PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Jake Phipps (ranked 5322 p4p, 5109 weight class) and Tori Nori Balimory (ranked 456 p4p, 445 weight class). Jake Phipps could well score a knockout today. He has the power to get to Tori Nori Balimory's chin.

Phipps
vs
Balimory

190 cm
18
162
0 - 1 - 0

186 cm
25
160
0 - 1 - 0

Good takedowns
Brawler
Intelligent

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Very confident

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 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Jake Phipps!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Tori Nori Balimory!
The judges for this bout are Peter Branson, Dirk Anderson and Winston Alpacca.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Phipps leaves Balimory with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Phipps displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Balimory.

Balimory clinches up with Phipps and pushes him back against the cage.
Phipps is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Balimory to keep the fight standing.
Phipps misses with the head strike.

Balimory breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Phipps on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Phipps shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Balimory defends it nicely.
Balimory avoids a punch combination nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Phipps is trying hard to land a takedown here. Balimory sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jake Phipps. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Balimory lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Balimory fails with the takedown.
Phipps tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Balimory manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Balimory shoots in for a takedown but Phipps shows good takedown defense.
Balimory shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Phipps as he avoids it easily.
Phipps stuffs the takedown.
Phipps closes this distance looking for a takedown but Balimory circles away.

Phipps manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Balimory on his heels. He'll look to pass Balimory's guard now, I'm sure.
Balimory throwing strikes off his back to little effect.

Phipps thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Phipps trying to control the position from guard on top but Balimory is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Balimory really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Phipps. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Phipps passes into half guard.
Balimory is not content to let Phipps control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Balimory throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Phipps keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Balimory shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Phipps pinned against the cage. Phipps gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
A head kick by Phipps misses
and Balimory counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Phipps stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Phipps wants it to stay on the feet.
Phipps fails miserably with a takedown attempt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Balimory throws a head kick that looked like it stung.
Balimory darts in looking for a takedown but Phipps gets double underhooks and turns Balimory into the cage.
Balimory looks winded!
Phipps throws a head kick that misses
and Balimory counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Balimory moves out of range of the body kick from Phipps.

Phipps has Balimory up against the cage in a clinch.
Phipps drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Balimory gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Phipps tries to break free but Balimory pushes him back against the cage.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Tori Nori Balimory will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Balimory fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Phipps is looking to counter with a body kick.

Balimory clinches.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Phipps tries to pull guard but Balimory holds him up against the cage and eventually Phipps drops back down to his feet.
Balimory has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Phipps avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Phipps is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Balimory to keep the fight standing.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Phipps can't get the takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jake Phipps. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Balimory successfully pulls guard.
Balimory throws a couple of shots from the bottom but they don't land.
Balimory strikes from his own guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Phipps throws a big right hand that misses.
Phipps wants to control from the top but Balimory keeps moving.

Phipps drops back looking for a leg! Balimory is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Balimory manages to kick Phipps off! Phipps jumps back into Balimory's guard.
Balimory controls Phipps momentarily but Phipps frees himself.
We've been informed that Balimory has been working hard on his conditioning in the buildup to the fight.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Balimory keeping moving, preventing Phipps from controlling successfully.
Phipps is really struggling to control Balimory but he's trying to hold on to the position.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Phipps fails with an attempt to clinch.
Balimory throws a series of strikes that have Phipps backpedaling.
Phipps closes the distance and clinches up with Balimory, looking for a takedown. Phipps pushes Balimory against the cage but Balimory circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.

Balimory gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Phipps to score an easy takedown into full guard.

Balimory throws his legs up looking to secure a triangle. Oh, that looks pretty tight, I gotta say! Phipps escapes and throws Balimory's legs to the side, diving into side control!
Phipps advances nicely into full mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Phipps is going oldschool here, as he tries to force Balimory to tap using a forearm choke. This isn't 1993 though, so Balimory shrugs it off.
Phipps lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Balimory hang on?
Phipps looking to finish with strikes here!
Phipps wants to control the pace but Balimory is squirming around nicely.
Balimory sneaks a leg back under and regains half guard and is working straight away to try and get back to guard. He hasn't managed just yet though.
Balimory is looking for a sweep. Phipps is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Balimory wants to control but Phipps is keeping busy.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Phipps trying to control from half guard but Balimory is working away.

Phipps is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Phipps wants to control but Balimory is keeping him busy.
Jake Phipps overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Phipps missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Phipps missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Jake Phipps 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!

Balimory shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Balimory shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Phipps eats them both and turns towards Balimory to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.
Phipps misses with a body kick.
Balimory shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Phipps as he avoids it easily.
Phipps wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
Phipps wants to clinch but Balimory slips to the side
and Balimory counters with a straight punch to the midsection.

Phipps moves into range and clinches up with Balimory.

Balimory pulls Phipps into guard.
Balimory throws a couple of shots from the bottom but they don't land.
Balimory keeping moving, preventing Phipps from controlling successfully.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Phipps accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Phipps sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Balimory's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Phipps is looking for a kimura here.
Phipps thows a huge punch but Balimory dodges it nicely.
Phipps is trying to control. Balimory wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.

Phipps wants to work for an arm triangle but Balimory is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Balimory is looking for a sweep. Phipps is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
The fighters are battling for position here. Balimory manages to regain full guard. Nice work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Phipps has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Balimory is proving hard to escape from.
Balimory wants to get back to his feet but Phipps passes into half guard.
Phipps seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Balimory does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.

Phipps is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Phipps misses with a low kick.
As Phipps backs off Balimory throws a huge counter combo but Phipps manages to avoid it all.

Balimory has managed to clinch.
Phipps tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Phipps wants a takedown but no success here.
Phipps tries to land knees in the clinch but Balimory avoids the damage to the body.

Balimory escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Balimory bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.
Phipps shoots in but Balimory avoids the takedown attempt easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jake Phipps. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Balimory lands a nice looking body kick.

Balimory clinches up with Phipps and pushes him back against the cage.
Phipps jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Balimory walks away with a smile on his face. Phipps gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

Balimory forces Phipps back against the cage and clinches.
Phipps really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Balimory tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Phipps smiles and moves away.
Nice takedown defense from Phipps. No joy for Balimory on that attempt.
Balimory takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Balimory stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Balimory wants it to stay on the feet.
Balimory shoots in for a double leg but Phipps sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.

Phipps shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Balimory is trying to defend but Phipps finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Phipps seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Balimory does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Balimory won't allow Phipps to pass to mount.
Balimory wants to improve his position but Phipps is controlling well.
Balimory is pressing down on Phipps's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.

And that's the end of the fight!
Tori Nori Balimory comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Balimory 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 Peter Branson scores the fight 28:29
Judge Dirk Anderson scores the fight 27:30
Judge Winston Alpacca scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Tori Nori Balimory!