PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Alexander Shlemenko (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Seb Sha (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Shlemenko might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Omarion Ft. Chris Brown & Jhene Aiko - Post To Be. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Shlemenko
vs
Sha

180 cm
26
205 lbs
13 - 9 - 0

187 cm
26
210 lbs
6 - 6 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
KO power

Excellent grappler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

KAISER Nutrition - Q160/$250

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 13 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Alexander Shlemenko!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Seb Sha!
The judges for this bout are Vladimir Khabensky, Fedor Mirinova and Valeri Chadov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

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

Sha looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Sha wants to get back to full guard but Shlemenko has mounted him!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Sha keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Shlemenko looking to control and managing it successfully.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sha is trying to escape the mount.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shlemenko avoids the attempt from Sha to control.
Shlemenko controlling the pace for now.
Sha gets back to half guard.
Shlemenko wants to control but Sha is keeping him busy.
Shlemenko controlling the action here.
Sha wants to get back to full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sha moves into full guard.

Sha looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Shlemenko controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Sha not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.

Sha looking for subs off his back but Shlemenko has passed one foot through into half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sha wants to improve his position but Shlemenko is controlling well.
Sha has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Shlemenko is working away from the top position though.
Shlemenko perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Sha is trying to get back to full guard.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Sha misses with a jab, cross combination.
Shlemenko tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Sha paws at him with a jab and circles away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.

Sha gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Shlemenko to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Shlemenko postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

Sha isolates an arm and boxes in a triangle. Shlemenko stacks Sha on his neck as he steps over and passes to the side. He's now in a much more dominant position where he can look to do some serious damage. Nice move by Shlemenko!
Sha struggling a bit here.
Sha is looking to regain half guard here but Shlemenko keeps moving and retains side control.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Sha is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Alexander Shlemenko dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Sha digs a good body shot into Shlemenko's ribs.
Shlemenko with a poor takedown
and Sha counters with a three punch combo that has Shlemenko backing up. Shlemenko nods at Sha to acknowledge the strikes.
Shlemenko slips under a jab.
The fight stays on the outside here - Shlemenko looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Horrible takedown attempt by Shlemenko or perhaps it was just good defense by Sha, which made it look bad.
Sha looks for a takedown but Shlemenko sprawls well.
Shlemenko falls off balance throwing a combination
enabling Sha to counter with a crisp jab.
Shlemenko shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Sha sprawls well. Sha wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Shlemenko gets slowly back to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Alexander Shlemenko. That's going to take a lot out of him.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sha misses with a hook. Shlemenko ducked under it nicely.
Sha throws a right and a left that both miss.
Sha wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Alexander Shlemenko is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Sha swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The fight stays on the outside here - Shlemenko looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Sha fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Sha displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Shlemenko.
And Sha tries to counter it with a takedown but Shlemenko pushes his down on his head and steps out.
Shlemenko looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Shlemenko tries to score a power double leg takedown but Sha sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Shlemenko somewhat.
A solid leg kick lands there for Sha.

Sha gets caught napping as Shlemenko dives in and scores a takedown. Sha manages to retain guard.

Shlemenko got a little sloppy there for a moment and Sha has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Shlemenko has managed to get both his arms back between Sha's legs - danger averted.
Sha is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sha has his hands on Shlemenko's head, controlling the position.

Sha looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Shlemenko passes into side control.
Sha is not content to let Shlemenko control the position.
Sha trying his best to control but Shlemenko has mounted him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sha is squirming around, avoiding Shlemenko's attempts to control the action.
Sha can't escape the position.
Sha sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.
Shlemenko is trying to control. Sha wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Sha wants to control but Shlemenko is keeping busy and won't allow it.

That's four 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.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Shlemenko in particular looking to stall.

Shlemenko is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Shlemenko prevents Sha from improving his position.
Alexander Shlemenko overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Sha wants to control but Shlemenko is keeping busy.
Shlemenko is keen to just control but Sha is a slippery customer.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Sha has a hand on Shlemenko's thigh, trying to get back to full guard. Shlemenko takes advantage of the position though and mounts him!
Sha is desperately trying to improve his position but Shlemenko has a good base and remains in mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Seb Sha showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Shlemenko takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Shlemenko tries to close the distance and clinch but Sha swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Nice takedown defense from Shlemenko. No joy for Sha on that attempt.
Sha throws a body shot but no joy.
Shlemenko moves forwards but Sha connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Shlemenko moves out of range of the body kick from Sha.
Shlemenko fails with an attempt to clinch.
Shlemenko fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Sha bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Shlemenko's head backwards.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Nice sprawl there from Sha as Shlemenko shoots in.
Despite the aggression on Sha's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.
Sha connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Sha connects with a nice looking jab.

Shlemenko takes the fight into the clinch.
Sha blocking some punches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sha blocking some punches.
Shlemenko lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Shlemenko gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Sha.

Sha's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Shlemenko 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.

Sha scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.

Shlemenko throws Sha to one side and escapes!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Sha manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Shlemenko on his heels. He'll look to pass Shlemenko's guard now, I'm sure.
Sha cracks Shlemenko with a solid left hand.
Sha loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Sha working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Sha throws a big elbow that misses.
Sha is in close to Shlemenko's body, working some short punches and elbows.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shlemenko is pulling down on Sha's head to control his posture.
Sha pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Shlemenko is keeping the position for now.
Sha trying to control but Shlemenko is working from the bottom.
Sha trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Sha postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Sha accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Shlemenko holds on and takes a little breather.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sha postures up.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Shlemenko takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Sha scores with a nice head shot.
Shlemenko uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Sha.
Shlemenko half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.
Shlemenko is looking to clinch.

Shlemenko shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Sha is trying to defend but Shlemenko finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

Sha looking for a kimura from the bottom but Shlemenko passes into side control!
You can see the frustration on Sha's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sha is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Shlemenko's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.
Sha wants to get back to full guard.
Shlemenko content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Sha wants to improve his position but Shlemenko is controlling well.
Sha moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Sha pulls Shlemenko in close to his closed guard and prevents Shlemenko from doing any damage or advancing position.

And that's the end of the fight!
Seb Sha comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Sha 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 Vladimir Khabensky scores the fight 28:29
Judge Fedor Mirinova scores the fight 28:29
Judge Valeri Chadov scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Seb Sha!
An out of breath Seb Sha thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.