PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Bam Margera (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jami Balkan (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Margera comes to the cage accompanied by Clutch - The Regulator. 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?

Margera
vs
Balkan

180 cm
29
160 lbs
22 - 12 - 1

177 cm
28
162 lbs
17 - 8 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Excellent grappler
World class boxer
Granite chin

Hellbent
Fury Nutrition Inc.

Fury Nutrition Inc.
Perkele!

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 22 - 12 - 1, fighting out of Montreal, Bam Margera!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 17 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Jami Balkan!
The judges for this bout are Yves DeLean, Trevor Gratis and Alec Ball.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Margera throws a half hearted mid kick.
Balkan is clearly trying to counter these attacks from Margera with a body shot.
A head kick misses from Margera.
Balkan swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
Jab, jab by Balkan - just one landing.
Margera scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Margera lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Margera scores with a nice head shot.

It looks like Jami Balkan has been cut.
Balkan throws a shot to the body.
Margera has been working on his boxing with his coaches at DJs Locker in the buildup to the fight.
Margera wants to slow Balkan down by chopping away at his legs.
Margera tries to clinch there but Balkan circles away.
Balkan changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Balkan throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Balkan misses with an uppercut. Margera saw that one coming.
Margera throws a sloppy head kick and Balkan moves out of range easily.
Balkan replies with a solid counter kick to the body but Margera blocks it well.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Margera takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Margera throws a poor cross that misses
and Balkan counters with a series of strikes. Margera will be more careful next time no doubt.
Balkan scores with a jab to the body.
Margera moves out of range of the body kick from Balkan.
Margera lands a jab to the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Balkan moves out of range of the leg kick from Margera.
A slapping leg kick lands for Margera.
Margera misses with a body kick.
Margera misses with an attempted mid kick.
Balkan looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Balkan throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Margera keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Balkan lands a nice looking body kick.
Balkan throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Margera tries to clinch up
and Balkan counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Margera fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Balkan manages to avoid it.
Balkan swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Balkan just misses with a punch to the body.
Balkan avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Margera scores with a nice right hand.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Balkan misses with a wild body shot.
Margera throws a leg kick that is checked
and Balkan counters with a thumping low kick.

Balkan clinches up against the cage.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Balkan lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Margera has a couple of punches blocked by Balkan.
Margera blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Balkan blocks the elbow strike.
Margera lands a nice elbow.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Margera.
Balkan swings wildly with an uppercut but Margera uses good head movement to avoid it.

Balkan jumps into guard, dragging Margera to the mat.
Balkan keeping moving, preventing Margera from controlling successfully.

Balkan has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Margera can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Balkan is pulling down on Margera's head. It's preventing any offense from Margera, at least for the moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Margera engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Margera tries to free his leg and advance position but Balkan is retaining full guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Margera accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Balkan is pulling down on Margera's head to control his posture.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
A low kick from Balkan misses
and Margera counters with a nice body kick.
Margera connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Balkan's hands.
Balkan bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.
Margera misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Balkan counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Balkan circles away from the clinch attempt.
Balkan pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Margera scores with a head kick.
Margera has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Margera there as he acknowledges the shot.
Balkan takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Balkan throws a low kick but Margera avoids it.
Balkan lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Margera scores with a nice body kick.
A nice leg kick lands there from Balkan.
Balkan lands with a hook. Margera tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jami Balkan dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Jami Balkan's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Balkan tries to land a leg kick but Margera saw it coming and moves away.
A telegraphed right hand from Margera misses the target.
Balkan has been working his punching technique in the buildup to the fight and it appears to be paying off.
Margera throws a low kick but it's checked well by Balkan.
Balkan lands a leg kick that knocks Margera off balance momentarily.
Margera checks the leg kick nicely there.
Margera throws a nice outside leg kick.
A punch combination from Balkan misses.
Balkan checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Margera throws a low kick, looking for Balkan's leg but Balkan calmly moves out of range.
Margera throws a low kick, looking for Balkan's leg but Balkan calmly moves out of range.
Margera moves forwards but Balkan connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Balkan has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Balkan takes one to the chin there.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Balkan throws a chopping leg kick but Margera manages to avoid taking any serious damage.

Margera forces Balkan back against the cage and clinches.
Balkan goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Margera works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Margera throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Balkans head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Margera lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Balkan or not.

Balkan drags the fight down to the ground.
Margera trying to control the position from guard on top but Balkan is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Margera has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Margera being controlled here momentarily.
Margera makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Margera throws a big right hand that misses.
Margera postures up.
Margera throws a big elbow that misses.
Margera is fighting to break Balkan's control of his arms but Balkan is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Margera tries to stand but Balkan is controlling from the bottom.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Margera is looking to clinch.
Margera misses with an attempted mid kick.
Balkan counters with a body kick.
Margera tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Balkan misses with a shot to the body
and Margera counters with a head kick.
Margera throws a sloppy head kick and Balkan moves out of range easily.
Balkan throws a nice inside leg kick.
Margera moves in looking to clinch but Balkan pushes him off.
Balkan throws a low kick, looking for Margera's leg but Margera calmly moves out of range.
Margera shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
A good leg kick by Margera.
Balkan misses the shot to the body.
Balkan lands a nice looking kick to the body. Margera takes a step back to recover.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Margera checks the leg kick nicely there.
Margera has a nice red mark on his side after a thudding body kick by Balkan.
Balkan throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Margera with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Balkan to score with a decent uppercut.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Margera lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Balkan has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Balkan and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Balkan lands with a nice body kick.
Balkan misses with a low kick.
Margera tries a head kick but it misses.
An inside leg kick from Balkan misses.
A nice inside leg kick there by Balkan. That's going to slow Margera down.

Balkan drives through and clinches with Margera against the cage.
Balkan misses with a punch on the inside.
Balkan lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Balkan blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Margera tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Margera trying to land knees to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Margera blocking some punches.
Balkan fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Balkan is trying to pull guard but Margera turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.

Balkan's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Margera scores with a punch to the head.
Jami Balkan seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Margera shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Balkan missing with a left hand there. Margera was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Margera looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Margera staying out of range there.
Margera wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
Margera lands with a kick to the temple. Balkan shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"
Margera fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Balkan has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Balkan throws a right hand that misses

and Margera counters by clinching up.
A head punch on the inside from Balkan fails to land.
Margera swings wildly with an uppercut but Balkan uses good head movement to avoid it.
Margera makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Balkan tries to work over Margera's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Jami Balkan will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The cut man is working on Jami Balkan's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

The fight stays on the outside here - Margera looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Margera misses with a head kick.
Margera lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Balkan wants to land a leg kick but Margera is out of range.
Margera throws a push kick but Balkan slaps the foot to one side.
Decent striking displayed by Balkan there.
Margera feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Balkan's calf.
Balkan avoids the head kick by Margera.
Balkan swings for the body but Margera moves out of range.
Margera avoids the body shot from Balkan.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Margera pushes Balkan away with a front kick.
Balkan throws a leg kick but Margera sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Margera staying out of range there.
Margera is looking to counter the offense by Balkan and move into the clinch.
Margera is looking to clinch.
As Margera backs off Balkan throws a huge counter combo but Margera manages to avoid it all.
Margera tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Balkan counters with a good, hard body kick but Margera shrugs it off.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Margera tries to clinch up but Balkan circles away and keeps his distance.
A nice leg kick lands there from Margera.
Balkan lands with an uppercut that bounces Margera off the cage and back into range.
A looping hook to the body misses from Balkan. Margera does a little dance to reset his feet.
Balkan fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Margera looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Balkan throws a low kick but Margera moves out of range easily.
Balkan rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Margera counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Margera throws a head kick but Balkan moves out of range.
Balkan throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Balkan throws a nice inside leg kick.
Margera lands with a slapping head kick.
Balkan swats away the attempt to clinch by Margera.
A big left from Balkan misses.
Balkan will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Margera throws a jab but it's blocked by Balkan.
Balkan scoring well with a low kick there.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Balkan blocks a jab.
A jab from Margera misses.
Balkan throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Balkan misses with a body shot.
A chopping leg kick lands by Margera.
Margera scoring well with a low kick there.
Margera tries to clinch there but Balkan circles away.
Balkan throws a low kick but Margera avoids it.
Balkan scores with a hook.
A clash of legs there as Margera blocks the low kick.
Some bone on bone action there as Balkan checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Balkan looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Margera tries to land a front kick but Balkan steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Margera throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Balkan on the side of the head.
Bam Margera has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Balkan's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Balkan avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Margera will be looking to protect his midsection after taking some solid kicks to the body.
Nice uppercut there from Balkan.
Margera throws a head kick that misses.
Margera tries to clinch there but Balkan circles away.
Balkan lands a slapping body shot.
Margera lands a leg kick that knocks Balkan off balance momentarily.
Balkan walks into a jab.
Balkan lands a slapping body shot.
Balkan throws a quick inside leg kick.
Balkan lands with a nice body punch.
Margera blocks a leg kick.
Margera ducks right into an uppercut from Balkan.
Margera throws a body punch but Balkan moves out of range.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Balkan throws a quick inside leg kick.
Balkan throws a looping overhand right but Margera ducks down to avoid it.
Margera feinted there with a counter leg kick.
Balkan keeps the fight on the outside.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Margera misses with a low kick.
Margera moves out of range of the body kick from Balkan.
Margera misses with a few strikes there.
Margera tries a head kick but it misses.
Margera moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Margera throws a leg kick
and Balkan counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Margera thinking.
Margera throws a big shot that misses.
Margera throws a nice head kick!
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Balkan lands with a thumping leg kick.
Balkan throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Margera stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Margera is looking to score with low kicks.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Balkan, right into the meat.
Margera tries to clinch but Balkan is having none of it.
Margera takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Margera takes one to the side of the head.

And that's the end of the fight!
Jami Balkan comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Balkan winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Yves DeLean scores the fight 28:30
Judge Trevor Gratis scores the fight 28:29
Judge Alec Ball scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Jami Balkan!
An out of breath Jami Balkan thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.