PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Diagoro Yabaisama (ranked 759 p4p, 42 weight class) and Balfour Darrow (ranked 1674 p4p, 77 weight class). Yabaisama comes to the cage accompanied by Liquid Swords. Buckle up people - heeeeeeeeeere we go!

Yabaisama
vs
Darrow

163 cm
32
137 lbs
17 - 11 - 1

166 cm
32
138 lbs
15 - 9 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Olympic wrestler
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

Bullet Proof System

KOMBAT KLOTHING
Urban Fighter

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 17 - 11 - 1, fighting out of London, Diagoro Yabaisama!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 15 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Balfour Darrow!
The judges for this bout are Yves DeLean, Trevor Gratis and Ian Loll.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Darrow throws an off balance right hand
and Yabaisama counters with a thumping low kick.
Darrow avoids the body shot from Yabaisama.
Darrow swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Yabaisama was looking to counter that last move with a shot to the body but he didn't commit.
Yabaisama looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
A big right from Yabaisama misses.
Darrow moves to clinch but Yabaisama breaks away
and Yabaisama cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Darrow shoots in but no luck this time.
Darrow fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Yabaisama manages to avoid it.
Darrow misses with a series of wild punches.
Yabaisama lands with a hook. Darrow tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A decent looking cross lands there for Darrow.
Yabaisama tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Darrow is able to avoid easily.
Darrow is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
Yabaisama connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
A telegraphed right hand from Yabaisama misses the target.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Yabaisama throws a hook but Darrow blocks it.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Darrow gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Yabaisama avoiding damage.
A short uppercut from Yabaisama.
Darrow scores with a shoulder strike.
A head punch on the inside from Darrow fails to land.
A nice left hand lands by Darrow.
Yabaisama blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Yabaisama lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Yabaisama lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Yabaisama crunches a lovely knee into Darrow's ribcage.
Darrow tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Yabaisama tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Yabaisama makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Yabaisama is looking to control Darrow's arms but Darrow gets an underhook and turns him. Now Yabaisama has his back to the cage.
Yabaisama pushes Darrow back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Yabaisama misses with a body punch.
Yabaisama fails to land with a short punch on the inside.

Yabaisama pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Darrow wants to clinch
and Yabaisama counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Darrow throws a jab but it's blocked by Yabaisama.
Darrow blocks a jab.
Diagoro Yabaisama is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

Darrow bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Darrow trying to control the action but Yabaisama is working from the bottom.
Darrow lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Yabaisama down.
Darrow trying to control the action but Yabaisama is working from the bottom.

Darrow goes for an armbar! This could be all over! Wait, no, Yabaisama rolls with the submission and now he's on top in Darrow's guard! Nice work there by Yabaisama!

Darrow is looking for a triangle here but Yabaisama uses the submission attempt to pass into side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Yabaisama wants to control but Darrow is keeping him busy.
Darrow is looking for a sweep.
Yabaisama trying to control the position but Darrow is working away.
Darrow is trying to improve his position.

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 is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.
Yabaisama trying to control the action but Darrow is working from the bottom.
Darrow tries to improve position but can't.
Yabaisama staying calm.
Darrow is looking for a sweep.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Diagoro Yabaisama dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Darrow jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Darrow looks to land a right hand but Yabaisama moved out of range.
Yabaisama feinted there with a counter leg kick.
Yabaisama uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Darrow.
Darrow stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Darrow throws a leg kick but Yabaisama sees it coming and moves out of range.
Darrow throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Yabaisama sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Darrow throws a body punch but Yabaisama moves out of range.
Darrow ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Yabaisama moves away.

Darrow gets a double leg takedown into Yabaisama's guard.
Yabaisama pulls Darrow in close to prevent any damage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Yabaisama trying to keep a closed guard but Darrow is proving a slippery customer.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Darrow throwing strikes from guard but Yabaisama blocks nicely.
Yabaisama controls Darrow momentarily but Darrow frees himself.
Balfour Darrow has got the better of the ground game so far.
Darrow throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Darrow working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Yabaisama working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Darrow.
Yabaisama pulls Darrow in close to prevent any damage.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Yabaisama preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Yabaisama is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
The crowd cheers as Darrow lands an impressive looking overhand right. Yabaisama doesn't seem phased though.
Yabaisama fails with an attempt to clinch.

Darrow closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Darrow tries to throw a body punch but Yabaisama avoids it by throwing Darrow back against the cage.
Yabaisama fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Darrow lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Yabaisama backwards.

Yabaisama's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Darrow throws a series of punches but Yabaisama moves out of range.
Darrow throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Darrow connects with a body shot that sends Yabaisama's belly button to the back.
Yabaisama misses with a jab, cross combination.
Darrow tries to clinch but Yabaisama is having none of it.
Yabaisama takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Balfour Darrow seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A swing and a miss from Darrow.
A big left from Darrow misses.
Darrow throws a body kick that misses.

Darrow closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Yabaisama's guard.
Yabaisama has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Yabaisama controls Darrow momentarily but Darrow frees himself.
Yabaisama keeping moving, preventing Darrow from controlling successfully.
Yabaisama seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Yabaisama is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Yabaisama looking to hit a scissor sweep but Darrow is one step ahead there.
Yabaisama keeping moving, preventing Darrow from controlling successfully.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

Darrow closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Yabaisama is looking to control Darrow's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Yabaisama avoid being mounted?
Darrow lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Balfour Darrow showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. And we move into the final round!

Yabaisama misses the jab.
Yabaisama wants to land a leg kick but Darrow is out of range.
Darrow turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Darrow throws a head kick that misses
enabling Yabaisama to counter with a crisp jab.
Darrow lands with an uppercut that bounces Yabaisama off the cage and back into range.
Darrow misses with an uppercut.
Yabaisama cracks a nice hook into Darrow's ribs.
Darrow throws out a loose jab but Yabaisama uses good head movement to avoid it.
Yabaisama throws a leg kick but Darrow moved away.
Darrow throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Yabaisama on the side of the head.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Darrow will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
A telegraphed right hand from Darrow misses the target.
A little feinted left hand from Yabaisama on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Yabaisama circles away from the clinch attempt.
Balfour Darrow seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Darrow misses with a wild body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A big left from Yabaisama misses.
Darrow tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
Darrow scores with a decent looking hook.
Darrow scores with a nice body kick.
Darrow tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Yabaisama paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Sloppy strikes from Darrow. Those never looked like landing.
Darrow misses with a hook.
Yabaisama takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Yabaisama lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.

It looks like Balfour Darrow has been cut.
Darrow checks the leg kick.
Darrow loads up on a big right hand but Yabaisama slips the punch.
A big right from Yabaisama misses.
Darrow takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Darrow throws a quick inside leg kick.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Darrow lands with a slapping head kick.
Darrow tries a head kick but it misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Yabaisama takes a swing at Darrow's ribcage but misses.
Darrow scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
A bone on bone clash there as Darrow blocks the leg kick.
Darrow shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Darrow throws a nice looking combination but Yabaisama bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Darrow takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Yabaisama walks into a left hand.
Yabaisama defending well as Darrow loads up on a big left hand.
Darrow tries a head kick but it misses.
A big right from Yabaisama misses.
Darrow works Yabaisama's body with a nice hook.
Darrow throws a series of punches but Yabaisama moves out of range.
Yabaisama dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Darrow. That did some damage!
Darrow ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Yabaisama moves away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Darrow connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
A telegraphed right hand from Darrow misses the target.
Yabaisama is looking to counter with a shot to the body.
Yabaisama misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Darrow.
Darrow steps in looking to clinch after the strikes miss from Yabaisama.
Yabaisama misses with a hook. Darrow ducked under it nicely.
Darrow drops down looking to force a counter takedown but Yabaisama defends it well.
Darrow misses with a left hand
and Yabaisama counters with a good low kick that Darrow was not able to check.
Darrow throws a hook but Yabaisama avoids it easily.
Yabaisama was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Darrow misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Yabaisama.
A head kick misses from Darrow.
An attempted straight right counter from Yabaisama misses the target.
Yabaisama misses with the combination.
Yabaisama pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Darrow throws a leg kick but Yabaisama sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Darrow avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Yabaisama takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Darrow gets off balance looking for a body kick
enabling Yabaisama to counter with a crisp jab.
Yabaisama throws a leg kick but Darrow checks it.
Darrow moves out of range of the body kick from Yabaisama.
Darrow chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Darrow shoots in for a takedown but Yabaisama shows good takedown defense.
Darrow is looking to slow Yabaisama down with leg kicks.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
A jab from Darrow does it's job there.
Good leg kick by Darrow there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Sloppy strikes from Yabaisama. Those never looked like landing.
Darrow swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Yabaisama does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Darrow looks for the body kick but Yabaisama saw that one coming.
Yabaisama checks a low kick from Darrow.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Yabaisama, right into the meat.

And that's the end of the fight!
Balfour Darrow comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Darrow 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 Yves DeLean scores the fight 28:29
Judge Trevor Gratis scores the fight 28:29
Judge Ian Loll scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Balfour Darrow!
Balfour Darrow got down on his knees post fight and begged the management for a title shot. 'Please, I want that title shot so bad! Give it to me!'