PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Mario Balotelli (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Duck Sweeney (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Duck Sweeney has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Mario Balotelli's chin.

Balotelli
vs
Sweeney

189 cm
18
194 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

195 cm
20
185 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Mario Balotelli!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, Duck Sweeney!
The judges for this bout are Chad Campbell, Eddie Farnsworth and Anthony Taglia.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sweeney throws a head kick that misses.
Sweeney pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Sweeney is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Sweeney scores with a head kick.

Balotelli darts in and clinches Sweeney up against the cage.
Sweeney looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Sweeney struggles to land a body shot inside as Balotelli controls his hands.

Sweeney breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Sweeney tries a head kick but it misses.
Balotelli misses with a takedown attempt - Sweeney sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Sweeney tries a head kick but it misses.
Nice sprawl there from Sweeney as Balotelli shoots in.
Sweeney lands with a slapping head kick.
Balotelli doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Sweeney counters with a head kick.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mario Balotelli. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sweeney misses with a head kick.
Sweeney tries to clinch up but Balotelli circles away and keeps his distance.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Balotelli.
Balotelli is trying hard to land a takedown here. Sweeney sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Sweeney plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Balotelli misses with a takedown attempt
and Sweeney counters with a big head kick but Balotelli shrugs it off.
Sweeney throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Sweeney misses with an uppercut. Balotelli saw that one coming.
Mario Balotelli seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Balotelli looking for a takedown here - he's got it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Balotelli sitting in guard, not really doing much.

Sweeney wriggles free and stands up.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Balotelli dives in and grabs Sweeney's left leg, looking for a takedown. Sweeney pushes down on Balotelli's head and hops out.
Sweeney misses with a head kick.
Balotelli swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Sweeney finishes the little exchange by landing a big kick to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Balotelli shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Sweeney counters with a nice low kick that buckles Balotelli's knee momentarily.
Balotelli is breathing heavily.
Balotelli blocks a head kick by Sweeney.
Sweeney slaps away a takedown attempt from Balotelli, before circling back to the center of the mat.

Balotelli gets caught napping as Sweeney dives in and scores a takedown. Balotelli manages to retain guard.
Balotelli is trying to control the position but Sweeney postures up.
Sweeney would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.

Sweeney stands up and waves to Balotelli to follow him.

Sweeney gets a double leg takedown into Balotelli's guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Sweeney stands and steps away. Balotelli gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Sweeney connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Sweeney darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Balotelli with a poor takedown
letting Sweeney counter with a right hand.
Balotelli shoots in but Sweeney avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Balotelli blocks a head kick by Sweeney.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
A head kick misses from Sweeney.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Duck Sweeney dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Balotelli misses with a combination

and Sweeney decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Balotelli's guard.
Sweeney would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.

Sweeney stands and steps away. Balotelli gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Sweeney pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Duck Sweeney seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Balotelli shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Sweeney sprawls well. Sweeney wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Balotelli gets slowly back to his feet.
Balotelli fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
A head kick misses from Sweeney.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sweeney throws a head kick but Balotelli moves out of range.
Sweeney pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Sweeney throws a hook but Balotelli avoids it easily.
Balotelli fails with a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mario Balotelli. That's going to take a lot out of him.
A head kick misses from Sweeney.
Sweeney misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Sweeney throws a head kick that misses.

Balotelli closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Sweeney quickly recovers to half guard.
Sweeney wants to get back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Balotelli trying to control the pace.
Balotelli moves into full mount! Sweeney won't be happy about that!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Balotelli content just to control the position here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Balotelli tries to control but Sweeney wriggling away.
BOOM! Balotelli connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Balotelli tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Sweeney is trying to stand up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Balotelli trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Balotelli working the ground and pound effectively.
Balotelli looking to finish with strikes here!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Balotelli tries to control but Sweeney wriggling away.
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 Mario Balotelli will probably get the nod.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Balotelli throws a body punch but Sweeney moves out of range.
Balotelli avoids the head kick by Sweeney.
Mario Balotelli is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Sweeney tries a head kick but it misses.
Sweeney pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Balotelli drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Sweeney enables Balotelli to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Sweeney manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Balotelli trying to control but Sweeney is working from the bottom.
Balotelli showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Balotelli looking to pass the guard.

Sweeney pushes Balotelli off and scrambles back to his feet.
Sweeney tries a head kick but it misses.
Sweeney misses with a head kick.
Sweeney takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Balotelli fails with a takedown attempt from distance.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sweeney pulls out of a head kick attempt.

Balotelli manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Sweeney on his heels. He'll look to pass Sweeney's guard now, I'm sure.
Balotelli tries to stand but Sweeney is controlling from the bottom.
Balotelli trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Balotelli has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

Sweeney pushes Balotelli off and scrambles back to his feet.
Sweeney throws a head kick that misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Balotelli closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.

Balotelli manages to pull guard.
Sweeney trying to stand up but can't free himself from Balotelli's guard.

Sweeney decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.

Balotelli gets a double leg takedown into Sweeney's guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Balotelli trying to control the position from guard on top but Sweeney is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Balotelli throwing strikes but missing.
Balotelli stops Sweeney from standing up.
Sweeney has a closed guard, preventing Balotelli from standing up.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Sweeney wants to stand and escape but Balotelli is having none of it.

And that's the end of the fight!
Mario Balotelli showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Balotelli has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Chad Campbell scores the fight 29:28
Judge Eddie Farnsworth scores the fight 29:28
Judge Anthony Taglia scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Mario Balotelli!
Mario Balotelli decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.