PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Darius Shen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Diego Granza (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Shen
vs
Granza

164 cm
18
140 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

166 cm
21
130 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Solid chin

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 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Darius Shen!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Diego Granza!
The judges for this bout are Winston Howard, Donatello Bradman and Hugh Johnson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Granza looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Granza tries to clinch up.
Granza avoids the body shot from Shen.
Shen catches Granza with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Shen shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Granza eats them both and turns towards Shen to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.
Shen lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
Granza uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Shen.
Shen lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Granza at a distance.
A combination from Shen does no damage.
Shen tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Granza was well out of range. Poor timing from Shen.
Granza throws a nice looking combination but Shen bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Granza tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Shen fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Granza takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Shen throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Shen tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Granza was well out of range. Poor timing from Shen.
Shen misses with the combination.
Granza shoots in looking for a takedown. Shen tries to sprawl out of it but Granza keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Shen manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Shen throws a right hand that Granza ducks under and follows up with a left that Granza also avoids with ease.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shen scores with a jab to the jaw.
Darius Shen seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Shen fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.

Granza closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Granza keeps control of Shen as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.

Granza manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Granza looking for a sweep. Not yet Granza, not yet.
Shen passes Granza's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Granza keeps control of the position for the meantime.
Shen wants to stand up but Granza has a hold of him and won't allow it.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shen is thwarting Granza's attempts to control the position.
Granza pushes Shen off looking to stand but Shen dives back in and keeps control.

Shen decides he's had enough of the ground and stands up.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Shen scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Granza doesn't seem bothered though.
Shen slaps away a takedown attempt from Granza, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Shen ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Granza moves away.
Granza closes this distance looking for a takedown but Shen circles away.
Darius Shen has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Diego Granza.
Shen moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
Granza fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Shen avoids it really well and circles away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Granza slips a jab and a cross from Shen.
Granza dodges the punch combination from Shen.
Shen is breathing heavily.
Granza moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.

It looks like Darius Shen has been cut.
Granza fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Shen avoids it really well and circles away.
Shen scores with a three punch combo!
Shen lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Shen.

Shen gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Granza content to stall in guard here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Granza stands and steps away. Shen gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Nice body punch from Granza.
Granza gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Granza fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Nice sprawl there from Shen as Granza shoots in.
Granza closes this distance looking for a takedown but Shen circles away.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Shen throws an off balance right hand

and Granza counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Granza.
Shen tries to break free but Granza pushes him back against the cage.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Granza just misses with a elbow thrown towards Shen's brow.
Granza keeps control of Shen as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Darius Shen dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Darius Shen's cut.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Granza shoots in looking for a takedown but Shen manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Granza's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
A jab from Shen finds it's way through Granza's defenses.
Granza shoots in but no luck this time.
Shen lands a jab to Granza's midsection.

Granza closes the distance and clinches.
Shen wants to break free but Granza has control.
Shen looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Granza keeps control of Shen as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.

Granza breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Granza misses with an attempted mid kick.
Shen is looking to wear down Granza with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Shen scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Granza fails with the takedown.
Darius Shen has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Diego Granza.
A punch combination from Shen misses.
Darius Shen is winning the standup battle so far.
Shen stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Shen wants it to stay on the feet.
Shen scores to the head and body with a nice combination!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shen throws a combination that misses
and Granza counters with a one-two to the body.
Granza is breathing heavily.
Granza avoids a punch combination nicely.

Granza clinches.
Granza is trying to pull guard but Shen has him pressed against the cage.
Granza keeps control of Shen as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Shen wants to break free but Granza has control.
Shen wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Shen wants to get back to striking at distance but Granza won't allow it.
Granza prevents Shen from breaking the clinch.
Granza keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Shen's efforts to push away.
A bit of stalling here from Granza.
Granza misses with an elbow over the top.
A short right from Granza.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Granza digs a right hand underneath Shen's ribcage. Shen let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Shen is trying to break the clinch but Granza is controlling him.
Shen can't break the clinch.

Granza jumps guard.
Shen wants to control from the top but Granza keeps moving.
Granza seems keen to control Shen's posture.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Granza is trying to keep Shen in close.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Diego Granza wasn't active enough on the ground.
A punch combination from Granza misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Granza keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Shen.
Shen swats away the attempt to clinch by Granza.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Granza.
Nice body punch from Shen.
Granza shoots for a takedown but Shen saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Shen swinging wildly here.
A slow jab from Shen misses its intended target.
Shen ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Shen throws a body punch but Granza moves out of range.
Shen slips a straight right by Granza.
A lazy left from Shen finds it's target.
Granza shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Shen as he jumps to the side.
Darius Shen is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A left lands for Shen.
Shen misses with a few strikes there.
Shen dodges the punch combination from Granza.
A shot to the body from Shen misses
and Granza counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
A head kick misses from Granza.

Granza forces Shen back against the cage and clinches.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Granza keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Shen's efforts to push away.
Granza has Shen pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Shen manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Granza makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Shen wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Granza has him pressed against the cage.
Shen is trying to break the clinch but Granza has him pressed against the cage.
Granza drops down looking for an ankle pick but Shen pulls his leg out and moves away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Darius Shen will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Darius Shen's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Granza shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Granza showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Shen.
Granza fails in his attempt to clinch.

Shen tries to keep at a distance but Granza has taken the fight into the clinch.
Granza has Shen pressed against the cage.
Shen tries to break free but Granza pushes him back against the cage.
Shen wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Granza has him pressed against the cage.

Granza manages to break the clinch.
Shen misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Granza counters with a straight right hand.
Shen misses with a wild body shot.
Granza misses with a two punch combination.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shen connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Granza's hands.
Shen circles away from the clinch attempt.
Shen fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Granza manages to avoid it.
Shen misses with a wild combination.
Shen misses with an uppercut. Granza saw that one coming.
Nice jab there from Shen.
Shen paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Some wild striking there from Shen.
Granza fails with a takedown attempt.
Shen throws a right and a left that Granza avoids nicely.
Shen falls off balance throwing a combination
and Granza counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shen throws a right and a left that both miss.
Shen stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Shen wants it to stay on the feet.
Darius Shen has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Diego Granza.
Granza misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Granza avoids the body shot from Shen.
Granza fails with a takedown attempt.
Horrible takedown by Granza or perhaps it was just good defense by Shen which made him look bad.
Shen cracks Granza with a good jab.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Shen enables Granza to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Shen manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Shen keeping full guard, as Granza tries to pass.
Shen keeping moving, preventing Granza from controlling successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Granza wants to pass the guard but Shen is keeping the position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Granza controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Diego Granza wasn't active enough on the ground.
A punch combination from Shen misses.
Granza is trying hard to land a takedown here. Shen sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Granza pushes Shen up against the cage in a clinch.

Granza jumps guard and drags Shen to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Shen trying to control but Granza is working from the bottom.
Granza controls Shen momentarily but Shen frees himself.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Granza keeping moving, preventing Shen from controlling successfully.
Diego Granza has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Darius Shen wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Granza shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Shen sprawls well. Shen wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Granza gets slowly back to his feet.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Diego Granza.
I think Shen 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 Winston Howard scores the fight 29:28
Judge Donatello Bradman scores the fight 29:28
Judge Hugh Johnson scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Darius Shen!