PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Kane Shaam (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Paha Hemmo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Shaam
vs
Hemmo

189 cm
28
200 lbs
10 - 5 - 0

174 cm
30
187 lbs
16 - 11 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class MT
Insanely flexible

Excellent grappler
World class MT
Good gas tank

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 10 - 5 - 0, fighting out of New York, Kane Shaam!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 16 - 11 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Paha Hemmo!
The judges for this bout are Shigeki Fujiwara, Taro Takaoka and Hirohito Nitta.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Shaam looks to land a body kick but Hemmo moved away.

Hemmo shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Shaam napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Shaam is looking for a sweep.
Hemmo trying to control the position but Shaam is working away.
Shaam holding on.
Sloppy strikes there by Hemmo.
Hemmo trying to control the action but Shaam is working from the bottom.
Shaam's coaches at Ueshibas Temple of Cloud Warriors have been working on his defensive grappling in preparation for this fight so let's see if he can get out of this tricky position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Shaam tries to improve position but can't.
Shaam is not content to let Hemmo control the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shaam is trying to control Hemmo's posture but Hemmo avoids it.
Shaam is trying to get back to half guard.
Hemmo lands an elbow.
Shaam tries to bench press Hemmo off him but Hemmo keeps the position.
Hemmo landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
Hemmo working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
Hemmo trying to control the action but Shaam is working from the bottom.
Hemmo content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.
Shaam manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nice strikes from Shaam there.
Hemmo is looking for a sweep. Shaam is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Ground and pound from Shaam.
Hemmo has hold of Shaam's hands but Shaam slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Hemmo trying to hold on to Shaam's head to control him but Shaam postures up.
Nice strikes from Shaam there.
Shaam will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Hemmo trying to control but Shaam postures up.
Shaam working the head and body with strikes.
Hemmo wants to improve his position but Shaam is controlling well.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Hemmo looking for submissions off his back.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hemmo manages to get to full guard.
Shaam prevents Hemmo from getting back to his feet.
Hemmo is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Shaam forces his way into half guard.
Hemmo wants to improve his position but Shaam is controlling well.
Shaam has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Hemmo makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Hemmo.
Shaam pushes down on Hemmo's leg and manages to get into half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shaam wants to control but Hemmo is keeping him busy.
Hemmo wants to get back to his feet.
Hemmo regains full guard. Nicely done.
Hemmo looking for a sweep. Not yet Hemmo, not yet.
Shaam sitting in guard here, content to control.
Hemmo is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Shaam content to stall in guard here.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Hemmo working a defensive guard here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Paha Hemmo will probably get the nod.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

A shot to the liver by Hemmo. Beautiful body shot.
Hemmo tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Shaam was well out of range. Poor timing from Hemmo.
Shaam thuds a left hand into Hemmo's body.
Shaam misses with a leg kick

and Hemmo counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Hemmo thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Hemmo drops an elbow to the side of Shaam's head.
Shaam trying to hold on to Hemmo's head to control him but Hemmo postures up.
Shaam wants to get back to full guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Shaam trying to hold on to Hemmo's head to control him but Hemmo postures up.
Hemmo is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Shaam is not content to let Hemmo control the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Shaam actively working from the bottom here.
Hemmo working Shaam over with strikes.
Hemmo has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Shaam has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Hemmo is working away from the top position though.
Hemmo sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Shaam tries to get to full guard but Hemmo has control of the leg.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Hemmo is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Paha Hemmo has got the better of the ground game so far.
Hemmo prevents Shaam from improving his position.
Hemmo thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Shaam's head.
Hemmo trying to control the pace.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Shaam looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Hemmo is fending him off so far but Shaam persists. Nope, Hemmo circles away and we're back to standing.
Hemmo tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Shaam was well out of range. Poor timing from Hemmo.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hemmo walks forward, straight into a front kick from Shaam.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Shaam.
Shaam looks for the body kick but Hemmo saw that one coming.
Hemmo moves out of range as Shaam strikes.
Hemmo on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Shaam throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Hemmo has tried to improve his agility in the runup to this fight.
Hemmo doesn't succeed with the takedown
letting Shaam counter with a right hand.
Hemmo closes this distance looking for a takedown but Shaam circles away.
Shaam dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Shaam slips under a jab.
Shaam swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shaam lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Hemmo at a distance.

Hemmo drives through with a takedown into guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Shaam is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Hemmo lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Shaam is pulling down on Hemmo's head to control his posture.
Shaam is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Hemmo wants to get back to his feet.
Hemmo keeps control of the position for the meantime.
Hemmo is not content to let Shaam control the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Paha Hemmo will probably get the nod - 10:9.
That's time! Back to the action! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Shaam uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Hemmo.
Hemmo swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Shaam counters with a nice leg kick.
Shaam scores with a jab to the body.
No joy there for Hemmo, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Kane Shaam is winning the standup battle so far.
Hemmo works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Shaam gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Shaam lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Decent striking displayed by Shaam there.
Shaam smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Hemmo takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Shaam takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.

Hemmo throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Shaam was covering up waiting for the punch and Hemmo finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Shaam keeping full guard, as Hemmo tries to pass.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hemmo trying to control but Shaam is working from the bottom.
Hemmo trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Hemmo wants to control from the top but Shaam keeps moving.
Hemmo working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Hemmo postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Shaam controls Hemmo momentarily but Hemmo frees himself.
Hemmo trying to control the position from guard on top but Shaam is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Kane Shaam has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

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.
Shaam controls Hemmo momentarily but Hemmo frees himself.

Hemmo thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Hemmo trying to control the position from guard on top but Shaam is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Hemmo is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Hemmo throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.

Hemmo pushes Shaam up against the cage in a clinch.
Hemmo scores a nice knee to the body.
Shaam stalling.
Shaam lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Hemmo creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Shaam is trying to trip Hemmo. He has hold of a leg but Hemmo is hopping around, keeping his balance for the moment. Shaam persists though and gets the takedown into guard.
Shaam stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Hemmo swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Hemmo is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Shaam trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Shaam landing with the ground and pound.

Hemmo looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Shaam passes into half guard.
Shaam prevents Hemmo from standing back up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hemmo wants to control but Shaam is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Shaam trying to control from half guard but Hemmo is working away.
Shaam throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Hemmo is trying to get back to full guard.
Hemmo manages to get to full guard.
Paha Hemmo is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Hemmo manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Shaam manages to get himself to full guard.

Shaam is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Hemmo defends well.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Paha Hemmo.
I've got Hemmo 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 Shigeki Fujiwara scores the fight 27:30
Judge Taro Takaoka scores the fight 27:30
Judge Hirohito Nitta scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Paha Hemmo!