PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Paulie Balletti (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Steven Shaw (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Balletti comes into the arena with Ace of spades blaring out of the sound system. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Balletti
vs
Shaw

196 cm
22
283 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

180 cm
25
240 lbs
7 - 5 - 2

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid boxing
Cardio machine

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Determined

Battalion Athletics
Elite Golden Nutrition

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 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Paulie Balletti!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 5 - 2, fighting out of London, Steven Shaw!
The judges for this bout are Paul Tew, Chris Edwards and James Glass.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Balletti comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Shaw shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
A big right from Balletti misses.
Balletti listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.

It looks like Steven Shaw has been cut.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Balletti tries to score with a low kick but Shaw moves his leg out of the way.
A big left from Balletti misses.
A cross from Balletti lands.
Shaw slips a jab from Balletti.
Balletti connects with a looping right hand.
A combination from Balletti does no damage.
Balletti looks to land a right hand but Shaw moved out of range.
Balletti sizes up Shaw with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Balletti throws a series of punches but Shaw avoids them all with ease.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Balletti lands with a straight right. Shaw didn't see that one coming.

Balletti steps into range and cracks Shaw with a monster punch that buckles his knees! Shaw flops backwards and Balletti dives into his guard looking to finish!
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.
Shaw looks gassed!
Balletti postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Balletti throwing strikes from guard but Shaw blocks nicely.

Balletti drops back, looking for a kneebar! Shaw looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Shaw looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Shaw!

Shaw working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Balletti can't do much from the bottom here.
Balletti on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Balletti tries to get out of the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Balletti tries to buck Shaw off but Shaw is having none of it.
Balletti is trying to control Shaw's posture but Shaw avoids it.

Shaw thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Balletti struggling a bit here.
Balletti manages to get back to half guard.
The fighters are battling for position here. Balletti manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Balletti manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Poor strikes thrown by Balletti there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Balletti knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Shaw on the ground.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shaw holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Balletti tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Shaw blocking the ground and pound.
Balletti looking to finish with strikes here!
Balletti thowing shots but they're missing.
Balletti throwing strikes but Shaw bucks up and reverses the position. He's now in guard on top.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Balletti trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Balletti throwing strikes from guard but Shaw blocks nicely.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Shaw uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Balletti.
Balletti throws the left hand but Shaw avoids the punch easily.
Balletti misses with a wild combination.
Shaw with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Balletti to score with a decent uppercut.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Shaw displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Balletti throws out the jab.
Balletti lands with a right hand.
Some bone on bone action there as Shaw checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Paulie Balletti dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Steven Shaw's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Balletti throws a big shot that misses.
Shaw slips under a jab from Balletti.
Balletti misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Shaw.
The fighters circling - Balletti throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Balletti lunges at Shaw with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Shaw's hand.
Balletti will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
A jab from Balletti misses.
Balletti is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Shaw can do to turn this around?
Shaw shoots in but Balletti avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Balletti with a jab.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Balletti misses with a straight right.
Balletti fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Shaw manages to avoid it.

Balletti waves his right hand out in front of him, looking to distract Shaw. Oh, he's unloaded a beast of a left hand - it worked! He's dropped Shaw to the canvas! Can he finish him!?

Shaw is rocked!
Shaw is breathing heavily.
Balletti looking to sit in guard and control but Shaw gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Balletti looking for a guillotine here but Shaw defends easily.
Balletti wants to sweep here but Shaw controlling him for the moment.
Balletti is trying to keep Shaw in close.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Shaw drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Balletti manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Shaw has Balletti in his guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Balletti wants to control from the top but Shaw keeps moving.
Balletti loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

Balletti drops back for a leg but he's not going to get it - he lets go and Shaw dives on top into guard.
Shaw postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Balletti not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Balletti wants to sweep but no luck.
Balletti is trying to keep Shaw in close.
Balletti seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Shaw looking to pass the guard.
Balletti controls Shaw momentarily but Shaw frees himself.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Shaw uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Balletti.
Shaw takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.

That has opened up Steven Shaw's cut even more.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Balletti scores with a body shot.
Shaw has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Paulie Balletti is winning the standup battle so far.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Balletti connects with a body shot.
Balletti misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Shaw.
Balletti misses with a double jab.
A looping hook to the body misses from Balletti. Shaw does a little dance to reset his feet.
Balletti swinging wildly here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Shaw displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Balletti throws out the jab.
Balletti swings for the body but Shaw moves out of range.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Paulie Balletti dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Steven Shaw's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Shaw needs to keep his hands up - Balletti had a free shot at his head there.
Balletti lands a jab.
Shaw ducks under a wild hook from Balletti.
Balletti connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
A swing and a miss from Balletti.
Balletti throws a shot from downtown. Shaw moves away and avoids it.
Balletti is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.
The crowd cheers as Balletti lands an impressive looking overhand right. Shaw doesn't seem phased though.
Shaw takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Balletti lands a big shot that drops Shaw! Can he finish him?
Shaw is still in real trouble! Can Balletti finish him?
Balletti trying to control the position from guard on top but Shaw is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Shaw seems to have recovered his senses.

Balletti drops back for a leg but he's not going to get it - he lets go and Shaw dives on top into guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Balletti has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Balletti looking to control.
Shaw is fighting to break Balletti's control of his arms but Balletti is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Shaw with a flurry of punches that miss.
Shaw stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Balletti swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Balletti trying to keep a closed guard but Shaw is proving a slippery customer.
Balletti looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Shaw missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Balletti is trying to control the position but Shaw postures up.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Balletti thuds a left hand into Shaw's body.
Balletti scores with a jab.
Balletti swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Paulie Balletti seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A jab lands there for Balletti.

The cut above Steven Shaw's eye is starting to cause him problems now.
Balletti lands an overhand right.
Balletti connects with a stiff jab that staggers Shaw - oh and he follows up with a huge uppercut that knocks him out cold! Man, that was brutal!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:03 of round 3, we have a winner by way of KO (Punches). Paulie Balletti!