PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Conan Balboa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Duke Rance (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Balboa
vs
Rance

186 cm
28
160 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

178 cm
20
170 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Big right hand

BJJ White Belt
Dangerous knees
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Conan Balboa!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Duke Rance!
The judges for this bout are Wesley Smith, Chris Downing and Tiny Johnson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rance shoots in for a takedown but Balboa shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Balboa throws a leg kick

and Rance moves into the clinch.
Balboa missing with knees to the body.

Rance lands a takedown into guard.
Rance is stalling in the full guard.
Rance postures up in Balboa's guard and throws a big left but Balboa blocks it.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Rance's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Rance is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Rance throws a big right hand that misses.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Rance is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Rance postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Rance seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Rance makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rance with a flurry of punches that miss.
Rance works over Balboa with some ground and pound from guard.
Rance distracts Balboa with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Rance 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.
Balboa is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Rance is controlling him.
Rance with a nice head shot there.
Rance postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Rance controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Rance distracts Balboa with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Balboa being controlled here, momentarily.
Rance distracts Balboa with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rance controlling from the top position.
Rance scoring with punches to the head and body.
Rance engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Rance works over Balboa with some ground and pound from guard.
Balboa is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Rance seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Rance prevents Balboa from getting back to his feet.
Rance's corner is telling him to maintain position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rance distracts Balboa with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Balboa is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Rance is controlling him.
Rance sitting in guard, not really doing much.

Duke Rance has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.

Rance rushes Balboa and presses him up against the cage.

Rance wants the takedown. Balboa is fighting it off but Rance persists and manages to bring the fight to the ground, ending up in Balboa's guard against the cage.
Rance not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Rance won't allow Balboa to get back to his feet.
Rance scoring with punches to the head and body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rance won't allow Balboa to get back to his feet.
Rance must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Balboa is breathing heavily.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Rance showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Rance with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Rance is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
It looks like Rance might be adopting somewhat of a lay and pray gameplan here, which I'm sure won't go down too well with the paying fans in attendance... Or the ring announcers come to think of it.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Duke Rance wasn't active enough on the ground.

Rance has closed the distance and engaged Balboa in a clinch.
Rance on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Come on Rance - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Balboa creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Duke Rance dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Rance has taken the fight to the clinch.
Balboa really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Rance is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Balboa is defending well.
Rance blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Rance misses with a knee strike.
Balboa tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Rance avoids it.
Balboa is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Rance keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Balboa's efforts to push away.

Rance drags the fight down to the ground.
Balboa would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Rance is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Balboa would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Balboa won't allow Rance to sweep him here.
Balboa trying to stand up but can't free himself from Rance's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rance has Balboa pulled in close to control his posture.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.

Rance looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Rance sitting in guard here, content to control.
Rance has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Rance won't allow Balboa to get back to his feet.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Rance looking to control the position here, rather than advance.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Duke Rance wasn't active enough on the ground.
Balboa fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Rance is out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Rance clinches with his opponent.
Balboa looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.

Rance lands a takedown into guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Rance is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Rance's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Duke Rance wasn't active enough on the ground.
Rance looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.

Rance clinches up against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rance crunches a lovely knee into Balboa's ribcage.
Balboa is trying to force a seperation but Rance has the dominant position.
Rance is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Balboa with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Rance is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Balboa is defending well.
Conan Balboa has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Duke Rance.
Balboa misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Rance.
Balboa missing with knees to the body.
Rance is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Balboa is defending well.
Rance utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Rance scores with a knee to the head.
Balboa managing to block the knees to the body from Rance.
Rance jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Balboa walks away with a smile on his face. Rance gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Balboa enables Rance to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Balboa manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Rance seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rance tries to free his leg and advance position but Balboa is retaining full guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Rance connects with a couple of short punches.
Rance landing with the ground and pound.
Rance is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Rance cracks Balboa with a solid left hand.
Rance is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Rance scoring with some ground and pound.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Rance is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Duke Rance showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Rance.
Rance fails with the takedown.

Rance gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.

Rance jumps guard and drags Balboa to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Balboa would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Rance looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Balboa wants to stand but Rance is controlling his posture from full guard.
Rance looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Rance seems keen to control Balboa's posture.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Rance 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.
Duke Rance has got the better of the ground game so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rance is adopting a defensive guard.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Balboa looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.

Rance dives in and scores a takedown into Balboa's guard.
Rance with a nice head shot there.
Rance stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Balboa swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Rance stops Balboa from standing up.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Rance stays in close to Balboa's body and controls the position.
Rance is in close to Balboa's body, working some short punches and elbows.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rance lands a couple of elbows.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Balboa can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Rance controls the pace.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Balboa attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Balboa throws a low kick, looking for Rance's leg but Rance calmly moves out of range.

Balboa tries to keep at a distance but Rance has taken the fight into the clinch.

Rance pulls guard effortlessly.
Rance looking to hit a scissor sweep but Balboa is one step ahead there.
Balboa is fighting to break Rance's control of his arms but Rance is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Balboa would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Rance really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Balboa. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Rance holds on and takes a little breather.
Rance manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Balboa manages to get himself to full guard.
Rance won't allow Balboa to get back to his feet.
Rance lands a couple of elbows.
Rance 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.
Rance keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Balboa's head.
Rance postures up and lands a big shot to Balboa's brow.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rance not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Rance landing with the ground and pound.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Rance won't allow Balboa to get back to his feet.
Rance tries to free his leg and advance position but Balboa is retaining full guard.
Balboa can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Rance controls the pace.
Rance postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Rance scoring with some ground and pound.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Rance works over Balboa with some ground and pound from guard.
Rance landing some decent shots from guard.
Conan Balboa has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Duke Rance is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Rance chips away with some ground and pound.

And that's the end of the fight!
Duke Rance comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Rance 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 Wesley Smith 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... Duke Rance!