PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Ryan Blue (ranked 4068 p4p, 24299 weight class) and Chris Shulenberg (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.

Blue
vs
Shulenberg

198 cm
19
264
0 - 0 - 0

185 cm
19
265
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
KO power

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Ryan Blue!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Chris Shulenberg!
The judges for this bout are Josh West, Colin Fray and Chris Saunders.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Shulenberg rushes Blue and presses him up against the cage.
Shulenberg can't break the clinch.
Blue gets underhooks to prevent Shulenberg's takedown attempt.
Blue presses Shulenberg against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Blue using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Shulenberg looks winded!

Blue successfully pulls guard.
Blue wants to stand and escape but Shulenberg is having none of it.
Blue looking to hit a scissor sweep but Shulenberg is one step ahead there.
Blue will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Shulenberg won't allow Blue to get back to his feet.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Blue tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Blue wants to stand up but Shulenberg is controlling him.
We're hearing some news coming in from back stage. It's official - Shulenberg has eaten all the pies!
Shulenberg's corner is telling him to maintain position.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

That's one minute gone in the round.

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

Blue closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Shulenberg wants to get back to striking at distance but Blue won't allow it.
Shulenberg wants to take the fight to the mat but Blue manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.

Blue has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Shulenberg uses from the top position.
Blue is looking to stand up but Shulenberg isn't so interested in that idea.

Shulenberg decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Blue, up you get!

Blue gets in close and instigates a clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Blue will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Shulenberg up against the cage.
Blue lands a body shot in the clinch.
Blue works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Blue changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Shulenberg fights it off and pushes away nicely.

Shulenberg tries to keep at a distance but Blue has taken the fight into the clinch.

Blue jumps guard and drags Shulenberg to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Shulenberg is standing up over Blue. Blue looks to escape but Shulenberg dives into side control.
Shulenberg misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shulenberg just content to control the position.
It looks like Shulenberg might be adopting somewhat of a lay and pray gameplan here, which I'm sure won't go down too well with the paying fans in attendance... Or the ring announcers come to think of it.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Shulenberg wants to control but Blue is keeping him busy.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Shulenberg working away.
Blue is trying to buck Shulenberg off.
The referee asks Shulenberg politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Shulenberg prefers to stall for the moment though.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Shulenberg stands up.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Shulenberg.
Blue tries to counter with a takedown but Shulenberg is quick to defend against it.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Ryan Blue dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Blue fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Shulenberg avoids it really well and circles away.
Shulenberg looks like he wanted to counter with a high kick but didn't throw it.
Shulenberg misses with a hook
and Blue counters with a nice low kick that buckles Shulenberg's knee momentarily.
Shulenberg slaps away a takedown attempt from Blue, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Shulenberg takes a head kick and keeps coming.

It looks like Chris Shulenberg has been cut.
Blue leaves Shulenberg with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Blue defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Shulenberg.
Blue appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
Ryan Blue is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Blue tries to close the distance and clinch but Shulenberg swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Shulenberg leaves Blue with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ryan Blue. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Shulenberg gets a clinch.
Blue fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Blue is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Shulenberg can do to turn this around?
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Blue has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Shulenberg after a bit of a struggle.
Blue landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Blue breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

Shulenberg clinches.
Blue manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
The crowd are getting pretty annoyed with Blue for his constant stalling in the clinch and are voicing their displeasure.
Shulenberg tries to pull guard but Blue forces him back to his feet, against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Blue is trying to stall.
Shulenberg trying to control the position but instead, Blue has worked for underhooks and has pushed Shulenberg into the cage.
Blue is trying to pull guard but Shulenberg has him pressed against the cage.
Blue connects with a nasty looking knee right to Shulenberg's face.
Shulenberg wants to get back to striking at distance but Blue won't allow it.
Shulenberg has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Blue is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Blue blocks an uppercut.
Blue gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Shulenberg.
A bit of stalling here from Blue.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Blue's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Blue shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Shulenberg pinned against the cage. Shulenberg gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.

Shulenberg moves into the clinch.

Blue's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

Shulenberg takes the fight into the clinch.
Shulenberg takes a knee right on the jaw!

Blue escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Blue tries to keep at a distance but Shulenberg has taken the fight into the clinch.
Ryan Blue has scored more points in the clinch so far.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Blue breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Shulenberg throws a head kick but Blue moves out of range.
Shulenberg tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Blue was well out of range. Poor timing from Shulenberg.
Blue lands with a slapping head kick.
Shulenberg circles away from the clinch attempt.
Blue tries to clinch there but Shulenberg circles away.
Blue tries to clinch but Shulenberg moves out of range.
Shulenberg throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Shulenberg has taken the fight to the clinch.
Shulenberg is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.

Blue breaks from the clinch.
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 Ryan Blue will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Chris Shulenberg's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Blue has closed the distance and engaged Shulenberg in a clinch.
Shulenberg misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Blue.

Blue gets control of Shulenberg's arms and successfully pulls guard. Blue will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Shulenberg is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Blue is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Shulenberg is controlling him.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Shulenberg gets to his feet - Blue follows without any prompting.

Shulenberg gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A short left from Blue.
Blue tries to pull guard but Shulenberg won't allow it.
Shulenberg wants to get back to striking at distance but Blue won't allow it.
Shulenberg can't get the takedown.
Shulenberg is trying to drag Blue to the mat but Blue just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Shulenberg tries to land a knee to the head but Blue blocks with his arms.
Blue can't get the takedown.

Blue decides to pull guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Blue wants to get back to his feet but Shulenberg is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Shulenberg sitting in guard, not really doing much.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Blue is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Shulenberg engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Blue looking to sweep using the butterfly guard but Shulenberg puts pay to that idea as he passes nicely into half guard.
Blue on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shulenberg looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Let's hope that Shulenberg 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.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.

Shulenberg has managed to clinch.
A right handed body shot lands from Blue.
Blue keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Shulenberg's efforts to push away.
Shulenberg tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Ryan Blue has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Chris Shulenberg.
Shulenberg tries to pull guard but Blue won't allow it.

Blue breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Ryan Blue is winning the standup battle so far.
Blue lands with a kick to the temple. Shulenberg shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"
Blue shoots in but Shulenberg avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Ryan Blue is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Shulenberg bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.

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 Ryan Blue.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Blue, 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 Josh West scores the fight 30:28
Judge Colin Fray scores the fight 30:28
Judge Chris Saunders scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ryan Blue!