PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Leonardo Ballestero (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jack Balance (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Jack Balance is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Ballestero
vs
Balance

185 cm
22
190 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

180 cm
22
195 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
KO power

Decent wrestler
Counter striker
Granite chin

CEC Nutrition Q159 (*$75*)

Reaper Combatwear

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Leonardo Ballestero!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Jack Balance!
The judges for this bout are Arvi Lind, Ben Zyskovitsi and Roosa Järviläinen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Balance looks to score with a jab to the body but Ballestero is just out of range.
Ballestero shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Balance decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Ballestero's guard.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Ballestero is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Balance controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Ballestero wants to stand up but Balance is controlling him.
Balance throwing strikes from guard but Ballestero blocks nicely.

Balance avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Ballestero thows some rabbit punches from the bottom but they don't do any damage.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Balance prevents Ballestero from getting back to his feet.
Balance looking to pass the guard.
Balance not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Balance connects with a couple of short punches.
Balance's corner is telling him to maintain position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Balance landing with the ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Balance sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Balance trying to control but Ballestero is working from the bottom.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Jack Balance wasn't active enough on the ground.
Balance keeps the fight on the outside.
Leonardo Ballestero seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Balance stuffs the takedown attempt from Ballestero. Ballestero gets slowly back to his feet.

Balance drives through with a takedown into Ballestero's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Balance throwing strikes from guard but Ballestero blocks nicely.

The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Balance got a little sloppy there for a moment and Ballestero has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Balance has managed to get both his arms back between Ballestero's legs - danger averted.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ballestero keeping moving, preventing Balance from controlling successfully.
Balance with a nice head shot there.
Balance pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Ballestero is keeping the position for now.
Balance is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Balance accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Balance looking to pass the guard.
Balance stays in close to Ballestero's body and controls the position.
Ballestero keeping moving, preventing Balance from controlling successfully.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Jack Balance.
Balance falls off balance throwing a combination
and Ballestero counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Balance misses the shot to the body.
Balance circles away from the clinch attempt

and Balance counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Balance is trying to work for a kimura but Ballestero is defending well.
Balance not doing much here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Balance frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Ballestero takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Balance is looking to clinch.
Ballestero gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Balance counters by clinching up.

Ballestero successfully pulls guard.
Balance working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Ballestero's head.
Balance working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Ballestero looking to control.
Balance is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Ballestero keeping moving, preventing Balance from controlling successfully.
Balance scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Balance trying to control the position from guard on top but Ballestero is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Balance controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Ballestero keeping full guard, as Balance tries to pass.
Jack Balance has got the better of the ground game so far.
Ballestero wants to sweep here but Balance controlling him for the moment.
Ballestero keeping moving, preventing Balance from controlling successfully.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Jack Balance.
Balance ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
The fight stays on the outside here - Ballestero looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Balance misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Ballestero tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Balance paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Ballestero lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Ballestero.
Ballestero shoots in for a takedown but Balance shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Ballestero tries to clinch but fails miserably

and Balance counters with a shoot takedown. Ballestero fights it but they end up in guard.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Ballestero is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Balance is controlling him.
Balance has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Balance postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Balance wants to pass the guard but Ballestero is keeping the position.
Ballestero wants to get back to his feet but Balance is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Balance is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ballestero has momentary wrist control but Balance slips an elbow through the middle.
Balance wants to control from the top but Ballestero keeps moving.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Jack Balance was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Ballestero shoots and misses

and Balance counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Ballestero's guard now.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Leonardo Ballestero. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Balance wants to pass the guard but Ballestero is keeping the position.
Balance content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Balance wants to control from the top but Ballestero keeps moving.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Balance is stalling in the full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ballestero working a defensive guard here.
Balance working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Ballestero's head.
Balance lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Ballestero trying to control the position.
Balance wants to control from the top but Ballestero keeps moving.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Ballestero keeping full guard, as Balance tries to pass.
Balance pushes down on Ballestero's leg and manages to get into half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jack Balance showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Ballestero blocks a jab.

Balance drives through with a takedown into guard.

Balance avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Ballestero can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Balance controls the pace.
Ballestero looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Balance is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Balance trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Balance is pushing down on Ballestero's leg trying to pass to half guard. Ballestero is fighting to maintain full guard but Balance has managed to sneak the leg through.
Balance slows the pace down in half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Ballestero has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Balance is working away from the top position though.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.

Balance shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Ballestero's guard.
Balance looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Ballestero keeping moving, preventing Balance from controlling successfully.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Balance throwing strikes from guard but Ballestero blocks nicely.
Balance slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Balance has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Jack Balance.
Ballestero tries to clinch up.
Balance throws a body kick that misses.
Ballestero misses with a wild body shot.
Ballestero misses with a two punch combination.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ballestero with a lazy takedown attempt

and Balance counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Balance tries to pass to full mount but Ballestero defends it.
Balance with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Let's hope that Balance has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
Balance is trying to control the action in half guard but Ballestero is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Balance controlling the pace.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Jack Balance wasn't active enough on the ground.
Balance takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Balance dips down and scores with a jab to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ballestero tries to clinch
and Balance counters with a one-two to the body.
Leonardo Ballestero is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Balance thows a body shot but no joy.

Balance throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Ballestero was covering up waiting for the punch and Balance finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Ballestero can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Balance controls the pace.
Balance postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Balance slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

And that's the end of the fight!
Jack Balance comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Balance winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Arvi Lind scores the fight 27:30
Judge Ben Zyskovitsi scores the fight 27:30
Judge Roosa Järviläinen scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Jack Balance!
After winning the bout, Jack Balance thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.