PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Joshua Shouse (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Marlon Toepoke (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Marlon Toepoke will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Shouse
vs
Toepoke

162 cm
25
116 lbs
19 - 19 - 0

225 cm
25
140 lbs
6 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Experienced

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

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 19 - 19 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Joshua Shouse !
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Marlon Toepoke!
The judges for this bout are Alan Glass, Stewart Dunkirk and George Francis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Toepoke fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Shouse avoids it really well and circles away.

Shouse pushes Toepoke up against the cage in a clinch.
Shouse misses with a punch to the body.
Toepoke tries to pull guard but Shouse won't allow it.
Shouse fails to pull guard.
Toepoke prevents Shouse from breaking the clinch.

Toepoke successfully pulls guard.
Shouse is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Shouse stopping the sweep attempt from Toepoke.
Toepoke is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.

Toepoke is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Shouse defends well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Toepoke keeping moving, preventing Shouse from controlling successfully.
Toepoke looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Shouse won't allow Toepoke to sweep him here.
Shouse stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Toepoke swivels though and keeps the full guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Toepoke isolates an arm and boxes in a triangle. Shouse stacks Toepoke on his neck as he steps over and passes to the side. He's now in a much more dominant position where he can look to do some serious damage. Nice move by Shouse !

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shouse lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Toepoke down.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Shouse is working Toepoke over with some ground and pound from side control.
Shouse landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
Toepoke prevents Shouse from moving into mount.
Toepoke is working to avoid the ground and pound but Shouse connects with a decent elbow.
Toepoke wants to control but Shouse postures up.
Shouse is pausing for a moment. What's he doing? It looks like he's clearing his nose. Oh dude! He's shot a load of snot all down Toepoke's shoulder. That is not cool.
Toepoke manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Shouse with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Toepoke pushes Shouse off but Shouse dives into side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Toepoke can't do much from the bottom here.

Shouse decides to stand back up.

Shouse drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.

Toepoke looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.

The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Shouse decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Shouse .
Toepoke struggling a bit here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Shouse tries to move into full mount but can't pass Toepoke's legs.
Toepoke taking a bit of punishment here - Shouse scoring with strikes.

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

Shouse goes for an armbar! This could be all over! Wait, no, Toepoke rolls with the submission and now he's on top in Shouse 's guard! Nice work there by Toepoke!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Shouse looking to hit a scissor sweep but Toepoke is one step ahead there.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joshua Shouse dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Toepoke fails miserably with a takedown attempt.

Toepoke moves into the clinch successfully.

Toepoke pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

The fight moves into the clinch position.

Toepoke manages to break the clinch.
Toepoke lands with a straight right. Shouse didn't see that one coming.

Toepoke fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Shouse , pushing him back against the cage.
With the fighters up against the cage, Shouse throws an elbow but misses.
Shouse goes for a takedown attempt but Toepoke pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Toepoke misses with a takedown attempt - Shouse sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
It really doesn't seem like the step up in weight is hurting Shouse here at all. He's more than holding his own against the bigger man.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Toepoke moves to clinch but Shouse breaks away

and Shouse counters by clinching up.
Shouse tries to pull guard but Toepoke won't allow it.
Shouse is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Toepoke pulls him back up using the underhooks.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Joshua Shouse . That's going to take a lot out of him.

Toepoke escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Shouse keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Toepoke is looking to clinch but Shouse is avoiding it.
Joshua Shouse is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Shouse shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Shouse showed some decent athleticism there.
Shouse with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shouse trying to control the action but Toepoke is working from the bottom.
Toepoke is trying to maintain the position but Shouse is very close to passing his half guard.
Shouse thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Toepoke's head.
Toepoke trying to control from the bottom.
Shouse takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.

Joshua Shouse has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Toepoke scores with a jab to the jaw.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Shouse drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Toepoke has Shouse pulled in close to control his posture.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Toepoke is looking to stand up but Shouse isn't so interested in that idea.
Toepoke is trying to keep Shouse in close.
Shouse engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.

Toepoke scrambles and gets back to his feet.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Toepoke.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Toepoke.
Toepoke is breathing heavily.

Toepoke gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Shouse to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Shouse is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Shouse forces his way into half guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Toepoke wants to control but Shouse is keeping busy and won't allow it.

Shouse is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Joshua Shouse will probably get the nod.
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!

Toepoke with a lazy takedown attempt

and Shouse counters with a nice double leg into side control. Toepoke won't be happy with that.
Toepoke regains half guard.
Shouse trying to control the pace.
Shouse wants to advance to full mount but Toepoke doesn't think that's going to happen and regains full guard instead.
Toepoke has momentary wrist control but Shouse slips an elbow through the middle.
Shouse stands and throws Toepoke's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Toepoke tries to bench press Shouse off him but Shouse keeps the position.
Joshua Shouse overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Shouse stands up and beckons Toepoke to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shouse has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Toepoke wants to clinch.
Toepoke with a poor takedown

and Shouse counters with a single leg into guard. Toepoke didn't expect that.
Toepoke takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Shouse trying to control but Toepoke is working from the bottom.
Shouse is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

We're going to have a standup here because Joshua Shouse wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.

Toepoke drives through with a takedown into Shouse 's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Toepoke looking to sit in guard and control but Shouse gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Toepoke not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.

Shouse decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.

Shouse changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Toepoke looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Shouse wants to control but Toepoke is keeping him busy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Shouse has had enough of the ground for now and decides to stand.
Toepoke avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Shouse thows a left - swing and a miss!
Toepoke shoots in looking for a takedown but Shouse manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Toepoke's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Joshua Shouse has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Marlon Toepoke.
Toepoke throws a head kick but Shouse moves out of range.

Shouse closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Shouse lands in his opponent's guard.
Shouse slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shouse happy to just control the position for now.
Shouse misses with the ground and pound.
Marlon Toepoke has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Toepoke prevents Shouse from improving position.
Joshua Shouse is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Toepoke is trying to improve his position.

And that's the end of the fight!
Joshua Shouse showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Shouse , 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 Alan Glass scores the fight 30:27
Judge Stewart Dunkirk scores the fight 30:27
Judge George Francis scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Joshua Shouse !