PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between John Paul (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jurgen Balhussen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). John Paul could well score a knockout today. He has the power to get to Jurgen Balhussen's chin.

Paul
vs
Balhussen

150 cm
18
300 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

214 cm
22
300 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

Good wrestling
Counter striker
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, John Paul!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Jurgen Balhussen!
The judges for this bout are Bruno Lombardi, Alyssa Summers and Jorge Garcia.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Balhussen shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Paul pinned against the cage. Paul gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Balhussen closes this distance looking for a takedown but Paul circles away.
Paul stuffs the takedown attempt from Balhussen. Balhussen gets slowly back to his feet.
John Paul has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jurgen Balhussen.
Balhussen tries to clinch there but Paul circles away.
Jurgen Balhussen seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Paul fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Balhussen sprawls well initially but Paul persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Paul trying to control the action but Balhussen is working from the bottom.
Balhussen wants to get back to full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Balhussen trying to hold on to Paul's head to control him but Paul postures up.
Balhussen moves into full guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Paul throwing strikes but missing.
Balhussen pulls Paul in close to prevent any damage.
Paul with a nice head shot there.
Paul could do with loosing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Balhussen not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Paul postures up in Balhussen's guard and throws a big left but Balhussen blocks it.
Paul postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Paul has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Balhussen is looking to stand up but Paul isn't so interested in that idea.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Paul controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Paul stopping the sweep attempt from Balhussen.
Balhussen utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Balhussen avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Balhussen moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
Balhussen fails with the takedown

and Paul counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Balhussen looks gassed!
Paul looking to sit in guard and control but Balhussen gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Paul is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Balhussen is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Balhussen is looking to stand up but Paul won't let him.
Balhussen connects with a couple of short punches.
Paul might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Balhussen throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Paul tries to land a sweep but no joy.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fight is doing enough on the ground.

Balhussen closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Paul tries to bench press Balhussen off him but Balhussen keeps the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Balhussen working away.
Paul is not content to let Balhussen control the position.

Balhussen working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Paul wants to control but Balhussen postures up.
Balhussen advances nicely into full mount.
Balhussen can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Paul is looking to escape.
Balhussen is in the full mount, landing strikes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Jurgen Balhussen will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Paul throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Balhussen's waist but Balhussen gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Paul off to one side.
Balhussen throws a shot to the body.
Paul tries to work over Balhussen's front leg with a kick but Balhussen checks it.
Paul takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.
Balhussen shoots and misses

so Paul counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Balhussen trying to strike off his back.
Paul is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Balhussen doesn't do any damage with a couple of strikes from the bottom.
Paul trying to control the position from guard on top but Balhussen is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Balhussen has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Balhussen manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Balhussen tries to control but Paul wriggling away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Paul keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Balhussen controlling from mount.
Paul wants to improve position but instead he's given up his back.

Paul is staying cool under pressure, defending well against the rear naked choke attempt from his opponent.
Paul tries to break free.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Paul covering up well under a series of strikes from Balhussen.
Paul is defending well here and trying to improve his position.
Paul wants to control his opponent's hands but Balhussen gets his hands free.
Balhussen missing with punches from the back.
The crowd hopeful of a finish here - Balhussen's supporters are on their feet, screaming for him to go for the rear naked choke.
Paul is in bad spot here.
Paul is working hard here to advance position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Paul has his hands over his head blocking the strikes from Balhussen.
Paul covering up well under a barage of strikes.
Paul wants to control his opponent's hands but Balhussen gets his hands free.
Balhussen trying desperately to keep hold of the dominant position.
Balhussen is breathing heavily.
Paul rolls and manages to get back to half guard. Nicely done.
Paul is looking to get back to full guard here but Balhussen has managed to pass to side control instead.
Balhussen controlling the pace for now.
Paul tries to improve his position but instead Balhussen has taken his back!

That's four 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.
You can see the frustration on Paul's face… He knows he is in trouble unless he improves his position sooner rather than later.
Balhussen lands with a couple of good shots - one to the side of the head and one questionable shot that could be viewed as to the back of the head but the referee lets it go.
You can see the frustration on Paul's face… He knows he is in trouble unless he improves his position sooner rather than later.
Paul breaks Balhussen's hooks off and manages to turn into his guard.
Balhussen wants to stand but Paul is controlling the position.
Balhussen utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Balhussen can do anything to dispel that myth.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Balhussen shoots in looking for a takedown. Paul tries to sprawl out of it but Balhussen keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Paul manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Paul misses with a hook to the body

and Balhussen counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jurgen Balhussen showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Paul drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.

Balhussen pushes Paul off and scrambles back to his feet.
Balhussen tries to clinch but Paul moves out of range.

Paul bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
You can see the frustration on Balhussen's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
John Paul overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Balhussen manages to work his way to half guard, despite Paul's best efforts.
Balhussen regains full guard. Nicely done.
Paul preventing the sweep.

Paul avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Paul stops Balhussen from standing up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Paul pushing down on Balhussen's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Balhussen is not content to let Paul control the position.
Paul knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Balhussen on the ground.

Balhussen looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Balhussen takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Balhussen gets full guard.
Balhussen looking for a sweep. Not yet Balhussen, not yet.
Balhussen is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Paul distracts Balhussen with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Paul wants to control from the top but Balhussen keeps moving.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Balhussen with a poor takedown

and Paul counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Paul.
Balhussen trying to strike off his back.
Paul pushing down on Balhussen's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Paul wants to pass the guard but Balhussen is defending well.
Balhussen is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Paul's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Paul's back!

Balhussen is working hard for the rear naked choke here.
Paul covering up well under a barage of strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Balhussen tries to get the hooks in deep but Paul pushed the leg off.
Balhussen not allowing Paul to control his hands.
Paul rolls, trying to escape but Balhussen keeps control of the position.
Balhussen lands a couple of good shots to his opponent's body and a final shot to the head. Good little attack there by Balhussen.
Paul covering up well under a barage of strikes.
Balhussen just keeping the dominant position. He can't wait too long though, otherwise the referee will stand them back up.

Balhussen is staying calm and holding on to the back position, whilst working on a rear naked choke. Paul is defending well though. Balhussen let's go of the attempt for now.
Paul can't escape the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Paul is very frustrated here, being controlled quite effectively by Balhussen.
Paul covering up well under a barage of strikes.
Paul breaks Balhussen's hooks off and manages to turn into his guard.
Balhussen is trying to keep Paul in close.
Paul trying to control the position from guard on top but Balhussen is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Balhussen controls Paul momentarily but Paul frees himself.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Balhussen feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to John Paul.
Well Balhussen has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Bruno Lombardi scores the fight for Jurgen Balhussen!
Judge Alyssa Summers scores the fight for Jurgen Balhussen!
Judge Jorge Garcia scores the fight for Jurgen Balhussen!

Jurgen Balhussen wins by unanimous decision!