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PBP Commentary |
Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Garegin Balayan (ranked 133 p4p, 18 weight class) and Dao Sonnen (ranked 286 p4p, 43 weight class). Balayan comes to the cage accompanied by Troika. Sonnen has chosen The Devil's Doorbell as his entrance music. 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.
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| 180 cm
33
170 lbs
29 - 11 - 0 |
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183 cm
39
170 lbs
39 - 18 - 1 |
Great wrestler
World class boxer
Insanely flexible |
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Excellent grappler
World class boxer
Granite chin |
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Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of
29 - 11 - 0, fighting out of London, Garegin Balayan!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of
39 - 18 - 1, fighting out of Los Angeles, Dao Sonnen!
The judges for this bout are Phil Schofield, James Glass and Andrew Berry.
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Balayan misses with a body shot.
Sonnen shoots in for a takedown but Balayan shows good takedown defense.
Sonnen just misses with a punch to the body.
Balayan keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Dao Sonnen seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Sonnen throws an overhand right that lands on Balayan's shoulder, as Balayan tries to avoid the shot.
Sonnen scores with a decent looking hook.
Sonnen takes a swing at Balayan's ribcage but misses.
Balayan looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Sonnen thows a left - swing and a miss!
As Sonnen backs away, Balayan returns fire with a leg kick that just misses.
Balayan displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Sonnen throws out the jab.
Sonnen dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Sonnen drives through with a takedown into guard.
Sonnen slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Sonnen wants to control from the top but Balayan keeps moving.
Sonnen won't allow Balayan to sweep him here.
Sonnen tries to free his leg and advance position but Balayan is retaining full guard.
Balayan bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Sonnen's guard.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Sonnen tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Sonnen being controlled here, momentarily.
Balayan postures up.
Sonnen is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Balayan defends well.
Sonnen escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Balayan gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Balayan postures up.
Sonnen is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Balayan defends well.
Balayan slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Balayan preventing the sweep.
Balayan is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Sonnen has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Balayan can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Balayan has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Sonnen wants to sweep here but Balayan controlling him for the moment.
Sonnen looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Balayan is fighting to break Sonnen's control of his arms but Sonnen is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Balayan sitting in guard here, content to control.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Sonnen is controlling Balayan's posture.
The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Sonnen avoids a kick to the body.
Balayan looks to score with a jab to the body but Sonnen is just out of range.
Balayan pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Sonnen changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.
Sonnen looks to land a left hand but Balayan moved out of range nicely.
Balayan tries to move into range but Sonnen moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
A telegraphed right hand from Sonnen misses the target.
Sonnen connects with the punch.
Sonnen throws a wild body kick that Balayan sees coming a mile off.
Balayan with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Sonnen to score with a decent uppercut.
Good work by Balayan as he checks the leg kick.
Balayan throws a low kick but it's checked well by Sonnen.
Sonnen blocks a head kick by Balayan.
Balayan doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sonnen shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Balayan pinned against the cage. Balayan gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Balayan slips a jab from Sonnen.
Balayan stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Balayan scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Balayan throws a body punch but Sonnen moves out of range.
Sonnen uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Balayan.
Sonnen takes a nasty kick to the mid section... That should keep him thinking. Does he try and block and risk a head kick landing?
Balayan throws a lazy right hand but Sonnen sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Sonnen avoids the body shot from Balayan.
Balayan throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Sonnen pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Balayan was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Sonnen ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Sonnen looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Sonnen throws a body kick, spinning off balance
and Balayan connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Sonnen stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Balayan.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
A close round but Dao Sonnen will probably get the nod.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!
Sonnen walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Balayan checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Sonnen throws a leg kick which misses Balayan's front leg but catches the back leg as Balayan tries to avoid it.
Balayan uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Sonnen.
Sonnen throws a shot from downtown. Balayan moves away and avoids it.
Sonnen takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Sonnen with a hook.
Sonnen throws a wild body kick that Balayan sees coming a mile off.
Balayan thows a left - swing and a miss!
Sonnen walks forward, straight into a front kick from Balayan.
Dao Sonnen seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Balayan takes a swing at Sonnen's ribcage but misses.
Balayan throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Sonnen throws a front kick aimed at Balayan's knee but Balayan avoids it well.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Balayan looks for the body kick but Sonnen saw that one coming.
Balayan lands a nice shot to the body.
Balayan tried to score with a low kick but Sonnen checks it.
Sonnen now looks to counter with a shot at the body.
Balayan misses the shot to the body.
Sonnen misses with a kick to the body.
Balayan dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Balayan fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Sonnen tries to bum rush Balayan with a series of wild strikes but Balayan uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
A head kick misses from Sonnen.
Balayan walks into a stiff left hand from Sonnen.
Balayan dips to his left and cracks Sonnen with an uppercut!
Balayan throws a jab when Sonnen was well out of range.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Balayan, right into the meat.
Sonnen throws a body punch but Balayan moves out of range.
Balayan takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Balayan lands with a slapping head kick.
Balayan connects with a looping right hand.
Balayan takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Balayan chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Sonnen can pounce on him.
Balayan stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Sonnen.
A big left from Sonnen misses.
Balayan blocks a leg kick.
Balayan connects with a leg kick. Sonnen looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
The fighters circling - Sonnen throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Balayan scores with a hook.
Balayan scores with a leg kick.
Balayan cracks Sonnen with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Balayan tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
And Sonnen responds with a good body kick, but Balayan manages to step out the way in time.
Sonnen throws out a leg kick but Balayan moves out of range and Sonnen only half commits.
Balayan throws a body punch but Sonnen moves out of range.
Garegin Balayan is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Sonnen loads up on a big right hand but Balayan slips the punch.
Balayan thows a left - swing and a miss!
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Balayan.
Balayan tries to close the distance and clinch but Sonnen swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Sonnen jabs. That one connects to the head of his opponent.
Sonnen lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Sonnen throws a looping overhand right but Balayan ducks down to avoid it.
Sonnen finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Sonnen takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Balayan fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Sonnen.
Balayan misses with a looping left.
Balayan scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Sonnen uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Balayan.
A little jabbing left from Sonnen on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Sonnen misses with an uppercut. Balayan saw that one coming.
Balayan fires out a quick counter leg kick but Sonnen just manages to avoid it.
A chopping leg kick lands by Sonnen.
Balayan looks to score with a jab to the body but Sonnen is just out of range.
Balayan throws a jab but it's blocked by Sonnen.
Sonnen jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Sonnen throws a hook but Balayan avoids it easily.
Sonnen swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Sonnen scores with a nice head shot.
Balayan misses with a low kick.
Sonnen lands with an uppercut that bounces Balayan off the cage and back into range.
Sonnen throws a body kick despite being completely out of range
and Balayan counters with a nice leg kick.
Balayan's corner calls for a 1-2. Balayan obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
A nice inside leg kick there by Sonnen. That's going to slow Balayan down.
Sonnen's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Sonnen misses with a body shot.
Balayan misses with a low kick.
Sonnen takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Sonnen throws a leg kick that is checked
and Balayan makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Sonnen lands a nice shot that snaps Balayan's head back.
Sonnen motions for Balayan to come forward. Sonnen throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
A quick step to the side and Balayan tries to counter with a shot to the body but it doesn't connect.
Sonnen takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Balayan ducks under a wild hook from Sonnen.
Sonnen uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Balayan.
Balayan scores with a jab to the head.
Balayan throws a shot to the body.
Sonnen takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Sonnen throws a leg kick but Balayan moved away.
Sonnen misses with a low kick.
Balayan wants to land a leg kick but Sonnen is out of range.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Sonnen! But no joy.
Sonnen throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Sonnen throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
Garegin Balayan dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!
Balayan misses with an uppercut. Sonnen saw that one coming.
Sonnen was about to counter that last move with a leg kick but changes his mind.
Balayan blocks a jab.
Sonnen misses with a looping left.
Balayan blocks a head kick by Sonnen.
A quick step to the side and Balayan tries to counter with a shot to the body but it doesn't connect.
Sonnen throws a body shot but no joy.
Balayan lands with a kick to the ribs.
Sonnen throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Sonnen misses with a looping right.
Balayan quickly followed up with a counter body kick but doesn't connect.
Balayan lands with a nice body kick.
Sonnen has managed to clinch.
Sonnen tries to work over Balayan's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
A short body shot lands from Balayan as the two fighters clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Balayan tries a body shot but Sonnen blocks it.
Sonnen lands a right hand.
Balayan softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Balayan lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Sonnen backwards.
Sonnen breaks the clinch.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Balayan throws a nice inside leg kick.
Sonnen scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Balayan uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Sonnen.
Sonnen moves out of range as Balayan strikes.
Sonnen blocks a low kick nicely.
Balayan scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Balayan uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Sonnen.
Sonnen throws a nice inside leg kick.
Balayan loads up on a big right hand but Sonnen slips the punch.
Sonnen tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Balayan was well out of range. Poor timing from Sonnen.
Balayan closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
A nice right hand lands inside from Balayan.
Balayan lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Balayan misses with a hook to the ribs.
Balayan can't find room to land a body shot as Sonnen controls the action.
Balayan pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Balayan moves out of range of the body kick from Sonnen.
Balayan lands with an overhand left.
Balayan blocks a jab.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
A low kick from Sonnen misses
and Balayan counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Balayan takes a swing at Sonnen's ribcage but misses.
Sonnen appears to be waiting to throw a counter punch to the body.
Sonnen takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Balayan swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Sonnen throws a leg kick but Balayan moved away.
Balayan waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Sonnen.
Balayan tries to clinch but Sonnen moves out of range.
Both fighters circling a little - Balayan finishes the exchange with a kick to the body.
Sonnen lands a nice shot that snaps Balayan's head back.
A jab from Sonnen does it's job there.
Balayan throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
A little jabbing left from Sonnen on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Balayan scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Sonnen tries a head kick but it misses.
Sonnen moves away from the strike by Balayan.
Sonnen throws a predictable looking body shot
letting Balayan counter with a right hand.
Sonnen throws a body kick despite being completely out of range
and Balayan counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Balayan ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Balayan fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Sonnen misses with an uppercut. Balayan saw that one coming.
Sonnen throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Balayan is looking to score with low kicks.
Sonnen throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Sonnen takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Sonnen's corner calls for a 1-2. Sonnen obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Balayan swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Sonnen.
Balayan takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
An attempted straight right counter from Balayan misses the target.
Balayan has closed the distance and engaged Sonnen in a clinch.
Sonnen has a couple of punches blocked by Balayan.
Sonnen lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Balayan.
Sonnen lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Balayan lands a body punch in the clinch.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Balayan lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Sonnen lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Balayan backwards.
Sonnen misses with the head strike.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sonnen's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Balayan tries to work over Sonnen's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
A short right from Sonnen on the inside.
Balayan is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Sonnen is defending well for now.
Sonnen blocking some punches.
A short body shot lands from Sonnen as the two fighters clinch.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Balayan's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Balayan throws a looping overhand right but Sonnen ducks down to avoid it.
Balayan lands a nice shot to the body.
Balayan thows a left - swing and a miss!
Sonnen misses with a body kick.
Balayan takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Sonnen turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Balayan lands a jab to the nose.
Balayan throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Balayan throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
And that's the end of the fight!
Garegin Balayan showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Balayan 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 Phil Schofield scores the fight 29:28
Judge James Glass scores the fight 30:28
Judge Andrew Berry scores the fight 29:28
In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Garegin Balayan!
A victorious Garegin Balayan thanked his army of followers in his post fight interview, telling people to make sure they follow him on Twitter.
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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
68% |
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