PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Balfour Darrow (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Diagoro Yabaisama (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Yabaisama is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: Liquid Swords. I don't know about you partner, but I'm pumped for this one!

Darrow
vs
Yabaisama

166 cm
25
138 lbs
4 - 3 - 0

163 cm
25
145 lbs
8 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Excellent grappler
World class boxer
Granite chin

Sun-Tzu
KAISER Nutrition - Q160/$250

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 3 - 0, fighting out of London, Balfour Darrow!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 2 - 0, fighting out of London, Diagoro Yabaisama!
The judges for this bout are Gregory Folan, William Peck and Alec Ball.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Yabaisama throws a head kick but Darrow moves out of range.
Darrow lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Darrow will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Yabaisama flicks out a counter leg kick but Darrow steps away.
A solid leg kick lands there for Darrow.
Yabaisama throws a body kick despite being completely out of range
and Darrow counters with a low kick, right behind Yabaisama 's knee.
Darrow catches Yabaisama with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Yabaisama misses with an uppercut.
Yabaisama swings away with a body shot that misses
and Darrow counters with a leg kick.
Yabaisama avoids a lazy jab quite easily.

Darrow clinches up with Yabaisama and pushes him back against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Darrow throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Yabaisamas head.
Yabaisama with a knee to the head.

It looks like Balfour Darrow has been cut.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Yabaisama.
Yabaisama looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Yabaisama using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Darrow has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
We've been hearing reports that Darrow has been drilling takedowns in recent sessions so let's see if that has an impact on the result of this fight.
Yabaisama wants to take the fight to the mat but Darrow manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
Yabaisama takes a shot to the head.
Yabaisama swings wildly with an uppercut but Darrow uses good head movement to avoid it.
Darrow lands with a short shot to the head.
Yabaisama is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Darrow is defending well for now.
Darrow fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Yabaisama blocks a body shot from Darrow.
Darrow blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Yabaisama misses with some punches.
Yabaisama misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Darrow.
Yabaisama softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Darrow tries to work over Yabaisama's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Yabaisama working aggressively here.
The referee calls for Yabaisama to work.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Yabaisama with an attempt at a knee that misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Darrow doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Yabaisama has a couple of punches blocked by Darrow.
Darrow misses with a short punch on the inside.
Yabaisama lands a shoulder strike.
A short uppercut from Yabaisama.
Yabaisama lands a right hand that snaps the head of Darrow backwards.
Yabaisama blocking some punches.
Darrow swings wildly with an uppercut but Yabaisama uses good head movement to avoid it.
Darrow lands a hook to the side of the head.
Yabaisama misses with a body punch.
Darrow misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Yabaisama misses with some punches.
Darrow misses with a hook from the clinch.
Yabaisama throws a punch but it's blocked by Darrow.
Yabaisama swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Darrow tries to work over Yabaisama's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Darrow.
Yabaisama unloads a knee to the mid-section. Darrow lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
A right hand to the body from Darrow.
Yabaisama lands a left hand that snaps the head of Darrow backwards.
Yabaisama tries to throw a body punch but Darrow avoids it by throwing Yabaisama back against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Yabaisama swings wildly with an uppercut but Darrow uses good head movement to avoid it.
Darrow struggles to land a body shot inside as Yabaisama controls his hands.
Darrow stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Darrow lands a hook that snaps the head of Yabaisama backwards.
Darrow lands a right hand that snaps the head of Yabaisama backwards.
Darrow lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Yabaisama.
Darrow misses with a short punch on the inside.
Darrow goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Darrow is pressed up against the cage. Yabaisama has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Darrow down to the mat. Darrow avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Darrow tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Yabaisama was well out of range. Poor timing from Darrow.
Yabaisama moves away from the strike by Darrow.
Yabaisama throws a body kick that misses.
Yabaisama attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Darrow is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Yabaisama.
Yabaisama looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Yabaisama takes a swing at Darrow's ribcage but misses.
Darrow fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Yabaisama has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
The fight stays on the outside here - Darrow looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Yabaisama throws a low kick but it's checked well by Darrow.
Darrow scoring well with a low kick there.
Yabaisama throws a hook but Darrow blocks it.
Darrow tries to counter by moving into the clinch but Yabaisama manages to circle out of the way.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Yabaisama throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Darrow half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.
Yabaisama throws a poor cross that misses
and Darrow counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Yabaisama misses with a straight right.
Yabaisama throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Balfour Darrow dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Balfour Darrow's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Yabaisama cracks a nice hook into Darrow's ribs.
Darrow takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
A head kick by Yabaisama misses
and Darrow counters with a stiff right hand.
Darrow avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Yabaisama 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 Darrow has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Darrow and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Darrow tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Yabaisama manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
It seemed like Yabaisama was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Yabaisama lands the left hand.
Balfour Darrow is winning the standup battle so far.
Yabaisama pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Darrow moves out of range of the strikes.
Yabaisama misses with a lunging right hand

and Darrow counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.

Darrow got a little sloppy there for a moment and Yabaisama has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Darrow has managed to get both his arms back between Yabaisama's legs - danger averted.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Darrow scoring with some ground and pound.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Darrow in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Yabaisama can't keep his opponent in guard - Darrow advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.

Yabaisama looking for submissions off his back.
Darrow missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Darrow scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Darrow trying to control from Yabaisama's half guard. Yabaisama has other ideas though and has regained full guard.
Darrow throwing strikes but missing.
Darrow wants to control from the top but Yabaisama keeps moving.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Darrow throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Yabaisama works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Darrow is looking to work some ground and pound but Yabaisama has wrist control.
Yabaisama seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Darrow has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Darrow trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

Darrow is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Yabaisama is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Yabaisama has escaped and now he's on top!

Yabaisama trying to control the position from guard on top but Darrow is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Darrow has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Yabaisama can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Darrow has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Yabaisama can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.

Yabaisama 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.

Darrow working for a triangle but Yabaisama defends it easily.

Darrow working for a triangle but Yabaisama defends it easily.
Yabaisama trying to control the position from guard on top but Darrow is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

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.
Yabaisama pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Darrow is keeping the position for now.
Yabaisama stops Darrow from standing up.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Darrow looking to control.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Darrow on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Darrow misses with a low kick.
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 Balfour Darrow will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Balfour Darrow's cut.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. This is the final round!

Darrow misses with a body punch
and Darrow takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Yabaisama scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Darrow throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
It seemed like Yabaisama was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Yabaisama moves out of range of the strikes.
Darrow avoids the head kick by Yabaisama.
Yabaisama checks a leg kick.
Darrow lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Yabaisama circles away quickly and effectively.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Yabaisama misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Darrow.
A low kick from Darrow misses
and Yabaisama counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Darrow is lucky that one didn't land flush.
Yabaisama misses with a head kick.
Darrow throws a sloppy head kick and Yabaisama moves out of range easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yabaisama sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.
Jab, jab by Darrow - just one landing.
Horrible takedown attempt by Yabaisama or perhaps it was just good defense by Darrow, which made it look bad.
Yabaisama fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Yabaisama throws a leg kick
and Darrow counters with a thumping low kick.
Darrow goes for a double leg but Yabaisama avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Yabaisama continues to drive forward.
Yabaisama was about to counter that last move with a leg kick but changes his mind.
Darrow avoids the head kick by Yabaisama.
Yabaisama scores with a nice right hand.
Diagoro Yabaisama has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A jab lands there for Yabaisama.
Darrow throws a hook to the side of Yabaisama's head but Yabaisama sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Sloppy strikes from Darrow. Those never looked like landing.
Yabaisama tries to counter with a clinch but Darrow shakes him off and moves away.
Darrow doesn't manage to clinch there - Yabaisama circles away.
Darrow takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Darrow ducks under a wild hook from Yabaisama.
Darrow moves in looking to clinch but Yabaisama pushes him off.
Yabaisama swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
Yabaisama on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Yabaisama tries to clinch but Darrow moves out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Yabaisama throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Yabaisama throws a big shot that misses.
Yabaisama swings widly with a right hand

and Darrow counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Yabaisama trying to control here.
Balfour Darrow overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Darrow wants to lay and pray for a moment but Yabaisama keeps working.
Balfour Darrow is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Darrow lands strikes from half guard.
Darrow trying to control the action but Yabaisama is working from the bottom.
Yabaisama works his way to full guard. Good work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Darrow trying to control but Yabaisama is working from the bottom.
Yabaisama is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Yabaisama tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Darrow slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Darrow is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Darrow throwing strikes from guard but Yabaisama blocks nicely.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Balfour Darrow.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Darrow, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Gregory Folan scores the fight 30:27
Judge William Peck scores the fight 30:27
Judge Alec Ball scores the fight 30:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Balfour Darrow!
Balfour Darrow thanked the fans post fight for their support.