PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Elias Gutenberg (ranked 5009 p4p, 2666 weight class) and Inauktu Shubuzaia (ranked 261 p4p, 173 weight class). Both fighters will be looking to make this an exciting fight for the fans, I'm sure!

Gutenberg
vs
Shubuzaia

169 cm
22
140
0 - 1 - 0

172 cm
25
132
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Cuts easily

BJJ Brown Belt
Brawler
Experienced

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Elias Gutenberg!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Inauktu Shubuzaia!
The judges for this bout are Yukihiro Yamamoto, Yukihiro Shimada and Hirohito Nitta.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Shubuzaia fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Gutenberg avoids it really well and circles away.

Gutenberg closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the ropes.
Gutenberg is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Shubuzaia is defending well.
Gutenberg is pushing Shubuzaia up against the ropes, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Shubuzaia is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the ropes.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Gutenberg pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Gutenberg is looking to score with low kicks.

Gutenberg drives through and clinches with Shubuzaia against the ropes.

Gutenberg pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Gutenberg shoots in and bounces Shubuzaia off the ropes to secure the takedown into guard.
Shubuzaia keeping moving, preventing Gutenberg from controlling successfully.
Gutenberg looking to sit in guard and control but Shubuzaia gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Shubuzaia not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Let's hope that Shubuzaia has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gutenberg wants to sweep but no luck.
Shubuzaia wants to control from the top but Gutenberg keeps moving.
Shubuzaia is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
We're seeing a lot of stalling here from Shubuzaia.
Gutenberg is trying to control the position from the bottom.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Shubuzaia fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Gutenberg avoids it really well and circles away.
Gutenberg tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Shubuzaia swivels and escapes.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Gutenberg.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Elias Gutenberg. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Shubuzaia fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Gutenberg avoids it really well and circles away.

That's four 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.
Shubuzaia fails with the takedown.
Gutenberg is trying to close the distance and clinch up, after that failed offence from Shubuzaia.

Gutenberg closes the distance and clinches.
Gutenberg is looking for a takedown up against the ropes. Shubuzaia gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.

Gutenberg breaks the clinch.

Gutenberg clinches with his opponent.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Gutenberg changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Shubuzaia fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Shubuzaia with a lazy takedown attempt

and Gutenberg counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Shubuzaia!
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Gutenberg is looking to take a break and control but Shubuzaia is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

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

Nice sprawl there from Shubuzaia as Gutenberg shoots in.
And Shubuzaia tries to counter it with a takedown but Gutenberg pushes his down on his head and steps out.
Gutenberg pulls out of a head kick attempt.

Shubuzaia shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Gutenberg wants to get back to his feet but he's too absorbed in his own little project and Shubuzaia manages to pass to side control.

Shubuzaia is trying to control the action in half guard but Gutenberg is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Gutenberg wants to improve his position but Shubuzaia is controlling well.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Shubuzaia looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Gutenberg is trying to stand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shubuzaia is trying to control. Gutenberg wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Shubuzaia stalling.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
Gutenberg trying to control but Shubuzaia postures up.
Shubuzaia seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Gutenberg does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Gutenberg is looking to escape.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Gutenberg is not content to let Shubuzaia control the position.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.

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.
Shubuzaia on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Gutenberg moves in looking to clinch but Shubuzaia pushes him off.
Shubuzaia shoots in looking for a takedown. Gutenberg tries to sprawl out of it but Shubuzaia keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the ropes. Gutenberg manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Gutenberg shoots in but no luck this time.
Shubuzaia shoots in but no luck this time.
Gutenberg stuffs the takedown.
Elias Gutenberg has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Inauktu Shubuzaia.
Shubuzaia is breathing heavily.
Nice uppercut there from Gutenberg.

Shubuzaia is rocked!

It looks like Inauktu Shubuzaia has been cut.
Gutenberg defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Shubuzaia.
Gutenberg attempts a counter takedown but Shubuzaia avoids it well and moves away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gutenberg throws a wild body kick that Shubuzaia sees coming a mile off.

Gutenberg closes the distance and clinches.

Gutenberg has clasped his hands together around Shubuzaia's back... aaand, he's got a takedown into side control. Nicely done.
Gutenberg with the ground and pound but Shubuzaia regains half guard under the barage of strikes.
Gutenberg not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Gutenberg knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Shubuzaia on the ground.
Gutenberg is trying to advance to mount but he's lost his balance and Shubuzaia reverses the position - he's now on top in Gutenberg's guard.
Shubuzaia controls from within his opponent's guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Gutenberg throws his legs up looking for a submission but Shubuzaia uses it to pass to side control.
Gutenberg isn't going anywhere.
Shubuzaia remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Shubuzaia swings around for an armbar but Gutenberg sees it coming a mile off and turns beautifully into Shubuzaia's guard.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Elias Gutenberg will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Inauktu Shubuzaia's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Shubuzaia shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Gutenberg sprawls well. Gutenberg wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Shubuzaia gets slowly back to his feet.
Gutenberg throws a counter high kick but Shubuzaia was just alert enough to avoid it.

Gutenberg gets a clinch.
Shubuzaia tries to pull guard but Gutenberg holds him up against the ropes and eventually Shubuzaia drops back down to his feet.

Gutenberg breaks the clinch.
Gutenberg is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Shubuzaia can do to turn this around?
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Shubuzaia gets a takedown into half guard.
Shubuzaia is looking to take a break and control but Gutenberg is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gutenberg wants to improve his position but Shubuzaia is controlling well.
Shubuzaia controlling the pace.
Gutenberg is looking to control Shubuzaia's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Gutenberg avoid being mounted?
Gutenberg tries to get to full guard but Shubuzaia has control of the leg.
Shubuzaia not doing much here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Shubuzaia is continuing to stall.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Gutenberg throws a sloppy head kick and Shubuzaia moves out of range easily.
Shubuzaia feints the counter takedown.
Gutenberg lands a leg kick that knocks Shubuzaia off balance momentarily.
Shubuzaia throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Gutenberg's waist but Gutenberg gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Shubuzaia off to one side.
Elias Gutenberg has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Inauktu Shubuzaia.
Shubuzaia changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Gutenberg tries to avoid it but Shubuzaia manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Gutenberg to the ground. Gutenberg escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Shubuzaia takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Gutenberg shoots in for a double leg but Shubuzaia sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Nice takedown defense from Gutenberg. No joy for Shubuzaia on that attempt.
Gutenberg is looking to counter with a body kick.
Gutenberg dives in for a single leg takedown but Shubuzaia sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the ropes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shubuzaia looking to slow down the pace here.
Still in the clinch, Gutenberg scores with a nice short uppercut.
Gutenberg dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the ropes.
Elias Gutenberg is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Gutenberg.
Shubuzaia trying to land knees to the body.
The referee calls for Gutenberg to work.

Gutenberg gets control of Shubuzaia's arms and successfully pulls guard. Gutenberg will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Gutenberg holds on and takes a little breather.
Shubuzaia wants to control from the top but Gutenberg keeps moving.
Gutenberg looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Shubuzaia looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Shubuzaia trying to control the position from guard on top but Gutenberg is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

And that's the end of the fight!
Elias Gutenberg showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Gutenberg, 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 Yukihiro Yamamoto scores the fight for Elias Gutenberg!
Judge Yukihiro Shimada scores the fight for Elias Gutenberg!
Judge Hirohito Nitta scores the fight for Elias Gutenberg!

Elias Gutenberg wins by unanimous decision!