PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Harry Balls (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Gaku Nakanishi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Balls
vs
Nakanishi

213 cm
25
275 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

188 cm
25
269 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Good kicks
Self confident

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Harry Balls!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Gaku Nakanishi!
The judges for this bout are Sandra Marshall, Bart Greer and Peter Branson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Balls tries to clinch but Nakanishi is having none of it.
Balls throws a leg kick but Nakanishi moved away.
Balls throws a body shot but no joy.

Balls closes the distance and pushes Nakanishi back into the cage.
Balls tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Nakanishi wants a takedown but no success here.
Balls tries to work over Nakanishi's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Balls doesn't land with the attempted body shot.

Nakanishi is working on a single leg takedown against the cage. Balls can't fight it off and eventually Nakanishi manages to take the fight to the floor. Balls looks annoyed but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Nakanishi won't allow Balls to get back to his feet.
Balls has improved his flexibility recently so we will have to see if he can use that to his advantage.
Nakanishi lands a couple of decent looking shots.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Balls not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Balls wants to stand but Nakanishi is controlling the position.
Nakanishi trying to control but Balls is working from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nakanishi prevents Balls from getting back to his feet.

Balls is scooting his butt against the cage and has managed to get back to his feet. Nakanishi presses him back against the cage, presumably looking to take the fight back to the mat.
Balls holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Balls throws a head punch that misses.
Nakanishi wants a takedown but no success here.
Nakanishi is trying to stall.
The referee calls for Nakanishi to work.
Nakanishi stalls.
Nakanishi blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Nakanishi stalling in the clinch.
Balls stalling against the cage.
Balls can't find room to land a body shot as Nakanishi controls the action.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nakanishi is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Balls is defending well.
Harry Balls has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Gaku Nakanishi.
Nakanishi is looking for a takedown.
Balls being controlled against the cage.
A head punch on the inside from Balls fails to land.
We can't be sure of the tactics at this early stage but we have heard that Nakanishi has been working on his takedowns a lot in the buildup to the fight and we can only assume he's going to look to take this to the mat.
Balls lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Still in the clinch, Balls scores with a nice short uppercut.

Nakanishi turns his hips and lands a very nice judo throw into side control!
Nakanishi looks winded!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Balls is not content to let Nakanishi control the position.
Balls wants to get back to his feet but Nakanishi drags him back down.
Balls knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Nakanishi on the ground.
Nakanishi in side control, throwing shots but Balls defends.
Balls wants to get back to his feet but Nakanishi drags him back down.
Balls wants to control but Nakanishi postures up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Balls is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Nakanishi has just dragged him back down to the mat.
Balls is looking for a sweep.
Balls is pushing Nakanishi's head away, looking to escape. Nakanishi manages to hold on to the position though.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Balls is looking to reverse the position.
Balls is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Nakanishi asserts his dominance and retains side control.
Balls is looking for a sweep.
Balls avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Nakanishi.
Balls on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Balls tries to get out of the position.
Balls takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Nakanishi wants to lay and pray for a moment but Balls keeps working.

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.
Balls wants to get back to his feet but Nakanishi drags him back down.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Balls tries to clinch but Nakanishi is having none of it.
Balls wants to clinch up but Nakanishi keeps it at a distance.

Nakanishi shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Balls is looking to stand back up but Nakanishi counters by passing into half guard. Oops... bit sloppy there by Balls.

Nakanishi sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Balls defending well though.
Nakanishi stops Balls from getting back to his feet.
Nakanishi is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Balls is trying to stand back up but Nakanishi is controlling him
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 Harry Balls will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Nakanishi 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.

Balls wriggles free and stands up.

Nakanishi shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Nakanishi showed some decent athleticism there.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Nakanishi thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Balls is trying to stand.
Nakanishi wants to lay and pray for a moment but Balls keeps working.
Nakanishi is figuring out what he wants to do next.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Nakanishi is thwarting Balls's attempts to control the position.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Nakanishi lands a nice short elbow.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nakanishi thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Balls's head.
Balls is trying to stand.
Nakanishi working Balls over with strikes.
Nakanishi sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Nakanishi looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Balls tries to get to full guard but Nakanishi has control of the leg.
Balls is trying to stand up here but Nakanishi is controlling him well.
Nakanishi takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Nakanishi thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nakanishi stops Balls from getting back to his feet.
Nakanishi lands strikes from half guard.
Nakanishi not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Nakanishi seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Nakanishi trying to control from half guard but Balls is working away.
Nakanishi lands strikes from half guard.
Nakanishi stops Balls from getting back to his feet.
Nakanishi lands with a punch from half guard.
Nakanishi seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Balls does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Nakanishi thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Balls's head.
Nakanishi is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Nakanishi cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Nakanishi landing strikes from the mount and Balls is in trouble!
Nakanishi cracks Balls with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.

Balls is rocked!
Balls tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Nakanishi takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Nakanishi pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Oh Balls is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Nakanishi lands a big shot to the head and Balls winces in pain. He's tapped out due to strikes!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:55 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Strikes). Gaku Nakanishi!