PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Shawn Michaels (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Georges Stpierre (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Georges Stpierre is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Michaels
vs
Stpierre

178 cm
25
180 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

178 cm
26
170 lbs
4 - 3 - 1

Good wrestling
Brawler
Very quick

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Shawn Michaels!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 3 - 1, fighting out of Montreal, Georges Stpierre!
The judges for this bout are Sergei Dronov, Konstantin Menshow and Igor Prikhodko.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Stpierre throws a push kick but Michaels slaps the foot to one side.
A solid leg kick lands there for Michaels.
Stpierre misses with a kick to the body.
Stpierre will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Michaels keeps the fight on the outside.
Stpierre tries to close the distance and clinch up but Michaels swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Stpierre shoots in looking for a takedown but Michaels manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Stpierre's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.

Michaels tries to keep at a distance but Stpierre has taken the fight into the clinch.
Michaels is looking to take this one to the mat.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Stpierre lands a nice uppercut.

Stpierre decides to pull guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Michaels accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Stpierre is trying to control the position but Michaels postures up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stpierre working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Michaels.
Michaels keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Stpierre's head.
Michaels 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.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.

Stpierre is looking for a triangle but Michaels pushes his legs off easily.
Michaels controls from within his opponent's guard.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Stpierre not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Stpierre keeping moving, preventing Michaels from controlling successfully.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Michaels slaps away a takedown attempt from Stpierre, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Shawn Michaels has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Georges Stpierre.
Michaels fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Stpierre shoots in for a takedown but Michaels shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.

Michaels closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Michaels sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Michaels slips a nice elbow through Stpierre's hands, connecting with Stpierre's forehead.
Michaels slips a nice elbow through Stpierre's hands, connecting with Stpierre's forehead.
Stpierre regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Michaels.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Michaels scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Michaels accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Stpierre doesn't do any damage with a couple of strikes from the bottom.
Michaels trying to control the position from guard on top but Stpierre is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Stpierre is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Stpierre wants to stand but Michaels is controlling the position.
Michaels wants to control from the top but Stpierre keeps moving.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Michaels looks to be in better condition than last time we saw him fight. Obviously he's been working hard on his cardio.
Michaels is really struggling to control Stpierre but he's trying to hold on to the position.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Stpierre throws a sloppy head kick

and Michaels counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Michaels trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Michaels knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Stpierre on the ground.
Michaels throws a big elbow that misses.
Michaels content to stall in guard here.
Stpierre keeping moving, preventing Michaels from controlling successfully.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Stpierre is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Shawn Michaels dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Stpierre tries to clinch but Michaels is having none of it.
Michaels pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Michaels wants to land a leg kick but Stpierre is out of range.
Michaels finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Michaels is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Stpierre can do to turn this around?
Stpierre shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Michaels pinned against the ropes. Michaels gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.

Stpierre closes the distance and clinches.

Stpierre pulls Michaels into guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Stpierre looking to hit a scissor sweep but Michaels is one step ahead there.
Michaels sitting in guard here, content to control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Michaels throws a strike but Stpierre rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Stpierre trying to control the position from guard on top but Michaels is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Stpierre preventing the sweep.
Michaels utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Stpierre throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Michaels looking for a sweep. Not yet Michaels, not yet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stpierre wants to pass the guard but Michaels is keeping the position.
Stpierre stopping the sweep attempt from Michaels.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Stpierre trying to control but Michaels is working from the bottom.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
A bone on bone clash there as Stpierre blocks the leg kick.
Stpierre steps in looking to clinch after the strikes miss from Michaels.
A nice leg kick lands there from Michaels.
Michaels connects with an inside leg kick.
Michaels scores with a leg kick.
Horrible takedown attempt by Stpierre or perhaps it was just good defense by Michaels, which made it look bad.

Stpierre moves into the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stpierre is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the ropes.
Michaels misses with a hook to the ribs.

Stpierre pulls guard.
Michaels lands a couple of digs.
Michaels has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Michaels slips nicely into half guard.
Stpierre trying to hold on to Michaels's head to control him but Michaels postures up.
Stpierre is trying to get back to full guard.
Stpierre taking some punishment here, with Michaels in his half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Michaels looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Stpierre with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Ground and pound from Michaels.
Michaels seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Stpierre tries to roll over but Michaels keeps him under control.
Michaels looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Michaels seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Michaels winds up and cracks Stpierre with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Shawn Michaels dominated that second round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Stpierre dives in for a single leg takedown but Michaels sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the ropes.
Michaels drops down looking for a counter takedown but Stpierre sprawls and moves away.
Stpierre lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Stpierre.
Stpierre shoots in looking for a takedown but Michaels manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Stpierre's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Michaels turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Shawn Michaels is winning the standup battle so far.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Stpierre.
Shawn Michaels has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Georges Stpierre.

Michaels gets a takedown into half guard.
Michaels thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Stpierre takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Michaels scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Stpierre trying to control but Michaels postures up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Michaels looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Stpierre blocking the ground and pound attempt from Michaels.
Stpierre is looking to escape.
Michaels takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Michaels takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Michaels lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Michaels is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Michaels working the head and body with strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Michaels is looking to take a break and control but Stpierre is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Michaels thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Michaels winds up and cracks Stpierre with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Michaels is trying to control the action in half guard but Stpierre is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Shawn Michaels overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Stpierre is trying to maintain the position but Michaels is very close to passing his half guard.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Stpierre fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Michaels.
Michaels thows a body kick. Stpierre tries to catch it but that hurt him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nice sprawl there from Michaels as Stpierre shoots in.
Michaels lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.

Michaels shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Michaels showed some decent athleticism there.
Stpierre wants to get back to full guard.
Michaels working the head and body with strikes.
Michaels is nestled in close to Stpierre, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Michaels thows a huge punch but Stpierre dodges it nicely.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
Michaels scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Michaels slips a nice elbow through Stpierre's hands, connecting with Stpierre's forehead.
Stpierre is staying active underneath Michaels, who seems content to just control the action from this position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Michaels is looking for a kimura here.
Ground and pound from Michaels.
Michaels thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Michaels working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Michaels drops an elbow to the side of Stpierre's head.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Ground and pound from Michaels.
Michaels working over Stpierre with some ground and pound. Stpierre looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Stpierre moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Shawn Michaels clearly takes 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.

Michaels pivots, looking for a leg kick but Stpierre is out of range and Michaels settles back down.
Michaels shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Stpierre sprawls well. Stpierre wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Michaels gets slowly back to his feet.
Michaels throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Stpierre pulls out of a head kick attempt.

Michaels gets tackled into the ropes by Stpierre. Stpierre maintains the clinch.
Michaels goes for a takedown in the clinch but Stpierre prevents it.

Stpierre pulls guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Michaels wants to control from the top but Stpierre keeps moving.
Michaels chips away with some ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stpierre trying to keep a closed guard but Michaels is proving a slippery customer.
Michaels looking to sit in guard and control but Stpierre gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Michaels looking for a sweep. Not yet Michaels, not yet.
Michaels is pulling down on Stpierre's head. It's preventing any offense from Stpierre, at least for the moment.
Michaels is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.

Stpierre decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Michaels, up you get!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Michaels lands a nice leg kick that just misses Stpierre's sensitive parts.
Stpierre is looking to clinch but Michaels is avoiding it.
Stpierre tries for a takedown but Michaels sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.

Michaels manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Stpierre on his heels. He'll look to pass Stpierre's guard now, I'm sure.
Stpierre is absolutely dripping with sweat - he looks exhausted.
Michaels keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Stpierre's head.

Stpierre looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Michaels chips away with some ground and pound.
Stpierre is looking to stand up but Michaels isn't so interested in that idea.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Michaels works over Stpierre with some ground and pound from guard.

Stpierre escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Michaels gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Michaels is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Michaels distracts Stpierre with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Michaels is working Stpierre over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Stpierre keeping moving, preventing Michaels from controlling successfully.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Michaels cracks Stpierre with a solid left hand.
Michaels wants to control from the top but Stpierre keeps moving.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

Michaels drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Michaels 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.
Michaels scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Michaels lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Stpierre preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Shawn Michaels had his way with Georges Stpierre in that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Stpierre dives in and grabs Michaels's left leg, looking for a takedown. Michaels pushes down on Stpierre's head and hops out.

Michaels closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Stpierre quickly recovers to half guard.
Stpierre manages to get to full guard.
Michaels in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Stpierre looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Michaels looking to sit in guard and control but Stpierre gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Stpierre is wobbling all over the place through exhaustion. Will he make it to the final bell?
Michaels managing to control the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Michaels manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Stpierre manages to get himself to full guard.

Michaels trying to control the position from guard on top but Stpierre is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Michaels scoring with punches to the head and body.
Michaels distracts Stpierre with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Michaels working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stpierre can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Michaels controls the pace.
Stpierre is trying to control the position but Michaels postures up.
Michaels scoring with some ground and pound.

Stpierre is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Michaels defends well.
Michaels is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Michaels trying to control the position from guard on top but Stpierre is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Shawn Michaels seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Stpierre slaps away a takedown attempt from Michaels, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Michaels is looking to control Stpierre's arms but Stpierre gets an underhook and turns him. Now Michaels has his back to the ropes.
Stpierre tries to stall but Michaels uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Stpierre leaning his opponent against the ropes.
Stpierre has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Michaels drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Stpierre gets the underhooks and prevents it.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Michaels.
Stpierre's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Stpierre gets underhooks to prevent Michaels's takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Shawn Michaels. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Michaels tries a knee to the head but Stpierre blocks it.
Michaels's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Michaels is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Stpierre pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Michaels working aggressively here.
Michaels drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Stpierre gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Stpierre is trying to break free.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Michaels can't find room to land a body shot as Stpierre controls the action.
Michaels looking to stall.
Georges Stpierre has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Michaels tries for a takedown. No joy.

And that's the end of the fight!
Shawn Michaels showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Michaels, 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 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Sergei Dronov scores the fight 50:45
Judge Konstantin Menshow scores the fight 50:45
Judge Igor Prikhodko scores the fight 50:45

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Shawn Michaels!