PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Neal Cash (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nicko Shoota (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Cash
vs
Shoota

159 cm
18
161 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

200 cm
18
160 lbs
4 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Neal Cash!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Nicko Shoota!
The judges for this bout are Shigeki Sano, Sosuke Kotani and Yukihiro Yamamoto.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Shoota has managed to clinch.

Cash jumps into guard, dragging Shoota to the mat.
Shoota controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Shoota is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Cash tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Shoota must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

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

Shoota instigates a clinch.
Cash tries to pull guard but Shoota won't allow it.

Cash escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Shoota closes the distance and clinches.
Cash jumps guard but Shoota stands there with Cash around his waist. Cash gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Cash keeps control of Shoota as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Shoota working hard to break the clinch.
Shoota is trying to push Cash away but Cash has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Shoota wants to break free but Cash has control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shoota missing with knees to the body.
Shoota is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Cash is defending well for now.
Cash could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Shoota misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Cash.
Cash blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Cash fails to pull guard.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Neal Cash. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Shoota wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Shoota has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Good body shot from Shoota.
Shoota is trying to force a seperation but Cash has the dominant position.
Shoota is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Shoota is looking to break free of the clinch but Cash has double underhooks.

That's two 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.
Shoota misses with a short punch on the inside.
Shoota wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Cash has him pressed against the cage.
Shoota working hard to break the clinch.
Cash jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Shoota walks away with a smile on his face. Cash gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Shoota lands the left hand.

Cash gets tackled into the cage by Shoota. Shoota maintains the clinch.
Shoota is trying to break the clinch but Cash is controlling him.
Cash is looking for a takedown.
Come on Shoota - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Shoota is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Cash is defending well for now.

Cash pulls guard effortlessly.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cash keeping moving, preventing Shoota from controlling successfully.
Shoota 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.
Shoota is continuing to stall.
Cash pulls Shoota in close to prevent any damage.
Shoota controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Cash has Shoota pulled in close to control his posture.

That's four 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.
Shoota controlling from the top position.
Shoota looking to sit in guard and control but Cash gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Shoota fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Cash manages to avoid it.
Cash changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Shoota tries to avoid it but Cash manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Shoota to the ground. Shoota escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Shoota misses with a two punch combination.
Shoota throws a combination. Cash tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Shoota throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Shoota looks winded!
Shoota misses with a few strikes there.
Cash darts in trying to clinch
and Shoota counters with a series of strikes. Cash will be more careful next time no doubt.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nicko Shoota dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Shoota lands a nice shot to the body.
Cash slips a jab and a cross from Shoota.
Cash tries to counter by clinching up but Shoota breaks away and moves out of range.
Neal Cash is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Shoota lands a really nice looking cross but Cash seems unphased.
Shoota stuffs the takedown attempt from Cash. Cash gets slowly back to his feet.
Shoota misses with a jab, cross combination.
As Shoota tries to get set, Cash tries to push him back and clinch up but Shoota manages to avoid the attempt.
Shoota misses with a few strikes there.
Cash seemed to be looking to counter by closing the distance.
Cash keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Shoota misses with the combination.
Shoota is breathing heavily.
Shoota throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Nicko Shoota seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cash changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Shoota tries to avoid it but Cash manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Shoota to the ground. Shoota escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Cash circles away from the clinch attempt.
Cash is trying to close the distance and clinch up, after that failed offence from Shoota.
Cash keeps the fight on the outside.
Cash dives in for a single leg takedown but Shoota sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Neal Cash. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Cash fails with an attempt to clinch.
A nice side step and Shoota releases a counter shot to the body, but it doesn't find it's home.
Shoota looks to score with a jab to the body but Cash is just out of range.
Cash really is built like a bowling ball. I wonder if he'd roll if you pushed him down a hill...
Shoota misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Cash.
Shoota avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Cash gets cracked there but stands up to it.

Shoota clinches up against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cash tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Shoota just stands there and leans against the cage.
Shoota tries to break free but Cash pushes him back against the cage.
Cash being controlled against the cage.
Shoota wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Shoota wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Cash has him pressed against the cage.

Cash manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Cash looking to control.
Shoota trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Cash looking to control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shoota stopping the sweep attempt from Cash.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Shoota gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
Shoota shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Cash eats them both and turns towards Shoota to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.
Shoota throws a series of punches but Cash avoids them all with ease.
Cash is trying to close the distance and clinch up, after that failed offence from Shoota.

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

Shoota manages to escape and get back to his feet.
Nicko Shoota seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Cash tries to clinch up.

Shoota clinches with his opponent.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Cash jumps guard but Shoota stands there with Cash around his waist. Cash gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Shoota doesn't land with the attempted body shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shoota lands a shoulder strike.
Cash leaning against his opponent.
Shoota lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Shoota lands a shoulder strike.
Shoota working hard to break the clinch.
Cash drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.

Shoota pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Shoota shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nicko Shoota showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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!

Shoota clinches up with Cash and pushes him back against the cage.
Shoota wants to break the clinch but can't.
Shoota wants to get back to striking at distance but Cash won't allow it.

Cash pulls guard.
Shoota sitting in guard here, content to control.
The adventures of Shoota the control monster continue. Boring.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Cash is on top in guard.

We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cash engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Cash prevents Shoota from getting back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cash trying to control the position from guard on top but Shoota is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Cash looking to sit in guard and control but Shoota gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Shoota wants to pass the guard but Cash is keeping the position.
Cash bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Shoota's guard.

Shoota is looking to stand up but Cash isn't so interested in that idea.
Shoota takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Cash throwing strikes but missing.
Cash trying to control the position from guard on top but Shoota is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Cash controls from within his opponent's guard.

That's two 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.
Cash postures up in Shoota's guard and throws a big left but Shoota blocks it.
Cash trying to control the position from guard on top but Shoota is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Neal Cash overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Cash not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Shoota utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Cash stops Shoota from standing up.
Cash throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Shoota swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Shoota tries to close the distance and clinch up but Cash swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Cash wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shoota fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Shoota pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Shoota throws a sloppy head kick

and Cash counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Cash.
Cash is trying to pull guard but Shoota turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Cash jumps guard but Shoota stands there with Cash around his waist. Cash gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Cash is trying to pull guard but Shoota turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Neal Cash. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Cash avoids a wild elbow strike from Shoota.
Cash jumps guard but Shoota stands there with Cash around his waist. Cash gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Shoota has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shoota is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Shoota misses with a hook from the clinch.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Cash.
Shoota is trying to break the clinch but Cash is controlling him.
Cash has Shoota pressed against the cage, preventing Shoota from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Shoota throws a head punch that misses.
Cash prevents Shoota from breaking the clinch.
Shoota has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Shoota is looking to break free of the clinch but Cash has double underhooks.
Neal Cash has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Nicko Shoota is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Shoota is trying to break the clinch but Cash has him pressed against the cage.

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 Neal Cash.
I think Shoota has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Shigeki Sano scores the fight 28:29
Judge Sosuke Kotani scores the fight 28:29
Judge Yukihiro Yamamoto scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Nicko Shoota!
A victorious Nicko Shoota thanked his army of followers in his post fight interview, telling people to make sure they follow him on Twitter.