PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Samuel Adams (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Shawn Taylor (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Taylor has chosen This Fire Burns as his entrance music. Shawn Taylor has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Samuel Adams's chin.

Adams
vs
Taylor

190 cm
20
260 lbs
8 - 4 - 0

190 cm
27
240 lbs
4 - 4 - 1

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
Experienced

BJJ Purple Belt
Decent boxing
Solid chin

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 8 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Samuel Adams!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 4 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Shawn Taylor!
The judges for this bout are Stewart Dunkirk, Chris Downing and Cecil Peabody.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Horrible takedown attempt by Adams or perhaps it was just good defense by Taylor, which made it look bad.
Adams leaves Taylor with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.

Adams throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Taylor tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Adams is in Taylor's guard.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Taylor looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Adams controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Taylor looking for a sweep. Not yet Taylor, not yet.
Taylor is still trying to improve position.
Adams is in a tricky position. We've heard reports from his gym mates at Nonprofit Vegas Elite $50 ($1000 value) that he's been drilling escapes, so let's see if he can get back to his feet.
Adams working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Adams stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Taylor swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Adams working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Taylor pulls Adams in close to his closed guard and prevents Adams from doing any damage or advancing position.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Taylor with a poor takedown

and Adams counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Adams stands up and beckons Taylor to join him on the feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Taylor misses with the combination.

Adams 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.
Adams throwing strikes from guard but Taylor blocks nicely.
Adams trying to control but Taylor is working from the bottom.
Adams is working Taylor over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Taylor looking for a sweep. Not yet Taylor, not yet.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Adams accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

Adams gets to his feet - Taylor follows without any prompting.
Adams defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Taylor.
Samuel Adams has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Shawn Taylor.

Adams looking to score a takedown here. Taylor is defending well but Adams drives through and ends up in Taylor's guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Adams throws a big right hand that misses.
Adams trying to control but Taylor is working from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Taylor working a defensive guard here.
Taylor is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Adams keeping control of the leg, stopping his opponent passing to mount.

Adams pushes Taylor off and gets back to his feet.
Adams takes a kick to the side of the head.

It looks like Samuel Adams has been cut.
Samuel Adams seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Taylor misses with a two punch combination.
The fighters circle momentarily. Taylor darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Taylor dives in and grabs Adams's left leg, looking for a takedown. Adams pushes down on Taylor's head and hops out.
Adams closes the distance and clinches up with Taylor, looking for a takedown. Adams pushes Taylor against the cage but Taylor circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Adams could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.

Adams shoots in and gets a takedown into Taylor's guard.
Adams throws a strike but Taylor rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Taylor stopping the sweep attempt from Adams.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Adams bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Taylor's guard.
Adams with a flurry of punches that miss.
Adams trying to control the position from guard on top but Taylor is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Adams stopping the sweep attempt from Taylor.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Taylor keeping moving, preventing Adams from controlling successfully.
Taylor is trying to keep Adams in close.
Adams trying to control but Taylor is working from the bottom.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.

Samuel Adams has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Taylor looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Adams is fending him off so far but Taylor persists. Nope, Adams circles away and we're back to standing.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Adams drives through with a takedown into Taylor's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Adams keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Taylor's head.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Taylor avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Adams is in close to Taylor's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Adams postures up in Taylor's guard and throws a big left but Taylor blocks it.
Taylor avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Samuel Adams dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Samuel Adams's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Adams darts in looking for a takedown but Taylor gets double underhooks and turns Adams into the cage.

Adams wants the takedown. Taylor is fighting it off but Adams persists and manages to bring the fight to the ground, ending up in Taylor's guard against the cage.
Adams passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Adams lands a decent elbow from side control.
Taylor is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Adams off and has taken his back!
Adams tries to escape but Taylor has the hooks in and won't let him break free.
Taylor trying to control.
Taylor is hanging on to Adams's back as he tries to escape.
Adams grimaces as he takes a shot to the body.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Taylor is trying to stick to Adams's back but Adams is turning into Taylor. He's managed to reverse the position - now he's in Taylor's guard. Polite applause from the crowd in appreciation of some nice Jiu Jitsu by Adams.
Taylor is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Samuel Adams overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Taylor keeping moving, preventing Adams from controlling successfully.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Adams showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Adams landing with the ground and pound.
Adams trying to control the position from guard on top but Taylor is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Taylor can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Adams controls the pace.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Samuel Adams wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Taylor cracks Adams with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Taylor tries to close the distance and clinch up but Adams swats him away and circles back towards the center.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Adams is defended easily by Taylor.

Taylor drops Adams with a beautiful combination! Adams stares up at his opponent, who ushers him back to his feet - Taylor is looking for the KO!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Adams.
Taylor tries to get back to half guard but can't.

Adams is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Taylor has escaped the position, nice work there.

Adams tries for a kimura but Taylor is defending well.
Taylor is trying to control Adams's posture but Adams avoids it.
Taylor is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Adams asserts his dominance and retains side control.
Adams wants to control but Taylor is keeping him busy.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Taylor is looking to reverse the position.
Adams 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.
Taylor manages to work his way to half guard, despite Adams's best efforts.

Adams is working for a submission of some sort.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Adams lands a nice short elbow.
Taylor is staying active underneath Adams, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Taylor slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Taylor utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Adams postures up and lands a big shot to Taylor's brow.
Adams is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Adams is pushing down on Taylor's leg trying to pass to half guard. Taylor is fighting to maintain full guard but Adams has managed to sneak the leg through.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Adams is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Taylor on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.

Adams is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Taylor doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Adams.
Ground and pound from Adams.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Adams tries to pass to full mount but Taylor defends it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Samuel Adams will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Samuel Adams's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Taylor gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Adams passes Taylor's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Adams wants to control but Taylor is keeping him busy.
Taylor has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Adams is working away from the top position though.
Adams trying to advance position but Taylor counters by regaining guard.
Taylor is trying to keep Adams in close.

Taylor looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Adams working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Taylor looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Adams wants to control from the top but Taylor keeps moving.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Adams's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Adams with a nice head shot there.
Adams trying to control the position from guard on top but Taylor is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Taylor tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Taylor can't keep his opponent in guard - Adams advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Adams perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Adams is looking to take a break and control but Taylor is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

Adams seems to be working for a kimura but Taylor defends the submission attempt.
Taylor is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Adams missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

Adams looking for a submission but Taylor manages to get full guard, putting an end to that submission attempt.
Adams pushing down on Taylor's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Adams looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Taylor flails away from the bottom but he's not doing any damage.
Adams thows a huge punch but Taylor dodges it nicely.
Adams scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Taylor wants to control but Adams is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Adams keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Taylor is trying to maintain the position but Adams is very close to passing his half guard.
Adams throwing shots but Taylor is blocking nicely.
Adams thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Taylor's head.
Adams takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Adams fails with the takedown.
Taylor closes the distance and clinches up with Adams, looking for a takedown. Taylor pushes Adams against the cage but Adams circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Adams looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Taylor shoots in but Adams avoids the takedown attempt easily.

Adams looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Adams trying to control the pace.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Adams stops Taylor from getting back to his feet.
Adams thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Samuel Adams is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Adams with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Taylor has his hands clasped together around Adams's back. He's all about the action.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Adams is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Shawn Taylor has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

Samuel Adams has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.

Adams shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Adams not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

And that's the end of the fight!
Samuel Adams showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Adams, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Stewart Dunkirk scores the fight 29:28
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 30:28
Judge Cecil Peabody scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Samuel Adams!
A relieved looking Samuel Adams thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.
In defeat, Shawn Taylor stepped up to the mic, saying 'He was..just....He was the better fighter tonight. I'm down but not out. It's not about the knockdown, it's about the get-up. I'll be back, better than ever. '.