PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Rocky Balboa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and TJ Stone (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rocky Balboa has a significant reach advantage - let's see if he can make it count.

Balboa
vs
Stone

190 cm
18
210 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

179 cm
20
212 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Solid 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 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Rocky Balboa!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, TJ Stone!
The judges for this bout are Valeri Chadov, Illya Tyunina and Fedor Mirinova.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Stone fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Balboa checks it well.
Balboa takes one on the button.
Balboa is trying hard to land a takedown here. Stone sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Balboa.
Stone gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Balboa with the ground and pound but Stone uses the opportunity to regain guard.
Stone controls Balboa momentarily but Balboa frees himself.
Balboa postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Balboa in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

Stone is edging up against the cage. He's using the cage to get back to his feet. Nice work there - the fighters are clinched.

Balboa's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
No joy there for Stone, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Balboa throws a right and a left that both miss.
Balboa tries for a takedown but Stone sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Stone avoids the head kick by Balboa.
Stone on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Stone lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stone tries to clinch but Balboa moves out of range.
Stone throws a head kick that Balboa semi-blocks.

It looks like Rocky Balboa has been cut.
Stone moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Balboa is breathing heavily.
Balboa throws a one two combo.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Stone dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Balboa. That did some damage!
Stone stalks Balboa and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Balboa's face. Balboa staggers backwards, shaken.
TJ Stone is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Stone lands a jab.
A slapping leg kick lands for Stone.
Stone throws a sloppy head kick and Balboa moves out of range easily.

Stone forces Balboa back against the cage and clinches.

Stone breaks the clinch.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Stone, right into the meat.
A shot to de liver by Stone. Beautiful body shot.
A good leg kick by Stone.
Stone thumps Balboa with a low kick.
Stone fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Balboa manages to avoid it.
Stone misses with the combination.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Balboa slips a jab and a cross from Stone.
An inside leg kick lands from Stone.
Stone scores with a three punch combo!
Stone with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
TJ Stone seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Stone feints and then cracks Balboa's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Balboa down.

Stone has closed the distance and engaged Balboa in a clinch.
Balboa is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Balboa displaying some good clinch control by pressing Stone up against the cage.

Stone breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Stone lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!

Stone moves into the clinch successfully.
Stone lands a knee to the head.
Balboa is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Stone gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rocky Balboa. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Stone throws a knee to the head but misses.
Stone will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Balboa up against the cage.

Stone breaks the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stone throws a series of strikes that have Balboa backpedaling.
Stone tries to clinch but Balboa is having none of it.
Balboa takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Balboa walks into a jab.
Balboa takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Stone is looking to slow Balboa down with leg kicks.
Balboa throws a big shot that misses.
Stone tries to clinch up but Balboa circles away and keeps his distance.
Stone turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.

Stone fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Balboa, pushing him back against the cage.

Stone manages to break the clinch.
Stone tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Balboa was well out of range. Poor timing from Stone.

Balboa gets the takedown into side control.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Balboa tries for a kimura but Stone is defending well.
Stone is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Balboa's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stone wants to control but Balboa is keeping busy.

Balboa is looking for a kimura here.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Stone moves into full guard.
Balboa lands a couple of digs.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Stone bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Balboa's guard.
Stone must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Stone trying to control the position from guard on top but Balboa is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

TJ Stone dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Rocky Balboa's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Stone uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Balboa.
Stone throws a series of punches but Balboa moves out of range.
Stone misses with a wild body shot.
Balboa throws a nice looking combination but Stone bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Stone tried to score with a low kick but Balboa checks it.
Balboa swats away the attempt to clinch by Stone.

Stone gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Balboa to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Balboa postures up.
Balboa wants to pass the guard but Stone is keeping the position.
Stone tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Balboa postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stone trying to control the position.
Stone is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Balboa tries to stand but Stone is controlling from the bottom.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.

Balboa looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for Stone!
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Balboa with a couple of short strikes.

Balboa with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
Balboa 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.
Stone manages to regain half guard. Good work.
Stone is trying to maintain the position but Balboa is very close to passing his half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Stone manages to escape and get back to his feet!
Stone leaves Balboa with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
TJ Stone seems to be getting the better of the standup.
A big left from Stone misses.
Rocky Balboa is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Balboa takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Stone scores with a decent looking hook.
Stone is looking to clinch.
Nice uppercut there from Balboa.
Some wild striking there from Stone.
Balboa falls off balance throwing a combination
and Stone counters with a nice leg kick.
Stone throws a combination that misses
and Balboa counters with a three punch combo that has Stone backing up. Stone nods at Balboa to acknowledge the strikes.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Balboa throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Balboa will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Stone stuns Balboa with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A jab from Stone does it's job there.
Stone lands a with a good body shot.
Stone scores with a leg kick.
Balboa takes one to the chin there.
The fight stays on the outside here - Stone looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Stone tries to clinch but Balboa is having none of it.
Stone throws a series of punches but Balboa avoids them all with ease.
Stone leaves Balboa with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Balboa.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rocky Balboa. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Balboa takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Stone lands with a thumping leg kick.
Stone scores with a leg kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stone scores with a hook to the body. Balboa takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Stone throws a shot to the body.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Stone lands a two punch combo.
Stone lands a slapping body shot.
Stone scores with a jab to the body.
Stone fakes the leg kick and cracks Balboa in the body.
A jab lands there for Stone.
Balboa takes a nasty kick to the mid section... That should keep him thinking. Does he try and block and risk a head kick landing?
Both fighters circling a little - Stone finishes the exchange with a kick to the body.
Stone turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Stone with a nice cross.
Stone misses with a wild body shot.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
A punch combination from Stone misses.
Stone misses with a head kick.
Balboa shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Stone sprawls well. Stone wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Balboa gets slowly back to his feet.
Stone scores with a jab to the jaw.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

TJ Stone showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Rocky Balboa'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!

Stone misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Balboa falls off balance throwing a combination
and Stone counters with a nice low kick that buckles Balboa's knee momentarily.
The fight stays on the outside here - Stone looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
A solid leg kick lands there for Stone.
Balboa throws out a loose jab but Stone uses good head movement to avoid it.
Stone misses with a double jab.
Stone lands a slapping body shot.
A good leg kick by Stone.
Stone throws a leg kick which misses Balboa's front leg but catches the back leg as Balboa tries to avoid it.
A slapping leg kick lands for Stone.
Stone lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Stone scores with a jab to the head.
Stone lands with a thumping leg kick.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Stone tries to clinch up but Balboa circles away and keeps his distance.
A jab from Stone finds it's way through Balboa's defenses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stone throws a left and a right that both miss
letting Balboa counter with a right hand.
Stone changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Stone fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Balboa manages to avoid it.
Stone ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Stone scores with the left hand. Balboa knows he should have avoided that one.
Stone looks to land a combination. Balboa sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Stone scores with a one two! Balboa had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
Stone connects with a single shot there.
Balboa looks for a takedown but Stone sprawls well.
No joy there for Stone, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Balboa fails to land the takedown.
Balboa needs to keep his hands up - Stone had a free shot at his head there.
Stone tests Balboa's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Stone throws a head kick but Balboa moves out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stone scores with the left hand. Balboa knows he should have avoided that one.
Stone stalks Balboa and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Balboa's face. Balboa staggers backwards, shaken.
Balboa looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Balboa is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Stone.
Balboa takes a kick to the side of the head.
Stone lands with a nice body punch.
Balboa defending well as Stone loads up on a big left hand.
Stone connects with a crisp jab.
Balboa thows a body shot but no joy.
Balboa misses with a body shot.
Nice body punch from Stone.
Nice body punch from Stone.
Stone with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Stone is looking to slow Balboa down with leg kicks.
Stone connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stone chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Stone scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Stone's corner calls for a 1,2 combination and Stone duly obliges.
Stone thumps Balboa with a low kick.
Stone swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Balboa counters with a series of strikes. Stone will be more careful next time no doubt.
A chopping leg kick lands by Stone.
Stone throws a nice inside leg kick.

Stone moves into range and clinches up with Balboa.
Nice body punch from Stone - that landed with a thud.
Stone tries a knee to the head but he's missed.

Stone pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Stone looks to land a combination but Balboa avoids it well.
Rocky Balboa has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Stone wants to clinch up but Balboa keeps it at a distance.
Balboa uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Stone.
Stone is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Balboa rather than just go for the knockout.
A decent looking body kick lands there for Balboa.
Balboa thows a body shot but no joy.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Balboa shoots in and bounces Stone off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Balboa stopping the sweep attempt from Stone.

Stone manages to escape and get back to his feet.
Balboa avoids a kick to the body.
Balboa misses with a wild combination.
Balboa throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Stone has taken the fight to the clinch.
Balboa tries a body shot but Stone blocks it.

Balboa turns his back and goes for a hip toss. It's a bit messy but it gets the job done and Balboa manages to end up in side control.
TJ Stone is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
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!
Stone is trying to control Balboa's posture but Balboa avoids it.

And that's the end of the fight!
TJ Stone comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Stone winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Valeri Chadov scores the fight 27:30
Judge Illya Tyunina scores the fight 27:30
Judge Fedor Mirinova scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... TJ Stone!