PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Alexei Shapirov (ranked 3165 p4p, 358 weight class) and Silvio Balan (ranked 4452 p4p, 472 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Shapirov
vs
Balan

170 cm
19
163 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

177 cm
19
168 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Big heart

Good wrestler
Basic striking
Granite chin

Arcticus University: London

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, for the lightweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Alexei Shapirov!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Silvio Balan!
The judges for this bout are Tatsuya Matsuyama, Ren Mimura and Taro Takaoka.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Balan misses with a hook. Shapirov ducked under it nicely.
Balan takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Shapirov uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Balan.

Shapirov rushes Balan and pushes him back against the ropes in a clinch.
Balan is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Shapirov is defending well.
Shapirov prevents a takedown attempt there.
Shapirov stops a takedown attempt from Balan.
Alexei Shapirov has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Silvio Balan.
Shapirov lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Shapirov lands a body punch.
Shapirov lands a right hand.
Shapirov tries a body shot but Balan blocks it.
Shapirov working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Shapirov cracks Balan with a nice body shot.
Shapirov pushes Balan back against the ropes and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Shapirov lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the ropes.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Shapirov stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Shapirov lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Balan backwards.
Balan drops down looking for an ankle pick but Shapirov pulls his leg out and moves away.
Balan looks winded!
Shapirov scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Shapirov scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Silvio Balan seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shapirov cracks Balan with a right hand to the side of the head.
Balan doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Shapirov fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Balan throws a hook to the side of Shapirov's head but Shapirov sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Alexei Shapirov is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Shapirov throws a lazy right hand but Balan sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Shapirov swings for the body but Balan moves out of range.
Balan feints the counter takedown.
Balan avoids the body shot from Shapirov.
Balan changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.
Balan throws the left hand but Shapirov avoids the punch easily.
Balan takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Shapirov throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Balan sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Balan feints the counter takedown.

Shapirov has taken the fight to the clinch.
Shapirov working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
A right hook to the body lands for Shapirov.
Shapirov lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Shapirov lands a left hand.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
A left hand lands to the body for Shapirov.
Shapirov lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Shapirov working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
A short right from Shapirov.
A short body shot lands from Shapirov as the two fighters clinch.
Shapirov lands on the inside with an uppercut.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shapirov lands an uppercut.
With the fighters clinched against the ropes, Shapirov creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Shapirov.
Shapirov lands a hook that snaps the head of Balan backwards.
Shapirov is leaning against Balan and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Shapirov presses Balan against the ropes and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Shapirov lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Shapirov gets through Balan's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Shapirov lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Shapirov lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Shapirov lands a shoulder strike.
A right handed body shot lands from Shapirov.
Shapirov lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Shapirov lands a body punch.
A right hand to the body from Shapirov.
Shapirov lands a nice shot to the body.
A left hand lands to the body for Shapirov.
With the fighters clinched against the ropes, Shapirov creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Shapirov lands with a right to the head.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Shapirov.
Shapirov scores with a shot to the side of Balan's head.

Balan is rocked!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shapirov lands a shoulder strike.
Balan drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Shapirov working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Shapirov lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Shapirov lands a left hand that snaps the head of Balan backwards.
Shapirov working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Balan wants a takedown.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Shapirov.
Shapirov lands with a short shot to the head.
Balan is still on wobbly legs! Can Shapirov finish him?
Shapirov lands with a left to the head.
Shapirov scores with a hook to the body.
Shapirov lands with a short shot to the head.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
A short uppercut from Shapirov.
Shapirov is pressed up against the ropes. Balan has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Shapirov down to the mat. Shapirov avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Balan takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Shapirov dips to his left and cracks Balan with an uppercut!
Balan walks into a jab.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Shapirov connects with a body shot.
Shapirov swings for the body but Balan moves out of range.
Shapirov is looking to wear down Balan with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Shapirov with a body punch. A glancing blow.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shapirov bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Balan's head.
Shapirov staying out of range there.

Shapirov drives through and clinches with Balan against the ropes.
Balan seems to have recovered his senses.
Shapirov lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Balan backwards.
Shapirov lands with a right to the head.
Balan goes for a takedown attempt but Shapirov pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Good shot there by Shapirov.
Shapirov lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Shapirov throws out a loose jab but Balan uses good head movement to avoid it.
Balan takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Balan tries for a takedown but Shapirov circles away easily
and Shapirov counters with a straight right hand.
Shapirov slips a straight right by Balan.
Balan takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Balan walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Shapirov seems to be moving with more speed, compared to his last bout. He must have been working on that in the gym.
Shapirov keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Balan.
Balan takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Balan thows a left - swing and a miss!

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Shapirov moves out of range as Balan strikes.
Balan dives in and grabs Shapirov's left leg, looking for a takedown. Shapirov pushes down on Balan's head and hops out.
Balan takes one to the side of the head.
Shapirov catches Balan with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Balan misses with a wild body shot.
Balan just misses with a punch to the body.
Jab by Shapirov.
Balan shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Shapirov pinned against the ropes. Shapirov gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Balan gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Shapirov is really peppering his opponent's head with punches.
Shapirov scores with a crisp jab that stopped Balan in his tracks.
Shapirov scores with a jab to the jaw.
The fighters circle momentarily. Shapirov darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Shapirov keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Balan.

Shapirov darts in and clinches Balan up against the ropes.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Balan is trying to drag Shapirov to the mat but Shapirov just about manages to keep his footing. He used the ropes to his advantage there.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
Shapirov lands a shoulder strike.
Shapirov lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Shapirov pushes Balan back against the ropes and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Balan changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Shapirov fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Shapirov scores with a hook to the body. Balan takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
A shot to the liver by Shapirov. Beautiful body shot.

Shapirov has taken the fight to the clinch.
Balan is working for a takedown up against the ropes. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Good body shot from Shapirov.
Shapirov lands with a short head shot on the inside.
A right hook to the body lands for Shapirov.
Shapirov lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Shapirov lands a left hand that snaps the head of Balan backwards.
Shapirov lands a nice shot to the body.
Balan goes for a takedown in the clinch but Shapirov prevents it.
Shapirov gets through Balan's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.
Shapirov creates some distance for himself and unleashes a massive uppercut that sends Balan's eyes rolling into the back of his head! Balan drops to his knees and Shapirov pours it on with more strikes until the referee steps in to end the bout!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 7:11 of round 1, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Alexei Shapirov!
Alexei Shapirov is the new lightweight champion!