PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Mark Ramos (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Michael Shanks (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Shanks is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: Dethklok - The Cyborg Slayers. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Ramos
vs
Shanks

188 cm
28
195 lbs
15 - 10 - 1

190 cm
30
188 lbs
18 - 9 - 0

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
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 15 - 10 - 1, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Mark Ramos!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 18 - 9 - 0, fighting out of New York, Michael Shanks!
The judges for this bout are Matheus Silva, Thiago Cunha and Seu Braga.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Shanks throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Shanks scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Shanks cracks the inside of Ramos's front leg.
Ramos throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Shanks's waist but Shanks gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Ramos off to one side.
Michael Shanks seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Some wild striking there from Ramos.

Ramos shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Shanks is trying to defend but Ramos finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Ramos trying to control the action but Shanks is working from the bottom.
Ramos throwing shots but Shanks is blocking nicely.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Shanks keeping control of the position.
Ramos is thwarting Shanks's attempts to control the position.

Ramos is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Ramos wants to work for an arm triangle but Shanks is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.

Shanks is defending against the submission attempts here by Ramos.
Shanks is trying to get back to full guard.
Shanks is trying is best to control the position here.
Shanks trying to control but Ramos postures up.

Ramos is working for a kimura but Shanks is defending it quite comfortably.
Ramos has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ramos throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Shanks is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Ramos thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.
Ramos thowing shots but they're missing.
Shanks is in all sorts of trouble here.
Shanks sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.
Shanks tries to roll over but Ramos keeps him under control.
Ramos is trying to control. Shanks wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shanks tries to get to full guard but Ramos has control of the leg.
Ramos slips a nice elbow through Shanks's hands, connecting with Shanks's forehead.
Shanks is looking to improve his position.
Ramos 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.
Shanks avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Ramos.
Ramos throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Ramos throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Shanks moves into full guard.
Ramos throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Ramos won't allow Shanks to sweep him here.
Ramos landing some decent shots from guard.
Shanks wants to sweep but no luck.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ramos with a nice head shot there.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Ramos passes Shanks's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Shanks blocking the ground and pound attempt from Ramos.
Shanks won't allow Ramos to pass to mount.
Shanks is trying to control but can't.
Ramos throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Ramos working Shanks over with strikes.

Ramos is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Shanks has managed to free his arm - good work.
Ramos thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Shanks trying to control here.

Ramos 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.
Shanks is trying to get back to full guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mark Ramos dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Shanks scores with the left hand. Ramos knows he should have avoided that one.

Ramos shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Shanks is trying to defend but Ramos finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
The fighters are battling for position here. Shanks manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Ramos stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Shanks swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Ramos is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Ramos trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Ramos looking to pass the guard.
Ramos working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Shanks's head.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Ramos stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Shanks swivels though and keeps the full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shanks controls Ramos momentarily but Ramos frees himself.
Ramos throwing strikes but missing.
Shanks pulls Ramos in close to his closed guard and prevents Ramos from doing any damage or advancing position.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Shanks avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Ramos is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Ramos slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Shanks avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Ramos.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Ramos thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Shanks is trying to improve his position.

Ramos tries for a kimura but Shanks is defending well.

Ramos is trying to get an arm triangle but Shanks is defending well.
Mark Ramos overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Ramos just content to control the position.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Shanks prevents Ramos from improving position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shanks can't do much from the bottom here.
Shanks is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.

Ramos is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Ramos not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Ramos thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Shanks's head.
Shanks has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Ramos is working away from the top position though.
Shanks tries to get to full guard but Ramos has control of the leg.
Ramos missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Ramos throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shanks works his way to full guard. Good work.
Ramos postures up and lands a big shot to Shanks's brow.
Ramos content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Ramos postures up.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Ramos throwing strikes but missing.
Shanks not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Shanks controlling the position.
Shanks keeping full guard, as Ramos tries to pass.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Ramos accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Ramos trying to control but Shanks is working from the bottom.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Ramos passes into half guard.
Ramos prevents Shanks from improving his position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mark Ramos dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're 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.

Ramos misses with a takedown attempt
and Shanks counters with a body kick that stops Ramos in his tracks momentarily.
Ramos with a poor takedown
and Shanks counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Shanks is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Ramos fails with the takedown
and Shanks counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mark Ramos. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Ramos shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Ramos showed some decent athleticism there.
Shanks works his way to full guard. Good work.
Shanks keeping moving, preventing Ramos from controlling successfully.
Shanks controlling the position.
Shanks is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Shanks looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shanks keeping full guard, as Ramos tries to pass.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Michael Shanks hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Ramos shoots in looking for a takedown. Shanks tries to sprawl out of it but Ramos keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Shanks manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Ramos looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Shanks lands a lovely overhand right.
Ramos shoots in for a double leg but Shanks sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Shanks displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Ramos.
Ramos fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Shanks looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shanks throws a feint and then finishes with a kick to the body.
Shanks fails in his attempt to clinch.
Ramos walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Ramos shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Shanks pinned against the cage. Shanks gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Ramos walks into a straight right hand from Shanks.
Shanks keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Ramos fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Shanks avoids it really well and circles away.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Shanks throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Ramos misses the shot to the body.

Ramos is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Shanks's half guard.
Mark Ramos is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shanks is trying to get back to full guard.
Shanks moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Shanks looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Ramos wants to control from the top but Shanks keeps moving.
Shanks pulls Ramos in to control the position.
Shanks working a defensive guard here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Michael Shanks was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Shanks misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Ramos.
Ramos misses with a takedown
and Shanks counters with a thumping low kick.
Ramos shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Shanks as he avoids it easily.
Shanks thows a body shot but no joy.
Shanks displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Ramos.
Shanks throws a big shot that misses.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Shanks swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Ramos makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.

Ramos shoots in and gets a takedown into Shanks's guard.
Michael Shanks has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Shanks manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Ramos manages to get himself to full guard.
Ramos preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.

And that's the end of the fight!
Michael Shanks comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Ramos 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 Matheus Silva scores the fight 29:28
Judge Thiago Cunha scores the fight 29:28
Judge Seu Braga scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Mark Ramos!
During a confident post fight interview, Mark Ramos thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.