PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Andrew Hartley (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Alex Shafer (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Shafer comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Big Shit Poppin kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! Alex Shafer has the eye of the tiger tonight.

Hartley
vs
Shafer

168 cm
26
145 lbs
8 - 1 - 0

170 cm
25
160 lbs
6 - 4 - 0

Decent wrestler
Counter fighter
Experienced

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Knockout power

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 8 - 1 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Andrew Hartley!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 4 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Alex Shafer!
The judges for this bout are , and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Shafer avoids the body shot from Hartley.
Shafer throws a right and a left that both miss.
Shafer tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Hartley defends well and Shafer ends up having to push Hartley into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Shafer wants to get back to striking at distance but Hartley won't allow it.

Hartley escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Shafer avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Shafer pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Hartley back to the cage. Shafer follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.

It looks like Andrew Hartley has been cut.
Shafer tries to bum rush Hartley with a series of wild strikes but Hartley uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Shafer wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Shafer swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Shafer looks to score with a jab to the body but Hartley is just out of range.
Shafer misses with a few strikes there.

Hartley closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shafer wants to get back to full guard.

Hartley is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Shafer defends it well.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Shafer can do anything to dispel that myth.
Hartley has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Hartley looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Hartley scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Hartley trying to control but Shafer is having none of it.
Shafer is flailing around like a fish out of water, trying to land strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Hartley jumps to side control looking for an arm triangle but Shafer manages to avoid the submission attempt.
You can see the frustration on Shafer's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Shafer is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Hartley is controlling him well.
Hartley 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.
Shafer tries to bench press Hartley off him but Hartley keeps the position.
Hartley working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
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!

Hartley is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Shafer knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Hartley lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shafer tries to bench press Hartley off him but Hartley keeps the position.
Shafer is not content to let Hartley control the position.
Hartley is really struggling to control Shafer but he's trying to hold on to the position.
Hartley scoring with punches from side control.
Shafer is not content to let Hartley control the position.
Hartley working the ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hartley trying to control the action but Shafer is working from the bottom.
Shafer is looking to reverse the position.
Shafer is not content to let Hartley control the position.
Shafer is trying to improve his position.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Shafer is still trying to improve position.
Hartley scoring with punches and elbows.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Andrew Hartley dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Andrew Hartley's cut.
That's time! Back to the action!

Hartley forces Shafer back against the cage and clinches.
Shafer is looking for a takedown.
Shafer misses with a body punch.
Shafer has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Hartley is trying to stall.
Shafer working hard to break the clinch.

Shafer gets double underhooks and manages to take the fight to the ground.
Hartley not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Shafer postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Hartley throwing strikes off his back to little effect.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Shafer landing with the ground and pound.
Hartley is looking to stand up but Shafer isn't so interested in that idea.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shafer trying to control the position from guard on top but Hartley is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Shafer throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Hartley controlling the position.
Hartley has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Shafer trying to control the position from guard on top but Hartley is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Alex Shafer.

Hartley looking to score a takedown here. Shafer is defending well but Hartley drives through and ends up in Shafer's guard.
Shafer can't keep his opponent in guard - Hartley advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Shafer is looking to escape.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hartley throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Hartley missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
It looks like Hartley is going to stand back up.
Hartley missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Shafer is looking to improve his position.
Shafer keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Hartley lands a nice short elbow.
Shafer is looking to control Hartley's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Shafer avoid being mounted?
It really doesn't seem like the step up in weight is hurting Hartley here at all. He's more than holding his own against the bigger man.

Shafer looking for submissions off his back.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shafer wants to improve his position but Hartley is controlling well.
Shafer is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Hartley scores with a couple of nice shots.
Hartley missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Hartley trying to mount his opponent but Shafer defends it.
Hartley trying to control the action but Shafer is working from the bottom.
Shafer has hold of Hartley's hands but Hartley slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shafer trying to control from the bottom.
Shafer is not content to let Hartley control the position.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Hartley connects with a nice short shot to Shafer's temple.
Hartley moves nicely into side control.
You can see the frustration on Shafer's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

Hartley tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Hartley has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Check out the look on Hartley's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Andrew Hartley dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Andrew Hartley'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. This is the final round!

Shafer throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Hartley.
Hartley is looking to clinch but Shafer is avoiding it.
Shafer shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Hartley pinned against the cage. Hartley gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.

Shafer drives through with a takedown into Hartley's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Shafer throwing strikes but missing.
Shafer is fighting to break Hartley's control of his arms but Hartley is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Hartley utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Hartley has Shafer pulled in close to control his posture.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hartley trying to control the position.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Andrew Hartley just wasn't active enough.
A big left from Shafer misses.
Shafer keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Hartley tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Hartley shoots in for a takedown but Shafer shows good takedown defense.
Shafer throws a right and a left that Hartley avoids nicely.
Andrew Hartley is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Shafer shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Hartley as he avoids it easily.
Hartley takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Hartley rushes Shafer and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Shafer tries to break free but Hartley pushes him back against the cage.
Shafer wants a takedown but no success here.
Andrew Hartley has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Alex Shafer.
Shafer wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Hartley has him pressed against the cage.
Hartley throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Shafer blocks it with crossed arms.

Hartley manages to pull guard.
Hartley wants to sweep but no luck.

Hartley is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Shafer looking to sit in guard and control but Hartley gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Shafer wants to stand up but Hartley is controlling him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hartley throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Shafer works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Shafer wants to sweep but no luck.
Andrew Hartley overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Hartley slips nicely into half guard.
Hartley working the head and body with strikes.
Hartley takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Shafer looks like he's trying to stand up.
Shafer takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Hartley seems to be looking for submissions.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hartley is taking a breather. Shafer says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Hartley throwing shots but Shafer is blocking nicely.
Shafer tries to roll over but Hartley keeps him under control.
Shafer blocking the ground and pound attempt from Hartley.
Hartley wants to control but Shafer is keeping him busy.

Hartley is looking for a kimura but Shafer is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Hartley to get the leverage.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Shafer is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Hartley passes the half guard and he's now in mount! Big trouble for Shafer!

And that's the end of the fight!
Andrew Hartley showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Hartley, 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 Andi Peters scores the fight for Andrew Hartley!
Judge Gordon Ramsey scores the fight for Andrew Hartley!
Judge Frank Skinner scores the fight for Andrew Hartley!

Andrew Hartley wins by unanimous decision!