Kamakazi.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Michael Shields will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. And we move into the final round!

Kamakazi pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Shields misses with a looping left.
Kamakazi avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Kamakazi looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Shields throws a lazy uppercut
and Kamakazi counters with a three punch combo that has Shields backing up. Shields nods at Kamakazi to acknowledge the strikes.
Kamakazi throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Kamakazi takes one to the chin there.
Shields throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Kamakazi counters with a good low kick that Shields was not able to check.
Nice defenses there by Kamakazi.
Shields thows a left - swing and a miss!

Kamakazi scores with a takedown into Shields's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kamakazi wants to control from the top but Shields keeps moving.
Shields has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Kamakazi works a leg free and moves into half guard.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Kamakazi prevents Shields from improving his position.
Kid Kamakazi has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kamakazi seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Shields does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Shields avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Kamakazi.
Kamakazi trying to control the action but Shields is working from the bottom.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Shields trying to hold on to Kamakazi's head to control him but Kamakazi postures up.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Shields dodges the punch combination from Kamakazi.
Shields just misses with a punch to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shields looks to land a right hand but Kamakazi moved out of range.
Shields rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Kamakazi counters with a leg kick.
Kamakazi connects with a solid leg kick.
Michael Shields seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Kamakazi tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Shields manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Shields with a nice cross.
Michael Shields is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Kamakazi shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Shields as he avoids it easily.
Kamakazi on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Kamakazi slips a jab from Shields.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shields thuds a left hand into Kamakazi's body.
A looping hook to the body misses from Shields. Kamakazi does a little dance to reset his feet.
An inside leg kick from Kamakazi misses.
Shields waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Kamakazi.
Kamakazi gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Shields.
Kamakazi keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Shields.
Shields lands a nice shot to the body.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Shields circles away from the clinch attempt.
Shields feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Kamakazis jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!

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 Kid Kamakazi.
I think Shields 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 Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 29:29
Judge Ben Zyskovitsi scores the fight 29:29
Judge Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 29:29

The fight is ruled a draw!