PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Victor Stroev (ranked 6913 p4p, 577 weight class) and Silvio Balan (ranked 5316 p4p, 515 weight class). Silvio Balan has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Stroev
vs
Balan

175 cm
26
157 lbs
5 - 5 - 0

177 cm
19
168 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
Brawler
Experienced

Good wrestler
Basic striking
Granite chin

Arcticus University: London

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 2 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 5 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Victor Stroev!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Silvio Balan!
The judges for this bout are Yuuki Gou, Yukihiro Yamamoto and Shirou Masuda.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nice defenses there by Stroev.
Balan looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.

Balan feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.
Stroev can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Balan controls the pace.
Balan sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Stroev's guard.
Balan stalling.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Stroev is looking to get full guard. It looks like he might be successful but at the last minute Balan jumps into side control!
Stroev on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Stroev tries to get out of the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Balan has an Americana. Stroev didn't react quickly enough there and he's in big trouble now! He tries to squirm out but is forced to tap! Balan is delighted and gyrates in front of the ring girls. They seem to like the attention - it'll be interesting to see if Balan hooks up with any of them at the after show party.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:56 of round 1, we have a winner by way of Submission (Americana). Silvio Balan!