PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Jack Daniel (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nick Ballard (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Jack Daniel has a significant reach advantage - let's see if he can make it count.

Daniel
vs
Ballard

197 cm
27
193 lbs
5 - 6 - 0

180 cm
21
192 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Counter striker
Granite chin

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Prefers standup

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Jack Daniel!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nick Ballard!
The judges for this bout are George Francis, Chris Downing and Tiny Johnson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Daniel fails with the takedown.
Ballard lunges at Daniel with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Daniel's hand.

Ballard drops Daniel with a beautiful combination! Daniel stares up at his opponent, who ushers him back to his feet - Ballard is looking for the KO!

It looks like Jack Daniel has been cut.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Daniel tries to clinch up but Ballard circles away and keeps his distance.
Ballard misses with a double jab
and Daniel counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Ballard thinking.
Ballard throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Ballard throws a left and a right that both miss
and Daniel counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Ballard uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Daniel has time to react.
Ballard looks to land a right hand but Daniel moved out of range.
Ballard looks to throw the jab but Daniel is out of range.
Ballard stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Ballard wants it to stay on the feet.
Ballard throws a series of punches but Daniel avoids them all with ease.
Daniel tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Ballard paws at him with a jab and circles away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Daniel slips under a jab.
Ballard misses with a wild combination.
Daniel swings for the body but Ballard moves out of range.
Daniel lands with a hook. Ballard tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Ballard throws a right and a left that Daniel avoids nicely.
Ballard throws a lazy right hand but Daniel sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Ballard falls off balance throwing a combination
and Daniel makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Nick Ballard is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Daniel's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Ballard connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Daniel scrambles back to his feet.
Daniel fails with the takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jack Daniel. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Ballard throws a left and a right that both miss
and Daniel counters with a two punch combo.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Ballard misses with a two punch combination.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Donk. Ballard catches Daniel right on the button with a cross.
Ballard lands with an uppercut that bounces Daniel off the cage and back into range.
Ballard wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
A swing and a miss from Ballard.
Daniel showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Ballard.
Ballard fails to land with a series of punches.
Daniel keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Ballard.
Ballard misses with a wild combination.
Ballard misses with a left hand
and Daniel counters with a right hand to the body.
Daniel is looking to wear down Ballard with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Daniel avoids a punch combination nicely.
Nick Ballard seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Ballard tries to bum rush Daniel with a series of wild strikes but Daniel uses good footwork to avoid the assault.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ballard throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Daniel.
Ballard 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.
Ballard on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Ballard looks to land a combination but Daniel avoids it well.
Ballard throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Daniel counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Ballard thinking.
Ballard looks gassed!
Ballard swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Ballard keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Daniel scores with a jab to the jaw.
Daniel moves out of range as Ballard strikes.
Daniel throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
This is turning into a torrid day at the office for Daniel. He's trying desperately to land a takedown but he's failing miserably and getting slapped silly on the feet to compound his misery.
Ballard misses with a combination
enabling Daniel to counter with a crisp jab.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ballard misses with a two punch combination.
Daniel tries for a takedown but Ballard sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Ballard swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Daniel counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
No joy there for Ballard, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Ballard smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Ballard swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Daniel tries to close the distance and clinch up but Ballard swats him away and circles back towards the center.
The fight stays on the outside here - Daniel looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Ballard misses with an uppercut. Daniel saw that one coming.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Ballard scores with a three punch combo!
Ballard misses with a few strikes there.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nick Ballard dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Jack Daniel's cut.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Daniel swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Ballard.
Nice jab there from Ballard.
Ballard lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Daniel circles away quickly and effectively.
Ballard throws out a leg kick but Daniel moves out of range and Ballard only half commits.
This entire fight has taken place on the feet so far and you wonder whether Daniel might be better served trying to take this one to the ground because he's losing the standup battle so far.
Daniel will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
No joy there for Ballard, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
A combination from Ballard does no damage.
Daniel scores with a jab to the head.
Nick Ballard is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Ballard falls off balance throwing a combination
and Ballard takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Daniel avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Daniel is looking to clinch.
Ballard smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Daniel moves away from the strike by Ballard.
Ballard throws a left and a right that both miss
enabling Daniel to counter with a crisp jab.
No joy there for Ballard, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Ballard moves out of range of the strikes.
Ballard scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Daniel with a lazy takedown attempt
and Ballard counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Daniel uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Ballard.
Daniel staying out of range there.
Nick Ballard seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Ballard pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Daniel back to the cage. Ballard follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.
Ballard is breathing heavily.
Nice shot by Ballard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Ballard scores with a jab to the head.
Daniel fails with a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jack Daniel. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ballard displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Ballard fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Ballard fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Ballard fails to land with a series of punches.
Some wild striking there from Ballard.
Ballard jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Ballard throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Ballard throws a shot from downtown. Daniel moves away and avoids it.
Daniel looks to score with a jab to the body but Ballard is just out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ballard is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Daniel.
Ballard lunges at Daniel with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Daniel's hand.
Daniel is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Ballard displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Daniel.
Daniel on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Ballard looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Ballard swats away the attempt to clinch by Daniel.
Ballard throws an off balance right hand
and Daniel counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Ballard shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Daniel eats them both and turns towards Ballard to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Daniel.
Ballard misses with a jab, cross combination.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Ballard throws a combination that misses
and Daniel counters with a right hand to the body.
Daniel is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Ballard.
Daniel tries for a takedown but Ballard circles away easily

and Ballard counters with a crisp one two that drops Daniel! Ballard thinks about following him to the mat for a moment but instead steps back and waves Daniel to his feet! Daniel is in big trouble!

Daniel is rocked!
Sloppy strikes from Ballard. Those never looked like landing.
Oh Daniel is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Ballard throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Daniel seems to have got his legs back now.
Ballard misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Ballard lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Daniel circles away quickly and effectively.
Ballard defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Daniel.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Daniel steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Ballard.
Ballard misses with a double jab

and Daniel holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nick Ballard showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Jack Daniel'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. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Daniel tries to clinch up but Ballard circles away and keeps his distance.
Daniel shoots in for a takedown but Ballard shows good takedown defense.
Daniel fails in his attempt to clinch.
Ballard lands a jab-cross combination.
Ballard throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Daniel staying out of range there.
Ballard swinging wildly here.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Daniel is defended easily by Ballard.
Ballard swinging wildly here.
Ballard takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
No joy there for Ballard, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Ballard swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Daniel counters with a straight right hand.
Daniel tries for a takedown but Ballard sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jack Daniel. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Daniel drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Daniel avoids a punch combination nicely.
Daniel keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Ballard.
Daniel tries to clinch there but Ballard circles away.
Ballard has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Ballard misses with a double jab.
Daniel moves in looking to clinch but Ballard pushes him off.
Daniel avoids a punch combination nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A decent looking cross lands there for Daniel.
Ballard misses with a double jab.
Ballard throws an overhand right that lands on Daniel's shoulder, as Daniel tries to avoid the shot.
Horrible takedown by Daniel or perhaps it was just good defense by Ballard which made him look bad.
Daniel looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Ballard swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Daniel counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Ballard misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Ballard throws a right and a left that Daniel avoids nicely.
A combination from Ballard does no damage.
A shot to the liver by Ballard. Beautiful body shot.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Ballard leaves Daniel with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Daniel showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Ballard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Daniel fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Decent striking displayed by Ballard there.
Ballard swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Daniel counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Ballard looks to land a right hand but Daniel moved out of range.
Ballard throws a combination that misses
and Daniel counters with a straight right hand.
Nice defenses there by Daniel.
Daniel just misses with a punch to the body.
Ballard cracks Daniel with a right hand to the side of the head.
Daniel wants to clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Daniel wants to clinch
and Ballard counters with a straight right hand.
Ballard misses with a wild combination.
Ballard throws a right and a left that both miss.
A punch combination from Ballard misses.
Ballard tries to bum rush Daniel with a series of wild strikes but Daniel uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Ballard lands with a shot to the body.
Ballard fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Ballard lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Ballard avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Jack Daniel has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Nick Ballard is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
A combination from Ballard does no damage.

And that's the end of the fight!
Nick Ballard comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Ballard 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 George Francis scores the fight 27:30
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 27:30
Judge Tiny Johnson scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Nick Ballard!
Nick Ballard was full of energy after the big win and talked about how he thinks he can do big things in this sport. The crowd were appreciative of his determination to succeed.