PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Bob Balch (ranked 24408 p4p, 24259 weight class) and Andrzej Bebok (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Well, the cameraman is lingering on a pretty young lady for a bit too long there. Keep your eyes on the prize buddy or you'll miss the fighter intros!

Balch
vs
Bebok

190 cm
18
130
0 - 5 - 0

180 cm
19
130
2 - 8 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

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 0 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Bob Balch!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Andrzej Bebok!
The judges for this bout are Yukihiro Yamamoto, Shigeki Fujiwara and Taro Takaoka.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Balch throws a sloppy head kick and Bebok moves out of range easily.
Bebok blocks a head kick by Balch.

Bebok moves into the clinch.
Balch wants to break free but Bebok has control.
Balch has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Bebok avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Balch with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Balch is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Bebok pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Balch drops down looking for an ankle pick but Bebok pulls his leg out and moves away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Bob Balch. That's going to take a lot out of him.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Bebok closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Balch sneaks back into half guard.
Bebok thows a huge punch but Balch dodges it nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Balch punching from the bottom.
Bebok is trying to control the action in half guard but Balch is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Balch flails away from the bottom but he's not doing any damage.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Bebok blocks the strikes from Balch.
Nice strikes from Bebok there.
Balch makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Balch.
Bebok scoring with some ground and pound.
Balch throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.
Balch tries to strike from the bottom.
Balch looking for a sweep. Not yet Balch, not yet.
Bebok tries to free his leg and advance position but Balch is retaining full guard.
Balch looking to hit a scissor sweep but Bebok is one step ahead there.
Balch throws a couple of shots from the bottom but they don't land.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bebok advances position into side control!

Bebok tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Balch throwing some weak shots from the bottom that do no damage.
Balch manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Bebok trying to control but Balch postures up.
Bebok controlling the position well.
Bebok is trying to control but can't.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Balch missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Balch working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Balch is breathing heavily.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Balch lands strikes from half guard.
Balch is nestled in close to Bebok, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Bebok controlling the position well.
Bebok is continuing to stall.
Balch not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Balch has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Balch not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Bebok trying to hold on to Balch's head to control him but Balch postures up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bebok is holding on to half guard well.
Ground and pound from Balch.
Balch scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Balch throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Balch lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Bebok is looking for a sweep. Balch is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Balch missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Balch throwing shots but Bebok is blocking nicely.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Bob Balch dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Bebok closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Balch's guard.
Bebok takes a decent strike to the side of the head.
Bebok trying to control the position from guard on top but Balch is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Bebok takes a decent strike to the side of the head.
Balch is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Balch lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Bebok trying to control but Balch postures up.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Bob Balch overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Bebok keeping control of the position.
Balch is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bebok holds on for dear life, maintaining half guard for now.
Bebok avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Balch.
Balch lands with a punch from half guard.
Bebok tries to roll over but Balch keeps him under control.
Bebok trying to control but Balch postures up.
Balch scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Bebok wants to control but Balch is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Balch not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Bebok preventing any damage for now, controlling his opponent's head.
Bebok wants to control but Balch is keeping busy and won't allow it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Balch decides to stand and escape the position.

Balch clinches up with Bebok and pushes him back against the cage.
A short uppercut from Bebok.
Balch is looking to take this one to the mat.
Bebok scores with a nice hook to the head.
Balch using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Bebok has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Bebok fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Balch blocking some punches.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bebok throws a punch but it's blocked by Balch.
Bebok has a couple of punches blocked by Balch.
Bebok has a couple of punches blocked by Balch.
Bebok tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Balch blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Bebok misses with a hook from the clinch.
Bebok is pressed up against the cage. Balch has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Bebok down to the mat. Bebok avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Bebok circles away from the clinch attempt.
Bebok throws a counter combo.
Bebok connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Balch closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Balch wants to take the fight to the mat but Bebok manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Bob Balch. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Balch pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Balch tries for a takedown but Bebok circles away easily
and Bebok counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.

Bebok darts in and clinches Balch up against the cage.
Bebok throws a head punch that misses.
Bebok lands with a left to the head.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
A nice left hand lands by Bebok.
Balch really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Bebok lands an uppercut.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Andrzej Bebok showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

A momentary lapse in concentration from Balch enables Bebok to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Balch manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Bebok must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Balch doesn't do any damage with a couple of strikes from the bottom.
Balch wants to sweep but no luck.
Bebok really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Balch. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Balch throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.
Balch doesn't do any damage with a couple of strikes from the bottom.
Balch is striking off his back. Bebok thinks nothing of it though and passes easily into half guard.
Balch missing with punches from the bottom.
Bebok lands with a punch from half guard.
Bebok trying to control from half guard but Balch is working away.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Balch tries to get to full guard but Bebok has control of the leg.
Bebok scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Bebok working Balch over with strikes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Balch punching from the bottom.
Balch misses with some strikes from the bottom.
Bebok trying to control the action but Balch is working from the bottom.
Balch tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.
Bebok is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Balch tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.
Bebok tries to stand but can't do so whilst Balch controls his leg.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Bebok chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Balch looks to clinch

and Bebok counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Balch!

Bebok decides to stand up, so the ref orders Balch to his feet.
Bebok lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Bebok shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Bebok showed some decent athleticism there.

Bebok is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Balch tries to roll over but Bebok keeps him under control.
Bebok trying to pass the guard but Balch defending well.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Ground and pound from Bebok.
Balch punching from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bebok stalling.
Balch throws a strike from the bottom that misses.
Balch missing with punches from the bottom.
Bebok wants to stand up but Balch has a hold of him and won't allow it.
Balch is not content to let Bebok control the position.
Bebok is trying to get back to his feet now but his leg is trapped.
Balch punching from the bottom.
Bebok is looking to advance position but Balch won't allow it.
Bebok seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Balch does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Balch missing with punches from the bottom.
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Bebok working his ground and pound in the gym. So far it seems to be working well.

Bebok is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Balch defends it well.
Bebok looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Bebok is nestled in close to Balch, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Balch punching from the bottom.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Balch fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Bebok avoids it really well and circles away.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Balch takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.

And that's the end of the fight!
Andrzej Bebok comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Bebok 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 Yukihiro Yamamoto scores the fight 27:29
Judge Shigeki Fujiwara scores the fight 27:29
Judge Taro Takaoka scores the fight 27:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Andrzej Bebok!