PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Georges St Pierre (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ambo Balisi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

St Pierre
vs
Balisi

177 cm
23
170 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

175 cm
18
170 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Tends to cut

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 The Island, Georges St Pierre!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Ambo Balisi!
The judges for this bout are Dirk Anderson, Sandra Marshall and Peter Branson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

St Pierre has Balisi up against the cage in a clinch.

St Pierre manages to break the clinch.
St Pierre shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Balisi sprawls well. Balisi wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. St Pierre gets slowly back to his feet.
Balisi throws a series of punches but St Pierre moves out of range.
Balisi misses with a combination
and St Pierre counters with a head kick.
Balisi throws a series of punches but St Pierre avoids them all with ease.
No luck with that takedown attempt from St Pierre.
Balisi throws a combination but it was largely blocked by St Pierre.
Balisi displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
St Pierre fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Georges St Pierre. That's going to take a lot out of him.

St Pierre moves into the clinch.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
St Pierre landing knees to the body.
St Pierre avoiding damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A frustrated look appears on Balisi's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Balisi is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.

St Pierre breaks the clinch.
Balisi looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.

St Pierre moves into the clinch.
Balisi wants to get back to striking at distance but St Pierre won't allow it.
St Pierre leaning against his opponent.
A left hand lands to the body for St Pierre.

St Pierre successfully pulls guard.
Balisi wants to stand and escape but instead St Pierre has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

St Pierre slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
St Pierre looking to pass the guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
St Pierre with a flurry of punches that miss.
St Pierre controls from within his opponent's guard.
St Pierre won't allow Balisi to get back to his feet.
St Pierre is stalling in the full guard.

St Pierre avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
St Pierre throwing strikes from guard but Balisi blocks nicely.
St Pierre missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Balisi working for a triangle but St Pierre defends it easily.
St Pierre trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
St Pierre seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
St Pierre slips nicely into half guard.
St Pierre is figuring out what he wants to do next.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.

Balisi is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but St Pierre pulls his head out easily.
St Pierre blocks the strikes from Balisi.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Balisi wants to get back to his feet.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
A combination from Balisi does no damage.
Balisi swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and St Pierre counters with a left and a right that stings Balisi.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Georges St Pierre dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

St Pierre throws a right and a left that Balisi avoids nicely.
Balisi throws a left and a right that both miss

and St Pierre holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Balisi has had enough of the clinch but St Pierre keeps him there for the moment.
Balisi gets underhooks to prevent St Pierre's takedown attempt.
Balisi looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
St Pierre controlling the action here for a moment.

St Pierre jumps guard and drags Balisi to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
St Pierre managing to control the position.

St Pierre has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Balisi can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Balisi postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

Balisi stands and steps away. St Pierre gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Balisi throws a left and a right that both miss
and St Pierre counters with a one-two to the body.
Georges St Pierre is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Balisi looks to land a combination but St Pierre avoids it well.
St Pierre seemed to be looking to counter by closing the distance.

St Pierre gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Balisi is trying to push St Pierre away but St Pierre has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.

St Pierre pulls guard.
Balisi in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

St Pierre pushes Balisi off for just long enough to get back to his feet. Very athletic spring there.
Balisi is breathing heavily.
Balisi throws a right and a left that St Pierre avoids nicely.
Balisi looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
St Pierre throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Balisi's waist but Balisi gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing St Pierre off to one side.
Balisi is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
Balisi lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

St Pierre has Balisi up against the cage in a clinch.
Balisi has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
St Pierre has Balisi pressed against the cage, preventing Balisi from circling away and getting back to striking at range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
St Pierre has Balisi pressed against the cage, preventing Balisi from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Balisi wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Balisi has had enough of the clinch but St Pierre keeps him there for the moment.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Balisi tries to break the clinch but St Pierre is controlling the position.
Balisi is looking to break free of the clinch but St Pierre has double underhooks.
Balisi is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.

St Pierre breaks the clinch.
Balisi throws a series of punches but St Pierre moves out of range.
Balisi throws a right and a left that both miss.
Balisi throws a combination that misses
and St Pierre counters with a left and a right that stings Balisi.
Balisi keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Georges St Pierre. That's going to take a lot out of him.

St Pierre gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
St Pierre drops down looking for an ankle pick but Balisi pulls his leg out and moves away.
Balisi swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Balisi throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

and St Pierre counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Balisi prevents a takedown attempt there.

St Pierre escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
A punch combination from Balisi misses.
St Pierre thinks about countering with a body kick.
St Pierre tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Balisi swivels and escapes.
Balisi slaps away a takedown attempt from St Pierre, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Balisi looks to land a combination but St Pierre avoids it well.
St Pierre fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Balisi swinging wildly here.
Balisi throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
St Pierre looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Balisi throws a series of punches but St Pierre avoids them all with ease.

St Pierre has Balisi up against the cage in a clinch.

St Pierre pulls guard successfully.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Balisi postures up in St Pierre's guard and throws a big left but St Pierre blocks it.
Balisi being controlled here momentarily.
Balisi throws a big elbow that misses.
Balisi throws a big right hand that misses.
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 Georges St Pierre will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

St Pierre throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
St Pierre is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Balisi can do to turn this around?
Balisi throws a nice looking combination but St Pierre bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Balisi throws a combination. St Pierre tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
St Pierre avoids a punch combination nicely.
A combination from St Pierre does no damage.
Ambo Balisi seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Balisi lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Balisi.
St Pierre closes this distance looking for a takedown but Balisi circles away.
St Pierre showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Balisi.

St Pierre pushes Balisi up against the cage in a clinch.

St Pierre jumps guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Balisi trying to stand up but can't free himself from St Pierre's guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Balisi throws a big elbow that misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Balisi missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
St Pierre trying to control the position here.
Balisi wants to stand and escape but instead St Pierre has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

St Pierre is stalling in the full guard.
St Pierre throws a big elbow that misses.

St Pierre stands and steps away. Balisi gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Balisi lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
St Pierre fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Balisi avoids it really well and circles away.
Balisi looks to land a combination. St Pierre sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Balisi looks to land a combination but St Pierre avoids it well.
St Pierre shoots for a double leg takedown but Balisi sprawls well. He's pushed St Pierre's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Georges St Pierre. That's going to take a lot out of him.
St Pierre shoots in for a double leg but Balisi sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Balisi throws a series of strikes that have St Pierre backpedaling.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Balisi lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
Ambo Balisi seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Balisi throws a combination that misses

and St Pierre moves into the clinch.

St Pierre manages to break the clinch.
Balisi lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
St Pierre showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Balisi.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
St Pierre misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Balisi misses with a double jab.

St Pierre closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Balisi quickly recovers to half guard.
Balisi tries to kick St Pierre off in order to stand up. St Pierre Avoids the leg push though and dives into side control.
St Pierre controls the position.
St Pierre misses with an attempted head punch from side control.

St Pierre decides to stand back up.
A combination from Balisi does no damage.
Balisi misses with a series of wild punches.
No luck with that takedown attempt from St Pierre.
Ambo Balisi has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Balisi will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Balisi throws a series of punches but St Pierre moves out of range.
St Pierre is trying to close the distance and clinch up, after that failed offence from Balisi.
Balisi rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but St Pierre moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

St Pierre shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. St Pierre showed some decent athleticism there.

St Pierre stands up from half guard... He's had enough of that ground malarky for the time being.
St Pierre fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Balisi manages to avoid it.
Balisi misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

St Pierre clinches up against the cage.

St Pierre decides to pull guard.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as St Pierre holds on and takes a little breather.
Georges St Pierre is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
St Pierre not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ambo Balisi comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think St Pierre has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Dirk Anderson scores the fight 29:28
Judge Sandra Marshall scores the fight 29:28
Judge Peter Branson scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Georges St Pierre!