PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between James Shrimp (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nicky Santoro (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Shrimp comes to the cage accompanied by drowning pool-step up. James Shrimp could well score a knockout today. He has the power to get to Nicky Santoro's chin.

Shrimp
vs
Santoro

219 cm
30
276 lbs
13 - 9 - 0

190 cm
24
245 lbs
8 - 6 - 0

Decent wrestler
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Good gas tank

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 13 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, James Shrimp!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Nicky Santoro!
The judges for this bout are , and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Santoro has a takedown stuffed.
Shrimp misses with a telegraphed body shot

and Santoro counters with a single leg into guard. Shrimp didn't expect that.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Santoro postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Santoro looking to pass the guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Shrimp working a defensive guard here.
Santoro with a flurry of punches that miss.
Shrimp is trying to keep Santoro in close.
Shrimp keeping moving, preventing Santoro from controlling successfully.
Shrimp looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shrimp throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.

Santoro is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Santoro throwing strikes from guard but Shrimp blocks nicely.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Santoro's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Shrimp keeping moving, preventing Santoro from controlling successfully.
Shrimp not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Santoro stopping the sweep attempt from Shrimp.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Santoro missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Shrimp knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Santoro on the ground.
Shrimp keeping moving, preventing Santoro from controlling successfully.

Shrimp is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Santoro defends well.
Santoro trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shrimp wants to improve his position but instead Santoro has moved into half guard.
Shrimp trying to control here.
Shrimp on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Shrimp tries to get out of the position.
Shrimp tries to get to full guard but Santoro has control of the leg.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Santoro in particular looking to stall.
Santoro looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Shrimp with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Shrimp wants to control but Santoro is keeping busy and won't allow it.

Santoro stands up out of the half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Santoro takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Santoro looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Shrimp is fending him off so far but Santoro persists. Nope, Shrimp circles away and we're back to standing.
Shrimp stuffs the takedown attempt from Santoro. Santoro gets slowly back to his feet.
James Shrimp has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Nicky Santoro.
Shrimp misses with an uppercut. Santoro saw that one coming.
Shrimp misses with an uppercut.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Shrimp gets caught napping as Santoro dives in and scores a takedown. Shrimp manages to retain guard.
Santoro is stalling in the full guard.
Santoro throws a big elbow that misses.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nicky Santoro dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Shrimp takes a swing at Santoro's ribcage but misses.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Santoro is defended easily by Shrimp.
Shrimp swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Santoro closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Shrimp lands a nice looking body kick.

Santoro shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Shrimp's guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Shrimp is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Santoro has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Santoro seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Shrimp keeping moving, preventing Santoro from controlling successfully.
The step up in weight doesn't seem to be a problem for Santoro. He's performing admirably here against the bigger man.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Nicky Santoro wasn't active enough on the ground.
Shrimp stuffs the takedown.
Shrimp tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Santoro was well out of range. Poor timing from Shrimp.
Santoro keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Shrimp lands a nice leg kick that just misses Santoro's sensitive parts.
Shrimp misses with a body shot.
Shrimp throws a hard body shot but it just misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shrimp throws a solid leg kick but Santoro takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Shrimp.
Santoro lands a nice hook to Shrimp's body. Shrimp takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Santoro scores with a kick to the midsection.
Shrimp throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
No joy there for Shrimp, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Shrimp throws the left hand but Santoro avoids the punch easily.
Santoro fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Shrimp avoids it really well and circles away.
James Shrimp has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Nicky Santoro.

Santoro feints and as Shrimp raises his hands in defense, Santoro changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Shrimp keeping moving, preventing Santoro from controlling successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Santoro passes easily into side control. Nice work.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.
Santoro creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Shrimp sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
Santoro wants to control but Shrimp is keeping him busy.
Santoro working the ground and pound but Shrimp is defending the strikes.
Shrimp is trying to control Santoro's posture but Santoro avoids it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Santoro working the ground and pound.
The strikes coming from Santoro are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
Shrimp wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
Santoro working away.
Nicky Santoro has got the better of the ground game so far.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Shrimp seems a little lost for a moment, as Santoro dominates the positioning.
Shrimp on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Santoro working the body and head with strikes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nicky Santoro showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Santoro ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
A shot to the liver by Shrimp. Beautiful body shot.
Shrimp slaps away a takedown attempt from Santoro, before circling back to the center of the mat.

Santoro closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Shrimp is looking to regain half guard here but Santoro keeps moving and retains side control.
You can see the frustration on Shrimp's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Santoro in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Santoro creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Shrimp sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shrimp is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Santoro has just dragged him back down to the mat.
Santoro in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Shrimp is looking for a sweep.
Shrimp is not content to let Santoro control the position.
Shrimp wants to control but Santoro postures up.
Santoro is looking to take a break and control but Shrimp is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Sloppy strikes there by Santoro.
Santoro takes a little break here. Shrimp wants to take advantage but he is being controlled well.
Shrimp is looking to regain half guard here but Santoro keeps moving and retains side control.
Santoro grinds an elbow into Shrimp's temple.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Santoro scoring with punches and elbows.
Santoro working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
Santoro landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
Santoro takes a little break here. Shrimp wants to take advantage but he is being controlled well.
Santoro wants to lay and pray for a moment but Shrimp keeps working.
Shrimp is not in a great position here, taking some shots.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Santoro stands up and beckons Shrimp to his feet.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Shrimp throws a jab but it's blocked by Santoro.
Shrimp misses with a low kick.

Santoro darts in and clinches Shrimp up against the cage.
Shrimp tries to land knees in the clinch but Santoro avoids the damage to the body.
Nicky Santoro is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Shrimp tries to throw a body punch but Santoro avoids it by throwing Shrimp back against the cage.
Santoro drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Shrimp gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Santoro prevents the takedown attempt.
James Shrimp has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Shrimp creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.

And that's the end of the fight!
Nicky Santoro comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Santoro winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Andi Peters scores the fight 27:30
Judge Gordon Ramsey scores the fight 27:30
Judge Frank Skinner scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Nicky Santoro!
Nicky Santoro seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.