PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Marian Balkon (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Alasdair Thacker (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Balkon
vs
Thacker

184 cm
28
191 lbs
12 - 7 - 0

175 cm
27
197 lbs
10 - 5 - 0

Good wrestling
World class MT
Cardio machine

Excellent grappler
Excellent MT
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 12 - 7 - 0, fighting out of New York, Marian Balkon!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 10 - 5 - 0, fighting out of London, Alasdair Thacker!
The judges for this bout are Jonathan Paton, Russell Pearce and Franklyn Lucas.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Thacker moves in looking to clinch but Balkon pushes him off.
Thacker swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Thacker tries to clinch up but Balkon circles away and keeps his distance.
Balkon takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Balkon feints a jab promting Thacker to slip. Balkon then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Thacker slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.

Thacker closes the distance and pushes Balkon back into the cage.
Thacker blocks a body shot from Balkon.
Balkon with a knee to the head.
Balkon definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Balkon tries a knee to the head but Thacker blocks it.
A left hand lands to the body for Thacker.
Balkon unloads a knee to the mid-section. Thacker lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Balkon obliges.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Balkon tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Thacker makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Balkon throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Balkon blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Thacker lands with a left to the head.

It looks like Marian Balkon has been cut.
Thacker lands a shoulder strike.
Thacker lands with a short shot to the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thacker avoiding damage as Balkon throws knees to the body.
Thacker lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Balkon stalling in the clinch but Thacker improves position.
A short left from Thacker.
Thacker lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.

Balkon escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Balkon fails to land with a series of punches.
Thacker rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Balkon moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
A slow jab from Balkon misses its intended target.
Balkon throws a nice head kick!
Thacker throws a big shot that misses.
Balkon throws a jab when Thacker was well out of range.
Thacker looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Balkon lands a lovely overhand right.
A telegraphed right hand from Thacker misses the target.
Thacker misses the body punch
and Thacker takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Thacker looks to land a right hand but Balkon moved out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Balkon misses the shot to the body.
Thacker throws out a counter right but Balkon avoids it with no problem.
Thacker is looking to clinch.
Thacker lands with a hook. Balkon tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.

Thacker drives through and clinches with Balkon against the cage.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Thacker.
Thacker on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Balkon tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Thacker throws a head punch that misses.
Balkon connects with a knee to the head.
Thacker misses with a punch on the inside.
A short right from Thacker.
Thacker lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Balkon backwards.
A hook to the body from Thacker.
Balkon lands a good knee to the midsection. Thacker won't want to take too many of those.
Balkon lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Thacker avoiding damage as Balkon throws knees to the body.
Balkon with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Balkon tries to land a knee to the head but Thacker blocks with his arms.
Thacker works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Balkon is breathing heavily.
Balkon misses with a hook to the ribs.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thacker lands a hook to the side of the head.
Balkon avoiding damage as Thacker throws knees to the body.

Balkon breaks from the clinch.
A head kick misses from Balkon.
Balkon scores with a crisp jab that stopped Thacker in his tracks.
Thacker cracks Balkon with a good jab.
Thacker loads up on a big right hand but Balkon slips the punch.
The fighters circling - Thacker throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Thacker takes a jab right on the kisser.
Thacker throws a series of punches but Balkon moves out of range.
Thacker misses with a left hand
and Balkon counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Thacker misses with a straight right.
Balkon misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Balkon slips under a jab from Thacker.
Balkon avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Balkon swinging wildly here.
Balkon is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Thacker slips under a jab from Balkon.
Thacker might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
Thacker digs a good body shot into Balkon's ribs.

Thacker closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Balkon on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Thacker working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Thacker misses with a punch to the body.
Balkon with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Balkon swings wildly with an uppercut but Thacker uses good head movement to avoid it.
Thacker has a couple of punches blocked by Balkon.
Balkon working aggressively here.
Thacker makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Balkon misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Thacker.
A head punch on the inside from Thacker fails to land.
Balkon tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Thacker avoids it.
Balkon throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Thacker blocks it with crossed arms.
Thacker swings wildly with an uppercut but Balkon uses good head movement to avoid it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Alasdair Thacker will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Marian Balkon's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Balkon misses the jab.
Marian Balkon is winning the standup battle so far.
Balkon throws a series of strikes that have Thacker backpedaling.
Thacker shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Thacker staying out of range there.
Balkon throws the left hand but Thacker avoids the punch easily.
Thacker throws a jab when Balkon was well out of range.
Thacker tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

Thacker gets a clinch.
Balkon tries a knee to the head but Thacker blocks it.
Balkon tries a knee to the head but Thacker blocks it.
Balkon tries to stall but Thacker uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Alasdair Thacker seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Balkon blocking some punches.
Thacker tries to throw a body punch but Balkon avoids it by throwing Thacker back against the cage.
Thacker is really struggling to land any decent head shots against his taller opponent.
Balkon lands a shoulder strike.
Balkon misses with the head strike.
Thacker lands a nice shot to the body.
Thacker is leaning against Balkon and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Thacker tries a body shot but Balkon blocks it.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Thacker stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Balkon.
Thacker tries a body shot but Balkon blocks it.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Thacker lands a right hand.
A short left from Thacker.
Balkon landing knees to the body.
Thacker lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Thacker blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
A nice left hand lands by Thacker.
Balkon is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Thacker is defending well for now.
Thacker managing to block the knees to the body from Balkon.
We are yet to see a takedown attempt from Thacker in the fight. On paper you would think he is the more dominant ground fighter so let's see if these unusual tactics pay off.
Thacker throws a head punch that misses.
Balkon lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Balkon blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Thacker on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Thacker misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Balkon scores with a knee to the head.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Thacker working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Balkon tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Thacker lands a hook to the side of the head.
Balkon lands an elbow inside that Thacker shrugs off.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Balkon with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Thacker lands a body punch in the clinch.
Thacker lands a left hand.
Thacker misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Thacker lands a body punch.
Still in the clinch, Thacker scores with a nice short uppercut.
Thacker is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Balkon misses with a knee to the head.
Thacker pushes Balkon back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Thacker misses with the head strike.
Balkon using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Thacker has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Balkon tries a knee to the head but Thacker blocks it.
Balkon has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
A short right from Thacker.
Thacker lands a left hand.
Thacker lands with a left to the head.
Nice body punch from Thacker.
Thacker missing with knees to the body.
Balkon lands with a short head shot on the inside.
A short left from Thacker.

Balkon is rocked!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Thacker.
Oh Balkon is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Thacker working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
A body shot lands from Thacker.
Thacker lands an uppercut in the clinch that drops Balkon to his knees! Thacker keeps firing more shots against his stricken opponent and the referee jumps in to save him!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:18 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Alasdair Thacker!
After winning the bout, Alasdair Thacker thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.