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PBP Commentary |
Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Thum Balaba (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Taufik Ali (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The key to victory for Thum Balaba has got to be keeping the fight on the feet.
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| 194 cm
23
210 lbs
2 - 2 - 0 |
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175 cm
20
200 lbs
2 - 0 - 0 |
BJJ Brown Belt
Brawler
KO power |
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BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
Solid chin |
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Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of
2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, Thum Balaba!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of
2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Taufik Ali!
The judges for this bout are Eddie Farnsworth, Anthony Taglia and Dean Styles.
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Balaba fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Balaba shoots in for a takedown but Ali shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Balaba gets caught flat footed, as Ali shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Ali loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Balaba had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Ali defends it easily.
Ali sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Balaba's guard.
Ali controlling the pace.
Balaba actively working from the bottom here.
Balaba wants to get back to his feet.
Ali seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Ali should think about turning a few of those tyres round his middle into muscle if he wants people to take him seriously as an athlete.
Balaba wants to improve his position but Ali is controlling well.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Ali is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Ali is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Balaba is just riding it out for now. Ali eventually gives up the hold.
Balaba looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Balaba is looking to escape.
Ali trying to control the action but Balaba is working from the bottom.
Ali is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Ali is figuring out what he wants to do next.
OK we're going to have a standup here. Taufik Ali hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Ali scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Ali wants to pass to mount but Balaba is defending the position.
Ali moves into full mount! Balaba won't be happy about that!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Balaba is squirming around, avoiding Ali's attempts to control the action.
Balaba is working to get back to half guard.
Balaba is squirming around, avoiding Ali's attempts to control the action.
Ali dominating with strikes here.
Ali working to secure an arm triangle but it's not happening for him just yet.
Balaba wants to improve position but instead he's given up his back.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Balaba tries to escape the position.
Ali working for the choke.
Ali has good solid back control here.
Ali tries to get the hooks in deep but Balaba pushed the leg off.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Balaba manages to reverse the position and now he's in Ali's guard. Nice work there by Balaba.
Ali seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
Taufik Ali dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.
Balaba darts in trying to clinch
and Ali counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Ali throws a head kick that misses.
Ali circles away from the clinch attempt
and Ali counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Balaba is looking for a triangle but Ali pushes his legs off easily.
Balaba throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Ali must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Balaba throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Ali throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Balaba works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Balaba is looking to stand back up but Ali counters by passing into half guard. Oops... bit sloppy there by Balaba.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Ali trying to control from half guard but Balaba is working away.
Ground and pound from Ali.
Ali is looking for a kimura but Balaba is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Ali to get the leverage.
Ali is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Balaba has managed to free his arm - good work.
Ali moves into side control, avoiding a weak kimura attempt from Balaba.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ali wants to control but Balaba is keeping him busy.
Balaba tries to wriggle free to get back to his feet but he's given up his back! Oops.
Ali trying to secure his dominant position for a moment - making sure Balaba doesn't escape.
Ali trying to control momentarily.
Balaba holding both Ali 's hands and preventing any damage.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ali is working really hard to secure the rear naked choke. Balaba defends successfully for a significant amount of time. Both fighters are looking very determined.
Balaba tries to escape but Ali has the hooks in and won't let him break free.
Ali controls the position.
Balaba breaks Ali's hooks off and manages to turn into his guard.
Balaba trying to stand up but can't free himself from Ali's guard.
Ali has control of Balaba's left arm, preventing Balaba from doing any damage.
Balaba stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Ali swivels though and keeps the full guard.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ali trying to control the position.
Balaba wants to pass the guard but Ali is keeping the position.
Ali is trying to keep Balaba in close.
OK we're going to have a standup here. Taufik Ali hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Ali goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Balaba shoots and misses
so Ali counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Balaba will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
This has been an exciting period of action!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Ali's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Ali pushing down on Balaba's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Ali is taking a breather. Balaba says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
Taufik Ali showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!
Ali misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Balaba wants to clinch
and Ali makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Balaba fails with the takedown
and Ali counters with a single leg into guard. Balaba didn't expect that.
Ali showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Ali looking to pass the guard.
Balaba looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Ali passes into half guard.
Ali is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Ali is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Balaba defends it well.
Ali content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Ali lands with a punch from half guard.
Balaba is trying to stand back up but Ali is controlling him
Ali wants to control but Balaba is keeping him busy.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ali not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Ali is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Balaba taking some punishment here, with Ali in his half guard.
Ali is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Balaba is just riding it out for now. Ali eventually gives up the hold.
Balaba looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Balaba is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Ali pulls his head out easily.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Balaba has a hand on Ali's thigh, trying to get back to full guard. Ali takes advantage of the position though and mounts him!
Ali working to secure an arm triangle but it's not happening for him just yet.
Taufik Ali has got the better of the ground game so far.
Ali with a couple of short strikes.
Balaba is looking to improve his position but Ali isn't that keen on the idea.
Balaba is trying to get to the cage to help him get back to his feet.
Ali controlling his opponent.
Balaba is squirming around, avoiding Ali's attempts to control the action.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ali raining down hammerfists from mount.
Ali lands a couple of good shots and Balaba has given up his back, trying to escape the position!
Ali controlling from the back.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Will Ali go for the finish here or will he try and keep control of the position?
Thum Balaba has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Taufik Ali is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
So, who will make the next big move? In this position it could be crucial.
And that's the end of the fight!
Taufik Ali comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Ali 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 Eddie Farnsworth scores the fight 27:30
Judge Anthony Taglia scores the fight 27:30
Judge Dean Styles scores the fight 27:30
In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Taufik Ali!
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| S |
C
A |
G |
S |
C
B |
G |
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S |
C |
G |
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energy
A | B |
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hype
A | B |
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pop
A | B |
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mgr
A | B |
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FIGHT
RATING
64% |
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