PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Jacob Shaw (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Steve Draco (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Shaw
vs
Draco

195 cm
23
190 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

187 cm
19
191 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Solid boxing
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Enjoys gardening

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 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Jacob Shaw!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Steve Draco!
The judges for this bout are Taro Takaoka, Shigeki Sano and Shirou Masuda.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Draco shoots in looking for a takedown but Shaw manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Draco's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
A combination from Shaw does no damage.
Draco is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
Draco has been working on his striking defense in training and it's paying off as Shaw is landing a low percentage of strikes.

Draco gets caught napping as Shaw dives in and scores a takedown. Draco manages to retain guard.
Shaw wants to get up but he can't break Draco's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Draco trying to control the position.
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.
Shaw wants to stand but Draco has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Shaw has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Draco is trying to keep Shaw in close.
Shaw knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Draco on the ground.
Draco looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

Draco has his foot on Shaw's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Shaw works his way back into a safe position though.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Shaw decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.

Shaw moves into the clinch.
Draco misses with a punch to the body.
Draco fails to pull the fight into his guard.

Draco breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Draco throws an overhand right that lands on Shaw's shoulder, as Shaw tries to avoid the shot.

Shaw has managed to clinch.
Draco jumps guard but Shaw turns him against the ropes and keeps the fight standing.
Jacob Shaw has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Steve Draco.
Draco trying to control the position but instead, Shaw has worked for underhooks and has pushed Draco into the ropes.

Draco pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Draco dodges the punch combination from Shaw.
Draco tries to close the distance and clinch up but Shaw swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Draco has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Draco there as he acknowledges the shot.
Draco shoots in looking for a takedown. Shaw tries to sprawl out of it but Draco keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the ropes. Shaw manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Shaw looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Draco looks winded!

Shaw moves into the clinch successfully.
Draco is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Shaw is keeping busy.

Shaw pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Draco shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Shaw tries to counter with a takedown but Draco is quick to defend against it.

Shaw closes the distance and clinches.
Draco tries to pull guard but Shaw won't allow it.
Shaw tries to circle away but Draco has him pinned against the ropes.
Shaw prevents a body shot from Draco.
Draco tries to pull guard but Shaw forces him back to his feet, against the ropes.
Shaw is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Shaw looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Shaw stalling the fight.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Shaw ties up his opponent against the ropes and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Shaw no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Draco prevents Shaw from getting back to his feet.
Shaw keeping full guard, as Draco tries to pass.
Draco's corner is telling him to maintain position.

Shaw pushes Draco off and gets back to his feet.
Shaw feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Dracos jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
A combination from Shaw does no damage.
Shaw throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Shaw uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Draco.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jacob Shaw dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Shaw lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Draco backs up against the ropes.
Draco on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Draco has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Shaw finds it's way round the side to connect with Draco's head.
Draco fails in his attempt to clinch.
Shaw throws a good cross that connects.

Shaw has Draco up against the ropes in a clinch.

Shaw breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Draco takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Shaw throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Shaw looks to land a body kick but Draco moved away.
Draco is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
Shaw swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Shaw lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Draco backs up against the ropes.
Draco throws a head kick but Shaw moves out of range.
Jacob Shaw is winning the standup battle so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Draco checks a low kick from Shaw.

Shaw clinches.

Draco breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Shaw lands a jab-cross combination.
Draco is breathing heavily.
Shaw fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.

Shaw moves into the clinch.
Shaw jumps guard but Draco turns him against the ropes and keeps the fight standing.
Draco misses with a hook to the ribs.
Shaw is looking to break free of the clinch but Draco has double underhooks.
Shaw wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Draco jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Shaw walks away with a smile on his face. Draco gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shaw misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.

Shaw drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Shaw decides to stand up, so the ref orders Draco to his feet.
Jacob Shaw seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Shaw tries for a takedown but Draco sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Draco shoots in but Shaw avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Shaw throws a right and a left that Draco avoids nicely.
Shaw throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Shaw tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Shaw swinging wildly here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Draco wants to slow Shaw down by chopping away at his legs.
Shaw tries to counter with a takedown but Draco is quick to defend against it.
Draco tries to clinch up.
Shaw appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
Shaw scores with a kick to the midsection.
Shaw throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Draco has a takedown stuffed.
Jacob Shaw has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Steve Draco.
Shaw throws a series of punches but Draco moves out of range.

Draco clinches.
Shaw tries to break the clinch but Draco is controlling the position.
Draco keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Shaw's efforts to push away.
Draco tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Shaw smiles and moves away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Shaw moves into the clinch.
Shaw is trying to push Draco away but Draco has him pressed against the ropes, so he's going nowhere.
Shaw is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Draco can do to turn this around?

Shaw breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Shaw misses with a wild combination.
Shaw circles away from the clinch attempt.
Shaw tries to clinch but Draco moves out of range.
Draco takes one to the chin there.
Shaw scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jacob Shaw dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Shaw throws a series of punches but Draco avoids them all with ease.
Shaw slaps away a takedown attempt from Draco, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Shaw tries to counter with a takedown but Draco is quick to defend against it.
Shaw scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Draco scoring well with a low kick there.
Shaw throws a series of punches but Draco avoids them all with ease.
Draco looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Shaw is fending him off so far but Draco persists. Nope, Shaw circles away and we're back to standing.
Shaw appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
Shaw stuffs the takedown.
Jacob Shaw has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Steve Draco.
Shaw throws a combination. Draco tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
Draco takes a shot right to the bread basket.

Shaw moves into the clinch successfully.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Shaw pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Shaw is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Draco takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Shaw!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Draco avoids a punch combination nicely.
Draco changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.
Nice sprawl there from Shaw as Draco shoots in.
Jacob Shaw is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Shaw tries to clinch but Draco is having none of it.
Shaw lands a glancing blow to the side of Draco's head.

Shaw moves into range and clinches up with Draco.
Shaw tries to break free but Draco pushes him back against the ropes.
Draco tries to break free but Shaw pushes him back against the ropes.
Shaw stalling the fight.

Shaw decides to pull guard.
Shaw on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Shaw tries to get out of the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shaw is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Draco is looking to work some ground and pound but Shaw has wrist control.
Draco won't allow Shaw to get back to his feet.

The fighters are working up against the ropes. Shaw manages to wriggle his way back to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched against the ropes.

Shaw breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Shaw tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shaw misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Shaw misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
A jab from Draco misses.
Shaw attempts a counter takedown but Draco avoids it well and moves away.
Shaw walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Draco checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Shaw connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Draco momentarily.
Draco tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Shaw swivels and escapes.
Shaw lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Draco circles away quickly and effectively.
Draco flicks out a counter leg kick but Shaw steps away.
A head kick misses from Shaw.
Draco shoots in but Shaw avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Shaw lands with a nice combination. Draco backs away looking to recover.
Shaw throws a low kick but Draco moves out of range easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shaw fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Draco avoids it really well and circles away.
Draco slips a jab and a cross from Shaw.
Shaw scores with a hook.
Draco fails with the takedown.
Shaw lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Shaw gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Shaw is looking to break free of the clinch but Draco has double underhooks.

And that's the end of the fight!
Jacob Shaw showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Shaw 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 Taro Takaoka scores the fight for Jacob Shaw!
Judge Shigeki Sano scores the fight for Jacob Shaw!
Judge Shirou Masuda scores the fight for Jacob Shaw!

Jacob Shaw wins by unanimous decision!
After the fight, Jacob Shaw was humble in paying tribute to his opponent but made it clear he wants to go on to bigger and better things. It seemed to go down well with the crowd who cheered him loudly.