PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Pete Cherry (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Triston Baal (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Cherry
vs
Baal

194 cm
23
265 lbs
8 - 1 - 0

190 cm
23
270 lbs
8 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Experienced

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
Solid chin

TFP Graphics
Crippler's Corner

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 8 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Pete Cherry!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Triston Baal!
The judges for this bout are Gwen Towbar, Alan Glass and Chris Downing.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Cherry keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Cherry shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Baal pinned against the cage. Baal gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Baal looks to land a left hand but Cherry moved out of range nicely.
Baal doesn't manage to clinch there - Cherry circles away.
Baal takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Cherry throws the left hand but Baal avoids the punch easily.
Cherry scores with a three punch combo!
Cherry scores with a hook to the body. Baal takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Cherry throws out a powerful jab.
Baal wants to clinch up but Cherry keeps it at a distance.
Baal misses with a straight right.
Cherry throws a series of punches but Baal moves out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Baal takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Baal misses with a body punch
and Baal takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
A combination from Cherry does no damage.
Cherry misses with a jab, cross combination.
Nice takedown defense from Baal. No joy for Cherry on that attempt.
Baal looks to land a right hand but Cherry moved out of range.
Cherry cracks Baal with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Cherry circles away from the clinch attempt
and Cherry counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Pete Cherry seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Baal tries to clinch but Cherry moves away
enabling Cherry to counter with a crisp jab.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Cherry shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Cherry prevents Baal from improving his position.
Baal is not content to let Cherry control the position.
Baal punching from the bottom.
Baal is looking to improve his position.
Cherry seems to have lost interest with the ground game and is thinking about standing back up.

Cherry wants to work for an arm triangle but Baal is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Baal is staying active underneath Cherry, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Baal won't allow Cherry to pass to mount.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Horrible takedown by Cherry or perhaps it was just good defense by Baal which made him look bad.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Pete Cherry. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cherry just misses with a punch to the body.
Baal throws out a loose jab but Cherry uses good head movement to avoid it.
Baal tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Cherry fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Nice takedown defense from Baal. No joy for Cherry on that attempt.
Baal misses with an uppercut.
A right-left combo lands from Cherry.
Cherry scores with a punch to the head.
Cherry throws a lazy right hand but Baal sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cherry throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Baal throws a leg kick but Cherry sees it coming and moves out of range.
Nice takedown defense from Cherry. No joy for Baal on that attempt.

Baal shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.

Cherry bucks Baal off and manages to get back to his feet!
Baal keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Baal wants to clinch.
Baal misses with a looping left.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Pete Cherry dominated that round.
That's time! Cherry's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Cherry staying out of range there.
Cherry closes this distance looking for a takedown but Baal circles away.
Cherry ducks under a wild hook from Baal.

Cherry closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Cherry lands in his opponent's guard.
Cherry working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Baal's head.
Baal is looking to stand back up but Cherry counters by passing into half guard. Oops... bit sloppy there by Baal.
Baal regains half guard.
Baal is trying to stand.

Cherry is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Baal doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Cherry.
Baal is not content to let Cherry control the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Baal makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Baal.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Cherry stopping the sweep attempt from Baal.
Baal is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Cherry is controlling him.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Baal throws some shots to the body, keeping his opponent honest.
Cherry throwing strikes from guard but Baal blocks nicely.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Baal wants to stand up but Cherry is controlling him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fight is doing enough on the ground.
Cherry thuds his right hand into Baal's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Cherry tries for a takedown but Baal circles away easily

and Baal counters with a nice double leg into side control. Cherry won't be happy with that.
Baal is breathing heavily.
Cherry gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Cherry trying to control but Baal postures up.
Baal throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.

Baal is working for a kimura but Cherry is defending it quite comfortably.
Cherry is trying to control but can't.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Cherry looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Cherry works his way to full guard. Good work.
Baal trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Cherry utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Cherry fails with the takedown

and Baal counters by clinching up.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Pete Cherry. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Baal escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Baal tries to clinch up
and Cherry counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Cherry swats away the attempt to clinch by Baal.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Baal throws out a loose jab but Cherry uses good head movement to avoid it.
No joy there for Cherry, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Cherry with a lazy takedown attempt
and Baal counters with a stiff right hand.
Baal closes the distance but Cherry moves to the side
enabling Cherry to counter with a crisp jab.
Cherry lands a two punch combo.
The fight stays on the outside here - Baal looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Baal tries to clinch up
and Cherry counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Pete Cherry will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Baal has his takedown stuffed

so Cherry counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Cherry wants to control from the top but Baal keeps moving.
Cherry is really struggling to control Baal but he's trying to hold on to the position.
Cherry won't allow Baal to get back to his feet.
Cherry postures up in Baal's guard and throws a big left but Baal blocks it.
Baal looking to control.
Baal keeping moving, preventing Cherry from controlling successfully.

Baal manages to escape and get back to his feet.
Left hook, right uppercut from Cherry.
Cherry throws a right and a left that both miss.
Pete Cherry is winning the standup battle so far.
Baal takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Baal misses with a hook to the body
letting Cherry counter with a right hand.
Cherry scores with a hook.
Cherry with a poor takedown

and Baal counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Baal wants to pass to mount but Cherry is defending the position.
Baal wants to lay and pray for a moment but Cherry keeps working.
Cherry manages to get to full guard.
Cherry not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Cherry 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.
Baal thows a big elbow that misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Baal in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Baal in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

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

and Cherry counters with a takedown into side control.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for leaving it all in the cage!
Baal wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
Baal prevents Cherry from improving position.
Baal avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Cherry.
Baal looking for a sweep but Cherry has passed into full mount! Oh no!
Baal is looking to get to half guard.
Cherry takes Baal's back.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Cherry is working hard for the rear naked choke here.
Triston Baal has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Baal trying to control the position but Cherry manages to sink in the hooks.

Cherry looking for the choke from the back.
Cherry doesn't have the hooks in and Baal manages to turn into his guard.

Cherry has his foot on Baal's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Baal works his way back into a safe position though.
Baal must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Cherry tries to land a sweep but no joy.

Baal thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Cherry 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.
Baal in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Cherry keeping moving, preventing Baal from controlling successfully.

Cherry looking for a triangle here. Baal is fighting it but it looks tight! Cherry pulls the arm across and this one won't last much longer! Nope, Baal is tapping out - this one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:18 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle Choke). Pete Cherry!