PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Thomas Bolleke (ranked 1095 p4p, 159 weight class) and Tsukune Shiba (ranked 400 p4p, 58 weight class). Shiba has chosen Fall Out Boy - The Phoenix as his entrance music. Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Bolleke
vs
Shiba

195 cm
24
191 lbs
7 - 1 - 0

190 cm
23
193 lbs
7 - 1 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class MT
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Granite chin

Urban Fighter

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Thomas Bolleke!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Tsukune Shiba!
The judges for this bout are Ben Watson, Bruno Hogan and Damien Edna.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nice shot lands for Bolleke.
Shiba just misses with a punch to the body.

Bolleke gets a clinch.
Bolleke lands a right hand.
Bolleke misses with a short punch on the inside.
Bolleke tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Bolleke lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Shiba backwards.
Bolleke tries for a takedown but Shiba manages to get underhooks.

Shiba ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Shiba no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Bolleke looking to pass the guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Shiba wants to sweep here but Bolleke controlling him for the moment.
Shiba is still trying to improve position.
Bolleke working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Shiba's head.
Bolleke lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shiba looking for a sweep. Not yet Shiba, not yet.
Bolleke looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Shiba is on top in guard.

Bolleke looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Bolleke is on top in guard.

Bolleke cracks Shiba with a solid left hand.
Shiba looking for a sweep. Not yet Shiba, not yet.
Bolleke passes Shiba's left leg - he's now in half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shiba is trying to control but can't.
Bolleke takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Shiba is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Bolleke scores with a couple of nice shots.
Bolleke missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Shiba is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Bolleke trying to control from half guard but Shiba is working away.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Bolleke passes to full mount!
Bolleke controlling his opponent.
Bolleke is landing with some decent strikes but Shiba is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shiba is looking to get to half guard.
Shiba really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Bolleke. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Shiba tries to hold on but Bolleke pushes him away.
Shiba keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Shiba felt the need to train up his defensive grappling in the buildup to the fight. Presumably he was expecting to be in a difficult position like this, so let's see if he can get out of it.
Bolleke lands a nice shot to the head.
Bolleke 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.
Shiba is bucking up trying to escape but Bolleke cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Bolleke breaks from Shiba's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Bolleke with the ground and pound from mount.

Bolleke is in full mount, looking to secure a guillotine but Shiba is surviving well by controlling Bolleke's body position as best he can.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shiba is wriggling around trying to escape.
Bolleke is landing with some decent strikes but Shiba is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Bolleke is working for a guillotine from mount but Shiba frees his head quite easily.
Bolleke cracks Shiba with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Bolleke prevents Shiba from getting the reversal.
Bolleke is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Bolleke scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Shiba?
Bolleke with good strikes from the mount here!
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Shiba can do anything to dispel that myth.
Bolleke landing strikes from the mount and Shiba is in trouble!

Shiba is rocked!
Bolleke lands with some strikes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Thomas Bolleke dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Bolleke drops Shiba with a big left hand and mounts him. Shiba is in big trouble!
Thomas Bolleke overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Bolleke looking to control but Shiba is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Shiba wants to hold on but Bolleke pushes him away.
Bolleke with the ground and pound from mount.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Bolleke sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Bolleke is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Shiba can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Bolleke working the ground and pound effectively.
Bolleke trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Shiba is bucking up trying to escape but Bolleke cracks him with another couple of good strikes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bolleke is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Shiba can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Bolleke lands with some strikes.
Bolleke connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Shiba is still in real trouble! Can Bolleke finish him?
Bolleke fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Bolleke postures up and throws a big right hand. BOOM! Right on the button! Shiba is out cold - huge knockout for Bolleke!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:39 of round 2, we have a winner by way of KO (Strikes). Thomas Bolleke!
An out of breath Thomas Bolleke thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.
Tsukune Shiba was interviewed post fight and said 'If anything, you know, I think losing makes me even more motivated.'.