PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Shelton Harrell (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ratt Hughes (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Harrell might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Ellie Goulding - Burn. Hughes has chosen Country boy can survive as his entrance music. Shelton Harrell has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Harrell
vs
Hughes

180 cm
36
160 lbs
30 - 15 - 3

181 cm
38
175 lbs
40 - 20 - 1

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Olympic wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Affordable Quality + Reliable Laundry
Ice Nutrition

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 30 - 15 - 3, fighting out of New York, Shelton Harrell!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 40 - 20 - 1, fighting out of Tokyo, Ratt Hughes!
The judges for this bout are Jonathan Paton, Franklyn Lucas and Reed Andrews.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hughes cracks Harrell with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Harrell buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Harrell moves out of range as Hughes strikes.
Hughes misses with a right hand

and Harrell holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Hughes drops down looking for an ankle pick but Harrell pulls his leg out and moves away.
Hughes misses with a jab to the body
and Harrell counters with an outside leg kick.
Hughes misses with a straight left.
Nice sprawl there from Harrell as Hughes shoots in.
Hughes throws a right and a left that both miss.
Hughes shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Shelton Harrell has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ratt Hughes.
Harrell bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Hughes throws a body punch but Harrell moves out of range.
Hughes motions for Harrell to come forward. Hughes throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Hughes connects with the punch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hughes fails with a takedown attempt.
Nice takedown defense from Harrell. No joy for Hughes on that attempt.
A bone on bone clash there as Harrell blocks the leg kick.
Hughes misses with a straight left.
Hughes just misses with a punch to the body.
Hughes tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Harrell swivels and escapes.
Ratt Hughes seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Hughes uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Hughes swings widly with a right hand
and Harrell counters with a head kick. That will keep Hughes thinking before he tries any more sloppy attacks!
Hughes rushes in with a sloppy looking punch

and Harrell holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Harrell lands a hook to the side of the head.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Hughes blocks a couple of punches on the inside.

Harrell breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hughes looks to land a right hand but Harrell moved out of range.
Hughes misses with a double jab
and Harrell makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Hughes looks to throw a body kick

and Harrell holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.

Hughes pulls guard effortlessly.
Harrell trying to control the position from guard on top but Hughes is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Harrell controls from within his opponent's guard.
Hughes wants to sweep here but Harrell controlling him for the moment.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Hughes has a butterfly guard looking to sweep but Harrell has passed into side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hughes tries to control but Harrell manages to take his back.
Harrell controls the action.
Harrell throwing sloppy strikes.
The crowd hopeful of a finish here - Harrell's supporters are on their feet, screaming for him to go for the rear naked choke.
Harrell is hanging on to Hughes's back as he tries to escape.
Hughes just trying to survive but Harrell is wriggling into a better position, looking to finish.
Hughes rolls and manages to get back to half guard. Nicely done.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Harrell perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Hughes wants to get back to full guard.
Harrell keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.

Shelton Harrell has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Harrell lands a nice shot that snaps Hughes's head back.
Hughes throws a poor cross that misses
and Harrell counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Harrell takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Hughes throws a leg kick
and Harrell counters with a big head kick but Hughes shrugs it off.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Hughes fails with a takedown attempt.
Hughes does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Shelton Harrell will probably get the nod.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Hughes scores with a hook to the body. Harrell takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Hughes misses with a looping left.
Hughes takes a swing at Harrell's ribcage but misses.
Harrell tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Hughes paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Harrell lands a jab to the head.
Harrell scoring well with a low kick there.
Harrell moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Harrell looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Harrell blocks a low kick nicely.
Hughes keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Hughes scores with a jab. Harrell acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Hughes throws a leg kick that is checked
and Harrell counters with a low kick, right behind Hughes 's knee.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Harrell fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Hughes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hughes misses with a combination
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Hughes throws out a loose jab but Harrell uses good head movement to avoid it.
Hughes thuds a left hand into Harrell's body.
A swing and a miss from Hughes.
Harrell uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Hughes.
Nice straight punches there by Harrell. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Harrell.
Hughes lands with a straight right. Harrell didn't see that one coming.
Harrell lands a head kick!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Harrell cracks Hughes with a good jab.

Hughes is rocked!
An inside leg kick lands from Hughes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hughes throws a looping overhand right but Harrell ducks down to avoid it.
Hughes slips under a jab.
Hughes throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Harrell counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Hughes is still on wobbly legs! Can Harrell finish him?
Jab, jab by Hughes - just one landing.
Hughes seems to have recovered his senses.

Harrell instigates a clinch.
Harrell swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Hughes is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Harrell gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.

The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Harrell's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Hughes thows a left - swing and a miss!
Hughes throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Hughes throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hughes throws a lazy uppercut
and Harrell counters with a nice body shot.
Hughes misses with a low kick.
Harrell blocks a jab.
Harrell slips a jab from Hughes.
Good work by Harrell as he checks the leg kick.
A low kick from Hughes misses
and Harrell counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.

Hughes is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Harrell's half guard.
Hughes not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Hughes not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Harrell wants to improve his position but Hughes is controlling well.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Hughes is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Harrell defends it well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hughes missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Hughes looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Hughes working his ground and pound in the gym. He isn't landing a great percentage of his ground strikes so far though.
Harrell avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Hughes.
Hughes thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Harrell is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Hughes's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Hughes's back!
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Hughes tries to break free.
Hughes is still trying to improve position.
Harrell controlling the position well here. Hughes rolled but Harrell kept the hooks locked in and stayed in the dominant position.
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 Shelton Harrell will probably get the nod.
That's time! Harrell's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Harrell keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Hughes has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Harrell.
Hughes swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Harrell throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Hughes sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Harrell checks a leg kick.
Harrell takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Hughes lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Hughes lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Harrell doesn't manage to clinch there - Hughes circles away.
A punch combination from Hughes misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nice body punch from Hughes.
Hughes finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Hughes tries to land a leg kick but Harrell saw it coming and moves away.
Hughes will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
A big left from Hughes misses.
A nice leg kick lands there from Harrell.
Hughes takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Hughes fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Harrell looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Hughes throws an off balance right hand
and Harrell cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Hughes throws a poor cross that misses
and Harrell counters with a good low kick that Hughes was not able to check.
Hughes fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Harrell manages to avoid it.
Hughes connects with a crisp jab.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Harrell lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
It really doesn't seem like the step up in weight is hurting Harrell here at all. He's more than holding his own against the bigger man.
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!
Harrell scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Hughes's jab looks to have found its range, popping Harrell under the eye.
Harrell slips under a jab from Hughes.
Harrell defending well as Hughes loads up on a big left hand.
Hughes rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Harrell counters with a head kick.
Shelton Harrell is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Jab, jab by Harrell - just one landing.
Hughes thows a body shot but no joy.

Harrell lands a big head kick that sends Hughes tumbling to the mat! Harrell takes a step backwards and waves Hughes back to his feet - he wants the finish!
Hughes throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Ratt Hughes has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Hughes's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
A looping hook to the body misses from Hughes. Harrell does a little dance to reset his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hughes swings for the body but Harrell moves out of range.
Hughes tries to bum rush Harrell with a series of wild strikes but Harrell uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Harrell uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Hughes.
Shelton Harrell is winning the standup battle so far.
A shot to the body from Hughes misses
and Harrell counters with a nice uppercut.
Harrell keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Hughes lands a glancing blow to the side of Harrell's head.
Harrell connects with an inside leg kick.
Hughes misses with an uppercut
and Harrell counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Hughes fails with a takedown attempt.
Nice jab there from Hughes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hughes misses with a straight left.
Shelton Harrell is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Harrell uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Hughes.
Harrell bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.

Harrell clinches.
Harrell tries a body shot but Hughes blocks it.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Hughes drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Shelton Harrell has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ratt Hughes.
Harrell misses with a hook to the ribs.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Hughes goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Hughes is working for takedown but Harrell is calmly controlling the position for now.

And that's the end of the fight!
Shelton Harrell showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Harrell, 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 Jonathan Paton scores the fight 30:27
Judge Franklyn Lucas scores the fight 30:27
Judge Reed Andrews scores the fight 30:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Shelton Harrell!
Our winner, Shelton Harrell, 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.