PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Pierfrancesco Balli (ranked 3523 p4p, 0 weight class) and David Graham (ranked 4842 p4p, 0 weight class). I can't wait for this one - let's get the fighter introductions out of the way and get this one started!

Balli
vs
Graham

170 cm
25
170 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

178 cm
25
173 lbs
2 - 4 - 0

Good wrestling
Brawler
Granite chin

BJJ Brown Belt
Brawler
Very confident

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 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Pierfrancesco Balli!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, David Graham!
The judges for this bout are Ian Loll, William Peck and Steve Smith.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sloppy strikes from Graham. Those never looked like landing.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Graham.
Graham throws a nice looking combination but Balli bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.

Balli bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Graham is trying to improve his position.
Graham told us pre-fight that he has been working on his escapes in training. Let's see if he can call on some of his new skills to get back to his feet.
The referee tells the fighters to keep busy.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

That's one minute gone in the round.

That's two 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.
Graham tries to improve position but can't.
Balli is staying tight to Graham's torso, preventing him from escaping.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

Balli shoots in and bounces Graham off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Balli passes Graham's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Graham looks winded!
Balli is controlling the pace.
Balli is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Graham!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Balli controlling the pace for now.
Balli prevents Graham from getting the reversal.
Balli takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Balli prevents Graham from getting the reversal.
Balli controlling from mount.
Balli's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Balli knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Graham on the ground.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Further stalling from Balli.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Pierfrancesco Balli dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Graham throws a head kick but Balli moves out of range.
Balli tries for a takedown but Graham circles away easily
and Graham counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.

Balli shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Balli was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Balli controlling the position.
Balli looks to be in better condition than last time we saw him fight. Obviously he's been working hard on his cardio.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Graham stops Balli from passing to mount.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Balli controlling the position.
Graham prevents Balli from improving position.
You can see the frustration on Graham's face as Balli controls the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Balli passes to full mount! That's big trouble for Graham!
Balli tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Balli seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Graham for as long as he can get away with.
Graham is breathing heavily.
Balli continues to stall.
Balli has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

That's four 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.
This is a sustained period of stalling by Balli.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Graham is looking to get to half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Pierfrancesco Balli dominated that second round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Balli throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Graham was covering up waiting for the punch and Balli finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Balli has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Balli stays in close to Graham's body and controls the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Graham is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Balli not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Pierfrancesco Balli is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.

Balli gets a double leg takedown into Graham's guard.
Balli pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Graham is keeping the position for now.
Balli won't allow Graham to sweep him here.
David Graham has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Graham takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Balli is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Balli is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Graham can do to turn this around?
Graham looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Balli sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Graham is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Balli showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Graham moves in looking to clinch but Balli pushes him off.

Balli drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Balli passes to full mount! That's big trouble for Graham!
Balli sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
If it seems like I'm not saying a lot, it's just because Balli is stinking the place up with his stalling.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

And that's the end of the fight!
Pierfrancesco Balli showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Balli, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Ian Loll scores the fight 30:27
Judge William Peck scores the fight 30:27
Judge Steve Smith scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Pierfrancesco Balli!