PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Thomas Paine (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Shigeru Tobla (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Tobla is bouncing up and down as he enters the arena, backed by the red jumpsuit apparatus - face down. Shigeru Tobla is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Paine
vs
Tobla

190 cm
19
195 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

177 cm
21
185 lbs
0 - 4 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Granite chin

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 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Thomas Paine!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 4 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Shigeru Tobla!
The judges for this bout are Sandra Marshall, Dirk Anderson and Bart Greer.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Tobla goes for a double leg but Paine avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Paine continues to drive forward.
Paine looks to land a combination but Tobla avoids it well.
Paine misses with a combination
and Tobla counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Paine throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Tobla.
Paine misses with a wild combination.
Paine misses with a series of wild punches.
Paine misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Tobla was about to counter that last move with a leg kick but changes his mind.

Tobla closes the distance and clinches.

Paine breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Paine throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Tobla counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Paine lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Tobla gets a clinch.
Tobla is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.

Tobla jumps guard.
Paine will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Paine preventing the sweep.

Tobla has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Paine can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Tobla is pulling down on Paine's head to control his posture.

Paine gets to his feet - Tobla follows without any prompting.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Paine drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.

It looks like Thomas Paine has been cut.
Paine misses with the combination.
Paine misses with a few strikes there.
Paine throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Paine is breathing heavily.
Tobla scores with a shot to the body.
Paine throws a series of punches but Tobla moves out of range.
Tobla throws out a counter right but Paine avoids it with no problem.
Paine stuffs the takedown attempt from Tobla. Tobla gets slowly back to his feet.

Tobla rushes Paine and presses him up against the cage.

Tobla manages to pull guard.
Tobla looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Paine is fighting to break Tobla's control of his arms but Tobla is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Let's hope that Tobla has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tobla tries to land a sweep but no joy.

Tobla pushes Paine off and scrambles back to his feet.
Tobla goes for a double leg but Paine avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Paine continues to drive forward.
Thomas Paine has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Shigeru Tobla.
Paine fails to land with a series of punches.
Paine throws a series of strikes that have Tobla backpedaling.
Paine throws a right and a left that both miss.
Tobla steps in looking to counter with the mid kick but it doesn't connect.
Thomas Paine is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Paine misses with a double jab.

Tobla gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Paine is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Tobla connects with a knee to the head.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Tobla jumps guard and drags Paine to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Tobla pulls Paine in close to prevent any damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Thomas Paine will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Thomas Paine's cut.
That's time! Back to the action!

Tobla shoots in but Paine avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Paine misses with a two punch combination.

Tobla has closed the distance and engaged Paine in a clinch.
Tobla is trying to pull guard but Paine turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Tobla keeps control of Paine as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Tobla stalling against the cage.

Paine breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Thomas Paine seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Some wild striking there from Paine.
Tobla throws out a counter right but Paine avoids it with no problem.

Paine gets tackled into the cage by Tobla. Tobla maintains the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Paine prevents the takedown attempt.
Thomas Paine has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Shigeru Tobla.
Tobla content to slow the pace in the clinch.

Paine's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Tobla showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Paine.
Paine throws a wild combination but nothing lands.

Tobla moves into the clinch.
Paine is trying to break the clinch but Tobla has him pressed against the cage.

Tobla breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Tobla is trying hard to land a takedown here. Paine sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Paine misses with a double jab.
Tobla only half commits to the counter leg kick.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Some wild striking there from Paine.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Paine swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Tobla counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Paine wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Tobla dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Paine prevents the takedown attempt.
Tobla manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Stalling in the clinch from Tobla.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tobla has Paine pressed against the cage.
Paine prevents the takedown attempt.
Tobla tries for a takedown but Paine manages to get underhooks.
Tobla misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Paine.

Tobla breaks the clinch.
Paine looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Paine takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.

Tobla moves into the clinch successfully.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Tobla breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Paine misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Some wild striking there from Paine.
Tobla changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.
Paine swinging wildly here.
Tobla lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Paine fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Tobla lets it all go there with a big combo counter but none of the punches connected.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Tobla looks for a takedown but Paine sprawls well.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Tobla looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Paine is fending him off so far but Tobla persists. Nope, Paine circles away and we're back to standing.
Paine fails to land with a series of punches.
Tobla tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Paine defends well and Tobla ends up having to push Paine into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Paine appears to be looking for a big counter.
Tobla shoots for a double leg takedown but Paine sprawls well. He's pushed Tobla's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Thomas Paine dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Thomas Paine's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Paine misses with a two punch combination.
Tobla showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Paine.
Paine lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Tobla circles away quickly and effectively.
Tobla shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Paine but Paine pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Tobla tries for a takedown but Paine sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Paine seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.
Tobla throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Paine stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Paine misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Thomas Paine is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Paine throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Tobla scoring well with a low kick there.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Paine throws a series of punches but Tobla avoids them all with ease.
Tobla misses with a takedown attempt - Paine sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
As Tobla looks to move away, Paine throws a big counter combo but Tobla just gets out of the way.
Thomas Paine has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Shigeru Tobla.
Tobla fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Tobla thuds a mid kick into his opponent's body. That will wear on Paine if he has to take too many more of those.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tobla tries to clinch up.
Tobla showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Paine.
Tobla slips a jab and a cross from Paine.

Tobla clinches.

Tobla's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Tobla shoots in looking for a takedown. Paine tries to sprawl out of it but Tobla keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Paine manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Paine looks to land a combination but Tobla avoids it well.
Tobla wants to counter with a clinch but Paine pushes him away.

Tobla instigates a clinch.
Knees to the body from Tobla.

Tobla jumps guard and drags Paine to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tobla throws a couple of shots from the bottom but they don't land.
Tobla is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Paine wants to get back to his feet.
Tobla content to control rather than advance.
Tobla thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Paine's head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Paine is trying to stand back up but Tobla is controlling him
Tobla takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Tobla's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Thomas Paine is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's four 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.
Tobla tries to score a power double leg takedown but Paine sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Tobla somewhat.
Paine appears to be looking for a big counter.
Paine misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
A punch combination from Paine misses.
Tobla shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Paine sprawls well. Paine wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Tobla gets slowly back to his feet.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Tobla misses with a double jab.
Paine defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Tobla.
Shigeru Tobla has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Paine swinging wildly here.
Tobla feints the counter takedown.

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 Thomas Paine.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Paine, 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 Sandra Marshall scores the fight 30:28
Judge Dirk Anderson scores the fight 29:28
Judge Bart Greer scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Thomas Paine!
In defeat, Shigeru Tobla stepped up to the mic, saying 'I need to train harder'.