PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Shane Taylor (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Yannick Riesling (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Taylor
vs
Riesling

185 cm
21
202 lbs
6 - 3 - 0

181 cm
26
199 lbs
9 - 3 - 1

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Very quick

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Good gas tank

Blitzkrieg Formula 5000
Blitzkrieg Formula 5000 Cardio

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Shane Taylor!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 3 - 1, fighting out of Montreal, Yannick Riesling!
The judges for this bout are Trevor Gratis, Yves DeLean and Gregory Folan.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Riesling throws out a powerful jab.
A swing and a miss from Taylor.
Taylor lands a right hook to the body.
Taylor throws a body punch but Riesling moves out of range.
Taylor wants to clinch.
Riesling works over Taylor's head and body with a nice combination.
Taylor throws out a loose jab but Riesling uses good head movement to avoid it.
Riesling on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Riesling thows a left - swing and a miss!
Taylor is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Riesling.
Riesling showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Taylor.
Taylor bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Riesling swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Shane Taylor seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Taylor with a nice cross.
Taylor fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Riesling manages to avoid it.
Taylor tries to close the distance and clinch up but Riesling swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Riesling jabbing away but nothing is landing.
A big left from Taylor misses.
Taylor tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Riesling avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Taylor throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Taylor misses with a telegraphed body shot

and Riesling counters with a nice double leg into side control. Taylor won't be happy with that.
Taylor avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Riesling.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Riesling creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Taylor sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Taylor dodges the ground and pound from Riesling.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Riesling is putting a hurting on Taylor here, landing some big shots from side control.
Riesling tries to score with some ground and pound. Taylor controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
Riesling is working Taylor over with some ground and pound from side control.
Riesling is trying to ground and pound but Taylor uses the momentary lack of control by Riesling to regain half guard.
Riesling thows a huge punch but Taylor dodges it nicely.
Riesling throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Taylor is concentrating on defense, preventing Riesling from advancing position.
Riesling thows a huge punch but Taylor dodges it nicely.
Riesling sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Taylor defending well though.
Riesling not landing any meaningful shots this time.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Riesling is nestled in close to Taylor, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Riesling has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Taylor is looking for a sweep. Riesling is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Taylor is positioning himself well to prevent Riesling advancing to mount.
Taylor is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Riesling missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Taylor avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Riesling.
Riesling thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Riesling throwing shots but Taylor is blocking nicely.
Riesling missing with the ground and pound from half guard.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Riesling misses with an uppercut.
Riesling takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.

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.
Taylor swings away with a body shot that misses
and Riesling counters with a straight right hand.
Taylor tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Riesling connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Taylor tries to clinch but Riesling is having none of it.
Riesling misses the jab.
Nice shot by Riesling.
Riesling throws out a loose jab but Taylor uses good head movement to avoid it.
Taylor throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Riesling.
Riesling swats away the attempt to clinch by Taylor.
Taylor punishes Riesling's body with a nice straight punch.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Taylor tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Riesling was well out of range. Poor timing from Taylor.
Taylor looks to clinch
and Riesling counters with a right hand to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Yannick Riesling dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Taylor throws a right and a left that both miss.
Taylor stuffs the takedown attempt from Riesling. Riesling gets slowly back to his feet.
Taylor misses with a looping right.
Taylor throws a body punch but Riesling moves out of range.
Riesling moves away from the strike by Taylor.
Taylor swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Riesling counters with a stiff right hand.
Taylor lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Riesling circles away quickly and effectively.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Taylor is looking to clinch but Riesling is avoiding it.
Taylor swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
A swing and a miss from Taylor.
Taylor throws the left hand but Riesling avoids the punch easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Riesling keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Taylor.
Riesling will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Riesling might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
Taylor throws a hook but Riesling blocks it.
Riesling slips under a jab.
Taylor connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Riesling's hands.
Taylor misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Riesling.
Taylor tries to clinch
and Riesling counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Riesling uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Taylor.
Riesling throws a hook but Taylor avoids it easily.
Taylor with a body punch. A glancing blow.

Riesling shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Taylor is trying to defend but Riesling finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Ground and pound from Riesling.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Taylor is concentrating on defense, preventing Riesling from advancing position.
Taylor is trying to get back to full guard.
Riesling throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Riesling missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Taylor on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Riesling thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Taylor's head.
Riesling seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Taylor does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Riesling sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Taylor defending well though.
Taylor is looking to improve his position.
Riesling scores with a couple of good hammerfists.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Taylor regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Riesling.
Riesling throws a big right hand that misses.
Taylor looking to hit a scissor sweep but Riesling is one step ahead there.
Riesling missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Taylor is pulling down on Riesling's head to control his posture.
Riesling trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Riesling with a flurry of punches that miss.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Riesling is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Riesling postures up in Taylor's guard and throws a big left but Taylor blocks it.
Riesling throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Riesling throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Taylor works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Taylor preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Riesling accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Taylor manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Riesling manages to get himself to full guard.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Riesling tries to land a sweep but no joy.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Yannick Riesling showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Taylor misses with a hook. Riesling ducked under it nicely.
Riesling walks into a left hand.
Riesling throws a lazy right hand but Taylor sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Taylor wants to clinch

and Riesling counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Riesling.
Riesling misses with a body punch.
Riesling softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Riesling misses with some punches.
Riesling is leaning against Taylor and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Riesling tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Taylor tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
A frustrated look appears on Riesling's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Taylor blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Riesling works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Taylor working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Riesling tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
A head punch on the inside from Riesling fails to land.
Riesling lands a shoulder strike.
Riesling working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Riesling misses with a body punch.
Riesling dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Taylor trying to control the position but instead, Riesling has worked for underhooks and has pushed Taylor into the cage.
Riesling misses with a hook from the clinch.
Taylor blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Riesling is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
A short right from Taylor.
Riesling tries to throw a body punch but Taylor avoids it by throwing Riesling back against the cage.
Riesling has Taylor pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Taylor manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Riesling misses with a punch to the body.
Yannick Riesling is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Taylor lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Riesling tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Riesling tries a body shot but Taylor blocks it.
Taylor blocks a body shot from Riesling.
Riesling drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Shane Taylor has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Yannick Riesling.
Taylor pushes Riesling back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Riesling lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Taylor gets underhooks to prevent Riesling's takedown attempt.
Riesling throws a punch but it's blocked by Taylor.
Riesling is looking to control Taylor's arms but Taylor gets an underhook and turns him. Now Riesling has his back to the cage.
Riesling tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Taylor's elbow.
Riesling scores with a shoulder strike.
Taylor lands a body punch.
Riesling misses with a hook from the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Taylor misses with the head strike.
Riesling is working for takedown but Taylor is calmly controlling the position for now.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Taylor.
Taylor stalling.
Riesling misses with a punch on the inside.
Taylor presses Riesling against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Taylor scores with a shot to the side of Riesling's head.
Taylor lands with a right to the head.

Riesling ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Riesling no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Taylor is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Riesling is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Taylor postures up.
Shane Taylor has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Riesling wants to sweep but no luck.

Riesling looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Taylor controlling from the top position.
Riesling wants to sweep here but Taylor controlling him for the moment.

And that's the end of the fight!
Yannick Riesling comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Riesling winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Trevor Gratis scores the fight 27:30
Judge Yves DeLean scores the fight 27:30
Judge Gregory Folan scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Yannick Riesling!