PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Shang Tsung (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Pat Hughes (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Tsung comes to the cage accompanied by Mortal Kombat Theme Remix. Hughes has chosen COB-We're Not Gonna Fall as his entrance music. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Tsung
vs
Hughes

186 cm
24
198 lbs
8 - 4 - 0

180 cm
23
192 lbs
9 - 3 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

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 Las Vegas, Shang Tsung!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Pat Hughes!
The judges for this bout are Wesley Smith, Robert Twigg and Daniel Franklin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hughes shoots in and drives through. Tsung sprawls well.
Hughes changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Tsung tries to avoid it but Hughes manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Tsung to the ground. Tsung escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Tsung lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Hughes backs up against the cage.

Hughes shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than Hughes was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Hughes controlling the position easily from mount.
Let's hope that Hughes has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
Hughes looking to control but Tsung is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Tsung is looking to improve his position but Hughes isn't that keen on the idea.
Hughes controlling his opponent.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tsung keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Tsung regains half guard.
Tsung is pressing down on Hughes's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Hughes controls from within his opponent's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tsung trying to control the position.
Hughes wants to control from the top but Tsung keeps moving.
Hughes must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Tsung is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Hughes trying to control the position from guard on top but Tsung is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Despite being in the dominant position, Pat Hughes just isn't active enough and the referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Hughes wants to clinch up but Tsung keeps it at a distance.
Pat Hughes seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Hughes takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Hughes fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Shang Tsung has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Pat Hughes.
Hughes tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Tsung swivels and escapes.
A decent looking cross lands there for Tsung.
Hughes shoots for a takedown but Tsung saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Hughes shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Tsung as he avoids it easily.
Hughes looks gassed!
Tsung throws a series of strikes that have Hughes backpedaling.
Hughes shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Hughes takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Tsung connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Tsung scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Tsung cracks Hughes with a good jab.
Tsung moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
Tsung cracks Hughes with a good jab.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tsung lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Hughes drops his hands momentarily and Tsung takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Tsung drops Hughes with a beautiful combination! Hughes stares up at his opponent, who ushers him back to his feet - Tsung is looking for the KO!

Hughes is rocked!
Tsung chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Tsung connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Tsung feints and then cracks Hughes's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Hughes down.
Tsung throws a nice outside leg kick.
Tsung throws a leg kick which misses Hughes's front leg but catches the back leg as Hughes tries to avoid it.

Tsung scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Tsung controlling the action here.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Shang Tsung dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Tsung lands with a nice combination. Hughes backs away looking to recover.

Tsung shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Hughes wants to control but Tsung is keeping busy.
Hughes is looking to improve his position.
Hughes trying to hold on to Tsung's head to control him but Tsung postures up.
Hughes is doing well to avoid being mounted. He's controlling the position at the moment.
Tsung is keen to just control but Hughes is a slippery customer.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hughes is trying to control but Tsung manages to pass to mount!
Hughes manages to regain half guard. Good work.

Hughes looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Hughes is breathing heavily.
Tsung is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Tsung seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Hughes does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Hughes regains full guard. Nicely done.
Tsung trying to control but Hughes is working from the bottom.
Tsung advances position into side control!
Tsung trying to control the position but Hughes is working away.
Hughes is looking to reverse the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tsung wants to lay and pray for a moment but Hughes keeps working.
Hughes trying to remain calm as Tsung controls from the top position.
Hughes can't do much from the bottom here.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Tsung scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Tsung fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Tsung lands with an uppercut that bounces Hughes off the cage and back into rage.
Hughes has his takedown stuffed
and Tsung counters with an outside leg kick.
Shang Tsung is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Hughes shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
letting Tsung counter with a right hand.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Hughes gets caught flat footed, as Tsung shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Hughes working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Tsung.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Tsung stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Hughes swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Tsung is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Hughes can do to turn this around?
Tsung slips nicely into half guard.
Hughes is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Tsung perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Shang Tsung dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! And we move into the final round!

Hughes shoots and misses
and Tsung counters with a head kick. That will keep Hughes thinking before he tries any more sloppy attacks!
Hughes misses with the body kick
and Hughes takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Tsung lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.

Hughes clinches up with Tsung and pushes him back against the cage.
Tsung presses Hughes against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Tsung is trying to break free.
Tsung is trying to stall.
Tsung has Hughes pushed against the cage.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Hughes tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Tsung just stands there and leans against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Hughes is trying to trip Tsung. He has hold of a leg but Tsung is hopping around, keeping his balance for the moment. Hughes persists though and gets the takedown into guard.
Tsung keeping moving, preventing Hughes from controlling successfully.
Hughes is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Tsung keeping moving, preventing Hughes from controlling successfully.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tsung looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Hughes pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Tsung is keeping the position for now.
Tsung is controlling Hughes's posture.
Tsung wants to sweep here but Hughes controlling him for the moment.
Pat Hughes has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tsung controls Hughes momentarily but Hughes frees himself.
Hughes slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Tsung keeping moving, preventing Hughes from controlling successfully.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Hughes wanted to stand there but Tsung had control of the position.
Shang Tsung is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Hughes with a poor takedown
and Tsung counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Shang Tsung has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Pat Hughes.
Hughes takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
Hughes misses with an uppercut. Tsung saw that one coming.
Tsung lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Hughes backs up against the cage.
Hughes has his takedown stuffed
and Tsung counters with an outside leg kick.

Tsung darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Tsung passes the half guard and he's now in mount! Big trouble for Hughes!
Tsung sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.

And that's the end of the fight!
Shang Tsung showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Tsung, 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 Wesley Smith scores the fight 30:27
Judge Robert Twigg scores the fight 30:27
Judge Daniel Franklin scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Shang Tsung!