PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Hugh Honey (ranked 1232 p4p, 169 weight class) and Garegin Balayan (ranked 604 p4p, 87 weight class). Honey comes to the cage accompanied by Higher Love. Hugh Honey had a look across the cage there at his opponent. He definitely means business

Honey
vs
Balayan

180 cm
24
162 lbs
12 - 4 - 0

180 cm
24
176 lbs
7 - 3 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Granite chin

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Urban Fighter

XFighter Clothing

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 12 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Hugh Honey!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Garegin Balayan!
The judges for this bout are Chris Downing, Frank Dennis and Gwen Towbar.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Balayan throws a body kick that sends a sickening thudding noise reverberating around the arena.
Honey misses with a hook.
It seemed like Balayan was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Honey fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Balayan manages to avoid it.
Balayan misses with the body kick
and Honey counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Honey takes a swing at Balayan's ribcage but misses.
We've been informed that Balayan has been sparring a lot of Muay Thai in the buildup to this fight so let's see if that has an impact on the result.
Balayan slips under a jab from Honey.
Honey throws a looping overhand right but Balayan ducks down to avoid it.
Honey throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Balayan counters with a nice leg kick.
Balayan fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Honey.
A big right from Balayan misses.
Balayan moves away from the strike by Honey.
Balayan misses with a body kick.
The fighters circling - Honey throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Balayan misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Honey counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Honey throws a looping overhand right but Balayan ducks down to avoid it.
Balayan slips under a jab.
Balayan pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Honey swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
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!
A left lands for Balayan.
Honey jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Honey scores with a body shot.
Balayan goes for a high kick. It partially lands.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Balayan lets loose with a powerful body kick. Honey will feel that in the morning.
Balayan throws a head kick that misses.
Honey lands with an uppercut that bounces Balayan off the cage and back into range.
Hugh Honey seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Balayan walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Honey takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
Honey is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
Honey jabs at Balayan's body.
Honey throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Balayan staying out of range there.
Balayan keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Balayan keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Honey.
Balayan scores with a nice body kick.
Balayan goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
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!
Honey throws a hook but Balayan avoids it easily.
Balayan takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Balayan misses with a looping left.
Honey throwing a counter right hand but Balayan manages to avoid it.
Balayan staying out of range there.
Honey connects with a nice looking jab.
Honey throws a hook but Balayan blocks it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Honey connects with a body shot.
Honey throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Balayan sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Honey throws a hook but Balayan blocks it.
Honey misses with a hook.
Honey throws a lazy uppercut
and Balayan counters with a body kick that brings a smile to the face of both fighters.
Honey throws a body shot but no joy.
Honey drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Honey misses with a looping right.
Honey misses with a hook
and Balayan counters with an inside leg kick.
Honey throws out a loose jab but Balayan uses good head movement to avoid it.
Balayan plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Balayan misses with a body kick.
Balayan scores with a leg kick.
Balayan scores with a leg kick.
Honey throws a poor cross that misses
and Balayan counters with a stiff right hand.
Honey moves out of range of the strikes.
Balayan is looking to land body kicks.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Balayan throws a jab when Honey was well out of range.
Honey looks to score with a jab to the body but Balayan is just out of range.
A head kick by Balayan misses
and Honey counters with a straight right hand.
Honey throws a right hand that misses
and Balayan counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Honey throws a hook but Balayan blocks it.
Honey misses the shot to the body.
Balayan feints a jab promting Honey to slip. Balayan then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Honey slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.
Honey just misses with a punch to the body.
Honey misses with a hook. Balayan ducked under it nicely.
Balayan thuds his right hand into Honey's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Honey misses with a straight left.
Balayan misses with a leg kick.
Honey throws a body punch but Balayan moves out of range.
Balayan scores with a kick to the body.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Balayan looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Balayan looks for the body kick but Honey saw that one coming.
Balayan jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Honey throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Honey takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Balayan closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Honey throws a poor cross that misses
and Balayan counters with a nice body shot.
Honey digs a good body shot into Balayan's ribs.
Balayan misses with a kick to the body.
Honey connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Balayan momentarily.
Honey displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Balayan throws out the jab.
Balayan has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Honey finds it's way round the side to connect with Balayan's head.
Balayan clobbers Honey with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Honey misses with a straight left.
Balayan looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Balayan lands with a good body shot.
Honey misses with a looping left.
Balayan lets loose with a powerful body kick. Honey will feel that in the morning.
Honey misses with a body shot.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Balayan moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Balayan tries to land a front kick but Honey steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Honey takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Honey throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Garegin Balayan dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Balayan throws a head kick that half lands.
Balayan lets loose with a powerful body kick. Honey will feel that in the morning.
Balayan keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Honey.
Honey throws a body punch but Balayan moves out of range.
Balayan throws a counter combo.
Balayan uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Honey.
A little jabbing left from Balayan on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Balayan uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Honey.
Balayan throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Honey throws out a loose jab but Balayan uses good head movement to avoid it.
Honey misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Balayan.
Honey connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Balayan lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Honey at a distance.
Balayan is looking to land body kicks.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Honey missing with a left hand there. Balayan was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Balayan looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Balayan throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Honey was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Honey throws a hook but Balayan avoids it easily.
Honey moves out of range of the body kick from Balayan.
Honey bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Balayan's head backwards.
Honey will be looking to protect his midsection after taking some solid kicks to the body.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Balayan looking to land some kicks to the body here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Balayan slips under a jab from Honey.
Balayan dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Honey. That did some damage!
Balayan lands a jab.
Honey misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Balayan counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Balayan misses with an attempted mid kick.
Balayan thows a body kick. Honey tries to catch it but that hurt him.
Balayan scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Balayan digs a good body shot into Honey's ribs.
Honey throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Balayan on the side of the head.
Balayan bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Balayan connects with a leg kick. Honey looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Jab from Honey.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Honey throws a hook but Balayan blocks it.
Honey tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Balayan was well out of range. Poor timing from Honey.
Balayan with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Honey to score with a decent uppercut.
Balayan uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Honey.
Balayan looks to land a body kick but Honey moved away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Balayan slips a straight right by Honey.
Balayan swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
Balayan uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Honey.
Balayan scores with a punch to the head.
Honey takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Balayan throws a hook but Honey blocks it.
Balayan takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Balayan throws a body kick that misses
and Honey connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Balayan slips under a jab.
Honey misses with a right hand
and Balayan counters with a nice body kick.
Balayan slips under a jab.
Balayan uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Honey.
Honey scores with a punch to the head.
Honey misses with a lunging right hand
and Balayan counters with a slapping leg kick.
Balayan throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Honey counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Honey ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Balayan moves away.
Honey loads up on a big right hand but Balayan slips the punch.
It seemed like Balayan was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Honey misses with a lunging right hand
and Balayan counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Balayan swinging wildly here.
An attempted straight right counter from Honey misses the target.
Honey tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Balayan was well out of range. Poor timing from Honey.
Balayan lands with a slapping head kick.
A telegraphed right hand from Honey misses the target.
Balayan takes a jab right on the kisser.
Honey is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Balayan bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.
Balayan misses with a lunging right hand
and Honey counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
A solid leg kick lands there for Balayan.
Garegin Balayan seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Honey pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Balayan thows a leg kick but Honey checks it
and Honey counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Honey moves out of range as Balayan throws a body kick.
Balayan throws a right and a left that both miss.
Balayan throws a looping overhand right but Honey ducks down to avoid it.
Honey has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Balayan finds it's way round the side to connect with Honey's head.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Honey stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Balayan staying out of range there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Honey looks to score with a jab to the body but Balayan is just out of range.
Balayan ducks under a wild hook from Honey.
Balayan works Honey's body with a nice hook.
Honey throws a looping overhand right but Balayan ducks down to avoid it.
Honey looks to land a right hand but Balayan moved out of range.
Honey takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Honey misses the shot to the body.
Balayan tries a quick counter leg kick but Honey is wise to it.
Balayan uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Honey.
Balayan walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Honey catches Balayan with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Balayan with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Honey thows a left - swing and a miss!
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Balayan takes one to the chin there.
Balayan throws a feint and then finishes with a kick to the body.
Honey scores with the left hand. Balayan knows he should have avoided that one.
Honey swings widly with a right hand
and Balayan counters with a solid body kick.
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 Hugh Honey will probably get the nod.
That's time! Honey's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Balayan connects with the punch.
Nice defenses there by Balayan.
Balayan's jab looks to have found its range, popping Honey under the eye.
Balayan throws a half hearted mid kick.
Honey chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Balayan can pounce on him.
Balayan connects with a solid leg kick.
Balayan misses with an uppercut.
Balayan avoids the body shot from Honey.
Honey lands a nice shot that snaps Balayan's head back.
Balayan scores with a jab to the head.
Honey throws a hook but Balayan blocks it.
Honey bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
Balayan walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Honey is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Balayan.
The fighters circling - Balayan throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Honey pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Honey misses with a wild body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Balayan throws a body kick that sends a sickening thudding noise reverberating around the arena.
A swing and a miss from Honey.
Balayan throws a hook to the side of Honey's head but Honey sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Balayan avoids the body shot from Honey.
Honey misses with a telegraphed body shot
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Balayan misses with a low kick.
Balayan connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Honey avoids the head kick by Balayan.
Honey tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Balayan was well out of range. Poor timing from Honey.
Balayan avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Honey throws a hook but Balayan blocks it.
Balayan takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Honey tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Balayan was well out of range. Poor timing from Honey.
Balayan thows a left - swing and a miss!
Balayan defending well as Honey loads up on a big left hand.
Balayan misses with a kick to the body.
Honey steps to his left, right into the path of a big body kick from Balayan. That one must have hurt.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A slow jab from Honey misses its intended target.
Honey moves out of range as Balayan throws a body kick.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Balayan pivots, looking for a leg kick but Honey is out of range and Balayan settles back down.
Balayan misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Honey.
Honey cracks Balayan with an open hand slap.
Balayan has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
Honey fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
The crowd cheers as Honey lands an impressive looking overhand right. Balayan doesn't seem phased though.
Honey scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Honey looks to land a right hand but Balayan moved out of range.
Balayan buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Honey takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Honey misses with an uppercut
and Honey takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Balayan tries a head kick but it misses.
Balayan throws an overhand right that lands on Honey's shoulder, as Honey tries to avoid the shot.
Balayan comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
A swing and a miss from Honey.
Balayan let fly with a counter punch to the body but it didn't land.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Honey swings for the body but Balayan moves out of range.
Honey jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Balayan misses with a hook.
Balayan throws the kick towards the body but Honey avoids it.
Balayan throws a push kick but Honey slaps the foot to one side.
A swing and a miss from Honey.
Honey throws a body shot but no joy.
Balayan misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
A little feinted left hand from Honey on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Honey blocks a head kick by Balayan.
Honey appears to be looking for a counter punch to the body.
Balayan takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Balayan blocks a jab.
Balayan scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
The fighters circle momentarily. Balayan darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Honey lands a lovely overhand right.
Balayan slips under a jab from Honey.
Balayan is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Honey.
Honey is looking to counter punch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Balayan throws the left hand but Honey avoids the punch easily.
Honey misses with a hook. Balayan ducked under it nicely.
Balayan is looking for the big counter here.
Honey throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Balayan was about to counter that last move with a leg kick but changes his mind.
Honey throws a hook to the side of Balayan's head but Balayan sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Honey blocks a jab.
Balayan punishes Honey's body with a nice straight punch.
Balayan throws the kick towards the body but Honey avoids it.
Donk. Honey catches Balayan right on the button with a cross.
Honey slips a straight right by Balayan.
Balayan tries to land a front kick but Honey steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Honey misses with a wild body shot.
Balayan throws a feint and then finishes with a kick to the body.
Balayan slips under a jab.
A jab from Honey does it's job there.
Balayan throws an overhand right that lands on Honey's shoulder, as Honey tries to avoid the shot.
A good leg kick by Balayan.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Garegin Balayan.
Well Balayan has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Chris Downing scores the fight 28:29
Judge Frank Dennis scores the fight 28:30
Judge Gwen Towbar scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Garegin Balayan!