PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Ryan Oconnor (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mr Shadow (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Mr Shadow is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Oconnor
vs
Shadow

220 cm
25
135 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

175 cm
18
133 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent MT
Big heart

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Ryan Oconnor!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Mr Shadow!
The judges for this bout are Bart Greer, Winston Alpacca and Michael Johnstone.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Shadow darts in looking for a takedown but Oconnor gets double underhooks and turns Shadow into the cage.
Shadow prevents Oconnor from breaking the clinch.

Shadow breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Oconnor scoring well with a low kick there.
Oconnor cracks Shadow with a good jab.
Oconnor lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Shadow circles away quickly and effectively.

Shadow clinches up against the cage.
Oconnor prevents the takedown attempt.
Shadow tries to work over Oconnor's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Oconnor misses with an elbow over the top.

Shadow lands a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Shadow throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shadow keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Oconnor regains full guard. Nicely done.
Shadow wants to stand and escape but instead Oconnor has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.
Oconnor wants to stand but Shadow is controlling his posture from full guard.
Shadow not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Shadow is controlling Oconnor's posture.
Oconnor wanted to stand there but Shadow had control of the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Oconnor preventing the sweep.
Oconnor slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Ryan Oconnor wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Shadow avoids the head kick by Oconnor.
Oconnor throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Mr Shadow seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Oconnor scores with a spinning back kick!
Shadow's coach down at Basics -LOD- was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on Shadow's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.
The fight stays on the outside here - Shadow looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Oconnor keeps the fight on the outside.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shadow throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Oconnor counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Shadow pulls out of a head kick attempt.

Shadow scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Shadow performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Let's hope that Shadow 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.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Mr Shadow.

Shadow fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Oconnor sprawls well initially but Shadow persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Shadow is controlling the pace.
Shadow thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mr Shadow dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Shadow fails in his attempt to clinch.

Shadow clinches up against the cage.
Shadow tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Oconnor just stands there and leans against the cage.
Oconnor lands a nice elbow.

Shadow jumps guard.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Shadow is on top in guard.
Oconnor bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Shadow's guard.
Shadow seems keen to control Oconnor's posture.
Oconnor sitting in guard, not really doing much.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Oconnor wanted to stand there but Shadow had control of the position.
Oconnor trying desperately to get back to his feet here but he's not having any joy at all. He's going to tire himself out if he's not careful.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Oconnor circles away from the clinch attempt.
Shadow will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Oconnor misses with a jab, cross combination.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Oconnor tries to clinch but Shadow moves out of range.
Oconnor fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Shadow has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Shadow is looking to clinch but Oconnor is avoiding it.
Shadow avoids the head kick by Oconnor.
Oconnor avoids the head kick by Shadow.
Oconnor stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Oconnor wants it to stay on the feet.
Shadow looks for a takedown but Oconnor sprawls well.
Ryan Oconnor has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Mr Shadow.
Shadow is breathing heavily.
Shadow tries to clinch up.
Ryan Oconnor is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A looping hook to the body misses from Shadow. Oconnor does a little dance to reset his feet.
Oconnor leaves Shadow with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Shadow misses with the combination.
Oconnor really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Oconnor fails with a takedown attempt.
Oconnor is trying hard to land a takedown here. Shadow sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shadow is trying hard to land a takedown here. Oconnor sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Oconnor lands a leg kick that knocks Shadow off balance momentarily.
Shadow blocks a head kick by Oconnor.

Shadow has Oconnor up against the cage in a clinch.
Oconnor can't break the clinch.
Oconnor looking to stall.

Shadow pulls guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Mr Shadow will probably get the nod - 10:9.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Shadow moves out of range of the body kick from Oconnor.
Oconnor lands with an uppercut that bounces Shadow off the cage and back into range.
Oconnor tries a head kick but it misses.
Shadow shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Oconnor as he jumps to the side.
Oconnor lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
Nice sprawl there from Oconnor as Shadow shoots in.
A chopping leg kick lands by Oconnor.
Shadow is looking to clinch.
Jab, jab by Oconnor - just one landing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Oconnor keeps the fight on the outside.
Shadow tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Oconnor throws a head kick that misses.
The fight stays on the outside here - Shadow looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Oconnor defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Shadow.
Ryan Oconnor has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Mr Shadow.
Shadow takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
A nice leg kick lands there from Oconnor.
Oconnor scores with a slapping inside leg kick.

Oconnor gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Shadow to score an easy takedown into full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shadow showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Shadow prevents Oconnor from getting back to his feet.
Oconnor being controlled here, momentarily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Mr Shadow hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Oconnor tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

Shadow moves into the clinch.
Oconnor is trying to break the clinch but Shadow has him pressed against the cage.
Ryan Oconnor has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Oconnor tries to break the clinch but Shadow is controlling the position.
Shadow has Oconnor pressed against the cage, preventing Oconnor from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Shadow tries to pull guard but Oconnor holds him up against the cage and eventually Shadow drops back down to his feet.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Shadow pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Shadow gets off balance looking for a body kick
and Oconnor connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Oconnor throws a series of punches but Shadow avoids them all with ease.
Oconnor pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Oconnor keeps the fight on the outside.
Mr Shadow is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Oconnor moves out of range of the leg kick from Shadow.

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 Ryan Oconnor.
I think Shadow 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 Bart Greer scores the fight 27:30
Judge Winston Alpacca scores the fight 28:29
Judge Michael Johnstone scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Mr Shadow!
Our winner, Mr Shadow, made sure he spent some time buttering up the crowd during his post fight interview, which will no doubt bring him a few more fans.