PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Rikki Tavi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Tommy Shelby (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Shelby has chosen Red Right Hand as his entrance music. Tommy Shelby will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Tavi
vs
Shelby

178 cm
25
163 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

175 cm
24
156 lbs
1 - 3 - 0

Good takedowns
Counter fighter
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

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 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Rikki Tavi!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Tommy Shelby!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Franklin, Bart Greer and Peter Branson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Shelby jabs Tavi to the body, keeping him at a distance.

Tavi closes the distance and clinches.
Shelby putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Tavi in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Tavi tries to pull guard but Shelby forces him back to his feet, against the cage.

Shelby breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Shelby tries to clinch there but Tavi circles away.
Tavi lifts his leg as if looking to counter with a high kick.
Shelby cracks a nice hook into Tavi's ribs.
Shelby scores with a jab to the body.
Tavi shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Shelby but Shelby pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Tavi takes a shot to the body in his stride.

Shelby closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Shelby tries to move to mount but Tavi blocks the move with his legs.
Tavi is trying to control Shelby's posture but Shelby avoids it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tavi stuck in half guard on the bottom here.
You can see the frustration on Tavi's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Tavi is in a bad position, trying to hold on for dear life but he is really struggling to maintain any sort of control.

Shelby stands up and we're back to a striking position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Shelby lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Tavi at a distance.
Tavi tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Shelby defends well and Tavi ends up having to push Shelby into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rikki Tavi. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Shelby gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Tavi is trying to pull guard but Shelby has him pressed against the cage.
Tavi jumps guard but Shelby stands there with Tavi around his waist. Tavi gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Shelby connects with a nasty looking knee right to Tavi's face.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Shelby lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Tavi backwards.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Tavi as Shelby tries to tie him up.

Tavi pulls guard effortlessly.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Tavi holds on and takes a little breather.

Tavi looking to try and escape his hips here, looking for a submission. It looks like he's going for a triangle but Shelby is defending well. Tavi quickly switches to an armbar and extends the arm! Shelby has no choice but to tap, to a very quick submission! Wow, that was lightning fast! Tavi celebrates on the cage, with the crowd.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:50 of round 1, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Rikki Tavi!
A relieved looking Rikki Tavi thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.