PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Hellson Ballswick (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Hans De Vries (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). De Vries has chosen Duke Lion as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Ballswick
vs
De Vries

175 cm
35
157 lbs
21 - 34 - 1

173 cm
32
157 lbs
24 - 14 - 1

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Dangerous knees
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 21 - 34 - 1, fighting out of New York, Hellson Ballswick!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 24 - 14 - 1, fighting out of St Petersburg, Hans De Vries!
The judges for this bout are Chad Campbell, Franklyn Lucas and Eddie Farnsworth.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
De Vries slips a jab from Ballswick.
Ballswick circles away from the clinch attempt
letting Ballswick counter with a right hand.
A shot to the liver by Ballswick. Beautiful body shot.
De Vries fails in his attempt to clinch.

De Vries rushes Ballswick and presses him up against the cage.
Ballswick pressing his opponent against the cage.

De Vries breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Ballswick circles away from the clinch attempt
and De Vries takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Ballswick misses with a body shot.
De Vries wants to clinch
and Ballswick counters with a leg kick.
De Vries wants to clinch.
De Vries tries to grapple but his opponent circles

so Ballswick counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ballswick working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
De Vries keeping moving, preventing Ballswick from controlling successfully.
De Vries is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Ballswick wants to control from the top but De Vries keeps moving.
Ballswick looking to pass the guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ballswick trying to control the position from guard on top but De Vries is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Hellson Ballswick wasn't doing enough on the ground.
De Vries closes the distance looking to clinch
and Ballswick counters with a left to the body.

Ballswick darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Ballswick is trying to control the action in half guard but De Vries is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
De Vries looks like he's trying to stand up.

Ballswick is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Ballswick missing with the ground and pound from half guard.

Ballswick wants to work for an arm triangle but De Vries is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Ballswick is figuring out what he wants to do next.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

We're going to have a standup here because Hellson Ballswick wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
A jab from Ballswick finds it's way through De Vries's defenses.
De Vries moves forwards but Ballswick connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Ballswick keeps the fight on the outside.
Hans De Vries seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Ballswick connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed De Vries momentarily.
De Vries tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Ballswick counters with a nice uppercut.
De Vries tries to clinch but Ballswick is having none of it.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Ballswick fakes high and swings low for a body shot but De Vries manages to avoid it.

De Vries has managed to clinch.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Ballswick tries to throw a body punch but De Vries avoids it by throwing Ballswick back against the cage.
De Vries looks to throw an elbow but misses.
De Vries stalling the fight.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Hellson Ballswick dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

De Vries throws a head kick but Ballswick moves out of range.
De Vries slips under a jab.
De Vries missing with a left hand there. Ballswick was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
De Vries lands an overhand right.
Ballswick lands a right hook to the body.
De Vries moves in looking to clinch but Ballswick pushes him off.
De Vries looks to clinch
enabling Ballswick to counter with a crisp jab.
De Vries tries to clinch but Ballswick moves out of range.
A shot to the liver by Ballswick. Beautiful body shot.
Ballswick dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Ballswick tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but De Vries was well out of range. Poor timing from Ballswick.
De Vries fails in his attempt to clinch.
De Vries takes one on the chin but seems OK.

Ballswick closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming De Vries to the mat! De Vries manages to get full guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Ballswick controls from within his opponent's guard.
Ballswick trying to control the position from guard on top but De Vries is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ballswick is looking to stand up but De Vries won't let him.
Ballswick prevents De Vries from getting back to his feet.

Hellson Ballswick has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
A low kick from De Vries is predictable there
and Ballswick counters with a right hand to the body.
De Vries tries to clinch up.
Ballswick shoots in looking for a takedown. De Vries tries to sprawl out of it but Ballswick keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. De Vries manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
De Vries moves in looking to clinch but Ballswick pushes him off.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ballswick throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
De Vries wants to clinch up but Ballswick keeps it at a distance.
De Vries tries to clinch but Ballswick moves out of range.
Ballswick lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
De Vries needs to keep his hands up - Ballswick had a free shot at his head there.
Hans De Vries is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Nice shot lands for De Vries.
De Vries is looking to clinch.
De Vries throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.

De Vries clinches.
Ballswick tries a body shot but De Vries blocks it.
De Vries pushes off an throws an elbow but Ballswick leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
De Vries prevents a body shot from Ballswick.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
De Vries tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
De Vries creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Ballswick's defenses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
De Vries is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
De Vries with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
De Vries lands a nice knee to the body.
Ballswick jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as De Vries walks away with a smile on his face. Ballswick gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Hellson Ballswick is winning the standup battle so far.
Ballswick uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before De Vries has time to react.
Ballswick dives in and grabs De Vries's left leg, looking for a takedown. De Vries pushes down on Ballswick's head and hops out.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Hellson Ballswick. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Ballswick cracks De Vries with a right hand to the side of the head.
De Vries misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Ballswick lands with a shot to the body.
A big left from Ballswick misses.
De Vries tries to clinch
and Ballswick counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Ballswick misses with a looping left.
De Vries tries to clinch there but Ballswick circles away.
De Vries takes one to the side of the head.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Ballswick swats away the attempt to clinch by De Vries.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Ballswick drives through with a takedown into guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Ballswick sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Ballswick looking to pass the guard.
De Vries avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Ballswick is looking to pass into half guard but De Vries pushes him away with his feet and jumps on top - now De Vries is in guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Hellson Ballswick dominated that second round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. This is the final round!

De Vries closes the distance looking to clinch

and Ballswick counters with a takedown into side control.
De Vries is not content to let Ballswick control the position.

Ballswick is trying to get an arm triangle but De Vries is defending well.
De Vries is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Ballswick is controlling him well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ballswick wants to control but De Vries is keeping him busy.
Ballswick staying calm.
Ballswick trying to control the action but De Vries is working from the bottom.
Ballswick taking a break here but De Vries is having none of it and regains half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Ballswick is sneakily working for an arm triangle but De Vries sees it coming and defends easily.
Hellson Ballswick overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Ballswick is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, De Vries has managed to free his arm - good work.
De Vries wants to get back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ballswick is looking to stall here but De Vries recovers full guard.
Ballswick tries to free his leg and advance position but De Vries is retaining full guard.
De Vries is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Ballswick is controlling him.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ballswick trying to control but De Vries is working from the bottom.
Ballswick is really struggling to control De Vries but he's trying to hold on to the position.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Hellson Ballswick just wasn't active enough.
De Vries is looking to clinch but Ballswick is avoiding it.
Nice defenses there by De Vries.
Ballswick swats away the attempt to clinch by De Vries.

Ballswick closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into De Vries's guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Hellson Ballswick showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Ballswick, 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 Chad Campbell scores the fight 30:27
Judge Franklyn Lucas scores the fight 30:27
Judge Eddie Farnsworth scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Hellson Ballswick!
An out of breath and clearly excited Hellson Ballswick thanked Fossington & Blythe: Gentlemen's Fight Attire for their help and support (and free stuff they sent him).