PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Abe Taylor (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Shawn Griffin (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Shawn Griffin has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Abe Taylor's chin.

Taylor
vs
Griffin

152 cm
21
177 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

171 cm
19
170 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Tends to cut

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 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Abe Taylor!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Shawn Griffin!
The judges for this bout are Wesley Smith, Cecil Peabody and Frank Dennis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Taylor gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.

Taylor pulls guard effortlessly.
Taylor wants to stand but Griffin is controlling the position.
Taylor could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Griffin is looking to stand up but Taylor won't let him.
Taylor keeping moving, preventing Griffin from controlling successfully.
Griffin with a flurry of punches that miss.
Griffin content to stall in guard here.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Griffin wants to stand but Taylor is controlling his posture from full guard.
Griffin not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

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

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Griffin throws a series of punches but Taylor avoids them all with ease.
Shawn Griffin seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Taylor moves into the clinch successfully.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Taylor as Griffin tries to tie him up.

Taylor pulls guard.
Griffin trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

Taylor has his feet on Griffin's hips. He pushes off and gets to his feet. Nice work.

Griffin rushes Taylor and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Taylor has Griffin pressed against the cage, preventing Griffin from circling away and getting back to striking at range.

Taylor decides to pull guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Taylor is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Griffin throws an elbow that misses. Taylor uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Griffin's guard. Nice move by Taylor!

Taylor scoring with some ground and pound.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Griffin is looking to stand back up... there's a bit of a scramble and Taylor dives into side control.
Griffin looks winded!
An elbow from Taylor crashes against the mat.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Taylor stands up and beckons Griffin to his feet.

Taylor has taken the fight to the clinch.
Taylor jumps guard but Griffin stands there with Taylor around his waist. Taylor gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.

Taylor gets control of Griffin's arms and successfully pulls guard. Taylor will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Griffin tries to stand but Taylor is controlling from the bottom.
Taylor trying to keep a closed guard but Griffin is proving a slippery customer.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Griffin is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Taylor 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.
Griffin chips away with some ground and pound.
Taylor can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Griffin controls the pace.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Taylor tries to clinch up.

Taylor tries to sprawl but Griffin drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Taylor is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Griffin's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Griffin's back!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Abe Taylor dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Griffin closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Griffin lands in his opponent's guard.

Taylor manages to wriggle out and sneak his way back up to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched up against the cage.
Taylor goes for a takedown attempt but Griffin pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.

Taylor decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Griffin is breathing heavily.
Taylor takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Griffin trying to control here.
Taylor seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Griffin is looking for a sweep. Taylor is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Abe Taylor overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Taylor is controlling the pace.
Taylor seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Griffin for as long as he can get away with.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Griffin wants to get back to full guard.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Shawn Griffin is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Taylor tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Griffin manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.

Griffin fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Taylor to the ground. Griffin is now in Taylor's guard.

Taylor wriggles free and stands up.
Taylor is looking to clinch but Griffin is avoiding it.
Griffin misses with a series of wild punches.
As Griffin tries to get set, Taylor tries to push him back and clinch up but Griffin manages to avoid the attempt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Griffin displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Taylor.
Griffin throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
It looked like Taylor was trying to counter with a body shot coming off that last attack from Griffin.
Taylor will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Abe Taylor. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Taylor is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Griffin throws a body punch but Taylor moves out of range.
Taylor looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Taylor blocks the body kick.

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

and Taylor counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Taylor throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Griffin works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Taylor is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Taylor landing some decent shots from guard.
Taylor missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Taylor working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Taylor scoring with punches to the head and body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Abe Taylor dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Taylor shoots in for a takedown but Griffin shows good takedown defense.

Griffin changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Taylor looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
You can see the frustration on Taylor's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Griffin tries to stand but Taylor controls the position and pulls Griffin into his guard.
Taylor keeping moving, preventing Griffin from controlling successfully.
Griffin forces his way into half guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
The fighters are battling for position here. Taylor manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Griffin takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Griffin trying to control but Taylor is working from the bottom.
Taylor lands with a heel strike from the guard.
Taylor bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Griffin's guard.

Taylor in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Taylor throwing strikes but missing.
Taylor is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Taylor postures up and lands a big shot to Griffin's brow.

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.
Taylor not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Griffin is wriggling around but Taylor manages to pass to half guard.
Taylor seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Griffin does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Taylor slows the pace down in half guard.
Taylor landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Griffin tries to kick Taylor off but Taylor keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Griffin misses with a double jab

and Taylor moves into the clinch.
Griffin prevents the takedown attempt.
Taylor jumps guard but Griffin turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Abe Taylor. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Taylor tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Griffin just stands there and leans against the cage.
Taylor jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Griffin walks away with a smile on his face. Taylor gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

Taylor gets in close and instigates a clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Taylor pulls Griffin into guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Taylor keeping moving, preventing Griffin from controlling successfully.
Griffin throws an elbow that misses. Taylor uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Griffin's guard. Nice move by Taylor!

Taylor slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Taylor landing with the ground and pound.
Shawn Griffin has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Abe Taylor is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Taylor is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

And that's the end of the fight!
Abe Taylor showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Taylor, 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 Wesley Smith scores the fight 30:27
Judge Cecil Peabody scores the fight 30:27
Judge Frank Dennis scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Abe Taylor!