PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Arkady Balagan (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Daiki Tanimoto (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Daiki Tanimoto told me before the fight that he's been watching a lot of DVDs so let's see if that helps him in this one! I can't wait to find out!

Balagan
vs
Tanimoto

182 cm
23
195 lbs
7 - 1 - 0

171 cm
21
192 lbs
9 - 3 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Cardio machine

BJJ Brown Belt
Lethal high kicks
Good gas tank

Kore Fight Nutrition [TG]

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Arkady Balagan!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Daiki Tanimoto!
The judges for this bout are , Frank Antenori and Timothy Bukovac.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Tanimoto throws a push kick but Balagan slaps the foot to one side.
Tanimoto misses with a head kick.
Tanimoto has been working on his striking defense in training and it's paying off as Balagan is landing a low percentage of strikes.

Balagan feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.

Tanimoto is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Balagan in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Balagan works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Tanimoto regains full guard. Nicely done.

Tanimoto is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Balagan is aware though and is defending well.
Tanimoto has momentary wrist control but Balagan slips an elbow through the middle.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Balagan working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Balagan distracts Tanimoto with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Balagan is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.

Tanimoto had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Balagan defends it easily.
Balagan controls from within his opponent's guard.
Tanimoto is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Balagan trying to control here.

Tanimoto is looking for a kimura but Balagan is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Tanimoto to get the leverage.

Tanimoto is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Balagan is just riding it out for now. Tanimoto eventually gives up the hold.
Balagan won't allow Tanimoto to pass to mount.
Balagan 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.
Balagan desperately trying to maintain half guard.

Tanimoto is trying to work for a kimura but Balagan is defending well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Tanimoto is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Balagan doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Tanimoto.

Balagan is defending against the submission attempts here by Tanimoto.
Balagan trying to hold on to Tanimoto's head to control him but Tanimoto postures up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tanimoto thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Balagan's head.

Tanimoto is working for a submission of some sort.
Tanimoto thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Balagan's head.
Tanimoto slips a nice elbow through Balagan's hands, connecting with Balagan's forehead.
The fighters are battling for position here. Balagan manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Tanimoto throws an elbow that misses. Balagan uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Tanimoto's guard. Nice move by Balagan!
Tanimoto trying to strike off his back.

Tanimoto has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Balagan can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Balagan got a little sloppy there for a moment and Tanimoto has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Balagan has managed to get both his arms back between Tanimoto's legs - danger averted.
Balagan passes Tanimoto's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Balagan scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Tanimoto flails away from the bottom but he's not doing any damage.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Tanimoto makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Tanimoto.
Balagan tries to free his leg and advance position but Tanimoto is retaining full guard.
Tanimoto wants to sweep here but Balagan controlling him for the moment.
Balagan scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Balagan will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Balagan is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Balagan won't allow Tanimoto to sweep him here.
Balagan distracts Tanimoto with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Balagan makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.

Tanimoto is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Balagan defends well.
Balagan is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Arkady Balagan will probably get the nod.
That's time! Back to the action!

Balagan changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Tanimoto looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Tanimoto manages to get back to half guard.
Balagan tries to pass the half guard into mount. Tanimoto knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.

Tanimoto looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Tanimoto is looking for a sweep. Balagan is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Tanimoto has hold of Balagan's hands but Balagan slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Balagan looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Tanimoto with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.

Balagan is working for a kimura but Tanimoto is defending it quite comfortably.

Tanimoto looking to work for a kimura 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!
Tanimoto taking some punishment here, with Balagan in his half guard.
Balagan is trying to control the action in half guard but Tanimoto is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Balagan working over Tanimoto with some ground and pound. Tanimoto looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Balagan working over Tanimoto with some ground and pound. Tanimoto looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tanimoto is not content to let Balagan control the position.
Tanimoto has hold of Balagan's hands but Balagan slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Balagan is trying to control. Tanimoto wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Balagan prevents Tanimoto from improving his position.
Tanimoto is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Balagan's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Balagan's back!
Balagan trying to control the position but Tanimoto manages to sink in the hooks.

Tanimoto working for a RNC but it's not happening just yet.
Balagan trying to control the hands but Tanimoto won't let him.
Tanimoto controlling well, preventing Balagan from escaping the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Balagan manages to reverse the position and now he's in Tanimoto's guard. Nice work there by Balagan.
Tanimoto looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Tanimoto striking off his back but it's not causing Balagan any problems.

Tanimoto looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Tanimoto looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Balagan won't allow Tanimoto to sweep him here.

Tanimoto working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Balagan doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Balagan manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Tanimoto is breathing heavily.
Balagan lands a couple of elbows.
Balagan trying to control the position from guard on top but Tanimoto is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Balagan lands a couple of decent looking shots.

Tanimoto working for a triangle but Balagan defends it easily.
Balagan distracts Tanimoto with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Tanimoto had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Balagan defends it easily.
Balagan working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Tanimoto's head.

Tanimoto throws his legs up looking to secure a triangle. Oh, that looks pretty tight, I gotta say! Balagan escapes and throws Tanimoto's legs to the side, diving into side control!
Tanimoto on the wrong end of some ground and pound.

Tanimoto is rocked!
Balagan is chipping away with strikes.
Tanimoto is still in real trouble! Can Balagan finish him?

Balagan has hold of Tanimoto's arm. He's looking for a kimura. Tanimoto seems comfortable defending it but Balagan has shifted his position slighty and is cranking on the arm! Tanimoto is real pain and he's forced to tap out! Tanimoto is disgusted with himself for not defending it better but Balagan couldn't care less - he's delighted!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:45 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). Arkady Balagan!
A victorious Arkady Balagan thanked his army of followers in his post fight interview, telling people to make sure they follow him on Twitter.
Daiki Tanimoto was interviewed post fight and said 'Proudly Supported by Team Goroshi - RVCA - Kore Fight Nutrition - Jef Li's MMA - Silent Fighting Championship'.