PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Warren Wong (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Islam Balov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Warren Wong has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Wong
vs
Balov

186 cm
18
151 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

177 cm
18
155 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Warren Wong!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Islam Balov!
The judges for this bout are Konstantin Menshow, Ivan Kurochkin and Aleksandr Martynov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Balov dives in for a single leg takedown but Wong sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Wong half committed to a counter leg kick.
Wong tries to clinch up.
Balov looks like he wants to counter punch here.

Wong rushes Balov and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Wong tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Balov just stands there and leans against the cage.
Balov displaying some good clinch control by pressing Wong up against the cage.
Wong trying to control the position but instead, Balov has worked for underhooks and has pushed Wong into the cage.
Wong letting Balov take a breather here.
Wong is trying to pull guard but Balov has him pressed against the cage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Wong fails to pull the fight into his guard.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Warren Wong. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Balov blocks an elbow strike.

Balov breaks the clinch.

Balov rushes Wong and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

Balov escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Balov looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Wong!
Balov working away.
Balov wants to lay and pray for a moment but Wong keeps working.
Wong prevents Balov from improving position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
A lull in the action here as Balov stalls from top position.
Balov in side control lands a decent elbow.
Balov prevents Wong from escaping the position.
Balov creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
Balov slows the pace down.
Balov trying to control the action but Wong is working from the bottom.
Wong really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wong is pushing Balov's head away, looking to escape. Balov manages to hold on to the position though.

Balov is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Wong knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Wong is trying to buck Balov off.
Wong tries to buck Balov off but Balov is having none of it.
Wong struggling a bit here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Balov is looking to take a break and control but Wong is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Wong is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
Wong is trying to control but can't.
Balov lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Wong wants to improve his position but Balov is controlling well.
Wong is trying to control but can't.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

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.

Balov is working for a kimura but Wong is defending it quite comfortably.
Wong wants to stand back up but Balov manages to pass into side control.
Wong wants to control but Balov postures up.
Balov tries to get to his feet but he's trapped momentarily.
Wong is looking for a sweep.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Balov tries to get to his feet but Wong is in the middle of advancing position himself and ends up with Balov in his guard.
Balov is in close to Wong's body, working some short punches and elbows.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Islam Balov dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Wong avoids the head kick by Balov.
Balov shoots in for a takedown but Wong shows good takedown defense.
Wong looks to score with a jab to the body but Balov is just out of range.
Balov shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Wong sprawls well. Wong wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Balov gets slowly back to his feet.

Balov drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Balov postures up.
Balov wants to stand but Wong is controlling his posture from full guard.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Wong is on top in guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Balov is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Wong preventing the sweep.
Balov is breathing heavily.
Islam Balov has got the better of the ground game so far.
Balov wants to control the position but Wong says "no thanks buddy" and passes to half guard.

Wong 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.

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.
Wong seems to have lost interest with the ground game and is thinking about standing back up.

Wong seems to be working for a kimura but Balov defends the submission attempt.
Balov tries to get to full guard but Wong has control of the leg.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Wong wants to lay and pray for a moment but Balov keeps working.
Balov is trying to get back to full guard.
Wong controlling the action here.
Wong is thwarting Balov's attempts to control the position.
It looks like Wong is going to stand back up.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Wong tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Wong will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Warren Wong is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Wong throws a head kick that misses.
A head kick by Balov misses
and Wong counters with a left and a right that stings Balov.
Wong throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Balov lands with a shot to the body.
A head kick misses from Wong.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Wong is trying hard to land a takedown here. Balov sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Wong avoids a kick to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Warren Wong dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Balov displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Wong.
Balov is looking to clinch but Wong is avoiding it.
Wong seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.

Balov has managed to clinch.
Wong tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Balov just stands there and leans against the cage.

Balov manages to break the clinch.
Wong misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Warren Wong. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Balov rushes Wong and presses him up against the cage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Wong tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.

Balov gets control of Wong's arms and successfully pulls guard. Balov will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Wong has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Balov is proving hard to escape from.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Balov managing to control the position.
Wong preventing the sweep.
Balov is pulling down on Wong's head. It's preventing any offense from Wong, at least for the moment.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

Wong closes the distance and pushes Balov back into the cage.
Balov has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Wong after a bit of a struggle.

Balov manages to break the clinch.
Balov fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Balov just manages to avoid a counter high kick fromWong.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Balov changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Wong tries to avoid it but Balov manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Wong to the ground. Wong escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Balov takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Balov on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Wong throws a head kick but Balov moves out of range.
Wong throws a head kick that misses.
A head kick misses from Balov.
Wong shoots for a double leg takedown but Balov sprawls well. He's pushed Wong's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Balov blocks a head kick by Wong.
Balov throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Wong went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Wong enables Balov to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Wong manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Balov has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Wong is proving hard to escape from.
Wong wants to get back to his feet but Balov is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wong throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.
Balov trying to control but Wong is working from the bottom.
Wong keeping full guard, as Balov tries to pass.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Balov takes a decent strike to the side of the head.
Balov must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Wong keeping full guard, as Balov tries to pass.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Balov avoids the head kick by Wong.
Wong pulls out of a head kick attempt.

And that's the end of the fight!
Islam Balov comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Balov has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Konstantin Menshow scores the fight 28:29
Judge Ivan Kurochkin scores the fight 28:29
Judge Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Islam Balov!