PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Don Stewart (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ferenz Balas (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Don Stewart is staring across the cage at his opponent, tweaking his nipples... Tweaking his own nipples that is.

Stewart
vs
Balas

183 cm
16
185 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

176 cm
22
177 lbs
7 - 2 - 1

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Good chin

Decent wrestler
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Don Stewart!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 2 - 1, fighting out of New York, Ferenz Balas!
The judges for this bout are Bruno Lombardi, Columbo Gatti and Chad Campbell.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Balas closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Stewart did well to prevent Balas getting side control.
Stewart trying to control here.

Balas is looking for a kimura here.

Balas is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Stewart makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Stewart.
Balas wants to pass the guard but Stewart is keeping the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Stewart on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Stewart tries to get out of the position.
Stewart keeping moving, preventing Balas from controlling successfully.

Balas is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Balas looking to pass the guard.
Stewart looking for a sweep. Not yet Stewart, not yet.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Stewart is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Balas defends well.

Balas drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Balas jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Stewart keeping moving, preventing Balas from controlling successfully.

Balas drops back looking for a leg! Stewart is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Stewart manages to kick Balas off! Balas jumps back into Stewart's guard.
Balas wants to pass the guard but Stewart is keeping the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.

Balas avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Balas tries to free his leg and advance position but Stewart is retaining full guard.
Stewart is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Balas wants to get back to full guard.
Stewart not landing any meaningful shots this time.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stewart with the ground and pound but Balas uses the opportunity to regain guard.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Stewart's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Stewart looking to sit in guard and control but Balas gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Balas looking to sit in guard and control but Stewart gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Stewart trying to control but Balas is working from the bottom.
Stewart throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Balas works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Stewart trying to control the position from guard on top but Balas is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stewart is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Balas is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Stewart preventing the sweep.
Stewart advances position into side control!
Stewart sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Balas is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Stewart throws a strike aimed at the side of Balas's head but Balas avoids it well.
Stewart misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Stewart wants to control but Balas is keeping him busy.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Ferenz Balas will probably get the nod.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Stewart scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Stewart is looking to take a break and control but Balas is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Stewart working the ground and pound.
Stewart trying to control the position but Balas is working away.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Stewart working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.
Don Stewart overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Stewart swings around for an armbar but Balas sees it coming a mile off and turns beautifully into Stewart's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Balas has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Stewart is proving hard to escape from.

Balas drops back looking for a leg! Stewart is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Stewart manages to kick Balas off! Balas jumps back into Stewart's guard.

Balas thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Stewart tries to land a sweep but no joy.

Stewart looks to be working for a triangle here. Oh, it looks like he might have it! Balas has picked Stewart up and slammed him! Stewart can't keep hold of the triangle and Balas manages to pass to side control!
Stewart is looking for a sweep.

Balas is trying to get an arm triangle but Stewart is defending well.

Balas tries for a kimura but Stewart is defending well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Stewart struggling a bit here.
Balas really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Stewart. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

Balas is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Stewart is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Stewart is looking to regain half guard here but Balas keeps moving and retains side control.
Stewart is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Balas off and has taken his back!

Stewart looking to finish the fight with a rear naked choke. Balas is controlling Stewart 's left arm and he spins nicely into guard.

Balas thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Balas thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Balas sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Stewart's guard.
Balas is trying to control the action in half guard but Stewart is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Stewart trying to control here.

Balas looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Stewart manages to get to full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Balas controlling from the top position.

Stewart is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Balas is aware though and is defending well.
Stewart keeping full guard, as Balas tries to pass.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

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

Balas preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
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 Don Stewart will probably get the nod.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Balas avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Balas follows through with a counter body kick but it doesn't land.
Balas displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Stewart throws out the jab.

Stewart closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Balas to the mat! Balas manages to get full guard.
Stewart looking to sit in guard and control but Balas gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Balas stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Stewart swivels though and keeps the full guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Balas drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Balas jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.

Stewart is looking for a triangle but Balas pushes his legs off easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Balas wants to pass the guard but Stewart is keeping the position.
Stewart controls Balas momentarily but Balas frees himself.
Balas trying to stand up but can't free himself from Stewart's guard.
Balas preventing the sweep.

Balas drops back, looking for a kneebar! Stewart looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Stewart looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Stewart!

Balas trying to remain calm as Stewart controls from the top position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Balas is positioning himself to get back to half guard.

Stewart is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Balas is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Stewart working the ground and pound.
Balas is trying to improve his position.
Stewart trying to control the position but Balas is working away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Balas is looking for a sweep.
Stewart is looking to take a break and control but Balas is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Stewart taking a breather here.
Stewart is looking to take a break and control but Balas is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Stewart scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Balas to see if he's OK.
Balas is looking for a sweep.
Stewart misses with an attempted head punch from side control.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Stewart looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Balas!
Balas felt the need to train up his defensive grappling in the buildup to the fight. Presumably he was expecting to be in a difficult position like this, so let's see if he can get out of it.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Stewart misses with an attempted head punch from side control.

And that's the end of the fight!
Don Stewart showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Stewart has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Bruno Lombardi scores the fight 30:27
Judge Columbo Gatti scores the fight 29:28
Judge Chad Campbell scores the fight 30:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Don Stewart!
Our winner, Don Stewart, 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.