PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Carl Sheppards (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Dave Judkins (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both these guys have solid standup skills and neither is particularly fantastic on the ground, so let's hope for a nice standup war!

Sheppards
vs
Judkins

181 cm
21
160 lbs
5 - 3 - 0

173 cm
25
160 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Solid chin

Alcatraz Apparel

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 3 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Carl Sheppards!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Dave Judkins!
The judges for this bout are Sandra Marshall, Winston Alpacca and Michael Johnstone.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
The fight stays on the outside here - Sheppards looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Judkins is looking to score with low kicks.
Sheppards moves out of range of the body kick from Judkins.
Sheppards is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.

It looks like Dave Judkins has been cut.
A lazy left from Sheppards finds it's target.
Judkins stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Judkins wants it to stay on the feet.
Sheppards just misses with a punch to the body.
Judkins tries to counter by closing the distance.
Sheppards just misses with a punch to the body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sheppards connects with the punch.
Sheppards scores with a crisp jab that stopped Judkins in his tracks.
Sheppards works Judkins's body with a nice hook.
Judkins misses with a left hand
and Sheppards counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sheppards shoots in for a double leg but Judkins sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Judkins wants to counter with a clinch but Sheppards pushes him away.
Sheppards throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
A lazy left from Sheppards finds it's target.
Sheppards cracks Judkins with a right hand to the side of the head.
Sheppards lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
We've been hearing reports that Sheppards has been drilling takedowns in recent sessions so let's see if that has an impact on the result of this fight.
Sheppards is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Sheppards gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.

It looks like Carl Sheppards has been cut.
Judkins lands with a nice body punch.
Carl Sheppards seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Sheppards throws a shot to the body.
A looping hook to the body misses from Sheppards. Judkins does a little dance to reset his feet.
Judkins throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
It looked like Sheppards was looking amped, ready to throw a big counter but didn't commit.
Good exchange - Sheppards coming out on top.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Sheppards clinches.
Judkins throws an elbow but it misses.

Judkins breaks the clinch.
Judkins moves forwards but Sheppards connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Good standup being displayed there by Sheppards as he connects with a hook.
A decent looking cross lands there for Sheppards.
Sheppards is really peppering his opponent's head with punches.
Judkins throws a hook but Sheppards blocks it.
Judkins will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Sheppards swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Sheppards changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Judkins tries to avoid it but Sheppards manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Judkins to the ground. Judkins escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Judkins is looking for the big counter here.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Carl Sheppards. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Sheppards tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Judkins manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Judkins closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
A nice combination there by Sheppards.
Dave Judkins is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nice straight punches there by Sheppards. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Sheppards.
Sheppards rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Judkins moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Sheppards throws a right hand that Judkins ducks under and follows up with a left that Judkins also avoids with ease.
The fight stays on the outside here - Sheppards looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Judkins gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Sheppards changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Judkins tries to avoid it but Sheppards manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Judkins to the ground. Judkins escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Judkins stuffs the takedown.
A shot to the liver by Judkins. Beautiful body shot.
Judkins finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sheppards lands a body shot.
Sheppards throws a lazy right hand but Judkins sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Donk. Sheppards catches Judkins right on the button with a cross.
Judkins tries to bum rush Sheppards with a series of wild strikes but Sheppards uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
A jab lands there for Sheppards.
Judkins takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Judkins misses with a hook.
Sheppards lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Sheppards.
Judkins staying out of range there.
Judkins tries to counter with a clinch but Sheppards shakes him off and moves away.
We've been informed that Judkins has been working hard on his conditioning in the buildup to the fight.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Judkins throws an elbow but it's blocked.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Carl Sheppards dominated that round.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

A punch combination from Judkins misses.
Judkins takes a swing at Sheppards's ribcage but misses.
It looked like Sheppards wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Sheppards shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Judkins as he avoids it easily.
Sheppards swinging wildly here.
Judkins tries to counter with a clinch but Sheppards shakes him off and moves away.
Judkins swinging wildly here.
Sheppards throws a body punch but Judkins moves out of range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sheppards swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Judkins unleashes a big counter combination but Sheppards bobs and weaves and avoids any damage.
Carl Sheppards is winning the standup battle so far.
Sheppards cracks a nice hook into Judkins's ribs.

Sheppards drives through and clinches with Judkins against the cage.
Judkins misses with an elbow over the top.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sheppards tries to score a body lock takedown but Judkins shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Sheppards looking for a takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Carl Sheppards. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Judkins pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Sheppards takes an elbow to the forehead.

Judkins breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Sheppards tries to clinch up but Judkins circles away and keeps his distance.
Sheppards throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Judkins circles away from the clinch attempt.
Judkins will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.

Judkins tries to sprawl but Sheppards drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Judkins is trying to stand.
Sheppards is trying to control the action in half guard but Judkins is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Judkins wants to get back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sheppards is taking a breather. Judkins says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.

Sheppards is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Judkins defends it well.
Sheppards seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.

Sheppards is looking for a kimura here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sheppards wants to pass the guard but Judkins is defending well.
Sheppards wants to take a breather but Judkins is having none of it.
Sheppards passes the guard and advances to mount!
Judkins is squirming around, avoiding Sheppards's attempts to control the action.
Judkins's corner are shouting for him to stand up but that's bad cornering - how is he meant to stand up when he's mounted? He should be looking to improve his position on the ground before trying to stand back up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Sheppards trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Judkins really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Sheppards. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Sheppards sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Sheppards pushing the pace here, looking to move to his opponents back and work for a finish.
Judkins is not a happy chappy… he wants out of there.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Sheppards tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Carl Sheppards dominated that second round.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Sheppards digs a good hook to Judkins's body.
Sheppards connects with a crisp jab.
Judkins throws a leg kick
enabling Sheppards to counter with a crisp jab.
Sheppards is looking to clinch.
Judkins slips a jab and a cross from Sheppards.
Sheppards cracks a nice hook into Judkins's ribs.
Sheppards checks a leg kick nicely.
Sheppards half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sheppards misses with a double jab
and Judkins counters with a left and a right that stings Sheppards.
Sheppards shoots in but no luck this time.
Sheppards tries to close the distance and clinch but Judkins swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Judkins has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Judkins lands a jab followed by a vicious hook that sends Sheppards sprawling to the canvas. Judkins follows him down, looking for the kill. Can Sheppards hang on?

Sheppards is rocked!
It looks like Judkins is going to stand back up.

Judkins stands up out of the half guard.
Sheppards throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Judkins doesn't fully commit to the body shot counter.
Judkins swats away the attempt to clinch by Sheppards.
Sheppards shoots in looking for a takedown but Judkins manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Sheppards's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Judkins lets it all go there with a big combo counter but none of the punches connected.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Judkins on the wrong end of a nice jab.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Sheppards.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Carl Sheppards. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Judkins on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Judkins walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Judkins keeps the fight on the outside.
Sheppards scores with the left hand. Judkins knows he should have avoided that one.
Judkins slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.

Sheppards gets a clinch.
Sheppards goes for a takedown attempt but Judkins pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Judkins is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Sheppards.
Sheppards tries to clinch up.
Judkins throws a counter combo.

Sheppards closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Sheppards lands in his opponent's guard.
Sheppards trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

Sheppards drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Sheppards jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Judkins keeping full guard, as Sheppards tries to pass.
Carl Sheppards is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Judkins wants to stand but Sheppards is controlling the position.
Sheppards tries to free his leg and advance position but Judkins is retaining full guard.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Judkins gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Dave Judkins has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Sheppards is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Judkins can do to turn this around?
Sheppards throws a good cross that connects.
Sheppards just misses with a punch to the body.
Judkins wants to counter the offense by Sheppards and move into the clinch position.
Sheppards doesn't manage to clinch there - Judkins circles away.
Sheppards fails with an attempt to clinch.

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 Carl Sheppards.
Well Sheppards 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 Sandra Marshall scores the fight 30:27
Judge Winston Alpacca scores the fight 30:27
Judge Michael Johnstone scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Carl Sheppards!
Dave Judkins was interviewed post fight and said 'sorry'.