PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Fabian Shannon (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Dave Freed (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Fabian Shannon has a significant reach advantage - let's see if he can make it count.

Shannon
vs
Freed

208 cm
24
151 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

175 cm
21
150 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Inexperienced

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Fabian Shannon!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Dave Freed!
The judges for this bout are Anni Minnemäki, Marco Blurström and Roosa Järviläinen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Freed looking to score a takedown here. Shannon is defending well but Freed drives through and ends up in Shannon's guard.
Freed has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Shannon is proving hard to escape from.
Freed sitting in guard here, content to control.
Freed trying to stand up but can't free himself from Shannon's guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Freed sitting in guard here, content to control.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Shannon controlling the position.
Shannon being controlled here, momentarily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Freed makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Freed wants to stand and escape but instead Shannon has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

Shannon trying to control but Freed is working from the bottom.
Shannon throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Freed has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Freed preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shannon throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Freed wants to sweep here but Shannon controlling him for the moment.
Shannon wants to control from the top but Freed keeps moving.
Shannon has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Freed looking to control.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Shannon wants to clinch up but Freed keeps it at a distance.
Freed is clearly trying to counter these attacks from Shannon with a body shot.
Shannon explodes with a nice body kick and back out of range. Nice work.
Freed takes a head kick and keeps coming.
Dave Freed seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Freed tries a low kick but Shannon avoids it.
Freed throws a nice looking combination but Shannon bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Shannon appears to be looking for a counter takedown.

Freed shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Freed showed some decent athleticism there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Freed not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Freed prevents Shannon from standing back up.
Freed lands with a punch from half guard.
Freed scoring with strikes to the body and head.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Freed connects with a nice short shot to Shannon's temple.
Freed misses with a head shot. Shannon uses the momentum to regain guard.
Freed tries to stand but Shannon is controlling from the bottom.
Shannon will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Freed landing with the ground and pound.
Freed is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
It looks like Freed might be adopting somewhat of a lay and pray gameplan here, which I'm sure won't go down too well with the paying fans in attendance... Or the ring announcers come to think of it.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dave Freed dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Some wild striking there from Freed.

Freed fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Shannon sprawls well initially but Freed persists and gets the takedown into half guard.

Freed is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Shannon defends it well.
Freed has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Shannon is trying to get back to full guard.
Shannon really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Freed is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Shannon is just riding it out for now. Freed eventually gives up the hold.
Shannon won't allow Freed to pass to mount.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Freed in particular looking to stall.

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.
Freed is looking to pass Shannon's guard but actually Shannon recovers to full guard.
Freed looking to sit in guard and control but Shannon gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Shannon trying to control the position from guard on top but Freed is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Shannon stops Freed from standing up.
Shannon postures up in Freed's guard and throws a big left but Freed blocks it.
Shannon in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Freed looking to hit a scissor sweep but Shannon is one step ahead there.
Shannon trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shannon wants to control from the top but Freed keeps moving.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.

Freed closes the distance and clinches.

Shannon escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Shannon shoots in and drives through. Freed sprawls well.
A head kick misses from Shannon.

Freed drives through with a takedown into Shannon's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Freed controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Freed trying to stand up but can't free himself from Shannon's guard.
Freed content to stall in guard here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shannon striking off his back but it's not causing Freed any problems.
Freed postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Dave Freed has got the better of the ground game so far.
Freed is stalling in the full guard.
Freed keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Shannon's head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dave Freed showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Back to the action! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Freed takes the fight into the clinch.
Nice body punch from Freed.
Freed keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Shannon's efforts to push away.
With the fighters up against the cage, Shannon throws an elbow but misses.

Freed breaks from the clinch.

Freed gets a double leg takedown into Shannon's guard.

Shannon manages to wriggle out and sneak his way back up to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched up against the cage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Freed lands a shot to the body.

Freed jumps into guard, dragging Shannon to the mat.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Freed is adopting a defensive guard.
Freed bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Shannon's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Freed showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

Freed is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Shannon is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Shannon has escaped and now he's on top!

Shannon with a flurry of punches that miss.
Freed has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.

That's two 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.
Shannon missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Shannon trying to stand up but can't free himself from Freed's guard.
Freed lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Freed cracks Shannon with a solid left hand.

Freed is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Shannon is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Shannon has escaped and now he's on top!

Freed looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Freed is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Freed utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Freed trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.
Shannon wants to get up but he can't break Freed's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Freed is trying to keep Shannon in close.

Shannon postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Freed is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Shannon, into his guard.

Shannon trying to keep a closed guard but Freed is proving a slippery customer.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Freed passes Shannon's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Freed wants to advance to full mount but Shannon doesn't think that's going to happen and regains full guard instead.

Freed drops back, looking for a kneebar! Shannon looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Shannon looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Shannon!

The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Shannon grinds an elbow into Freed's temple.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Dave Freed.
I've got Freed winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 27:30
Judge Marco Blurström scores the fight 28:29
Judge Roosa Järviläinen scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Dave Freed!