PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Nikos Balopoulos (ranked 2273 p4p, 2425 weight class) and Asim Germic (ranked 290 p4p, 306 weight class). This should be a great matchup!

Balopoulos
vs
Germic

178 cm
29
164
5 - 4 - 0

175 cm
21
159
2 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
Brawler
Cardio machine

BJJ Blue Belt
Dangerous knees
Powerful

Fantasy Threads

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Nikos Balopoulos!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Asim Germic!
The judges for this bout are Joseph Jones, Anthony Taglia and Reed Andrews.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Germic tries to clinch but Balopoulos moves out of range.
Balopoulos showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Germic.
A jab lands there for Germic.
Balopoulos throws a right hand that misses
and Germic counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Balopoulos thinking.
A punch lands to the side of Balopoulos 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Balopoulos throws a body punch but Germic moves out of range.
Balopoulos takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.

Balopoulos shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Germic manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
We've been hearing that Balopoulos has been drilling a lot of ground and pound in training, so let's see if he get the finish.
Balopoulos is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Balopoulos connects with a couple of short punches.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Balopoulos sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Germic's guard.
Germic is trying to get back to full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Balopoulos controlling the pace.
Balopoulos missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Balopoulos not doing much here.
Germic wants to improve his position but Balopoulos is controlling well.
Germic blocking the ground and pound attempt from Balopoulos.
Balopoulos throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Balopoulos throwing shots but Germic is blocking nicely.
Balopoulos not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Balopoulos looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Germic keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Balopoulos lands with a punch from half guard.
Balopoulos 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.
Balopoulos performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Germic has hold of Balopoulos's hands but Balopoulos slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Balopoulos 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.
Balopoulos content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Balopoulos throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Germic really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Balopoulos. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Balopoulos trying to control the pace.
Balopoulos lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Balopoulos slips a nice elbow through Germic's hands, connecting with Germic's forehead.
Balopoulos throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Balopoulos throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Balopoulos working the head and body with strikes.
Balopoulos missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Balopoulos lands strikes from half guard.
Balopoulos winds up and cracks Germic with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Balopoulos missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Balopoulos lands strikes from half guard.
Balopoulos throwing shots but Germic is blocking nicely.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Balopoulos wants to pass to mount but Germic is defending the position.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Balopoulos lands with a punch from half guard.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Nikos Balopoulos dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Balopoulos misses with an uppercut. Germic saw that one coming.
Germic lets it all go there with a big combo counter but none of the punches connected.
Germic is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Germic uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Balopoulos.
Balopoulos throws a shot from downtown. Germic moves away and avoids it.
Balopoulos takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Germic moves out of range as Balopoulos strikes.
Germic is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
Balopoulos misses with a wild body shot.
Germic moves out of range of the strikes.
Germic scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Balopoulos throws a right and a left that both miss.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Balopoulos tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Germic was well out of range. Poor timing from Balopoulos.
Germic tries to clinch there but Balopoulos circles away.

Balopoulos pushes Germic up against the cage in a clinch.

Germic breaks from the clinch.
Asim Germic seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Germic avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Germic tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Balopoulos appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
Balopoulos throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
A big left from Balopoulos misses.
Balopoulos throws out a loose jab but Germic uses good head movement to avoid it.
A nice combination there by Germic.
Balopoulos missing with a left hand there. Germic was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Balopoulos throws a sloppy body shot
and Germic counters with a series of strikes. Balopoulos will be more careful next time no doubt.
Balopoulos showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Germic.
Balopoulos is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Germic can do to turn this around?
Balopoulos swinging wildly here.
Germic looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Germic wants to clinch up but Balopoulos keeps it at a distance.
Balopoulos swings and misses with a hook to the body.
A swing and a miss from Balopoulos.
Despite the aggression on Germic's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Germic is looking to clinch but Balopoulos is avoiding it.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Balopoulos tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Germic was well out of range. Poor timing from Balopoulos.
The fight stays on the outside here - Germic looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Balopoulos changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Balopoulos throws a right hand that misses
and Germic counters with a left and a right that stings Balopoulos.
A right-left combo lands from Germic.
Balopoulos throws an off balance right hand
and Germic counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Balopoulos takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Germic will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Germic cracks a nice hook into Balopoulos's ribs.
Germic goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Balopoulos looks to throw the jab but Germic is out of range.
Nikos Balopoulos seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Balopoulos showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Germic.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A cross from Germic lands.
Germic looks to land a combination but Balopoulos avoids it well.
Balopoulos just misses with a punch to the body.
Germic is looking for the big counter here.
Germic misses with the combination.
Asim Germic is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Germic lands with a nice combination. Balopoulos backs away looking to recover.
A looping hook to the body misses from Balopoulos. Germic does a little dance to reset his feet.
Balopoulos looks to throw the jab but Germic is out of range.

Balopoulos has Germic up against the cage in a clinch.
Balopoulos is trying to drag Germic to the mat but Germic just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.

Germic manages to break the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Germic lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Balopoulos fails in his attempt to clinch.
Germic throws a counter combo.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Germic throws a mid kick that lands with a slap.
Balopoulos tries for a takedown but Germic circles away easily
and Germic counters with a three punch combo that has Balopoulos backing up. Balopoulos nods at Germic to acknowledge the strikes.
Germic sizes up Balopoulos with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Balopoulos takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Balopoulos pushing out the jab but it's not landing.

Balopoulos clinches up with Germic and pushes him back against the cage.
Germic pushes Balopoulos back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Germic prevents a takedown attempt there.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Nikos Balopoulos. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Germic working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Asim Germic 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! And we move into the final round!

Germic slips under a jab.
Balopoulos throws a body punch but Germic moves out of range.
Balopoulos throws a hook to the side of Germic's head but Germic sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Germic is looking to clinch.
Balopoulos takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.
Germic throws a series of punches but Balopoulos moves out of range.
Asim Germic is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Germic stalks Balopoulos and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Balopoulos's face. Balopoulos staggers backwards, shaken.
Germic thumps Balopoulos with a low kick.
A shot to the body from Balopoulos misses
and Germic counters with a right hand to the body.
That kick from Germic tenderised Balopoulos's leg. Balopoulos is trying to keep his angry face on.
Germic throws a one two combo.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Germic throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Balopoulos.
Balopoulos working the head with strikes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Balopoulos is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Germic will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.
Balopoulos in side control, throwing shots but Germic defends.
Balopoulos fails to land a wild elbow strike.
Balopoulos in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Germic takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
The ground and pound from Balopoulos seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.
Balopoulos controlling the position.
Balopoulos misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Germic wants to get back to his feet but Balopoulos is dominant here and he's now got Germic's back!
Balopoulos lands shots from the back.
Balopoulos biding his time, controlling Germic.
Balopoulos has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Germic grimaces as he takes a shot to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Balopoulos lands a punch that was close to the back of the head but the ref thinks it's OK.
Balopoulos is looking cool and calm here, just waiting for a good opportunity to attack and finish the fight from this dominant position.
Balopoulos is throwing punches to the body, looking to soften Germic up.
Balopoulos scores with strikes from the back.
Balopoulos misses with punches from the back.
Watch the back of the head! Comes the shout from the referee towards Balopoulos.

Germic is rocked!
Germic is very frustrated here, being controlled quite effectively by Balopoulos.
Germic is still in real trouble! Can Balopoulos finish him?
Balopoulos struggling to land strikes to the head as Germic covers up.
Germic seems to have recovered his senses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Balopoulos thows a huge left but connects with the canvas and not his opponent.
Balopoulos is landing with strikes. Germic can't take much more of this.
Balopoulos lands punches and elbows.
Balopoulos lands punches and elbows.
Balopoulos really has the hooks in deep now - there seems like no escape for Germic.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Watch the back of the head! Comes the shout from the referee towards Balopoulos.
Balopoulos connects with a couple of big shots that have Germic covering up! Oh, this looks bad for Germic! Balopoulos fires away with several more unanswered shots and the referee has no choice but to step in! This one is aaaaaaaaaaall over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:57 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Nikos Balopoulos!
An out of breath and clearly excited Nikos Balopoulos thanked Fantasy Threads for their help and support (and free stuff they sent him).