PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Ferdinand Marcos (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and James Sheperd (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). James Sheperd will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Marcos
vs
Sheperd

187 cm
25
185 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

182 cm
23
185 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Ferdinand Marcos!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, James Sheperd!
The judges for this bout are , Timothy Bukovac and Frank Antenori.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Marcos plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!

It looks like James Sheperd has been cut.

Marcos fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Sheperd, pushing him back against the cage.

Marcos manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Sheperd accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Sheperd trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Marcos lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Marcos content to stall in guard here.
Sheperd looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Marcos working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Marcos is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Sheperd looks winded!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Marcos pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Sheperd is keeping the position for now.
Marcos slips nicely into half guard.
Marcos slows the pace down in half guard.
Sheperd has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Sheperd avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Marcos.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Marcos is controlling the pace.

Marcos decides to return to a standing position.
Marcos circles away from the clinch attempt
and Marcos counters with a good, hard body kick but Sheperd shrugs it off.

Marcos gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Marcos looking to throw knees to the head but Sheperd is blocking nicely.

Marcos breaks from the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Marcos misses with a double jab.
Sheperd wants to clinch up but Marcos keeps it at a distance.
James Sheperd is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

Marcos clinches.
Sheperd with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Marcos can't get the takedown.
Marcos drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Marcos obliges.

Marcos jumps guard and drags Sheperd to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Marcos is looking to stand up but Sheperd isn't so interested in that idea.

Marcos uses the cage to get back to his feet.

Marcos closes the distance and pushes Sheperd back into the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Marcos ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Marcos no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Sheperd throws a strike but Marcos rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Marcos controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Marcos stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Sheperd swivels though and keeps the full guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Marcos controls from within his opponent's guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Marcos seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Sheperd for as long as he can get away with.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ferdinand Marcos dominated that round.
The cut man is working on James Sheperd's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Marcos gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Sheperd misses with a knee to the head.
Marcos changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Sheperd fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Marcos has a takedown stuffed.

Marcos gets a takedown into half guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Marcos takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Sheperd is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Marcos decides he's had enough of the ground and stands up.
Sheperd throws a sloppy head kick
and Marcos counters with a leg kick.
Marcos throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Marcos dives in and grabs Sheperd's left leg, looking for a takedown. Sheperd pushes down on Marcos's head and hops out.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ferdinand Marcos. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Sheperd avoids a punch combination nicely.

Marcos shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Sheperd's guard.
Sheperd being controlled here, momentarily.
Marcos keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Sheperd's head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Marcos working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Marcos seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Marcos looking to pass the guard.
Marcos sitting in guard here, content to control.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

Marcos manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Sheperd on his heels. He'll look to pass Sheperd's guard now, I'm sure.
Marcos pushing down on Sheperd's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Marcos is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Sheperd can do to turn this around?

Marcos is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Sheperd has managed to free his arm - good work.

Marcos escapes and gets back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sheperd defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Marcos.
Marcos circles away from the clinch attempt
and Marcos counters with a head kick. That will keep Sheperd thinking before he tries any more sloppy attacks!

Sheperd gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.

Marcos stands up from Sheperd's guard - Marcos perhaps looking for a knockout.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Crunch! Marcos slams his shin into Sheperd's torso.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ferdinand Marcos dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on James Sheperd's cut.
That's time! Marcos's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Marcos gets a double leg takedown into Sheperd's guard.
Marcos scoring with some ground and pound.
Ferdinand Marcos overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Sheperd can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Marcos controls the pace.

Marcos gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.

Marcos shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Marcos is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Sheperd takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Marcos in particular looking to stall.

Marcos stands up out of the half guard.

Marcos moves into range and clinches up with Sheperd.

Marcos pulls guard effortlessly.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Marcos manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Sheperd manages to get himself to full guard.

Marcos throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Marcos thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.

Sheperd is working an open guard so Marcos takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.

Marcos feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.

Marcos gets to his feet - Sheperd follows without any prompting.

Marcos dives in and scores a takedown into Sheperd's guard.
Marcos is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

Marcos gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sheperd wants to clinch

and Marcos counters with a nice double leg into side control. Sheperd won't be happy with that.
Marcos controls the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Marcos decides to stand up, so the ref orders Sheperd to his feet.
James Sheperd seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Sheperd tries to clinch but Marcos is having none of it.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ferdinand Marcos showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Marcos has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 30:25
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 30:25
Judge Frank Antenori scores the fight 30:25

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ferdinand Marcos!