PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Rum Shaker (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and joseph shelley (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd giving both fighters a great reception on their way into the arena. That's good to see.

Shaker
vs
shelley

183 cm
18
180 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

177 cm
18
178 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Big right hand

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Rum Shaker!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, joseph shelley!
The judges for this bout are Leandro Rodrigues, Mauricio Rocha and Daniel Cesar.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

shelley feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
shelley passes easily into side control. Nice work.
shelley throwing shots but missing, from side control.

shelley thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
shelley moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.
Shaker dodges the ground and pound from shelley.
Shaker dodges the ground and pound from shelley.
shelley wants to control but Shaker is keeping him busy.
shelley has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

shelley is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Shaker knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Shaker defending against the ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shaker pushes shelley away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, shelley gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.
shelley throwing strikes but missing, from side control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
shelley shoots in for a takedown but Shaker shows good takedown defense.
Shaker fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Shaker will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Rum Shaker seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Shaker is looking to take this fight into the clinch.

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.
shelley shoots in looking for a takedown. Shaker tries to sprawl out of it but shelley keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Shaker manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Shaker rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but shelley moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Shaker moves in looking to clinch but shelley pushes him off.
Shaker is looking to clinch.
shelley shoots in for a takedown but Shaker shows good takedown defense.
Rum Shaker has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of joseph shelley.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
shelley dodges the punch combination from Shaker.
shelley showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Shaker.
Shaker scores with a three punch combo!
Shaker rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but shelley moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Shaker throws a right and a left that shelley avoids nicely.
Shaker looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

shelley decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
shelley is taking a breather. Shaker says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Shaker knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for shelley on the ground.

shelley is working for a kimura here but Shaker manages to reverse the position and he's now in shelley's guard.
Shaker wants to stand but shelley has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
shelley tries to land a sweep but no joy.
shelley looks gassed!

shelley working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Shaker doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Shaker manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
shelley manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Shaker manages to get himself to full guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

joseph shelley dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Shaker's corner calls for a 1,2 combination and Shaker duly obliges.
Shaker throws a right hand that shelley ducks under and follows up with a left that shelley also avoids with ease.
Shaker throws a series of punches but shelley avoids them all with ease.
Shaker throws a right hand that shelley ducks under and follows up with a left that shelley also avoids with ease.
Shaker throws a series of punches but shelley avoids them all with ease.
Rum Shaker is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
shelley shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Shaker but Shaker pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Shaker looks to land a combination but shelley avoids it well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
shelley dodges the punch combination from Shaker.
shelley lands with a thumping leg kick.
shelley avoids a punch combination nicely.
Shaker is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Shaker stuffs the takedown attempt from shelley. shelley gets slowly back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
A punch combination from Shaker misses.
Shaker misses with the combination.
Shaker throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Shaker throws a nice looking combination but shelley bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.

Shaker gets caught flat footed, as shelley shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
shelley trying to control but Shaker is working from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
shelley slips nicely into half guard.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

shelley is looking for a kimura but Shaker is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for shelley to get the leverage.
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. shelley connects with a nice short shot to Shaker's temple.
shelley is keen to just control but Shaker is a slippery customer.

Shaker makes his way to full guard, as shelley worked for a kimura.
shelley trying to control the position from guard on top but Shaker is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as shelley accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
shelley with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
shelley passes into half guard.
shelley stops Shaker from getting back to his feet.

shelley is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
shelley prevents Shaker from standing back up.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Still in half guard, shelley seems content to control.

shelley is trying to work for a kimura but Shaker is defending well.
Shaker is looking to escape.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

joseph shelley showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Shaker misses with the combination.

shelley shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
shelley trying to control but Shaker is working from the bottom.
shelley postures up in Shaker's guard and throws a big left but Shaker blocks it.
shelley advances to half guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
shelley tries to pass the half guard into mount. Shaker knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Shaker is refusing to be controlled, as shelley sits in half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
shelley trying to pass the guard but Shaker defending well.
shelley missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Shaker swinging wilding here.
Some wild striking there from Shaker.
Shaker tries to clinch but shelley moves out of range.

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.
shelley swats away the attempt to clinch by Shaker.
shelley gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.

shelley closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
shelley wants to lay and pray for a moment but Shaker keeps working.
shelley thows a huge punch but Shaker dodges it nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
shelley looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
shelley prevents Shaker from standing back up.

shelley decides he's had enough of the ground and stands up.
Shaker throws a right hand that shelley ducks under and follows up with a left that shelley also avoids with ease.

shelley shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. shelley showed some decent athleticism there.
shelley uses his free foot to push down on Shaker's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Shaker.
joseph shelley is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
shelley trying to control but Shaker is having none of it.
shelley controlling from the full mount.
Shaker is wriggling around here but as he tries to escape, shelley has taken his back.

shelley looking for the RNC.
Rum Shaker has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
shelley tries to get the hooks in deep but Shaker pushed the leg off.

And that's the end of the fight!
joseph shelley comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got shelley 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 Leandro Rodrigues scores the fight 27:30
Judge Mauricio Rocha scores the fight 27:30
Judge Daniel Cesar scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... joseph shelley!