PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Thai Kirk (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Bentong Baliskad (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Kirk
vs
Baliskad

186 cm
22
179 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

190 cm
23
170 lbs
0 - 5 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
KO power

BJJ White Belt
Good kicks
Heavy handed

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 Helsinki, Thai Kirk!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Bentong Baliskad!
The judges for this bout are Tarja Halkonen, Anni Minnemäki and Matti Vanhoillinen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Kirk clinches up with Baliskad and pushes him back against the ropes.
Kirk lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.

It looks like Bentong Baliskad has been cut.
Kirk scores with a knee to the head.
Baliskad wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Kirk has him pressed against the ropes.

Kirk's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Baliskad pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Baliskad blocks a head kick by Kirk.

Kirk has managed to clinch.
Kirk stalling against the ropes.
Kirk lands a nice elbow from the clinch.

Kirk breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Baliskad fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Baliskad looks to clinch

and Kirk moves into the clinch.
Baliskad fails to land with a short punch on the inside.

Kirk breaks the clinch.
Baliskad changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Kirk tries to avoid it but Baliskad manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Kirk to the ground. Kirk escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Bentong Baliskad seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Baliskad looks gassed!
Baliskad closes the distance looking to clinch

and Kirk moves into the clinch.
Kirk comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Kirk scores with a knee to the head.
Kirk cracks Baliskad with a nice body shot.
Kirk changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Baliskad fights it off and pushes away nicely.

Kirk closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the ropes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kirk lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Nice elbow from Kirk.

Kirk has moved round to his opponent's back and is looking for a suplex! Oh snap! He's tossed Baliskad clear over his head and slammed him to the mat!
Kirk thows a huge left but connects with the canvas and not his opponent.
Kirk knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Baliskad on the ground.
Baliskad is trying to stand back up.
Kirk has the hooks sunk in and you can see the will to fight slowly draining out of Baliskad's body.

Kirk tightening his grip on Baliskad, looking for the choke.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kirk is controlling his opponent, waiting for an opportunity to finish.
Baliskad looking to stop the rear naked choke attempt by controlling the hands.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
You know, I was talking to some of our celebrities at ringside tonight and they were split right down the middle on who was going to win this fight.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kirk misses with punches from the back.
Kirk just keeping the dominant position. He can't wait too long though, otherwise the referee will stand them back up.

Kirk has his opponent's back and is working for the choke.
Baliskad has the hand control, trying to stop the rear naked choke.
Baliskad is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Baliskad is being controlled on the ground here - he must escape this position otherwise surely the end is near.

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.
Kirk seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Baliskad for as long as he can get away with.

Baliskad preventing the rear naked choke attempt from Kirk.
Kirk controls the action.
Baliskad has the hand control, trying to stop the rear naked choke.
Kirk looking to soften up his opponent with punches.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Thai Kirk dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Bentong Baliskad'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.

Kirk clinches.
Kirk connects with a knee to the head.

Kirk breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Baliskad looks to clinch

and Kirk holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Kirk creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Baliskad's defenses.
Kirk lands a knee to the head.
Baliskad wants to break the clinch but can't.

Kirk breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Baliskad wants to clinch but Kirk slips to the side

and Kirk moves into the clinch.
Kirk unloads a knee to the mid-section. Baliskad lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Kirk can't get the takedown.
Baliskad wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Kirk with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.

Kirk manages to break the clinch.
Nice takedown defense from Baliskad. No joy for Kirk on that attempt.
Kirk shoots in for a takedown but Baliskad shows good takedown defense.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Thai Kirk. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Baliskad has a takedown stuffed.
Baliskad lands a high kick!
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Kirk drives through and clinches with Baliskad against the ropes.
Knees in the clinch landing for Kirk.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kirk gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.

Baliskad breaks from the clinch.

Kirk clinches up against the ropes.
Baliskad wants to break the clinch but can't.
Kirk scores a nice knee to the body.
Knees in the clinch landing for Kirk.
Baliskad tries a knee to the head but Kirk blocks it.

Kirk manages to break the clinch.
Kirk cracks Baliskad with an open hand slap.
Baliskad tries to clinch up
and Kirk counters with a head kick.

Kirk moves into the clinch successfully.
Baliskad takes an elbow to the temple.
A knee to the head by Kirk.
Baliskad tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.

Baliskad manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Baliskad is looking to stand up but Kirk isn't so interested in that idea.
Kirk pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Baliskad is keeping the position for now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Baliskad is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

Kirk stands up from Baliskad's guard - Kirk perhaps looking for a knockout.
Baliskad fails to land with a series of punches.
Kirk lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
Baliskad looks to clinch

and Kirk counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Kirk jumps guard but Baliskad stands there with Kirk around his waist. Kirk gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Kirk lands an elbow inside.
Kirk tries to land a knee to the head but Baliskad blocks with his arms.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nice elbow from Kirk.
Kirk avoiding damage as Baliskad throws knees to the body.
Kirk has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Baliskad is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Kirk is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Kirk stops a takedown attempt from Baliskad.
Baliskad wants to get back to striking at distance but Kirk won't allow it.
Kirk changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Baliskad fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Kirk shoots in but no luck this time.
Kirk throws a head kick that misses.
A head kick by Baliskad misses
and Kirk counters with a nice body kick.
Baliskad closes the distance but Kirk moves to the side

and Kirk counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Kirk keeps control of Baliskad as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Baliskad throws an elbow that misses.
Baliskad tries a knee to the head but Kirk blocks it.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Kirk takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Kirk using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Kirk creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Baliskad's defenses.
Baliskad tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.

Kirk breaks from the clinch.
Thai Kirk is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Kirk shoots in but Baliskad avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Baliskad darts in trying to clinch

and Kirk counters by moving into the clinch.
Kirk lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Baliskad tries to break the clinch but Kirk is controlling the position.

Kirk jumps guard.
Baliskad prevents Kirk from getting back to his feet.
Baliskad trying to stand up but can't free himself from Kirk's guard.
Kirk is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Thai Kirk dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Bentong Baliskad's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Baliskad wants to clinch.

Kirk moves into the clinch successfully.
Baliskad has a couple of punches blocked by Kirk.
Kirk avoiding damage as Baliskad throws knees to the body.
Kirk landing knees to the head.
Kirk with a knee to the head.
Baliskad using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Kirk has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Kirk holding his opponent close, against the ropes.

Kirk manages to break the clinch.

Kirk closes the distance and clinches.
Kirk unloads a knee to the mid-section. Baliskad lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Knees in the clinch landing for Kirk.
Kirk effectively controlling the action here.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Kirk drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Baliskad gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Baliskad prevents the takedown attempt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Baliskad can't break the clinch.
Kirk prevents the takedown attempt.
Kirk controlling the action here for a moment.
Kirk tries for a takedown. No joy.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Thai Kirk. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Baliskad wants a takedown.
Kirk comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Kirk with a knee to the head.
Kirk lands a knee to the head.
Baliskad doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Kirk unloads a knee to the mid-section. Baliskad lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.

Kirk pulls guard successfully.
Baliskad wants to get up but he can't break Kirk's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Kirk wants to stand and escape but Baliskad is having none of it.
Baliskad would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.

Baliskad gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.

Kirk rushes Baliskad and presses him up against the ropes.
Kirk blocks an elbow strike.

Kirk successfully pulls guard.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Kirk is on top in guard.
Kirk stops Baliskad from standing up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kirk is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Baliskad wants to stand and escape but Kirk is having none of it.
Kirk wants to get up but he can't break Baliskad's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Kirk moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
Baliskad throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Baliskad clinches but Kirk breaks the clinch

and Kirk counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Kirk.
Kirk crunches a lovely knee into Baliskad's ribcage.
Kirk lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Kirk with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Baliskad creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Kirk lands a body shot.
Baliskad is trying to drag Kirk to the mat but Kirk just about manages to keep his footing. He used the ropes to his advantage there.

Kirk manages to break the clinch.
Baliskad plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Baliskad tries to clinch
and Kirk counters with a good low kick that Baliskad was not able to check.
Baliskad wants to clinch but Kirk slips to the side

and Kirk holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Kirk with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.

Kirk pulls guard successfully.
Baliskad is looking to stand up but Kirk won't let him.

Kirk isolates an arm and boxes in a triangle. Baliskad stacks Kirk on his neck as he steps over and passes to the side. He's now in a much more dominant position where he can look to do some serious damage. Nice move by Baliskad!
Kirk is trying to control Baliskad's posture but Baliskad avoids it.

And that's the end of the fight!
Thai Kirk showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Kirk has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 30:27
Judge Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 30:27
Judge Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Thai Kirk!