PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between John Pleasures (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Sean Sherk (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Sherk has chosen Earshot as his entrance music. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Pleasures
vs
Sherk

174 cm
18
158 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

171 cm
22
155 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
KO power

Good wrestler
Basic striking
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, John Pleasures!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Sean Sherk!
The judges for this bout are Wesley Smith, Chris Downing and George Francis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sherk fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Sherk shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Pleasures pinned against the cage. Pleasures gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Sherk.
John Pleasures has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Sean Sherk.

Sherk feints and as Pleasures raises his hands in defense, Sherk changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Sherk is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Pleasures wants to get back to his feet but Sherk is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Sherk with a nice head shot there.
Sherk not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Sherk pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Pleasures is keeping the position for now.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Sherk.
Sherk will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Sherk avoids the head kick by Pleasures.
Sherk misses with a takedown attempt - Pleasures sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Sherk shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Pleasures pinned against the cage. Pleasures gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Pleasures scores with a head kick.
Pleasures scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Sherk shoots for a takedown but Pleasures saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Pleasures throws a head kick that misses.
Sherk fails with a takedown attempt from distance.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pleasures cracks the inside of Sherk's front leg.
Sherk takes a head kick and keeps coming.
Sherk looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Pleasures is fending him off so far but Sherk persists. Nope, Pleasures circles away and we're back to standing.
Sherk changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Pleasures tries to avoid it but Sherk manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Pleasures to the ground. Pleasures escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Sherk looks gassed!
Pleasures lands with a slapping head kick.
Pleasures displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Sherk tries for a takedown but Pleasures sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Sherk blocks a head kick by Pleasures.
Sherk shoots in but Pleasures avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Pleasures tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Sherk tries for a takedown but Pleasures sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
A nice combination there by Pleasures.
Sherk shoots in but no luck this time.
Pleasures throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Sherk.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pleasures throws a head kick but Sherk moves out of range.
Sherk changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Pleasures tries to avoid it but Sherk manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Pleasures to the ground. Pleasures escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Pleasures tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Pleasures lands a head kick!
Pleasures throws a head kick that looked like it stung.
Pleasures tries a head kick but it misses.
Sherk looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Pleasures is fending him off so far but Sherk persists. Nope, Pleasures circles away and we're back to standing.
Sherk avoids the head kick by Pleasures.
Pleasures plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Sherk shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Pleasures but Pleasures pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Pleasures lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
A head kick from Pleasures lands but Sherk takes it in his stride.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sherk tries for a takedown but Pleasures sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Pleasures connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Pleasures pulls out of a head kick attempt.

Sherk looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for Pleasures!
Pleasures really wants to buck Sherk off and get back to his feet.
Sherk takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Pleasures has given up his back. Will we see Sherk going for some submissions?
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Sherk shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Pleasures is looking to stand up but Sherk isn't so interested in that idea.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Sherk sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Pleasures is looking to stand up but Sherk isn't so interested in that idea.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Sherk is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Sherk passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Sherk is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Pleasures will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sherk has knee on belly and now moves to full mount! Trouble for Pleasures!
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Sherk controlling his opponent.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Despite being in the dominant position, Sean Sherk just isn't active enough and the referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Pleasures stuffs the takedown attempt from Sherk. Sherk gets slowly back to his feet.
Pleasures lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Horrible takedown by Sherk or perhaps it was just good defense by Pleasures which made him look bad.
Sean Sherk seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A head kick misses from Pleasures.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pleasures throws a head kick that half lands.
John Pleasures is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Sherk will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
John Pleasures has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Sean Sherk.
Pleasures throws a head kick that misses.
Pleasures tries a head kick but it misses.
Sherk shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Pleasures as he jumps to the side.
Sherk fails miserably with a takedown attempt.

Sherk shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Sherk stops Pleasures from standing up.
Sherk 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 Sherk 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 three minutes gone in the round.
Sherk prevents Pleasures from getting back to his feet.
Sherk slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Pleasures is pushing Sherk's head away, looking to escape. Sherk manages to hold on to the position though.
Sherk trying to control the position but Pleasures is working away.
Pleasures wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
Sherk happy to just control the position for now.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Sherk trying to control the action but Pleasures is working from the bottom.
Pleasures wants to get back to his feet but Sherk drags him back down.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fight is doing enough on the ground.

Pleasures gets caught flat footed, as Sherk shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Sherk showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Pleasures is looking to stand back up but Sherk counters by passing into half guard. Oops... bit sloppy there by Pleasures.
Pleasures tries to escape but Sherk is in control.
Pleasures trying desperately to get back to his feet here but he's not having any joy at all. He's going to tire himself out if he's not careful.
Sherk controls the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sean Sherk showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Sherk takes a head kick and keeps coming.
Sherk fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Sherk looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Pleasures is fending him off so far but Sherk persists. Nope, Pleasures circles away and we're back to standing.
Nice sprawl there from Pleasures as Sherk shoots in.
John Pleasures has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Sean Sherk.
Pleasures throws a head kick that half lands.
Pleasures tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Pleasures explodes with a nice body kick and back out of range. Nice work.
Nice takedown defense from Pleasures. No joy for Sherk on that attempt.
Pleasures goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
Pleasures goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
Sherk takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Pleasures misses with a head kick.
Pleasures throws a head kick but Sherk moves out of range.
Pleasures works over Sherk's head and body with a nice combination.
Pleasures throws a sloppy head kick and Sherk moves out of range easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Sherk gets a takedown into half guard.
Sherk is controlling the pace.
Pleasures is looking to escape.
Sherk is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Sherk prevents Pleasures from standing back up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sherk controlling the action here.
Sherk stops Pleasures from getting back to his feet.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Sherk in particular looking to stall.
Pleasures is trying to escape back to his feet but Sherk uses the scramble to pass into side control.
Pleasures is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Sherk is controlling him well.
Sean Sherk has got the better of the ground game so far.
Sherk is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Pleasures will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.
Pleasures pushes Sherk away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Sherk gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.
Sherk tries to advance to mount but can't.
Pleasures wants to get back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Sherk shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Pleasures pinned against the cage. Pleasures gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Sherk shoots for a takedown but Pleasures saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Sherk takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Sherk tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Pleasures swivels and escapes.
Pleasures tries a head kick but it misses.
Pleasures throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Sherk's head.
A head kick from Pleasures lands but Sherk takes it in his stride.
Pleasures fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Sherk.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sherk closes this distance looking for a takedown but Pleasures circles away.
Sherk takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Sherk chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Pleasures can pounce on him.
Sherk fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Sherk takes a kick to the side of the head.

Sherk drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Sherk showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Sherk looking to pass the guard.
Pleasures is wriggling around but Sherk manages to pass to half guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to John Pleasures.
I think Pleasures has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 29:28
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 28:29
Judge George Francis scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by split decision... John Pleasures!