PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Johnny Submarine (ranked 6171 p4p, 572 weight class) and Shannon White (ranked 4561 p4p, 486 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Submarine
vs
White

180 cm
24
160 lbs
4 - 0 - 0

186 cm
19
165 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
Intelligent

BJJ Brown Belt
Basic striking
Solid chin

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 4 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Johnny Submarine!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Shannon White!
The judges for this bout are Ivan Kurochkin, Fedor Mirinova and Dmitry Maklakov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

White scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.

White is working for a submission of some sort.
White wants to free his trapped foot but Submarine is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Submarine makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Submarine.
Submarine is trying to control the position from the bottom.

White drops back, looking for a kneebar! Submarine looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Submarine looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Submarine!

White is looking to regain half guard here but Submarine keeps moving and retains side control.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
White keeps trying to improve his position.
Submarine wants to lay and pray for a moment but White keeps working.
White has found himself in a tricky position here. He's been working his transitions in training so let's see if he can work his way out of it.
Submarine throws an elbow but White slips to the side and avoids it well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Submarine throws an elbow but White slips to the side and avoids it well.
Submarine wants to control but White is keeping him busy.
Submarine staying calm.
White is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Submarine's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.
Submarine trying to control from White's half guard. White has other ideas though and has regained full guard.
Submarine is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Submarine has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Submarine trying to control but White is working from the bottom.

White is looking for a triangle but Submarine pushes his legs off easily.
White keeping full guard, as Submarine tries to pass.

Submarine avoids a guillotine attempt easily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Submarine wants to control from the top but White keeps moving.
Submarine throws a big elbow that misses.
Submarine sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Submarine wants to control from the top but White keeps moving.
Submarine pushes down on White's leg and manages to get into half guard.
White wants to get back to full guard.
The fighters are battling for position here. White manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Submarine wants to control from the top but White keeps moving.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
White lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Submarine looking for a guillotine here but White defends easily.
White forces his way into half guard.

White is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Submarine is looking for a sweep. White is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
White is looking to take a break and control but Submarine is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Submarine is looking for a sweep. White is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

White is working for a submission of some sort.

White is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Submarine defends it well.

White is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Submarine doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time White.

White wants to work for an arm triangle but Submarine is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
White trying to control the action but Submarine is working from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Shannon White dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

White motions for Submarine to come forward. White throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
White scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Submarine fails to land with a series of punches.
Submarine stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Submarine wants it to stay on the feet.
Submarine went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
Submarine fails to land with a series of punches.
White shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Submarine rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but White moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Submarine misses with a wild combination.

White fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Submarine to the ground. White is now in Submarine's guard.
Submarine will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.

Submarine had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. White defends it easily.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

White is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Submarine is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Submarine has escaped and now he's on top!

We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

White looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.

That's one minute gone in the round.

White looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Submarine looks to be in better condition than last time we saw him fight. Obviously he's been working hard on his cardio.
Submarine preventing the sweep.
Submarine showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Submarine trying to control but White is working from the bottom.

White working for a triangle but Submarine defends it easily.

White is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Submarine defends well.

White had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Submarine defends it easily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.

White looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Submarine wants to control from the top but White keeps moving.
Submarine is stalling in the full guard.
Submarine wants to control from the top but White keeps moving.
Submarine pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. White is keeping the position for now.
Submarine trying to control but White is working from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

White is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Submarine is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Submarine trying to control but White is working from the bottom.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Excellent takedown into side control there by White.
Submarine is looking for a sweep.
White trying to control the position but Submarine is working away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

White tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no White has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!

White is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Submarine is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Submarine sneaks back into half guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Submarine won't allow White to pass to mount.

Submarine actively working from the bottom here.
Submarine looks like he's trying to stand up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Johnny Submarine will probably get the nod.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

White shoots in for a takedown but Submarine shows good takedown defense.
Submarine appears to be looking for a big counter.
Submarine misses with a double jab.
Submarine moves out of range of the body kick.
White works the jab nicely.
Submarine lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but White circles away quickly and effectively.
White wants to clinch up but Submarine keeps it at a distance.
Submarine is looking to counter the offense by White and move into the clinch.
Johnny Submarine is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from White.
Submarine avoids the head kick by White.
White has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Submarine looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
White shoots in but no luck this time.
Johnny Submarine has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Shannon White.
White just misses with a punch to the body.
White throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Submarine throws a right and a left that both miss.

White gets tackled into the cage by Submarine. Submarine maintains the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.

White has double underhooks and is working for a body lock takedown. He's got it. The fighters land in half guard but Submarine regains guard immediately.
White looking to pass the guard.
White wants to control from the top but Submarine keeps moving.

Submarine had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. White defends it easily.
White wants to control from the top but Submarine keeps moving.
White passes into half guard.
White wants to lay and pray for a moment but Submarine keeps working.
Submarine has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. White is working away from the top position though.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
White passes the half guard and he's now in mount! Big trouble for Submarine!

White working for a guillotine from mount but Submarine is in no mood to give up.
White prevents Submarine from getting the reversal.
White forces the positional change into back control.

White is looking for the choke from the back position but Submarine is controlling his hands well.
Submarine is keeping busy.
Submarine is really stuck here.
White tries to keep control of the position but Submarine is staying busy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Submarine tries to break free.

White looking for the choke from the back.

Submarine is staying cool under pressure, defending well against the rear naked choke attempt from his opponent.
White takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Submarine tries to escape the position - he's now mounted. Is that better or worse? Hard to tell!
White trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Submarine tries to lock up and control but White gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Submarine is in a bad position, trying to hold on for dear life but he is really struggling to maintain any sort of control.
Submarine regains half guard.

White is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Submarine doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time White.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

White is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Submarine trying to hold on to White's head to control him but White postures up.

White is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Submarine doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time White.
Submarine wants to control but White is keeping busy.

And that's the end of the fight!
Shannon White comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think White has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Ivan Kurochkin scores the fight 28:29
Judge Fedor Mirinova scores the fight 28:30
Judge Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Shannon White!
Our winner, Shannon White, made sure he spent some time buttering up the crowd during his post fight interview, which will no doubt bring him a few more fans.