PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Alonso Ballard (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Wladimir Soszynski (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Soszynski has chosen godsmack i stand alone as his entrance music. Wladimir Soszynski will no doubt be looking to use his reach advantage to good effect.

Ballard
vs
Soszynski

153 cm
18
214 lbs
1 - 6 - 0

201 cm
18
205 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Experienced

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 6 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Alonso Ballard!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Wladimir Soszynski!
The judges for this bout are Ivan Kurochkin, Viktor Lagutenko and Dmitry Maklakov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ballard avoids a kick to the body.
Soszynski looks really tired already! That doesn't bode well for a good, competitive fight!

Ballard closes the distance and clinches.

Ballard has Soszynski pressed up against the cage. He's trying to work for a single leg takedown. Ballard pulls back from the cage and twists to the side, sending Soszynski tumbling to the mat - Ballard dives into Soszynski's guard.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Ballard with a nice head shot there.
Ballard controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Ballard might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Soszynski working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Ballard.
Ballard landing some decent shots from guard.
Ballard controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Soszynski is on top in guard.
Ballard is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Soszynski stopping the sweep attempt from Ballard.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Ballard is looking for a triangle but Soszynski pushes his legs off easily.
Soszynski throws a strike but Ballard rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Ballard 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.
Ballard's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Ballard stopping the sweep attempt from Soszynski.
Ballard looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Ballard throws a big right hand that misses.
Ballard landing some decent shots from guard.
Ballard is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Ballard has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Ballard accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Ballard slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Alonso Ballard.
Ballard slips a jab and a cross from Soszynski.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Ballard drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.

Ballard stands up.
Soszynski moves in looking to clinch but Ballard pushes him off.
Ballard tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Soszynski fails with an attempt to clinch.
Ballard could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Soszynski wants to clinch up but Ballard keeps it at a distance.
Soszynski dodges the punch combination from Ballard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Soszynski swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Ballard finishes the little exchange by landing a big kick to the body.
Soszynski wants to clinch up but Ballard keeps it at a distance.
Soszynski misses with a series of wild punches.

Soszynski tries to sprawl but Ballard drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Ballard lands strikes from half guard.
Soszynski taking some punishment here, with Ballard in his half guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Nice strikes from Ballard there.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Ballard decides he's had enough of the ground and stands up.

Ballard moves into the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Alonso Ballard dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Ballard rushes Soszynski and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

Ballard jumps into guard, dragging Soszynski to the mat.
Soszynski throws a strike but Ballard rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Ballard lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Ballard scoring with some ground and pound.
Ballard is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Soszynski looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Ballard sitting in guard here, content to control.
Alonso Ballard overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Soszynski wants to stand and escape but Ballard is having none of it.
Ballard sitting in guard, not really doing much.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Ballard content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ballard lands a couple of digs.
Soszynski is breathing heavily.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Ballard's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Ballard is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Ballard postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

Ballard got a little sloppy there for a moment and Soszynski has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Ballard has managed to get both his arms back between Soszynski's legs - danger averted.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Ballard is working Soszynski over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Ballard postures up and lands a big shot to Soszynski's brow.
Ballard working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Soszynski's head.
Ballard is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Ballard 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.
Soszynski looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ballard looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Ballard is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Ballard not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
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!

Alonso Ballard has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.

Ballard scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Ballard controlling from side mount.
Ballard grinds an elbow into Soszynski's temple.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Soszynski taking punishment in the form of punches.
Soszynski is trying to get back to his feet.
Ballard controls the position from side control.
Soszynski is looking for a sweep.
Soszynski takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Ballard in side control lands a decent elbow.
A lull in the action here as Ballard stalls from top position.
Soszynski is working to avoid the ground and pound but Ballard connects with a decent elbow.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.
Soszynski is looking to reverse the position.
Ballard controls the position.
Ballard working the ground and pound from side control.
Soszynski is letting Ballard control him for a moment.
Ballard working the head and body with strikes.
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!
Ballard works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
Ballard grinds an elbow into Soszynski's temple.
Soszynski is trying to buck Ballard off.
Ballard grinds an elbow into Soszynski's temple.
Ballard scores with punches from side control.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Ballard is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.
Ballard cracks Soszynski with a big elbow.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Alonso Ballard dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. 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.

Ballard is looking to take this fight into the clinch.

Soszynski dives in and scores a takedown into Ballard's guard.
Ballard pulls Soszynski in to control the position.

Ballard is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Ballard has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Soszynski takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Alonso Ballard has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Soszynski throws a sloppy head kick

and Ballard counters by clinching up.
Ballard is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Soszynski gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.

Ballard gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, Soszynski regains guard.
Ballard cracks Soszynski with a solid left hand.
Soszynski wants to stand up but Ballard is controlling him.
Soszynski being controlled here, momentarily.

Ballard stands up and waves to Soszynski to follow him.
Soszynski doesn't manage to clinch there - Ballard circles away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Ballard pushes Soszynski up against the cage in a clinch.
Ballard stalling in the clinch.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Ballard has Soszynski pressed up against the cage. He's trying to work for a single leg takedown. Ballard pulls back from the cage and twists to the side, sending Soszynski tumbling to the mat - Ballard dives into Soszynski's guard.
Ballard with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Ballard postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Soszynski trying to strike from the bottom but really, it's not the best position to be doing that from!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ballard scoring with punches to the head and body.
Soszynski looking for a sweep. Not yet Soszynski, not yet.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Ballard is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Soszynski wants to stand and escape but Ballard is having none of it.
Ballard makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.

Soszynski has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Ballard can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Ballard scoring with some ground and pound.
Ballard connects with a couple of short punches.
Ballard throwing strikes but missing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Soszynski is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Ballard is controlling him.
Ballard postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Ballard working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Soszynski's head.
Ballard not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Ballard postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Ballard controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Ballard working some strikes from top position.
Wladimir Soszynski has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Alonso Ballard is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

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

And that's the end of the fight!
Alonso Ballard showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Ballard, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Ivan Kurochkin scores the fight 30:27
Judge Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight 30:27
Judge Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Alonso Ballard!