PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Finn Balor (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Danny White (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Balor's entrance music is Monster. A fine choice. Well, the cameraman is lingering on a pretty young lady for a bit too long there. Keep your eyes on the prize buddy or you'll miss the fighter intros!

Balor
vs
White

172 cm
36
152 lbs
24 - 11 - 1

175 cm
29
151 lbs
16 - 8 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Olympic wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Spartan Nutrition

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 24 - 11 - 1, fighting out of Helsinki, Finn Balor!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 16 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Danny White!
The judges for this bout are Josh West, Micheangelo Fripello and Colin Fray.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Balor throws a sloppy head kick and White moves out of range easily.
A telegraphed right hand from White misses the target.
Balor throws a combination but it was largely blocked by White.
Balor jabs. That one connects to the head of his opponent.
A slapping leg kick lands for Balor.
Balor throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Balor misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
White has his takedown stuffed
and Balor cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Balor throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
White takes a shot to the body in his stride.
We've been hearing reports that Balor has been drilling takedowns in recent sessions so let's see if that has an impact on the result of this fight.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
White tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Balor manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Balor catches White with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
White doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
We've been informed that White has been sparring a lot of Muay Thai in the buildup to this fight so let's see if that has an impact on the result.

That's one minute gone in the round.
White scores with a crisp jab that stopped Balor in his tracks.
Balor thows a left - swing and a miss!
White fails with an attempt to clinch.
Balor misses with a body shot.
Balor throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Balor with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
A leg kick checked by Balor.
Balor connects with a leg kick. White looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Crunch! Balor slams his shin into White's torso.
Balor throws a leg kick which misses White's front leg but catches the back leg as White tries to avoid it.
Finn Balor is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
White keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Balor.
Balor keeps White at a distance using the push kick.

White takes the fight into the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Balor throws a punch but it's blocked by White.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Balor working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Balor lands a left hand.
Balor tries to throw a body punch but White avoids it by throwing Balor back against the cage.

White breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Balor throws a chopping leg kick but White manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Balor fakes high and swings low for a body shot but White manages to avoid it.

White has closed the distance and engaged Balor in a clinch.
Good body shot from Balor.
A right hand to the body from Balor.
White misses with an elbow over the top.
A short body shot lands from Balor as the two fighters clinch.
White blocks a body shot from Balor.
White lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Balor lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down White.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Balor misses with a punch on the inside.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Balor.
Balor tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Balor.
Balor misses with a body punch.
Balor misses with a short punch on the inside.
White tries a knee to the head but Balor blocks it.
White tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Balor smiles and moves away.
White checks a low kick from Balor.
A low kick from White is predictable there
and Balor counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
White dives in and grabs Balor's left leg, looking for a takedown. Balor pushes down on White's head and hops out.
Finn Balor has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Danny White.
No luck for White with that takedown attempt.
Nice body punch from Balor.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nice defenses there by Balor.
White throws a leg kick but Balor checks it.
White throws a left and a right that both miss
and Balor counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Balor goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
White tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Balor lunges at White with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by White's hand.
Balor misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from White.
Finn Balor seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Balor feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to White's calf.
Balor scores with a leg kick.
Balor misses with a leg kick.
Balor sets himself, and White steps forward looking for the clinch! Balor avoids it this time.
White shoots and misses
and Balor makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Balor is looking to wear down White with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
White takes a shot to the body in his stride.

White throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Balor was covering up waiting for the punch and White finishes the takedown easily into guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Finn Balor dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Balor lands a high kick!
White shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
White keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
White appears to be waiting to throw a counter punch to the body.
White takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Balor ducks down and throws a hook to the body but White moves away.
White tries to counter with a clinch but Balor shakes him off and moves away.
White throws an overhand right that lands on Balor's shoulder, as Balor tries to avoid the shot.
Balor is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that White can do to turn this around?
Balor lands a jab to White's midsection.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Balor lands a glancing blow to the side of White's head.

White clinches with his opponent.
Balor gets through White's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Balor struggles to land a body shot inside as White controls his hands.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Balor misses with a hook to the ribs.
A nice left hand lands by Balor.
Balor can't find room to land a body shot as White controls the action.
Balor tries to work over White's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
White fails to pull the fight into his guard.
White is looking to break free of the clinch but Balor has double underhooks.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Balor.
Balor misses with a punch on the inside.
Balor lands a right hand.
White prevents a body shot from Balor.

White pulls guard successfully.
White utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Balor trying to control the position from guard on top but White is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Balor preventing the sweep.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Balor throws a big elbow that misses.
Balor wants to control from the top but White keeps moving.

White throws his legs up looking to secure a triangle. Oh, that looks pretty tight, I gotta say! Balor escapes and throws White's legs to the side, diving into side control!
Balor controls the position from side control.
Check out the look on Balor's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
Balor 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.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Balor trying to control the position but White is working away.
White is trying to improve his position.
White sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.

Balor wants to work for an arm triangle but White is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Balor is figuring out what he wants to do next.
White on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Ground and pound from Balor.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Balor seems to be looking for submissions.
White blocking the ground and pound attempt from Balor.
White wants to get back to full guard.
White keeps trying to improve his position.
Balor takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
White is trying to get back to full guard.
Balor is keen to just control but White is a slippery customer.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Finn Balor dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

White lands a right hook to the body.
Balor throws a body kick that sends a sickening thudding noise reverberating around the arena.
White doesn't manage to clinch there - Balor circles away.
Balor throws a quick counter head kick but White was just out of range.
Danny White is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Balor slaps away a takedown attempt from White, before circling back to the center of the mat.
It appears Balor was looking to counter with a kick there.
Finn Balor is winning the standup battle so far.
Balor dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Balor steps to the side to avoid the strikes from White.
Balor is looking to counter with a shot to the body.
Balor tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but White was well out of range. Poor timing from Balor.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
White swings widly with a right hand
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Balor tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Balor misses with an uppercut.
Balor dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on White. That did some damage!

That's one minute gone in the round.

White shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.

White looking to improve position, pressing down on Balor's thigh with his hand. Balor seems to be working to lock up a guilotine though... is White paying attention? Apparently not! He's locked it up tight! White's face has turned purple! Will he tap? Will he! YES! He's tapped! Balor picked his opening and made it count! Great finish!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:26 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Guillotine). Finn Balor!
Finn Balor took to the mic after the fight and begged the organizational hierarchy for a shot at the title.
Danny White was interviewed post fight and said 'No worries. I'm confident this fight will be ruled a 'no-contest' after my opponent here tests positive for drugs, once again.'.