PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Kasey Ballard (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jr StClair (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Ballard's ring entrance music is that housewives' favourite, Eye of the Tiger. StClair has a niggling injury. He would have liked to come in 100% fit but that's not always possible. On his way into the cage it seems that Kasey Ballard has been attacked by a crazed fan! It looks like it might have been the just bleed guy! Luckily Kasey Ballard seems to be OK! I thought that lunatic was in prison!?

Ballard
vs
StClair

193 cm
20
215 lbs
8 - 8 - 0

188 cm
19
205 lbs
5 - 8 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Very strong

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 8 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Kasey Ballard!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Jr StClair!
The judges for this bout are Skip Squint, Summer Carpenter and Eliza Hachem.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
StClair misses with a combination
and Ballard counters with a flying knee. Nice.
StClair looks gassed!
Ballard shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts StClair as he jumps to the side.
StClair fails in his attempt to clinch.
Ballard tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but StClair swivels and escapes.
StClair misses with a double jab
and Ballard counters with a left to the body.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Ballard rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but StClair moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Ballard shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Kasey Ballard. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Ballard scores a takedown into full mount!
Ballard punishing his opponent with strikes.
Ballard looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
StClair is trying to stand but he's not in a good position to be doing that! Ballard has taken his back!
A lull in the action here.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Ballard lands a punch to the side of the head from the back.
Ballard has good solid back control here.

Ballard is persistently looking for the submission but StClair is defending it well.
What can StClair do to escape this position? He's going to have to figure it out pretty quick if he wants to stay in the fight!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
StClair looking very determined here, making life difficult for Ballard.

Ballard looking for the choke from the back.
StClair is being controlled on the ground here - he must escape this position otherwise surely the end is near.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Ballard tries to get the hooks in deep but StClair pushed the leg off.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Ballard is working really hard to secure the rear naked choke. StClair defends successfully for a significant amount of time. Both fighters are looking very determined.
Ballard tries to get the hooks in deep but StClair pushed the leg off.
Ballard is really struggling to control StClair but he's trying to hold on to the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ballard trying to secure his dominant position for a moment - making sure StClair doesn't escape.
Ballard looking to hold on to the position here but StClair rolls and ends up regaining guard.
Ballard trying to control the position from guard on top but StClair is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Kasey Ballard has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Ballard wants to clinch.
Ballard tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Ballard shoots for a double leg takedown but StClair sprawls well. He's pushed Ballard's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Ballard tries to clinch there but StClair circles away.
Ballard fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kasey Ballard dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Ballard lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but StClair circles away quickly and effectively.
Ballard shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as StClair sprawls well. StClair wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Ballard gets slowly back to his feet.
Ballard tries to close the distance and clinch but StClair swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Ballard scores with a head kick.
StClair throws a leg kick that is checked

and Ballard counters with a takedown into side control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Ballard lands a decent elbow from side control.
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!

Ballard tries for a kimura but StClair is defending well.
StClair is trying to get back to his feet.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Ballard stands up and beckons StClair to his feet.
Ballard connects with a leg kick. StClair looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Kasey Ballard is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Ballard tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but StClair was well out of range. Poor timing from Ballard.
StClair keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
StClair misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Ballard tries to clinch there but StClair circles away.
Ballard takes a swing at StClair's ribcage but misses.
StClair circles away from the clinch attempt.
StClair tries to close the distance and clinch but Ballard swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

Ballard has managed to clinch.
StClair stops a takedown attempt from Ballard.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Kasey Ballard. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ballard fails to pull the fight into his guard.

Ballard breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Ballard scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Ballard shoots in looking for a takedown but StClair manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Ballard's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Ballard lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but StClair circles away quickly and effectively.
StClair tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Ballard tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but StClair swivels and escapes.
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!
Ballard rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but StClair moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
StClair tries to clinch up.
StClair tries to clinch up but Ballard circles away and keeps his distance.
StClair tries to clinch but Ballard moves out of range.
Ballard shoots in for a takedown but StClair shows good takedown defense.
Ballard avoids a punch combination nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
StClair shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.

Ballard closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. StClair did well to prevent Ballard getting side control.
StClair pushes Ballard off looking to stand but Ballard dives back in and keeps control.
Ballard is looking to take a break and control but StClair is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Ballard is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that StClair can do to turn this around?
Ballard frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Ballard trying to control but StClair is having none of it.
You get the feeling that StClair really doesn't like being in this position too much.
Kasey Ballard overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ballard looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Ballard cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Ballard trying to control but he's not successful this time.
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!
Ballard controlling his opponent.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Ballard is working on an americana here. Ooh, that looks pretty nasty! Nope, StClair has managed to escape the submission attempt.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kasey Ballard dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Ballard looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Ballard fails in his attempt to clinch.
StClair lands a jab to Ballard's midsection.
Ballard fails to land the takedown.
Ballard lands with a straight right. StClair didn't see that one coming.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Ballard.

Ballard drives through with a takedown into StClair's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Ballard won't allow StClair to get back to his feet.
Ballard slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
StClair wants to stand and escape but Ballard is having none of it.

Ballard thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
StClair can't keep his opponent in guard - Ballard advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
StClair is trying to stand back up but Ballard is controlling him
Ballard slows the pace down in half guard.
StClair looks like he's trying to stand up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
StClair is staying active underneath Ballard, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Ballard is figuring out what he wants to do next.

We're going to have a standup here because Kasey Ballard wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.

Ballard drives through with a takedown into StClair's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Ballard wants to control from the top but StClair keeps moving.

Ballard gets to his feet. StClair looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Ballard gets a takedown into half guard.
StClair looks like he's trying to stand up.
Ballard has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
You get the feeling that StClair really doesn't like being in this position too much.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ballard with a couple of short strikes.
Ballard controlling from the full mount.
Ballard lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kasey Ballard clearly takes that round.
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.

Ballard lands with a nice body kick.
StClair circles away from the clinch attempt.
Jr StClair seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
StClair slaps away a takedown attempt from Ballard, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Ballard throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.

Ballard closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Ballard can't get the takedown.
A frustrated look appears on StClair's face as he tries to break the clinch.

Ballard's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
StClair pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Ballard tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but StClair swivels and escapes.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Kasey Ballard. That's going to take a lot out of him.
It's got to the stage where if one of these guys blows hard enough, the other might fall over.
Ballard misses with a takedown attempt - StClair sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
StClair swats away the attempt to clinch by Ballard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ballard circles away from the clinch attempt
and Ballard counters with a solid body kick.
StClair throws a hook but Ballard avoids it easily.
Ballard shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says StClair as he avoids it easily.
A jab from StClair finds it's way through Ballard's defenses.
StClair misses with a looping right.

Ballard closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Ballard throwing shots but StClair is blocking nicely.
StClair wants to stand back up but Ballard manages to pass into side control.
StClair is looking to get back to his feet here but Ballard is keeping cool and he's managed to take StClair's back.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
StClair controlling the position well but he knows he's in a bad position.

StClair fending off the submission attempt from Ballard.
Ballard biding his time, looking for the opening.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Ballard has his opponent's back and is working for the choke.

Ballard is looking to finish the fight by rear naked choke. StClair knows exactly what he's got planned though, so he's defending well. Maybe a few strikes would soften StClair for a finish.
Ballard tries to keep control of the position but StClair is staying busy.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
StClair has the hand control, trying to stop the rear naked choke.

StClair defending nicely against the rear naked choke attempt.

Ballard working for a RNC but it's not happening just yet.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Ballard working for the choke.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kasey Ballard had his way with Jr StClair in that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Ballard fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Kasey Ballard is winning the standup battle so far.
Ballard throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent StClair stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Ballard shoots in looking for a takedown but StClair manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Ballard's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Ballard takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.

Ballard moves into range and clinches up with StClair.
Ballard 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 Kasey Ballard. That's going to take a lot out of him.
A frustrated look appears on StClair's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Ballard tries for a takedown but StClair manages to get underhooks.
Ballard prevents StClair from breaking the clinch.
Both of our modern day gladiators look out of it here - an gruelling 5 rounds of action taking it's toll on them, no doubt.
StClair prevents a takedown attempt there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ballard keeps control of StClair as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
StClair tries to break free but Ballard pushes him back against the cage.
StClair is trying to break free.
Ballard keeps the fight in the clinch, despite StClair's efforts to push away.
Ballard lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Ballard is looking for a takedown up against the cage. StClair gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.

Ballard breaks from the clinch.
Ballard avoids the head kick by StClair.
Ballard is looking to clinch but StClair is avoiding it.
Ballard throws a good cross that connects.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Ballard closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
StClair is trying to stand up here but Ballard is controlling him well.
Ballard wants to take a breather but StClair is having none of it.

StClair manages to escape and get back to his feet!
StClair tries for a takedown but Ballard circles away easily
and Ballard counters with a nice leg kick.
Ballard fails with the takedown.
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!
Ballard shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.

StClair has closed the distance and engaged Ballard in a clinch.
A body shot lands from Ballard.

Ballard jumps guard and drags StClair to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
StClair trying to control but Ballard is working from the bottom.

Ballard is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Ballard wants to sweep but no luck.
Ballard preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.

Ballard is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. StClair is aware though and is defending well.

StClair has gone for a leg lock! Ballard slips out almost immediately though and dives into StClair's guard.
StClair wants to get back to his feet but Ballard is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ballard engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
StClair wants to stand but Ballard is controlling the position.
Ballard throwing strikes from guard but StClair blocks nicely.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Ballard trying to control the position from guard on top but StClair is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

And that's the end of the fight!
Kasey Ballard showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Ballard 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 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Skip Squint scores the fight 50:45
Judge Summer Carpenter scores the fight 50:45
Judge Eliza Hachem scores the fight 50:45

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Kasey Ballard!
Kasey Ballard very nearly forgot to thank Nature's Edge Nutrition amongst all the excitement of his win but just as the interview came to a close, he screamed their name. Hopefully he'll get a few nice freebies in the mail as a thank you.