PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Dirk Shutton (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Lorenzo Santoria (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Dirk Shutton has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Shutton
vs
Santoria

184 cm
19
189 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

193 cm
19
185 lbs
0 - 4 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Dirk Shutton!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Lorenzo Santoria!
The judges for this bout are Edson Gomes, Luis Engracia and Emerson Jorge.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Shutton closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Santoria looks really tired already! That doesn't bode well for a good, competitive fight!
Santoria taking a bit of punishment here - Shutton scoring with strikes.
Shutton wants to lay and pray for a moment but Santoria keeps working.
Shutton advances to mount.
Shutton tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Shutton seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Santoria for as long as he can get away with.
Santoria is desperately trying to improve his position but Shutton has a good base and remains in mount.

Shutton has hold of Santoria's left arm, perhaps looking for a submission. The two fighters tussle over control of the isolated limb and Santoria manages to get his arm back to his side and away from danger.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shutton raining down shots from the mount!
Santoria is in all sorts of trouble here.

Shutton wants to finish this one by submission but Santoria is holding onto his waist, trying to prevent any attacks from Shutton.
Shutton controlling from the full mount.
Shutton in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A nice elbow there by Shutton.
Shutton postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Santoria looks a forlorn figure.
Shutton takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Shutton working away from the top, dropping strikes.

Shutton jumps to side control looking for an arm triangle but Santoria manages to avoid the submission attempt.
Shutton lands a few punches from side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Shutton stands up and we're back to a striking position.
Shutton throws a head kick but Santoria moves out of range.
Shutton is looking to take this fight into the clinch.

Shutton has taken the fight to the clinch.
Shutton can't break the clinch.

Shutton escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Shutton tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

Shutton shoots in and bounces Santoria off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Santoria wants to stand up but Shutton is controlling him.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shutton trying to control but Santoria is working from the bottom.
Shutton is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Santoria is trying to keep Shutton in close.
Shutton looking to pass the guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dirk Shutton dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Shutton looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.

Shutton scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Santoria is trying to get back to full guard.

Shutton decides he's had enough of the ground and stands up.

Shutton clinches with his opponent.

Shutton breaks the clinch.
Santoria looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Santoria doesn't manage to clinch there - Shutton circles away.
Shutton throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Santoria tries to keep at a distance but Shutton has taken the fight into the clinch.
Santoria prevents a takedown attempt there.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Shutton wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Santoria has him pressed against the cage.
Shutton is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Shutton can't get the takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Dirk Shutton. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Shutton tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Santoria smiles and moves away.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Shutton.
Shutton is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Santoria will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.
Santoria can't do much from the bottom here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shutton remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.
You can see the frustration on Santoria's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Shutton moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.

Shutton decides to stand up, so the ref orders Santoria to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shutton throws a series of punches but Santoria moves out of range.
Santoria looks to clinch

and Shutton counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Shutton.
Santoria is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Shutton pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Shutton wants to break free but Santoria has control.
Shutton has Santoria pressed against the cage.
The crowd are getting pretty annoyed with Shutton for his constant stalling in the clinch and are voicing their displeasure.

Shutton gets double underhooks and manages to take the fight to the ground.
Shutton wants to stand but Santoria has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Shutton in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Santoria looking to hit a scissor sweep but Shutton is one step ahead there.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Santoria is on top in guard.
Santoria trying to control but Shutton is working from the bottom.
Shutton controls Santoria momentarily but Santoria frees himself.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dirk Shutton dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Shutton tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Santoria paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Shutton tries to bum rush Santoria with a series of wild strikes but Santoria uses good footwork to avoid the assault.

Shutton pushes Santoria up against the cage in a clinch.

Shutton pulls guard.
Shutton is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Shutton's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Shutton throws some sloppy strikes off his back.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Santoria stopping the sweep attempt from Shutton.
Santoria takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Shutton working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Santoria doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Santoria manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Santoria is looking to stand up but Shutton won't let him.
Dirk Shutton overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Shutton managing to control the position.
Shutton keeping moving, preventing Santoria from controlling successfully.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Shutton looking for a sweep. Not yet Shutton, not yet.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Santoria looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.

Shutton scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Shutton taking a breather here.

Shutton decides to stand back up.

Shutton rushes Santoria and presses him up against the cage.
Santoria looking to stall.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Santoria jumps guard but Shutton stands there with Santoria around his waist. Santoria gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.

Shutton has double underhooks and is working for a body lock takedown. He's got it. The fighters land in half guard but Santoria regains guard immediately.
Santoria tries to strike from the bottom.
Santoria is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Shutton tries to get to full guard but Santoria has control of the leg.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shutton trying to control here.
Santoria wants to pass to mount but Shutton is defending the position.
Santoria has decided to stand back up but his arm is trapped. Whilst he's worrying about his arm, Shutton works to full guard.
Santoria passes Shutton's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Shutton holds on for dear life, maintaining half guard for now.

And that's the end of the fight!
Dirk Shutton showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Shutton has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Edson Gomes scores the fight 30:27
Judge Luis Engracia scores the fight 30:26
Judge Emerson Jorge scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Dirk Shutton!