PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Damian BLaszczak (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Matt Balls (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The atmosphere really building for this one as we go over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

BLaszczak
vs
Balls

194 cm
23
258 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

199 cm
22
240 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Good chin

BJJ White Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Damian BLaszczak!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Matt Balls!
The judges for this bout are Anni Minnemäki, Arvi Lind and Johanna Lukiainen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Balls wants to clinch.
BLaszczak is trying hard to land a takedown here. Balls sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Balls is looking to clinch.

BLaszczak shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Balls napping and manages to drive through into side control!

BLaszczak wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Balls, who protects the arm well.
BLaszczak controls the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
BLaszczak tries to advance to mount but Balls denies him.
BLaszczak is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Balls will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Damian BLaszczak.
BLaszczak avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
BLaszczak swats away the attempt to clinch by Balls.
BLaszczak circles away from the clinch attempt
and BLaszczak counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Balls tries to clinch up
and BLaszczak counters with a three punch combo that has Balls backing up. Balls nods at BLaszczak 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!
Balls moves to clinch but BLaszczak breaks away

so BLaszczak counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Balls is looking to stand back up... there's a bit of a scramble and BLaszczak dives into side control.
BLaszczak happy to just control the position for now.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

BLaszczak is trying to get an arm triangle but Balls is defending well.
Balls pushes BLaszczak away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, BLaszczak gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
BLaszczak takes a little break here. Balls wants to take advantage but he is being controlled well.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Damian BLaszczak dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

BLaszczak circles away from the clinch attempt

and BLaszczak counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Balls's guard now.

BLaszczak stands up and waves to Balls to follow him.
Balls closes the distance but BLaszczak moves to the side
and BLaszczak counters with a three punch combo that has Balls backing up. Balls nods at BLaszczak to acknowledge the strikes.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
BLaszczak shoots for a double leg takedown but Balls sprawls well. He's pushed BLaszczak's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
BLaszczak defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Balls.
Balls closes the distance looking to clinch
and BLaszczak counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
BLaszczak shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Balls pinned against the cage. Balls gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.

BLaszczak fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Balls sprawls well initially but BLaszczak persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
BLaszczak stops Balls from getting back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Balls won't allow BLaszczak to pass to mount.
BLaszczak thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
BLaszczak passes the half guard and he's now in mount! Big trouble for Balls!
BLaszczak content just to control the position here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
BLaszczak has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's four 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.
BLaszczak's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Damian BLaszczak just wasn't active enough.

Balls clinches up against the cage.
BLaszczak is looking to break free of the clinch but Balls has double underhooks.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
BLaszczak jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Balls walks away with a smile on his face. BLaszczak gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Damian BLaszczak dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

BLaszczak misses with a left hand
and Balls counters with a head kick.
BLaszczak shoots in but Balls avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Balls fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Matt Balls seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Balls tries to clinch there but BLaszczak circles away.
BLaszczak fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Balls manages to avoid it.
Balls tries to clinch up.
Balls has a takedown stuffed.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Balls is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Balls closes the distance but BLaszczak moves to the side
and BLaszczak counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
BLaszczak fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Balls takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
BLaszczak moves out of range of the body kick from Balls.
Balls moves to clinch but BLaszczak breaks away

so BLaszczak counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!

BLaszczak stands up from Balls's guard - BLaszczak perhaps looking for a knockout.
Balls wants to clinch

and BLaszczak counters by clinching up.

BLaszczak drags the fight down to the ground.

BLaszczak manages to escape and get back to his feet.

BLaszczak forces Balls back against the cage and clinches.
BLaszczak wants a takedown but no success here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
BLaszczak jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Balls walks away with a smile on his face. BLaszczak gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Damian BLaszczak. That's going to take a lot out of him.
BLaszczak fails to land the takedown.
BLaszczak circles away from the clinch attempt

and BLaszczak counters with a takedown into side control.
Balls struggling a bit here.
Balls is looking to get back to his feet here but BLaszczak is keeping cool and he's managed to take Balls's back.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
BLaszczak controlling from the back.
BLaszczak is hanging on to Balls's back as he tries to escape.

And that's the end of the fight!
Damian BLaszczak showed his dominance in that final round.
Well BLaszczak 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 Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 30:27
Judge Arvi Lind scores the fight 30:27
Judge Johanna Lukiainen scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Damian BLaszczak!