PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Commander Shepard (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Gregor MCconnor (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Gregor MCconnor has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Shepard
vs
MCconnor

175 cm
21
158 lbs
9 - 4 - 0

177 cm
21
156 lbs
3 - 8 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 9 - 4 - 0, fighting out of London, Commander Shepard!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 8 - 0, fighting out of London, Gregor MCconnor!
The judges for this bout are Andrew Berry, William Gold and Steven Brown.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A slow jab from MCconnor misses its intended target.
Shepard keeps the fight on the outside.

Shepard clinches with his opponent.
MCconnor throws a head punch that misses.
Shepard softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Shepard has MCconnor pressed against the cage, preventing MCconnor from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Shepard throws a knee to the head but misses.
Shepard lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Shepard softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
MCconnor working hard to break the clinch.
Shepard lands a left hand.
Shepard trying to land knees to the body.
I was talking to Shepard's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Shepard lands with a right to the head.
MCconnor tries to break free but Shepard pushes him back against the cage.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Shepard.
Shepard lands a left hand.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

MCconnor pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
MCconnor throws an off balance right hand
and Shepard counters with a solid body kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shepard bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
A head kick by MCconnor misses
and Shepard counters with a body kick.
MCconnor fails in his attempt to clinch.
MCconnor looks to throw the jab but Shepard is out of range.
Shepard looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
MCconnor takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Shepard fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt MCconnor.
MCconnor misses the jab.
It appears Shepard was looking to counter with a kick there.

MCconnor instigates a clinch.
MCconnor wants to stall.
Shepard tries to work over MCconnor's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
MCconnor working hard to break the clinch.
Shepard blocks an uppercut.
Shepard softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Shepard creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
We can't be sure of the tactics at this early stage but we have heard that MCconnor has been working on his takedowns a lot in the buildup to the fight and we can only assume he's going to look to take this to the mat.
Nice body punch from Shepard - that landed with a thud.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shepard keeps the fight in the clinch, despite MCconnor's efforts to push away.
Shepard using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
MCconnor wants to break the clinch but can't.
Shepard blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Shepard lands an uppercut.
MCconnor lands a body shot in the clinch.
MCconnor on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Shepard blocking some punches.
A nice left hand lands by MCconnor.
Shepard lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt MCconnor or not.
Shepard misses with a shot to the kidneys.
MCconnor is trying to break free.
Shepard lands a right hand.
Shepard with a knee to the head.
MCconnor blocks an uppercut.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Shepard creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
MCconnor blocks a body shot from Shepard.
MCconnor tries to break free but Shepard pushes him back against the cage.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Shepard creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Shepard misses with a punch on the inside.
MCconnor working hard to break the clinch.
MCconnor blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.

MCconnor's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
MCconnor tries to clinch but Shepard is having none of it.
Shepard fires out a quick counter leg kick but MCconnor just manages to avoid it.
MCconnor tries to clinch but Shepard moves away
and Shepard makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.

Shepard takes the fight into the clinch.
MCconnor misses with a punch on the inside.
Shepard blocks a punch to the side of the head.
MCconnor is looking to break free of the clinch but Shepard has double underhooks.

MCconnor breaks the clinch.
Shepard keeps the fight on the outside.
Shepard tried to counter with a leg kick but MCconnor avoided it.
MCconnor is looking to clinch but Shepard is avoiding it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shepard misses with a body kick.
MCconnor lands a slapping body shot.
Shepard throws a body kick that sends a sickening thudding noise reverberating around the arena.
MCconnor wants to clinch but Shepard slips to the side
and Shepard counters with a crisp hook 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!
MCconnor swings widly with a right hand
and Shepard counters with a left to the body.

MCconnor moves into the clinch successfully.
Shepard landing knees to the head.

MCconnor pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Shepard avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
A little feinted left hand from Shepard on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Shepard scores with a jab to the body.
MCconnor blocks a head kick by Shepard.
Shepard pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Shepard lets loose with a powerful body kick. MCconnor will feel that in the morning.
MCconnor is looking to clinch.
Gregor MCconnor seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Shepard scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. MCconnor doesn't seem bothered though.

Shepard forces MCconnor back against the cage and clinches.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Commander Shepard dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Shepard misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from MCconnor.
MCconnor swings widly with a right hand
and Shepard counters with a thumping low kick.

Shepard instigates a clinch.
Shepard can't find room to land a body shot as MCconnor controls the action.
Shepard misses with a hook to the ribs.
MCconnor working hard to break the clinch.
MCconnor is trying to push Shepard away but Shepard has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Shepard has a couple of punches blocked by MCconnor.
MCconnor avoiding damage as Shepard throws knees to the body.
MCconnor is looking to break free of the clinch but Shepard has double underhooks.
Shepard lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of MCconnor backwards.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Shepard lands with a light punch inside.
Nice body punch from Shepard.
A short uppercut from Shepard.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Shepard keeps the fight in the clinch, despite MCconnor's efforts to push away.
MCconnor throws a punch but it's blocked by Shepard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Shepard creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
A head punch on the inside from Shepard fails to land.
Shepard misses with the head strike.
Shepard lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Shepard lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Shepard working aggressively here.
MCconnor is trying to break free.
MCconnor is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Shepard misses with a knee strike.
Shepard doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Shepard.
Commander Shepard has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Shepard misses with a hook from the clinch.
MCconnor is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
MCconnor wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Shepard has him pressed against the cage.
MCconnor misses with a punch on the inside.
Shepard is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that MCconnor can do to turn this around?

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shepard working MCconnor over with knees to the body.
Shepard lands a knee to the head.

It looks like Gregor MCconnor has been cut.
Shepard misses with a knee to the head.
MCconnor wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Shepard has him pressed against the cage.
Shepard utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Shepard lands a right hand that snaps the head of MCconnor backwards.
Shepard tries a body shot but MCconnor blocks it.
MCconnor throws a punch but it's blocked by Shepard.
Shepard scores with a knee to the head.
MCconnor can't find room to land a body shot as Shepard controls the action.
MCconnor wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Shepard with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Shepard lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down MCconnor.
MCconnor is trying to break the clinch but Shepard is controlling him.
MCconnor wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
A shot in the inside from Shepard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shepard misses with a punch on the inside.
Shepard misses with the head strike.
MCconnor tries to circle away but Shepard has him pinned against the cage.
MCconnor working aggressively here.
Shepard tried to land a shot to the body but connects with MCconnor's elbow.
MCconnor is looking to break free of the clinch but Shepard has double underhooks.
A short body shot lands from Shepard as the two fighters clinch.
Shepard landing knees to the head.
Shepard lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Shepard lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt MCconnor or not.
MCconnor lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Shepard backwards.
Shepard misses with a knee to the head.
MCconnor swings away with an uppercut that misses.
MCconnor tries to break free but Shepard pushes him back against the cage.

MCconnor's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
MCconnor tries to clinch but Shepard moves out of range.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shepard moves out of range as MCconnor strikes.
MCconnor tries to close the distance and clinch up but Shepard swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Shepard connects with a leg kick. MCconnor looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
MCconnor takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.

Shepard closes the distance and clinches.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Shepard scores with a nice hook to the head.
Shepard lands a nice shot to the body.
Shepard tries to throw a body punch but MCconnor avoids it by throwing Shepard back against the cage.
Shepard throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but MCconnor blocks it with crossed arms.
Shepard blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
A head punch blocked on the inside by MCconnor.
Shepard digs a right hand into MCconnor's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on MCconnor's gas tank.
Shepard lands with a right to the head.
MCconnor is looking to break free of the clinch but Shepard has double underhooks.
MCconnor wants to break free but Shepard has control.
MCconnor misses with the head strike.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Commander Shepard dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Gregor MCconnor'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!

Shepard displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as MCconnor throws out the jab.
Both fighters circling a little - Shepard finishes the exchange with a kick to the body.
Shepard takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
MCconnor takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Shepard blocks a head kick by MCconnor.
A jab lands there for Shepard.
Shepard avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Shepard jinks towards his opponent looking like he wants to counter with a mid kick but doesn't commit.

Shepard pushes MCconnor up against the cage in a clinch.
MCconnor misses with a short punch on the inside.
Shepard scores with a nice hook to the head.

MCconnor manages to break the clinch.

Shepard moves into the clinch successfully.

MCconnor manages to break the clinch.

MCconnor has taken the fight to the clinch.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Shepard with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Shepard tries to land a knee to the head but MCconnor blocks with his arms.
A short right from Shepard on the inside.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shepard lands with a left to the head.
Shepard lands with a right to the head.
MCconnor scores with a shoulder strike.
MCconnor looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
A shot in the inside from Shepard.
Shepard misses with a body punch.
Shepard with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Shepard scores with a shoulder strike.
A head punch on the inside from Shepard fails to land.
MCconnor takes a shot to the head.

MCconnor is rocked!
Shepard pushes MCconnor back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
A head punch on the inside from Shepard fails to land.
Shepard throws a punch but it's blocked by MCconnor.
MCconnor throws a punch but it's blocked by Shepard.
Shepard lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Commander Shepard is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!
A right hand to the body from Shepard.
Shepard tries to land a knee to the head but MCconnor blocks with his arms.
Shepard lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
MCconnor misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Shepard blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Shepard lands with a short punch from the clinch.
MCconnor is still on wobbly legs! Can Shepard finish him?
Shepard landing knees to the head.
Shepard has MCconnor pressed against the cage, preventing MCconnor from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
MCconnor is trying to break the clinch but Shepard is controlling him.
Shepard lands an uppercut.
Shepard tries to work over MCconnor's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
MCconnor is looking to break free of the clinch but Shepard has double underhooks.
MCconnor seems to have recovered his senses.

MCconnor breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Shepard circles away from the clinch attempt.
Shepard throws a quick counter kick to the body but MCconnor avoids it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shepard avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
It looked like Shepard wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
MCconnor misses with a leg kick
and Shepard counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Shepard, right into the meat.
Shepard avoids the body shot from MCconnor.
MCconnor takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
MCconnor closes the distance looking to clinch
and Shepard finishes the little exchange by landing a big kick to the body.

Shepard gets a clinch.
A head punch on the inside from MCconnor fails to land.
Shepard misses with a body punch.
MCconnor blocking some punches.
Shepard lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt MCconnor or not.
Shepard tries a body shot but MCconnor blocks it.
MCconnor working hard to break the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
MCconnor can't find room to land a body shot as Shepard controls the action.
Shepard with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
MCconnor tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
MCconnor is trying to break the clinch but Shepard has him pressed against the cage.
MCconnor can't break the clinch.
MCconnor tries to circle away but Shepard has him pinned against the cage.
Shepard lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Shepard scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Shepard lands with a short shot to the head.
Shepard scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Shepard looking to throw knees to the head but MCconnor is blocking nicely.
Shepard keeps the fight in the clinch, despite MCconnor's efforts to push away.
MCconnor looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Shepard throws a punch but it's blocked by MCconnor.
Gregor MCconnor has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Shepard lands on the inside with an uppercut.

And that's the end of the fight!
Commander Shepard showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Shepard has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Andrew Berry scores the fight 30:27
Judge William Gold scores the fight 30:27
Judge Steven Brown scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Commander Shepard!
A relieved looking Commander Shepard thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.