PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Eric Short (ranked 3595 p4p, 4726 weight class) and Freddie Gaines (ranked 185 p4p, 215 weight class). I don't know about you partner, but I'm pumped for this one!

Short
vs
Gaines

175 cm
25
145
1 - 0 - 0

168 cm
25
146
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Good chin

Good wrestler
Counter fighter
Tends to cut

Chester

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Eric Short!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Freddie Gaines!
The judges for this bout are Anthony Taglia, Chad Campbell and Jorge Garcia.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
No joy there for Gaines, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Short lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Short blocks a jab.
Short has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.
Gaines wants to clinch.
Short leaves Gaines with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Short tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Gaines manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Gaines is clearly trying to counter these attacks from Short with a body shot.
Short throws out a powerful jab.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Short fails with an attempt to clinch.
Gaines misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Short.
Short moves in looking to clinch but Gaines pushes him off.
Nice straight punches there by Short. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Short.

Short has taken the fight to the clinch.
Gaines blocking some punches.
Short working aggressively here.
A nice right hand lands inside from Short.
Gaines blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Short tries a body shot but Gaines blocks it.
Gaines is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Short pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Short makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Short digs a right hand into Gaines's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Gaines's gas tank.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Short has a couple of punches blocked by Gaines.
Gaines prevents a body shot from Short.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Short tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Short tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Short prevents Gaines from breaking the clinch.
Gaines tries a body shot but Short blocks it.
Gaines working aggressively here.
Gaines blocking some punches.
Short working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Short tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Short swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Short scores with a hook to the body.
Short misses with a hook to the ribs.
Short tries to work over Gaines's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Gaines looking for a takedown.
Eric Short has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Freddie Gaines.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Short tries to work over Gaines's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Short lands an uppercut.
Gaines blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Gaines misses with a punch on the inside.
Short misses with a short punch on the inside.
Gaines has a couple of punches blocked by Short.
Short lands a shoulder strike.
Short tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Gaines's elbow.
Short lands a right hand that snaps the head of Gaines backwards.
Short tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Short swings wildly with an uppercut but Gaines uses good head movement to avoid it.
Gaines tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Short working aggressively here.
Short can't find room to land a body shot as Gaines controls the action.
Gaines wants to break free but Short has control.
A head punch on the inside from Short fails to land.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Short tries a body shot but Gaines blocks it.
Gaines swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Short misses with a punch on the inside.
Short working aggressively here.
Gaines is struggling to control the position.
A head punch on the inside from Short fails to land.
Gaines blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Gaines blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Gaines blocks a punch to the side of the head.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Short misses with a hook from the clinch.
Short swings wildly with an uppercut but Gaines uses good head movement to avoid it.
Short misses with a short punch on the inside.
Gaines working aggressively here.
Gaines blocks a punch to the side of the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Eric Short dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Gaines with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Short to score with a decent uppercut.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Short enables Gaines to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Short manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Gaines throws a big right hand that misses.
Gaines missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Gaines throwing strikes but missing.
Short avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Gaines is in close to Short's body, working some short punches and elbows.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gaines working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Gaines is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Short is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Gaines can do to turn this around?
Gaines's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gaines postures up in Short's guard and throws a big left but Short blocks it.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Gaines connects with a couple of short punches.
Gaines throwing strikes but missing.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Short avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Short fails in his attempt to clinch.
A slow jab from Gaines misses its intended target.
Short cracks Gaines with a right hand to the side of the head.
Short lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Short tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Gaines was well out of range. Poor timing from Short.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gaines throws a jab when Short was well out of range.
Short is trying to close the distance and clinch up, after that failed offence from Gaines.
Short is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Short lands a body shot.
Gaines swings for the body but Short moves out of range.
Short wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
Eric Short is winning the standup battle so far.

Gaines gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Short swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Short lands with a light punch inside.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Short digs a right hand into Gaines's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Gaines's gas tank.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Short.
Short prevents the takedown attempt.
Short lands a left hand.
Short tries to work over Gaines's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Short throws a head punch that misses.
Gaines drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Short gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Short working aggressively here.
Short misses with a hook to the ribs.
Gaines is trying to break the clinch but Short is controlling him.
Short misses with the head strike.
Short misses with the head strike.
Short lands with a light punch inside.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gaines blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Eric Short has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Gaines misses with a hook to the ribs.
Gaines is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Short lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Short scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Short lands a hook to the side of the head.
Gaines is working for takedown but Short is calmly controlling the position for now.
Eric Short has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Freddie Gaines.
Short throws a punch but it's blocked by Gaines.
Nice body punch from Short.
A head punch on the inside from Short fails to land.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Short tries a body shot but Gaines blocks it.
Short is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Short tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Gaines's elbow.
Short doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Short fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Short throws a punch but it's blocked by Gaines.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Eric Short dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Short swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Short tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Gaines was well out of range. Poor timing from Short.
Short throws a jab when Gaines was well out of range.
Nice straight punches there by Short. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Short.
Gaines shoots in but Short avoids the takedown attempt easily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Short tries to clinch up.

Gaines drives through with a takedown into Short's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Gaines looking to control the position here, rather than advance.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gaines in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Gaines stays in close to Short's body and controls the position.
Gaines scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Gaines trying to control but Short is working from the bottom.
Gaines landing some decent shots from guard.
Gaines controls from within his opponent's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Short looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Jab by Short.
Gaines misses with a body shot.
A big right from Short misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Short closes the distance and clinches.
Gaines misses with a hook from the clinch.
Short misses with a punch on the inside.
Gaines changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Short fights it off and pushes away nicely.

Short moves into the clinch successfully.
Gaines blocking some punches.
Short goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Short scores with a hook to the body.
Short misses with the head strike.
Short blocking some punches.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Short misses with a hook to the ribs.
Short misses with a punch to the body.
Short lands with a right to the head.
Short has a couple of punches blocked by Gaines.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Short.
Gaines throws a punch but it's blocked by Short.
Short is working Gaines over against the cage.
Short misses with a hook from the clinch.
Short fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Gaines tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Gaines blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Short lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Gaines backwards.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Gaines working aggressively here.
Freddie Gaines has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Good body shot from Short.
Short working aggressively here.
Gaines blocks a couple of punches on the inside.

And that's the end of the fight!
Eric Short showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Short, 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 Anthony Taglia scores the fight 30:27
Judge Chad Campbell scores the fight 30:27
Judge Jorge Garcia scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Eric Short!
Eric Short decided to go for the less than humble approach in his post fight interview, telling everyone how he is going to conquer the world. The crowd seemed to like it when really that sort of approach could have gone either way.