PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between George Wahl (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Joshua Shouse (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Wahl
vs
Shouse

167 cm
29
145 lbs
8 - 9 - 0

162 cm
27
116 lbs
22 - 21 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Very quick

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

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 8 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, George Wahl !
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 22 - 21 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Joshua Shouse !
The judges for this bout are Stewart Dunkirk, Tiny Johnson and Gwen Towbar.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Shouse shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Wahl as he jumps to the side.

Shouse has managed to clinch.

Shouse successfully pulls guard.

Shouse has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Wahl can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.

Wahl drops back, looking for a kneebar! Shouse looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Shouse looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Shouse !
Wahl knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Shouse on the ground.

Shouse decides to stand up, so the ref orders Wahl to his feet.
Wahl slaps away a takedown attempt from Shouse , before circling back to the center of the mat.
Shouse stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Shouse wants it to stay on the feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shouse looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Wahl is fending him off so far but Shouse persists. Nope, Wahl circles away and we're back to standing.
George Wahl has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Joshua Shouse .
Wahl tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
A combination from Shouse does no damage.

Shouse clinches with his opponent.
Wahl jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Shouse walks away with a smile on his face. Wahl gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Wahl defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Shouse .
Wahl darts in looking for a takedown but Shouse gets double underhooks and turns Wahl into the cage.
Shouse effectively controlling the action here.

Shouse has hold of one of Wahl 's legs. Wahl is fighting the takedown attempt but Shouse gets the trip and lands the takedown into guard.
Shouse wants to control from the top but Wahl keeps moving.
Shouse stopping the sweep attempt from Wahl .

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wahl is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Shouse controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Shouse trying to control the position from guard on top but Wahl is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Joshua Shouse hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.

Wahl closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Wahl lands in his opponent's guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Shouse pulls Wahl in close to prevent any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shouse keeping moving, preventing Wahl from controlling successfully.

Shouse looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Shouse trying to keep a closed guard but Wahl is proving a slippery customer.
Wahl trying to control the position from guard on top but Shouse is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Wahl pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Shouse is keeping the position for now.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Shouse tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Wahl wants to pass the guard but Shouse is keeping the position.
Wahl trying to control the position from guard on top but Shouse is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

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

Shouse moves into the clinch.
Wahl swings wildly with an uppercut but Shouse uses good head movement to avoid it.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Shouse works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.

Wahl is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
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.

Wahl looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Wahl postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.

Shouse has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Wahl off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.
Shouse stuffs the takedown attempt from Wahl . Wahl gets slowly back to his feet.
Shouse tries to clinch there but Wahl circles away.
Shouse shoots in but no luck this time.
Shouse tries to close the distance and clinch but Wahl swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

Shouse moves into range and clinches up with Wahl .

That's one minute gone in the round.
A bit of stalling here from Shouse .
The step up in weight doesn't seem to be a problem for Shouse . He's performing admirably here against the bigger man.
Wahl is looking to control Shouse 's arms but Shouse gets an underhook and turns him. Now Wahl has his back to the cage.

Wahl turns his back and goes for a hip toss. It's a bit messy but it gets the job done and Wahl manages to end up in side control.
Shouse gets back to half guard.
Wahl slips a nice elbow through Shouse 's hands, connecting with Shouse 's forehead.

Shouse kicks Wahl off and gets back to his feet.
Wahl closes the distance and clinches up with Shouse , looking for a takedown. Wahl pushes Shouse against the cage but Shouse circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.

Shouse has taken the fight to the clinch.
Wahl prevents a body shot from Shouse .

Shouse has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Wahl uses from the top position.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Shouse will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shouse trying to keep a closed guard but Wahl is proving a slippery customer.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Shouse managing to control the position.
Wahl is looking to advance position but Shouse has hit a scissor sweep - now he's on top in mount!
Wahl is in all sorts of trouble here.

Shouse looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
Wahl working to try and regain half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shouse is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Wahl can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Wahl wants to hold on but Shouse pushes him away.
Shouse controlling from mount.

Wahl defends a decent attempt at a guillotine from Shouse .
Shouse wants to control the pace but Wahl is squirming around nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shouse in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Shouse looking to finish Wahl with some ground and pound. This is bad for Wahl !
Shouse controlling his opponent.
Wahl on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Wahl tries to get out of the position.
Wahl tries to hold on but Shouse pushes him away.
Shouse scoring with strikes but Wahl is staying in there.
Wahl looking to escape from mount but he's given up his back!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Good control from Shouse .
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joshua Shouse showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Shouse closes this distance looking for a takedown but Wahl circles away.
Shouse shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Wahl defends it nicely.
Shouse shoots in and drives through. Wahl sprawls well.
George Wahl has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Joshua Shouse .
Shouse avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Wahl tries to clinch but Shouse is having none of it.
A nice inside leg kick there by Wahl . That's going to slow Shouse down.
Shouse keeps the fight on the outside.

Shouse instigates a clinch.

Shouse pulls guard effortlessly.

Shouse pushes Wahl off and gets back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Wahl shoots in for a takedown but Shouse shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Wahl tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Shouse with a poor takedown
and Wahl counters with a nice low kick that buckles Shouse 's knee momentarily.
Wahl throws a head kick but Shouse moves out of range.
Wahl misses the shot to the body.
Wahl blocks a head kick by Shouse .

Shouse gets the takedown into side control.

Shouse stands up.
Shouse takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Wahl shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Wahl was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
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!

Wahl wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Shouse , who protects the arm well.
Wahl wants to lay and pray for a moment but Shouse keeps working.
Shouse is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Wahl 's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.
The fighters are battling for position here. Shouse manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Shouse looking to hit a scissor sweep but Wahl is one step ahead there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shouse is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Shouse is thwarting Wahl 's attempts to control the position.
Well, if Shouse is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Wahl wants to control but Shouse passes into side.
Shouse wants to lay and pray for a moment but Wahl keeps working.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wahl is trying to get back to half guard.
Shouse trying to control the action but Wahl is working from the bottom.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Shouse is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Wahl has escaped the position, nice work there.
George Wahl has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Joshua Shouse is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Wahl striking from the bottom but nothing landed.

And that's the end of the fight!
Joshua Shouse comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Shouse winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Stewart Dunkirk scores the fight 27:30
Judge Tiny Johnson scores the fight 27:30
Judge Gwen Towbar scores the fight 27:30

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