PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Jesse Thomas Babcock (ranked 739 p4p, 2590 weight class) and Jake Shields (ranked 105 p4p, 332 weight class). Babcock kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is SS00999. Shields has chosen Seven Nation Army as his entrance music. Jake Shields will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Babcock
vs
Shields

177 cm
28
183
10 - 2 - 0

183 cm
27
169
6 - 3 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Very quick

Good takedowns
Decent boxing
Determined

BE Younick

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 10 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Jesse Thomas Babcock!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Jake Shields!
The judges for this bout are Jack Bonds, Frank Antenori and Timothy Bukovac.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Babcock swings for the body but Shields moves out of range.
Shields throws out a counter right but Babcock avoids it with no problem.
Shields throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Shields throws a big shot that misses.
Shields looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Shields swinging wildly here.
Babcock bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Shields's head.
Babcock waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Shields.
Babcock definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.

Babcock closes the distance and clinches.
Good body shot from Babcock.
Babcock lands a right hand that snaps the head of Shields backwards.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Babcock misses with a punch to the body.
Shields tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Babcock smiles and moves away.
Shields fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Babcock checks it well.

Babcock gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Shields leaning his opponent against the cage.
Shields misses with some punches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shields tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Babcock smiles and moves away.
Jake Shields seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Shields misses with an uppercut.
Babcock lands a nice shot that snaps Shields's head back.
Babcock misses with a straight left.
A lazy left from Shields finds it's target.
Shields uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Babcock.
Babcock keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Babcock misses with a body punch
and Shields cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Babcock on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Shields. Shields obviously looking to wear him down.
Babcock lands a nice shot that snaps Shields's head back.
Babcock tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Shields manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Shields appears to be waiting to throw a counter punch to the body.
A jab lands there for Babcock.
Shields tries for a takedown but Babcock sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Jesse Thomas Babcock has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jake Shields.
Shields fails to land with a series of punches.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Nice jab there from Babcock.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Babcock uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Shields.
Babcock throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Babcock avoids a kick to the body.
Babcock throws a right and a left that both miss.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Shields! But no joy.
The fight stays on the outside here - Babcock looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Shields is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.
Babcock avoids a punch combination nicely.
Babcock looks to land a left hand but Shields moved out of range nicely.
Shields wants to counter the offense by Babcock and move into the clinch position.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Shields.
Shields misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Shields misses with a head kick.
Shields stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Babcock ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Shields slips a straight right by Babcock.
Shields lands an overhand right.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nice shot by Babcock.
Shields tries to move into range but Babcock moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Shields throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Babcock misses with a wild body shot.
Shields throws a jab when Babcock was well out of range.

Babcock closes the distance and clinches.
Babcock swings wildly with an uppercut but Shields uses good head movement to avoid it.
Shields blocks a body shot from Babcock.
Babcock tries to work over Shields's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Shields drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Babcock gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Shields drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Babcock lands a shoulder strike.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Babcock misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Shields drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Babcock misses with a hook to the ribs.
Babcock struggles to land a body shot inside as Shields controls his hands.
Shields blocks a body shot from Babcock.

Shields jumps into guard, dragging Babcock to the mat.
Babcock chips away with some ground and pound.
Shields keeping full guard, as Babcock tries to pass.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Babcock postures up and lands a big shot to Shields's brow.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Jesse Thomas Babcock dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Shields showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Babcock.
Shields fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Babcock wants to clinch.
Babcock shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Babcock keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Babcock avoids the body shot from Shields.
Shields misses with a wild body shot.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Babcock misses with the combination.
A head kick misses from Shields.
Shields swings for the body but Babcock moves out of range.
Babcock digs a good hook to Shields's body.
Babcock throws a hook to the side of Shields's head but Shields sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Babcock misses with a hook.
Babcock throws a shot from downtown. Shields moves away and avoids it.
Babcock is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Shields.
A slow jab from Shields misses its intended target.
Babcock swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Shields counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Shields misses with a hook to the body

and Babcock counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Babcock.
Babcock struggles to land a body shot inside as Shields controls his hands.
Babcock keeps control of Shields as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Babcock is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.

Shields jumps guard and drags Babcock to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Shields looking for a sweep. Not yet Shields, not yet.
Shields manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Babcock manages to get himself to full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shields wants to control from the top but Babcock keeps moving.

Shields is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Babcock is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Babcock has escaped and now he's on top!

Babcock keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Shields's head.
Shields working a defensive guard here.
Babcock stands up over Shields, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Babcock postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Shields wants to control but instead he gets his guard passed and Babcock is now in half guard.
Babcock seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Shields 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.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Shields is looking to improve his position.
Shields on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Shields is looking to improve his position.
Shields is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Babcock scores with a couple of nice shots.

Shields is rocked!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Babcock winds up and cracks Shields with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Shields is still in real trouble! Can Babcock finish him?
Babcock working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Babcock landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Babcock lands with a punch from half guard.
Babcock wants to free his trapped foot but Shields is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Shields slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Babcock works over Shields with some ground and pound from guard.
Babcock working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Shields's head.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Jesse Thomas Babcock dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Babcock drops Shields with a huge uppercut! Shields drops to the floor like a sack of potatoes. Babcock is raining down punches and the ref stops the fight! This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:05 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Jesse Thomas Babcock!
After winning the bout, Jesse Thomas Babcock thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.
Jake Shields was interviewed post fight and said 'As long as you're open-minded you can learn stuff from anyone.'.