PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Frank Stark (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Saho Bala (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Stark
vs
Bala

177 cm
25
150 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

172 cm
24
156 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

Decent wrestler
Solid boxing
Good chin

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Heavy handed

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Frank Stark!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Saho Bala!
The judges for this bout are David Schapiro, Joseph Jones and Jorge Garcia.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Bala fails with an attempt to clinch.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Bala misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Stark is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Stark blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Bala swings wildly with an uppercut but Stark uses good head movement to avoid it.
Bala tries a body shot but Stark blocks it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Stark is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Bala has a couple of punches blocked by Stark.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Bala.
Good body shot from Bala.
Stark is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bala swings wildly with an uppercut but Stark uses good head movement to avoid it.
Bala tries to throw a body punch but Stark avoids it by throwing Bala back against the cage.
Bala tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Stark is trying to push Bala away but Bala has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Stark.
Stark wants to get back to striking at distance but Bala won't allow it.
Bala softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Bala takes a shot to the head.
Bala working aggressively here.
Bala working aggressively here.
Bala tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
The referee calls for Stark to work.
Stark tries to circle away but Bala has him pinned against the cage.
Bala prevents Stark from breaking the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bala misses with a body punch.
Bala misses with a punch on the inside.
Bala throws a head punch that misses.
Bala working aggressively here.
Bala misses with some punches.
Bala keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Stark's efforts to push away.
Bala working aggressively here.
Bala keeps control of Stark as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
A short left from Bala.
Bala misses with a punch on the inside.
Stark is trying to break free.
Bala misses with a punch on the inside.
Bala misses with the head strike.
Stark working aggressively here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bala tries a body shot but Stark blocks it.
Bala throws a head punch that misses.
Stark lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Bala backwards.
Bala swings wildly with an uppercut but Stark uses good head movement to avoid it.
Bala has a couple of punches blocked by Stark.
Bala prevents Stark from breaking the clinch.
Stark blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Bala misses with the head strike.
Bala tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Bala misses with a hook from the clinch.
Stark blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Bala swings wildly with an uppercut but Stark uses good head movement to avoid it.
Stark lands with a short shot to the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bala is working Stark over against the cage.
Bala working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Bala prevents Stark from breaking the clinch.
Stark blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Stark is trying to break the clinch but Bala is controlling him.
A head punch on the inside from Bala fails to land.
Bala has a couple of punches blocked by Stark.
Bala has a couple of punches blocked by Stark.
Bala keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Stark's efforts to push away.
Stark blocks a punch to the side of the head.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Stark blocks an uppercut.
Stark wants to break free but Bala has control.

Stark breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Stark circles away from the clinch attempt
and Stark counters with a lovely straight right hand!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Saho Bala 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.

Bala tries to clinch up but Stark circles away and keeps his distance.
Stark circles away from the clinch attempt.

Bala clinches with his opponent.
Bala misses with some punches.
Bala works on Stark's body with a couple of short punches.
Bala lands a right hand.
Bala throws a punch but it's blocked by Stark.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Stark has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Stark tries to break the clinch but Bala is controlling the position.
Bala fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
A short right from Bala.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Bala.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bala lands a left hand that snaps the head of Stark backwards.
Stark lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Bala.
Stark is looking to break free of the clinch but Bala has double underhooks.
Bala can't find room to land a body shot as Stark controls the action.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Bala creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
A head punch on the inside from Bala fails to land.
Saho Bala seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Stark softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Bala tries to throw a body punch but Stark avoids it by throwing Bala back against the cage.
Bala tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Stark's elbow.
Stark is trying to break free.
Bala working aggressively here.
Stark blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Bala tries to throw a body punch but Stark avoids it by throwing Bala back against the cage.
Stark is trying to break the clinch but Bala has him pressed against the cage.
Bala has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Bala has a couple of punches blocked by Stark.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bala misses with a body punch.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Stark.
Stark has not gone for a single takedown so far in this fight, which seems like a very strange tactic when you consider that he has the superior wrestling and BJJ.
Stark is trying to force a seperation but Bala has the dominant position.
Bala tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Stark is trying to break the clinch but Bala has him pressed against the cage.
Bala swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Bala throws a head punch that misses.
Bala misses with a punch on the inside.
Bala tries to throw a body punch but Stark avoids it by throwing Bala back against the cage.
Bala swings wildly with an uppercut but Stark uses good head movement to avoid it.
Bala struggles to land a body shot inside as Stark controls his hands.
Stark wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Bala has him pressed against the cage.
Stark is trying to push Bala away but Bala has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Stark is trying to break the clinch but Bala is controlling him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A short uppercut from Stark.
Stark blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Bala has a couple of punches blocked by Stark.
A head punch on the inside from Bala fails to land.
Bala fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Bala prevents Stark from breaking the clinch.
Stark working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Bala swings away with an uppercut that misses.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Stark takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Bala scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Stark blocking some punches.
Bala has a couple of punches blocked by Stark.
Stark is trying to break the clinch but Bala has him pressed against the cage.
Bala misses with a short punch on the inside.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stark blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Stark wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Bala fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Bala misses with the head strike.
Bala prevents Stark from breaking the clinch.
Stark prevents a body shot from Bala.
Bala has a couple of punches blocked by Stark.
Bala misses with a body punch.
Bala swings wildly with an uppercut but Stark uses good head movement to avoid it.
Stark working hard to break the clinch.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Bala struggles to land a body shot inside as Stark controls his hands.
Stark wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Bala throws a punch but it's blocked by Stark.
Stark wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Saho Bala showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Stark throws a right hand that Bala ducks under and follows up with a left that Bala also avoids with ease.
Bala tries to clinch up but Stark circles away and keeps his distance.
Stark misses with a lunging right hand
and Bala counters with a straight right hand.
Stark avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Stark throwing a counter right hand but Bala manages to avoid it.
Stark lands with a nice body punch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Stark scores with a crisp jab that stopped Bala in his tracks.
Bala is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bala is looking to clinch.
Stark was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Bala tries to clinch but Stark moves out of range.
Saho Bala seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Stark misses with a left hand
and Stark takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Stark falls off balance throwing a combination
and Bala counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Stark swings widly with a right hand
and Bala counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Bala fails in his attempt to clinch.
As Bala looks to move away, Stark throws a big counter combo but Bala just gets out of the way.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A jab from Stark finds it's way through Bala's defenses.
Stark circles away from the clinch attempt
and Stark counters with a straight right hand.
Frank Stark is winning the standup battle so far.
Stark throws a left and a right that both miss
and Bala counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Bala keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Stark.
The fight stays on the outside here - Bala looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
A counter left hand to the body from Stark misses its target.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bala wants to clinch up but Stark keeps it at a distance.
Stark swings widly with a right hand
and Bala counters with a nice uppercut.
Saho Bala is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Bala tries to clinch up.
Stark is looking for a counter combo.
Stark throws a looping overhand right but Bala ducks down to avoid it.
Bala looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Bala darts in trying to clinch
and Stark makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Bala closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
A bit of stalling here from Stark.
Stark is looking to break free of the clinch but Bala has double underhooks.
Stark has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Stark throws a punch but it's blocked by Bala.
Stark is trying to break the clinch but Bala is controlling him.

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 Frank Stark.
I think Bala has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 David Schapiro scores the fight 28:29
Judge Joseph Jones scores the fight 28:29
Judge Jorge Garcia scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Saho Bala!
A very excited looking Saho Bala made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.