PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Craig Davis (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Andre Shankar (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Davis comes to the cage accompanied by The Who - Baba O'Riley. Shankar has chosen "Them Belly Full" by Bob Marley as his entrance music. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Davis
vs
Shankar

190 cm
27
218 lbs
15 - 10 - 0

192 cm
22
267 lbs
10 - 6 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Good knees
Experienced

Powerful takedowns
Decent boxing
Powerful

Bushido Clothing
Bushido Clothing

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 15 - 10 - 0, fighting out of London, Craig Davis!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 10 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Andre Shankar!
The judges for this bout are Chris Edwards, William Gold and James Ackerman.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Davis feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Shankar's calf.
Davis is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Shankar.
Davis cracks Shankar with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Shankar stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Davis.
Davis thows a body shot but no joy.
Davis throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
Davis throws a shot from downtown. Shankar moves away and avoids it.
Davis stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Davis wants it to stay on the feet.
Shankar has a nice red mark on his side after a thudding body kick by Davis.
Davis throws a body punch but Shankar moves out of range.
A swing and a miss from Davis.
Davis stuffs the takedown attempt from Shankar. Shankar gets slowly back to his feet.
Shankar changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Davis tries to avoid it but Shankar manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Davis to the ground. Davis escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Craig Davis has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Andre Shankar.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Davis missing with a left hand there. Shankar was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Craig Davis is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Davis dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Shankar. That did some damage!
Shankar looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Davis is fending him off so far but Shankar persists. Nope, Davis circles away and we're back to standing.
Shankar looks for a takedown but Davis sprawls well.
Davis misses with the combination.
Shankar closes this distance looking for a takedown but Davis circles away.
A jab from Davis misses.
Shankar tries to score a power double leg takedown but Davis sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Shankar somewhat.
Davis throws a head kick that half lands.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shankar fails with a takedown attempt.
Shankar shoots in for a takedown but Davis shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Shankar closes the distance and clinches up with Davis, looking for a takedown. Shankar pushes Davis against the cage but Davis circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Davis wants to slow Shankar down by chopping away at his legs.
Shankar blocks the body kick.
Davis wants to clinch.
Craig Davis seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Davis scores with a nice body kick.
Shankar looks gassed!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Davis takes a swing at Shankar's ribcage but misses.
Davis swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.

Shankar feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Davis wants to control but instead he gets his guard passed and Shankar is now in half guard.
Davis is staying active underneath Shankar, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Davis is pressing down on Shankar's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Shankar trying to control the position from guard on top but Davis is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Shankar pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Davis is keeping the position for now.
Shankar trying to control but Davis is working from the bottom.

Shankar drops back looking for a leg! Davis is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Davis manages to kick Shankar off! Shankar jumps back into Davis's guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Davis is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Shankar won't allow Davis to sweep him here.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Davis throws a quick inside leg kick.
Davis lands with a good body shot.
Shankar takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Shankar scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Davis trying to control from the bottom.
Davis tries to roll over but Shankar keeps him under control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Craig Davis dominated that round.
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.

Davis moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Davis misses with a head kick.
Shankar throws a series of strikes that have Davis backpedaling.
Davis throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Davis tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Davis fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Shankar.
Davis pivots, looking for a leg kick but Shankar is out of range and Davis settles back down.
A jab from Davis misses.
Davis throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Shankar closes this distance looking for a takedown but Davis circles away.
Craig Davis is winning the standup battle so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Davis stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Davis wants it to stay on the feet.
Davis throws a low kick but Shankar avoids it.
Shankar avoids the body shot from Davis.
Davis displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Shankar.
Craig Davis has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Andre Shankar.
Davis lands with a cross.
It really doesn't seem like the step up in weight is hurting Davis here at all. He's more than holding his own against the bigger man.
Davis walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Shankar checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Davis misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Shankar.
Some bone on bone action there as Shankar checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.

Shankar looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Shankar performing his best blanket impression for a moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shankar prevents Davis from improving his position.

Shankar is looking for a kimura here.
Davis trying to control but Shankar postures up.
Well, if Shankar is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Shankar missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Davis tries to roll over but Shankar keeps him under control.
Shankar trying to control from half guard but Davis is working away.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Shankar misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Shankar dives in and grabs Davis's left leg, looking for a takedown. Davis pushes down on Shankar's head and hops out.
Davis tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

Shankar decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Davis is trying to stand.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shankar trying to control the action but Davis is working from the bottom.
Davis is looking for a sweep. Shankar is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Davis is trying to stand up here but Shankar is controlling him well.
Shankar takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Shankar prevents Davis from standing back up.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Shankar in particular looking to stall.
Davis tries to get to full guard but Shankar has control of the leg.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Davis misses the shot to the body.
Shankar misses with a takedown attempt - Davis sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Davis throws a hook but Shankar avoids it easily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Andre Shankar will probably get the nod - 10:9.
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. And we move into the final round!

Davis tried to score with a low kick but Shankar checks it.
Davis misses with a low kick as Shankar jumps back.
Shankar shoots in for a double leg but Davis sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Davis misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Davis throws a jab but it's blocked by Shankar.

Shankar throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Davis was covering up waiting for the punch and Shankar finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Davis wants to get back to his feet but Shankar is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Shankar stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Davis swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Davis wants to stand but Shankar is controlling the position.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shankar is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Davis keeping moving, preventing Shankar from controlling successfully.
Davis is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Shankar stopping the sweep attempt from Davis.
Shankar stays in close to Davis's body and controls the position.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Davis throws a leg kick but Shankar checks it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Shankar blocks the body kick.
Davis misses with a straight left.
Shankar blocks a head kick by Davis.
Davis throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Davis looks to score with a jab to the body but Shankar is just out of range.
Shankar checks a leg kick nicely.
A punch lands to the side of Shankar 's head but he takes it in his stride.

Shankar feints and as Davis raises his hands in defense, Shankar changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Davis is looking to stand up but Shankar isn't so interested in that idea.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Davis wants to sweep here but Shankar controlling him for the moment.
Shankar wants to control from the top but Davis keeps moving.
Shankar looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Davis keeping moving, preventing Shankar from controlling successfully.
Shankar is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Shankar controlling from the top position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Shankar ducks under a wild hook from Davis.
Davis swings for the body but Shankar moves out of range.
Davis misses with a low kick.
Shankar is trying hard to land a takedown here. Davis sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Shankar shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Davis sprawls well. Davis wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Shankar gets slowly back to his feet.
Craig Davis has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Andre Shankar.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Shankar walks forward, straight into a front kick from Davis.

And that's the end of the fight!
Andre Shankar comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Shankar has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Chris Edwards scores the fight 28:29
Judge William Gold scores the fight 28:29
Judge James Ackerman scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Andre Shankar!