PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Giovanni Balboa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Chip Douglas (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Balboa might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Fratelli D'Italia. Douglas comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Atmos - One you need kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Balboa
vs
Douglas

175 cm
21
184 lbs
7 - 2 - 0

200 cm
21
181 lbs
8 - 5 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Excellent boxer
Very strong

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Granite chin

$300
KAISER

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 2 - 0, fighting out of London, Giovanni Balboa!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 5 - 0, fighting out of London, Chip Douglas!
The judges for this bout are James Atkins, Richard Clark and Daniel Bishop.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Douglas shoots in but Balboa avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Douglas doesn't manage to clinch there - Balboa circles away.

Balboa closes the distance and clinches.
Douglas dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Douglas has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Balboa is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.

Douglas lands a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Douglas is pressing down on Balboa's thigh, looking to free his foot. Balboa is holding on for now.
Balboa tries to get to full guard but Douglas has control of the leg.
Douglas missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Douglas thows a huge punch but Balboa dodges it nicely.
Balboa is looking to escape.

Douglas is looking for a kimura but Balboa is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Douglas to get the leverage.
Balboa is trying to stand.
Douglas sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Balboa defending well though.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Douglas throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Douglas throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Douglas is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.

Douglas is working for a submission of some sort.
Balboa preventing any damage for now, controlling his opponent's head.
Douglas missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Douglas prevents Balboa from standing back up.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Douglas wants to pass the guard but Balboa is defending well.

Douglas is looking for submissions but instead, Balboa has regained full guard.
Douglas postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Balboa is looking to stand up but Douglas isn't so interested in that idea.
Douglas is looking to advance position but Balboa has hit a scissor sweep - now he's on top in mount!
Douglas is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Balboa is looking to stand but Balboa has his arms wrapped tightly around him, looking to prevent the damage.
Douglas tries to reverse the position but Balboa maintains control.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Douglas slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
Balboa is pressing down on Douglas's thigh, looking to free his foot. Douglas is holding on for now.
Balboa passes to full mount!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Balboa trying to control but Douglas is having none of it.
Douglas bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!

Balboa is looking for a triangle but Douglas pushes his legs off easily.

Douglas has gone for a leg lock! Balboa slips out almost immediately though and dives into Douglas's guard.
Balboa is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

Douglas working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Balboa doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Balboa manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Douglas has his foot on Balboa's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Balboa works his way back into a safe position though.
Balboa stays in close to Douglas's body and controls the position.
Douglas doesn't do any damage with a couple of strikes from the bottom.
Balboa would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Douglas keeping full guard, as Balboa tries to pass.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Douglas is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Balboa not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Chip Douglas dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

A shot to the liver by Balboa. Beautiful body shot.
Balboa misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Balboa tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Douglas paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Douglas uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Balboa.
Balboa lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.

Balboa rushes Douglas and presses him up against the cage.
Douglas 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. Douglas gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Balboa misses with a right hand

and Douglas counters with a shoot takedown. Balboa fights it but they end up in guard.
Balboa wants to stand but Douglas is controlling the position.

Douglas has gone for a leg lock! Balboa slips out almost immediately though and dives into Douglas's guard.

Douglas has his foot on Balboa's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Balboa works his way back into a safe position though.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Balboa passes Douglas's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Douglas is looking to improve his position.
Douglas is trying to stand back up but Balboa is controlling him
Douglas is breathing heavily.

Douglas is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Balboa pulls his head out easily.
Balboa passes the guard and advances to mount!
Balboa looking to control but Douglas is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Douglas bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Balboa not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Balboa looking to hit a scissor sweep but Douglas is one step ahead there.
Douglas with a flurry of punches that miss.
Douglas is looking to work some ground and pound but Balboa has wrist control.
Douglas throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Douglas has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Balboa wants to stand and escape but Douglas is having none of it.
Douglas pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Balboa is keeping the position for now.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Douglas throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Balboa works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
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!
Douglas throws a strike but Balboa rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Balboa won't allow Douglas to sweep him here.

Douglas is working an open guard so Balboa takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
Douglas avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Balboa throws out a loose jab but Douglas uses good head movement to avoid it.
No luck for Douglas with that takedown attempt.
Balboa jabs Douglas to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Balboa scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Douglas doesn't seem bothered though.
Balboa lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Douglas backs up against the cage.
Balboa avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Douglas is trying hard to land a takedown here. Balboa sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Giovanni Balboa has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Chip Douglas.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Douglas avoids a punch combination nicely.
A shot to the liver by Balboa. Beautiful body shot.
Balboa ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Balboa throws the left hand but Douglas avoids the punch easily.
Nice defenses there by Douglas.
Horrible takedown by Douglas or perhaps it was just good defense by Balboa which made him look bad.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
The fight stays on the outside here - Balboa looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Giovanni Balboa is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

Balboa forces Douglas back against the cage and clinches.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Giovanni Balboa dominated that second 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. 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.

Balboa throws an off balance right hand

and Douglas counters by clinching up.
Balboa throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.

Douglas pulls Balboa into guard.
Balboa stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Douglas swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Balboa postures up in Douglas's guard and throws a big left but Douglas blocks it.
Balboa might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.

Douglas looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Balboa passes into half guard.
Douglas tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.
Balboa missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Balboa trying to mount his opponent but Douglas defends it.
Douglas is looking for a sweep. Balboa is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

Balboa escapes and gets back to his feet.
Balboa is looking to clinch but Douglas is avoiding it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Balboa throws a series of punches but Douglas moves out of range.
Douglas moves away from the strike by Balboa.
A combination from Balboa does no damage.
Balboa is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Balboa works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Douglas tries to clinch up.

Balboa closes the distance and pushes Douglas back into the cage.
Nice body punch from Balboa.

Douglas has hold of one of Balboa's legs. Balboa is fighting the takedown attempt but Douglas gets the trip and lands the takedown into guard.
Douglas takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Douglas trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Balboa has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Balboa looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
This has been an exciting period of action!
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Balboa is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Douglas with a flurry of punches that miss.
Balboa pulls Douglas in close to prevent any damage.

We're going to have a standup here because Giovanni Balboa wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Balboa's corner calls for a 1-2. Balboa obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Balboa tries to clinch but fails miserably

and Douglas counters by clinching up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Douglas tries for a takedown but Balboa manages to get underhooks.
Balboa throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Douglass head.
Douglas goes for a takedown attempt but Balboa pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Douglas has his takedown stuffed
and Balboa counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Giovanni Balboa has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Chip Douglas.
Balboa scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Douglas doesn't seem bothered though.
Douglas drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Balboa tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Balboa lands a nice looking body shot.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Balboa tries to close the distance and clinch up but Douglas swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Balboa tries to clinch but Douglas is having none of it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Balboa connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Balboa thows a body shot but no joy.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Douglas is trying to pull guard but Balboa has him pressed against the cage.
Balboa lands an uppercut.
Balboa lands a left hand that snaps the head of Douglas backwards.
Balboa digs a right hand underneath Douglas's ribcage. Douglas let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Balboa lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Douglas backwards.
Balboa lands an uppercut.
A nice left hand lands by Balboa.

Douglas is rocked!
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Balboa lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Douglas is still on wobbly legs! Can Balboa finish him?
Balboa lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Balboa fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Balboa working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.

And that's the end of the fight!
Giovanni Balboa showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Balboa has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 James Atkins scores the fight 29:28
Judge Richard Clark scores the fight 29:28
Judge Daniel Bishop scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Giovanni Balboa!
Our winner, Giovanni Balboa, made sure he spent some time buttering up the crowd during his post fight interview, which will no doubt bring him a few more fans.