PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Tunde Balogun (ranked 3893 p4p, 3447 weight class) and Diego Rios (ranked 503 p4p, 457 weight class). The fight MMA fans around the world have waited their entire lives for!

Balogun
vs
Rios

225 cm
24
209
3 - 3 - 0

184 cm
23
195
1 - 1 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class MT
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Tunde Balogun!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Diego Rios!
The judges for this bout are Dean Styles, Steve Montenegro and Columbo Gatti.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rios swings for the body but Balogun moves out of range.
Rios throws a series of strikes that have Balogun backpedaling.
Rios throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Balogun stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Rios connects with a body shot.
Balogun tries to clinch there but Rios circles away.
Balogun slips a straight right by Rios.
Balogun tries to clinch up but Rios circles away and keeps his distance.
Balogun really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

Rios gets tackled into the cage by Balogun. Balogun maintains the clinch.
Balogun is trying to pull guard but Rios has him pressed against the cage.
Balogun is trying to pull guard but Rios turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Balogun tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Tunde Balogun. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Balogun successfully pulls guard.

Balogun has his foot on Rios's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Rios works his way back into a safe position though.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Balogun is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Rios is aware though and is defending well.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Rios stands up and waves to Balogun to follow him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rios closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Balogun tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Rios paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Some wild striking there from Rios.
Rios takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Balogun tries to clinch but Rios moves away
and Rios connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Balogun wants to clinch.
Balogun thuds a mid kick into his opponent's body. That will wear on Rios if he has to take too many more of those.
Balogun moves away from the strike by Rios.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Balogun closes the distance and clinches.
Balogun tries to pull guard but Rios won't allow it.

Rios manages to break the clinch.
Danga de danga de dang - Rios scores with a four punch combination!
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!
Sloppy strikes from Rios. Those never looked like landing.
Balogun thinks about countering with a body kick.
Balogun tries to clinch up.
Rios doesn't fully commit to the body shot counter.
Rios misses with a low kick.
Balogun moves in looking to clinch but Rios pushes him off.
Rios misses with an uppercut.
Rios fails to land with a series of punches.
Rios misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Balogun.
Rios ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Balogun moves away.
Balogun tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Rios manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Diego Rios seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Balogun moves in looking to clinch but Rios pushes him off.
Rios tries a low kick but Balogun avoids it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rios throws a leg kick
and Balogun counters with a lovely straight right hand!

It looks like Diego Rios has been cut.
Balogun throws out a powerful jab.
Rios does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Rios just manages to avoid a counter high kick fromBalogun.
Balogun tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Rios throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Nice cross by Balogun.
A punch combination from Rios misses.
Rios avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Balogun tries to clinch up.
Rios misses with a looping left.
Rios tries to land a body kick
and Balogun counters with a nice uppercut.
Rios throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Rios keeps the fight on the outside.
Balogun walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Balogun tries to clinch up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rios connects with a body shot that sends Balogun's belly button to the back.
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!
Balogun showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Rios.
Rios looks to score with a jab to the body but Balogun is just out of range.

Rios gets tackled into the cage by Balogun. Balogun maintains the clinch.
A bit of stalling here from Balogun.
Balogun is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Rios to keep the fight standing.
Balogun jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Rios walks away with a smile on his face. Balogun gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

Balogun pushes Rios up against the cage in a clinch.
Balogun is trying to pull guard but Rios turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Balogun tries to pull guard but Rios holds him up against the cage and eventually Balogun drops back down to his feet.
Balogun jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Rios walks away with a smile on his face. Balogun gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Balogun moves out of range of the strikes.
Balogun is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Diego Rios dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Diego Rios'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.

A left and a right from Rios both land. Nice combination.

Balogun is rocked!
Rios throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Balogun.
Oh Balogun is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Rios lands a nice looking body shot.
Rios lands with a precision combination! Left, right, uppercut and Balogun falls flat on his face, eyes wide open but he's out!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:16 of round 2, we have a winner by way of KO (Punches). Diego Rios!
After the fight, Diego Rios was humble in paying tribute to his opponent but made it clear he wants to go on to bigger and better things. It seemed to go down well with the crowd who cheered him loudly.