PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Scipio Africanus (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Shawn Hawkings (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Shawn Hawkings will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Africanus
vs
Hawkings

180 cm
24
190 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

184 cm
22
192 lbs
6 - 3 - 1

Good wrestling
Counter striker
Very strong

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Powerful

SPARTA FIGHTWARE-GTI
SPARTA FIGHTWARE-GTI

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 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, Scipio Africanus!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 3 - 1, fighting out of New York, Shawn Hawkings!
The judges for this bout are Lou da Vinci, Dean Styles and John Roberts.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Africanus walks into a stiff left hand from Hawkings.
Africanus takes one on the button.
Africanus moves out of range of the leg kick from Hawkings.
Shawn Hawkings seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Hawkings throws out a loose jab but Africanus uses good head movement to avoid it.
Hawkings misses the jab.
Hawkings misses the jab.
Hawkings tries to work over Africanus's front leg with a kick but Africanus checks it.
Hawkings swings for the body but Africanus moves out of range.
A nice combination there by Hawkings.
Hawkings throws a shot from downtown. Africanus moves away and avoids it.
Hawkings throws a series of punches but Africanus avoids them all with ease.
Africanus ducks under a wild hook from Hawkings.
Hawkings misses with a hook. Africanus ducked under it nicely.
Jab, jab by Hawkings - just one landing.
Africanus defending well as Hawkings loads up on a big left hand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hawkings digs a good body shot into Africanus's ribs.
Hawkings misses with the combination.
Hawkings swings for the body but Africanus moves out of range.
Africanus shoots for a double leg takedown but Hawkings sprawls well. He's pushed Africanus's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Hawkings missing with a left hand there. Africanus was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Hawkings bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
Hawkings throws a body kick that sends a sickening thudding noise reverberating around the arena.
Hawkings works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Africanus takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
A big right from Hawkings misses.
A jab from Hawkings misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hawkings throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Africanus takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Africanus showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Hawkings.
A combination from Hawkings does no damage.
Hawkings lands a jab-cross combination.
Hawkings throws an overhand right that lands on Africanus's shoulder, as Africanus tries to avoid the shot.
Hawkings throws an overhand right that lands on Africanus's shoulder, as Africanus tries to avoid the shot.
Hawkings throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Hawkings throws a jab when Africanus was well out of range.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Africanus is defended easily by Hawkings.
A slow jab from Hawkings misses its intended target.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hawkings misses with a hook.
Hawkings misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Africanus steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Hawkings.
Hawkings misses with a looping left.
Hawkings swinging wildly here.
Africanus slips under a jab from Hawkings.
Hawkings scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Hawkings tries to bum rush Africanus with a series of wild strikes but Africanus uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
A jab from Hawkings finds it's way through Africanus's defenses.
Shawn Hawkings is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Africanus shoots in and drives through. Hawkings sprawls well.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Scipio Africanus. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Africanus misses with a body shot.
Hawkings misses with a two punch combination.

Africanus throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Hawkings was covering up waiting for the punch and Africanus finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Africanus working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Africanus stands up over Hawkings, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Hawkings utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Hawkings is trying to control the position but Africanus postures up.
Africanus has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Africanus in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Shawn Hawkings dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

A slow jab from Hawkings misses its intended target.
Hawkings attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Africanus ducks under a wild hook from Hawkings.
Africanus ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Hawkings moves away.
Africanus blocks a jab.
A big right from Hawkings misses.
Shawn Hawkings seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Hawkings pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Hawkings misses with a low kick.
The fighters circling - Hawkings throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hawkings looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Africanus moves out of range as Hawkings strikes.
Hawkings scores with a nice right hand.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Africanus.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A right-left combo lands from Hawkings.
Hawkings throws a jab when Africanus was well out of range.
Hawkings throws a jab when Africanus was well out of range.
Africanus shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Hawkings pinned against the cage. Hawkings gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
A big left from Hawkings misses.
Africanus throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Africanus moves out of range of the strikes.
Hawkings throws a jab but it's blocked by Africanus.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Africanus ducks under a wild hook from Hawkings.
Africanus ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Hawkings misses with a double jab.
Africanus staying out of range there.
Hawkings misses with a wild combination.
Hawkings misses with a looping left.
Africanus keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Hawkings.
Hawkings throws a right and a left that Africanus avoids nicely.
Hawkings just misses with a punch to the body.
Hawkings lands with a right hand.
Africanus throws a hook to the side of Hawkings's head but Hawkings sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hawkings pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Africanus bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Hawkings fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Africanus avoids a lazy jab quite easily.

Africanus looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Africanus throws a strike but Hawkings rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Africanus throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.
Hawkings must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Hawkings won't allow Africanus to sweep him here.
Africanus has a closed guard, preventing Hawkings from standing up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Africanus wants to sweep but no luck.
Hawkings trying to control the position from guard on top but Africanus is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Africanus looking to sweep using the butterfly guard but Hawkings puts pay to that idea as he passes nicely into half guard.
The fighters are battling for position here. Africanus manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Hawkings won't allow Africanus to sweep him here.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Africanus is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Shawn Hawkings will probably get the nod - 10:9.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. And we move into the final round!

Hawkings throws a hook but Africanus avoids it easily.
Africanus avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Hawkings throws a nice looking combination but Africanus bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Hawkings misses with a double jab.
Africanus fails to land the takedown.
Africanus bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Africanus slips under a jab.
A big left from Hawkings misses.
A combination from Hawkings does no damage.
Africanus defending well as Hawkings loads up on a big left hand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nice cross by Hawkings.
Hawkings loads up on a big right hand but Africanus slips the punch.
Africanus does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Hawkings misses with a straight left.

Africanus scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Africanus tries to cartwheel into mount but he doesn't manage it.
Hawkings is looking to reverse the position.
Hawkings takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Africanus wants to control but Hawkings is keeping him busy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Africanus working the strikes but Hawkings uses the opportunity to regain half guard.
Africanus missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Africanus is thwarting Hawkings's attempts to control the position.
Hawkings keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Africanus thows a huge punch but Hawkings dodges it nicely.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Hawkings scores with a sloppy right hand. Africanus should have avoided that one.
Africanus showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Hawkings.
Hawkings throws a big shot that misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hawkings works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Africanus on the wrong end of a nice jab.
A jab from Hawkings misses.
Hawkings swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Hawkings looks to land a left hand but Africanus moved out of range nicely.
Hawkings throws an overhand right that lands on Africanus's shoulder, as Africanus tries to avoid the shot.
Africanus bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Hawkings loads up on a big right hand but Africanus slips the punch.
Africanus displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Hawkings throws out the jab.

Africanus drives through with a takedown into guard.
Hawkings looking for a sweep. Not yet Hawkings, not yet.
Shawn Hawkings is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Africanus working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Africanus missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Africanus is looking to work some ground and pound but Hawkings has wrist control.
Africanus postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Africanus accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Africanus throws and elbow that misses. Hawkings uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Africanus's guard. Nice move by Hawkings!
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Africanus is on top in guard.
Africanus throws and elbow that misses. Hawkings uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Africanus's guard. Nice move by Hawkings!

And that's the end of the fight!
Scipio Africanus showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Hawkings 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 Lou da Vinci scores the fight 28:29
Judge Dean Styles scores the fight 28:29
Judge John Roberts scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Shawn Hawkings!