PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Shaun Weber (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Michael Gilchrist (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Michael Gilchrist will no doubt be looking to use his reach advantage to good effect.

Weber
vs
Gilchrist

175 cm
20
214 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

201 cm
21
210 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Shaun Weber!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Michael Gilchrist!
The judges for this bout are Viktor Lagutenko, Igor Prikhodko and Aleksandr Martynov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A head kick by Gilchrist misses

and Weber decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Gilchrist's guard.
Weber scoring with some ground and pound.
Weber sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Weber stopping the sweep attempt from Gilchrist.
Gilchrist has a closed guard, preventing Weber from standing up.
Gilchrist wants to hit a switch here but Weber passes into full mount! Oh no, disaster for Gilchrist there!
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gilchrist is trying desperately to improve position.
Weber avoids the attempt from Gilchrist to control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Weber lands a couple of good shots and Gilchrist has given up his back, trying to escape the position!
Gilchrist rolls and manages to get back to half guard. Nicely done.
Gilchrist wants to get back to his feet.
Weber prevents Gilchrist from improving his position.
Weber wants to stand up but Gilchrist has a hold of him and won't allow it.
Weber lands with a punch from half guard.
Gilchrist works his way to full guard. Good work.
Weber tries to stand but Gilchrist is controlling from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Weber wants to stand and escape but instead Gilchrist has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

Gilchrist wants to control from the top but Weber keeps moving.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Weber looking to hit a scissor sweep but Gilchrist is one step ahead there.
Weber seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Gilchrist trying to control the position from guard on top but Weber is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Weber could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Weber wants to stand but Gilchrist is controlling the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gilchrist trying to control but Weber is working from the bottom.
Gilchrist stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Weber swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Gilchrist prevents Weber from getting back to his feet.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Good work by Weber as he checks the leg kick.
Weber changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Gilchrist fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Gilchrist misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Gilchrist misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Shaun Weber has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Michael Gilchrist.
Gilchrist looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.

Gilchrist closes the distance and clinches.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Weber working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Weber working hard to break the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Shaun Weber dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Weber gets caught napping as Gilchrist dives in and scores a takedown. Weber manages to retain guard.
Weber might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.

Gilchrist has gone for a leg lock! Weber slips out almost immediately though and dives into Gilchrist's guard.

Gilchrist wants to stand but Weber is controlling the position.
Gilchrist is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.
Weber wants to stand and escape but instead Gilchrist has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Weber keeping moving, preventing Gilchrist from controlling successfully.
Gilchrist would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Weber tries to strike from the bottom.
Weber is looking to stand up but Gilchrist isn't so interested in that idea.
Weber is wriggling around but Gilchrist manages to pass to half guard.
Weber is controlling Gilchrist's position as best he can from this difficult position.
Gilchrist wants to stand but Weber has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Weber is trying to stand.
Weber is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Gilchrist's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Gilchrist's back!
Gilchrist staying busy and making it hard for Weber to control.
Gilchrist tries to roll but Weber sticks to his back.

Weber tightening his grip on Gilchrist, looking for the choke.
What can Gilchrist do to escape this position? He's going to have to figure it out pretty quick if he wants to stay in the fight!
Gilchrist wants to get back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Weber is working for the rear naked choke. He has one arm under the chin but Gilchrist has hold of the other arm. A bit of a stalemate here.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Gilchrist is trying to get back to his feet but Weber has full control of the position and if anything, Gilchrist has just worked his way into a worse spot.
Gilchrist trying to control but he's just got himself in more trouble.

Weber tightening his grip on Gilchrist, looking for the choke.
Weber knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Gilchrist on the ground.
Gilchrist wants to control his opponent's hands but Weber gets his hands free.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Gilchrist might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Weber haven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.
Weber trying to secure his dominant position for a moment - making sure Gilchrist doesn't escape.

Weber looking for the choke from the back.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
The crowd hopeful of a finish here - Weber's supporters are on their feet, screaming for him to go for the rear naked choke.
Weber is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Gilchrist can do to turn this around?
You can see the frustration on Gilchrist's face… He knows he is in trouble unless he improves his position sooner rather than later.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Gilchrist trying to control but not successfully.
Gilchrist tries to roll but Weber sticks to his back.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Shaun Weber dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Gilchrist goes for a double leg but Weber avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Weber continues to drive forward.

Gilchrist clinches with his opponent.
Gilchrist is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.

Weber has hold of one of Gilchrist's legs. Gilchrist is fighting the takedown attempt but Weber gets the trip and lands the takedown into guard.
Gilchrist wants to sweep but no luck.
Gilchrist trying to keep a closed guard but Weber is proving a slippery customer.
Weber has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Weber wants to stand but Gilchrist has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gilchrist looking to control but Weber passes into half guard.
Gilchrist is looking to improve his position.
Shaun Weber overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Weber wants to stand but Gilchrist has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.
Gilchrist trying to control but Weber postures up.
Gilchrist taking some punishment here, with Weber in his half guard.
Gilchrist is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Weber tries to stand and escape but Gilchrist is controlling the position.

Weber gets to his feet - back to striking we go!
No luck for Gilchrist with that takedown attempt.
Shaun Weber has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Michael Gilchrist.
Gilchrist takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Gilchrist is trying hard to land a takedown here. Weber sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Weber tries to counter by clinching up but Gilchrist breaks away and moves out of range.
Gilchrist misses with a jab, cross combination.
Weber changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Shaun Weber is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Weber drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Weber working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Weber wants to stand but Gilchrist has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Weber chips away with some ground and pound.
Weber has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Gilchrist is proving hard to escape from.
Weber lands a couple of digs.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Weber trying to control but Gilchrist is working from the bottom.
Gilchrist is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Weber avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Gilchrist.
Weber is looking to control Gilchrist's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Weber avoid being mounted?
Gilchrist keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Weber is looking to escape.
Gilchrist is looking to advance position but Weber won't allow it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gilchrist prevents Weber from standing back up.
Gilchrist tries to stand but his arm is trapped.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Gilchrist fails with a takedown attempt.

Weber drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Shaun Weber showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Weber, 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 Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight 30:27
Judge Igor Prikhodko scores the fight 30:27
Judge Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Shaun Weber!