PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Jacob Shaw (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Bo Brand (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the ring.

Shaw
vs
Brand

195 cm
24
190 lbs
2 - 3 - 0

198 cm
26
190 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Solid boxing
Good chin

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

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 2 - 3 - 0, fighting out of London, Jacob Shaw!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Bo Brand!
The judges for this bout are Hirohito Nitta, Ren Mimura and Taro Takaoka.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Brand closes the distance and clinches.
Brand lands a body shot in the clinch.
Brand throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.

Brand's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Brand throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Shaw counters with an inside leg kick.
Brand tries to clinch there but Shaw circles away.
An attempted straight right counter from Shaw misses the target.
Brand swinging wildly here.

Brand forces Shaw back against the ropes and clinches.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Brand dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the ropes.
Brand tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Shaw's elbow.
Brand stalling the fight.
Brand just leaning against Shaw, taking a breather.
The crowd are getting on Brand's back here. They're not happy about his lack of aggression in the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Brand doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Brand wants to get back to striking at distance but Shaw won't allow it.
Brand stalling.
Shaw has had enough of the clinch but Brand keeps him there for the moment.

Brand breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Brand is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Brand lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
Bo Brand is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Brand staying out of range there.
Some wild striking there from Brand.
Bo Brand seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Brand closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the ropes.
Brand goes for a body shot but it's blocked.

Shaw breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Brand lands a jab-cross combination.
Brand swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Brand misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Brand misses with a wild combination.
Brand throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Shaw.
Brand has tried to improve his agility in the runup to this fight.
Shaw scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Brand ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Shaw takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.

Brand closes the distance and clinches.
Brand lands a hook that snaps the head of Shaw backwards.
Brand is leaning against Shaw and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Brand is trying to break the clinch but Shaw has him pressed against the ropes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shaw tries to pull guard but Brand holds him up against the ropes and eventually Shaw drops back down to his feet.
Nice body punch from Brand - that landed with a thud.
Brand is struggling to control the position.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Brand.
Brand can't find room to land a body shot as Shaw controls the action.
Brand tries to break the clinch but Shaw is controlling the position.
Shaw tries to break free but Brand pushes him back against the ropes.
Shaw has had enough of the clinch but Brand keeps him there for the moment.
Brand working hard to break the clinch.
Shaw is trying to break the clinch but Brand is controlling him.
Brand lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shaw is trying to break free.
Brand misses with a body punch.

Shaw manages to break the clinch.

Brand clinches up with Shaw and pushes him back against the ropes.

Brand breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Brand lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
Brand lands with an uppercut that bounces Shaw off the ropes and back into range.
Brand misses with a double jab.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Brand clinches with his opponent.
Shaw is trying to break free.
Brand avoiding damage.

Brand manages to break the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bo Brand dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Brand fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Shaw, pushing him back against the ropes.
Brand works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Bo Brand seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.

Brand breaks from the clinch.
Brand swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Brand misses with a double jab
and Shaw counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Shaw checks a leg kick nicely.
Brand will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
A little feinted left hand from Shaw on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Brand closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the ropes.
Brand stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Brand misses with a body punch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Brand lands a body shot in the clinch.
Brand is trying to force a seperation but Shaw has the dominant position.
Shaw wants to break the clinch but can't.
Shaw is trying to force a seperation but Brand has the dominant position.
Shaw wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Brand misses with a body punch.
Brand slowing the pace effectively.
Brand tries a body shot but Shaw blocks it.
Brand has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Shaw wants to break the clinch but can't.
Brand working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Brand works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Brand prevents Shaw from breaking the clinch.
Brand can't break the clinch.
Brand misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Brand throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Shaws head.
Shaw blocks a body shot from Brand.

Brand breaks from the clinch.
Shaw throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Brand.
No joy there for Shaw, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Brand misses with a few strikes there.
Shaw appears to be looking for a big counter.
Brand lands with a nice body punch.
Brand swinging wildly here.
Brand moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A punch combination from Brand misses.
It looked like Shaw was looking amped, ready to throw a big counter but didn't commit.
Brand throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.

Brand takes the fight into the clinch.
Brand prevents Shaw from breaking the clinch.
Brand throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Brand tries to break the clinch but Shaw is controlling the position.
Brand is working Shaw over against the ropes.
Brand has had enough of the clinch but Shaw keeps him there for the moment.
Brand blocks a punch to the side of the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Shaw pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

Brand pushes Shaw up against the ropes in a clinch.
Brand wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Brand misses with an elbow over the top.
Shaw prevents a body shot from Brand.
Brand lands a body shot.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Brand lands a shot to the body.
Brand controlling the action here for a moment.
Brand is trying to break the clinch but Shaw has him pressed against the ropes.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Brand digs a right hand into Shaw's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Shaw's gas tank.
Brand taking a breather.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bo Brand 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!

Brand takes the fight into the clinch.
Shaw wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Brand.
Brand lands a nice uppercut.
Brand misses with a punch to the body.
Brand works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Brand throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Shaw is trying to push Brand away but Brand has him pressed against the ropes, so he's going nowhere.
Brand wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Brand is struggling to control the position.
Brand digs a right hand into Shaw's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Shaw's gas tank.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Brand throws an elbow but it misses.
Brand softening up his opponent with strikes, against the ropes.
Nice body punch from Brand - that landed with a thud.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Brand is trying to break free.
Brand keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Shaw's efforts to push away.
Brand scores with a hook to the body.
Brand lands a shot to the body.
Brand lands a body punch in the clinch.
Brand digs a right hand into Shaw's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Shaw's gas tank.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Brand is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the ropes.
Brand lands a nice shot to the body.
Brand lands a body shot.
Well,Shaw is on his way to losing a decision here. Can he use his experience to pull something off in the closing minutes?

Brand breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Brand scores with a jab to the body.
Brand fails to land with a series of punches.
Brand lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Left hook, right uppercut from Brand.

It looks like Jacob Shaw has been cut.
Brand lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Shaw backs up against the ropes.
Brand fails to land with a series of punches.
A little feinted left hand from Shaw on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Brand stalks Shaw and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Shaw's face. Shaw staggers backwards, shaken.

Brand moves into the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Brand digs a right hand underneath Shaw's ribcage. Shaw let out a lung full of air as it connected.

Brand breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Brand closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Brand lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Brand throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Shaw.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Brand!
A left lands for Brand.
A jab from Brand finds it's way through Shaw's defenses.

Shaw is rocked!
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Shaw fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

Brand clinches up with Shaw and pushes him back against the ropes.
Brand lands a body shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Brand's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Brand scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Brand is working the combinations to good effect here.
Brand shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Shaw eats them both and turns towards Brand to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.
Oh Shaw is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Jacob Shaw is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Brand works the jab nicely.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Shaw checks a leg kick.
Shaw seems to have got his legs back now.
Shaw takes one on the chin but keeps coming.

Brand lands a left and a right that send Shaw crashing to the mat, dazed. Brand thinks about following him to the mat but decides to wave him back up to his feet!
Sloppy strikes from Brand. Those never looked like landing.
Bo Brand is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Brand rushes Shaw with punches - Shaw moves straight backwards instead of circling and gets clipped by the second strike... and the third... and the fourth! Oh, Shaw goes down! Brand follows up with more strikes and the ref steps in to end the bout!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:54 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Bo Brand!
The defeated Jacob Shaw had this to say: 'I was on my off-game tonight, congratulations to my opponent for being on top of that and taking advantage of my weaknesses.'.