PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Hector Balare (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Franco Gomez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Gomez has chosen Before I Forget as his entrance music. Franco Gomez has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Hector Balare's chin.

Balare
vs
Gomez

170 cm
26
145 lbs
6 - 1 - 0

172 cm
22
149 lbs
6 - 12 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
Big heart

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
Determined

Dimestar Athletics & Laundry

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Hector Balare!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 12 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Franco Gomez!
The judges for this bout are Felipe Paraventi, Emerson Jorge and Thiago Cunha.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
No luck for Balare with that takedown attempt.
Balare fails with a takedown attempt.
Gomez throws out a powerful jab.
Balare avoids a punch combination nicely.
Balare moves out of range of the body kick.
Gomez lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Balare circles away quickly and effectively.
Gomez throws a head kick that misses.
Gomez misses with a hook.
Gomez fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Balare looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Balare takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Gomez ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A punch combination from Gomez misses.
Balare shoots in and drives through. Gomez sprawls well.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Hector Balare. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Gomez misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Gomez ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Balare moves away.
Gomez misses with a double jab.
Balare takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Gomez misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Balare.
Balare is trying hard to land a takedown here. Gomez sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Gomez throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Balare.
Gomez tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Gomez fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Balare manages to avoid it.
Gomez misses with a straight left.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Balare ducks under a wild hook from Gomez.
Gomez scores with a shot to the body.
Good shot there by Gomez.
Gomez lands with a kick to the temple. Balare shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"
Gomez tries a head kick but it misses.
Franco Gomez seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Gomez fails to land with a series of punches.
Balare showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Gomez.
Gomez ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Balare moves away.
A looping hook to the body misses from Gomez. Balare does a little dance to reset his feet.
Balare takes one on the button.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Balare uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Gomez.
Gomez lands a head shot.
Gomez thows a body shot but no joy.
Gomez tries to bum rush Balare with a series of wild strikes but Balare uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Gomez throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Gomez changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Gomez is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Balare rather than just go for the knockout.
Gomez fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Balare manages to avoid it.
Gomez misses with a wild body shot.
Gomez scores with a nice head shot.
Gomez scores with a shot to the body.
Gomez looks to land a right hand but Balare moved out of range.
Balare is trying hard to land a takedown here. Gomez sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gomez tries a head kick but it misses.
Balare takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
A looping hook to the body misses from Gomez. Balare does a little dance to reset his feet.
Balare fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Gomez lands with a nice body punch.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Balare fails with a takedown attempt.
Balare is breathing heavily.
Gomez closes the distance and lands a one-two.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Gomez fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Sloppy strikes from Gomez. Those never looked like landing.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Franco Gomez dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Gomez lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Gomez.
Gomez will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Gomez!
Some wild striking there from Gomez.
Some wild striking there from Gomez.
Gomez thuds a mid kick into his opponent's body. That will wear on Balare if he has to take too many more of those.
A slapping body kick lands there for Gomez.
Gomez throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Balare stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.

Balare closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

Balare is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!

Balare is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Balare is trying to work for a kimura but Gomez is defending well.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Gomez pushes Balare off looking to stand but Balare dives back in and keeps control.

Balare is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Gomez sees it coming and defends easily.
Gomez moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Balare stops Gomez from standing up.

Balare postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Gomez is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Balare, into his guard.

Balare throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Gomez passes Balare's right leg, so he's now in half guard.

Gomez is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Balare defends it well.
Gomez wants to lay and pray for a moment but Balare keeps working.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Gomez tries to stand but his arm is trapped.

Balare actively working from the bottom here.
Gomez wants to stand up but Balare is controlling the position.
Balare moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gomez advances position into side control!
Balare prevents Gomez from moving into mount.

Gomez is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Balare knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Balare manages to work his way to half guard, despite Gomez's best efforts.

Balare looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Balare blocking the ground and pound attempt from Gomez.

Balare looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.

Gomez is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Balare is just riding it out for now. Gomez eventually gives up the hold.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Balare looking for submissions off his back.
Gomez is looking to take a break and control but Balare is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

Gomez is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Gomez tries to stand but his arm is trapped.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Balare actively working from the bottom here.

Balare looking for submissions off his back.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Franco Gomez showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Gomez scores with a jab to the head.
Franco Gomez is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Balare blocks the body kick.
Gomez connects with the punch.
Gomez tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Gomez throws a right hand that Balare ducks under and follows up with a left that Balare also avoids with ease.
Gomez punishes Balare's body with a nice straight punch.
Gomez lands with a nice combination. Balare backs away looking to recover.
Gomez throws a nice looking combination but Balare bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Balare showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Gomez.
Gomez takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Balare avoids the head kick by Gomez.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gomez dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Franco Gomez is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Balare takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Balare doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
A combination from Gomez does no damage.
Gomez just misses with a punch to the body.
Balare dives in and grabs Gomez's left leg, looking for a takedown. Gomez pushes down on Balare's head and hops out.
Sloppy strikes from Gomez. Those never looked like landing.
Gomez throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Gomez thows a body shot but no joy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gomez fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Gomez misses with a straight left.
A punch combination from Gomez misses.
Balare looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Gomez misses with the combination.
Gomez ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Balare moves away.
Gomez throws a sloppy head kick and Balare moves out of range easily.
Gomez has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Balare closes this distance looking for a takedown but Gomez circles away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Hector Balare. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Gomez fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Balare fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Gomez dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Balare fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Gomez lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
Gomez lands a head kick. Balare smiles back at him and beckons him forward.
Franco Gomez is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Gomez tries a low kick but Balare avoids it.
Gomez scores with a jab to the body.
Gomez misses with a wild combination.
Franco Gomez seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Balare looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gomez scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Balare slips a jab and a cross from Gomez.
Gomez lunges at Balare with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Balare's hand.
Balare showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Gomez.
Gomez slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Hector Balare has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Gomez throws a head kick that misses.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Balare blocks a head kick by Gomez.
Balare takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.

And that's the end of the fight!
Franco Gomez comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Gomez 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 Felipe Paraventi scores the fight 27:30
Judge Emerson Jorge scores the fight 27:30
Judge Thiago Cunha scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Franco Gomez!
An out of breath Franco Gomez thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.