PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Boreste Bardanos (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Finn Balor (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Bardanos comes to the cage accompanied by My Kingdom Will Come. Balor is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: Monster. 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.

Bardanos
vs
Balor

164 cm
30
145 lbs
15 - 6 - 0

172 cm
38
152 lbs
30 - 13 - 1

BJJ Red Belt
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Excellent grappler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Sully's Bar & Grill
MayheM sportswear

Zenith Nutrition (160q/225$)
Sully's Bar & Grill

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 15 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Boreste Bardanos!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 30 - 13 - 1, fighting out of New York, Finn Balor!
The judges for this bout are Donald Grub, William Gold and Paul Tew.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Bardanos missing with a left hand there. Balor was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Bardanos misses with the combination.
Bardanos stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Balor.
Balor takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Good standup being displayed there by Bardanos as he connects with a hook.
Bardanos waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Balor.
Bardanos misses with a double jab
and Balor finishes the little exchange by landing a big kick to the body.
Balor lands a glancing blow to the side of Bardanos's head.
Balor connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Bardanos takes one to the side of the head.
Balor cracks the inside of Bardanos's front leg.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Balor takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Balor lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Balor scores with a kick to the midsection.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Balor throws a wild body kick that Bardanos sees coming a mile off.
Bardanos misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Balor.
And Balor responds with a good body kick, but Bardanos manages to step out the way in time.
Balor gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Bardanos stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
We've been hearing reports that Bardanos has been drilling takedowns in recent sessions so let's see if that has an impact on the result of this fight.
Balor misses with a head kick.
Balor throws a lazy body kick
and Bardanos counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Balor slips under a jab.
Balor uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Bardanos.
Bardanos throws a shot from downtown. Balor moves away and avoids it.
Balor listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
The fighters circle momentarily. Bardanos darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Balor misses with a body kick.
As Balor tries to get set, Bardanos tries to push him back and clinch up but Balor manages to avoid the attempt.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Bardanos scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Balor doesn't seem bothered though.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Balor lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Bardanos has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Bardanos and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Balor misses with a wild body shot.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bardanos takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Balor is looking to score with low kicks.
Bardanos drops down looking for a counter takedown but Balor sprawls and moves away.
Balor throws a leg kick but Bardanos sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Bardanos changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Bardanos swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Nice uppercut there from Bardanos.
Bardanos throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Balor tries to score with a low kick but Bardanos moves his leg out of the way.
A slapping leg kick lands for Balor.
Balor scores with a jab.
Bardanos throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Balor is clearly trying to counter these attacks from Bardanos with a body shot.
Bardanos misses with a left hand
and Balor counters with a flying knee. Nice.
Bardanos lands a nice hook to Balor's body. Balor takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Balor uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Bardanos.
Bardanos misses with a body shot.
Balor uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Bardanos.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bardanos scores with a nice strike.
Finn Balor is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Balor tries to land a leg kick but Bardanos saw it coming and moves away.
Balor fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Bardanos has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Bardanos just misses with a punch to the body.
Balor misses with a low kick as Bardanos jumps back.
Bardanos is looking to counter punch.
A left lands for Bardanos.
Balor scores with a jab to the body.
Boreste Bardanos seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Bardanos throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Balor sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Bardanos moves out of the way of the counter high kick fromBalor.
Bardanos chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Balor can pounce on him.
Balor uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Bardanos.
Balor swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
A looping hook to the body misses from Bardanos. Balor does a little dance to reset his feet.
Balor looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Bardanos fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Balor looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
A punch combination from Bardanos misses.
Bardanos is looking to clinch but Balor is avoiding it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bardanos avoids the head kick by Balor.
Bardanos tries to counter with a takedown but Balor is quick to defend against it.
This has been an exciting period of action!
A kick lands to the mid section there for Balor.
Balor throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Bardanos has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Balor.
Balor moves away from the strike by Bardanos.
Balor throws a chopping leg kick but Bardanos manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
A big left from Bardanos misses.
Balor connects with a solid leg kick.
Balor throws a leg kick but Bardanos sees it coming and moves out of range.
Balor looks to score with a jab to the body but Bardanos is just out of range.
Balor with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Bardanos to score with a decent uppercut.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Bardanos cracks Balor with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Bardanos changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Bardanos lands with a good body shot.
Balor tries to land a body kick
letting Bardanos counter with a right hand.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Boreste Bardanos will probably get the nod.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Balor throws a push kick but Bardanos slaps the foot to one side.
Bardanos throws an overhand right that lands on Balor's shoulder, as Balor tries to avoid the shot.
Bardanos slips under a jab from Balor.
Bardanos stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Balor.
Balor misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Bardanos.
Balor staying out of range there.
Balor feints and then cracks Bardanos's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Bardanos down.
Balor throws a nice inside leg kick.
Bardanos misses the shot to the body.
Bardanos fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Bardanos misses with a double jab
enabling Balor to counter with a crisp jab.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A head kick misses from Balor.
Balor uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Bardanos.
Boreste Bardanos is winning the standup battle so far.
Bardanos takes a kick to the side of the head.
Balor has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Bardanos throws an off balance right hand
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Balor attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Bardanos avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Bardanos scores with a jab to the head.
Balor takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Bardanos is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Bardanos throws a hook but Balor avoids it easily.

Bardanos changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Balor looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.

Bardanos thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Balor wants to control but Bardanos postures up.
Balor felt the need to train up his defensive grappling in the buildup to the fight. Presumably he was expecting to be in a difficult position like this, so let's see if he can get out of it.
Balor manages to get back to half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Balor is trying to stand.
Bardanos missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Balor tries to kick Bardanos off but Bardanos keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

Bardanos is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Bardanos is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Bardanos prevents Balor from improving his position.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Bardanos stops Balor from getting back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bardanos controlling the pace.
Balor is looking for a sweep. Bardanos is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Balor is trying to stand back up but Bardanos is controlling him

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Bardanos misses with a straight right.
Balor avoids the body shot from Bardanos.
Balor throws a fast counter high kick but Bardanos manages to duck under it in time.
A left lands for Bardanos.

Bardanos manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Balor on his heels. He'll look to pass Balor's guard now, I'm sure.
Bardanos connects with a couple of short punches.
Bardanos won't allow Balor to sweep him here.
Balor is pulling down on Bardanos's head to control his posture.
Balor wants to stand but Bardanos is controlling the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bardanos trying to control but Balor is working from the bottom.
Balor is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Balor is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Bardanos is controlling him.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Bardanos checks a low kick from Balor.
Bardanos avoids a kick to the body.
Bardanos missing with a left hand there. Balor was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Bardanos slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Balor misses with a lunging right hand
and Bardanos counters with a nice uppercut.
Bardanos missing with a left hand there. Balor was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Balor only half commits to the counter leg kick.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Boreste Bardanos dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Jab, jab by Bardanos - just one landing.
Balor throws a wild body kick that Bardanos sees coming a mile off.
Balor circles away from the clinch attempt.
Balor throws a leg kick that is checked
and Bardanos connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Bardanos takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Balor misses the shot to the body.
Bardanos moves out of range of the body kick from Balor.
Bardanos uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Balor.
Bardanos swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Bardanos moves out of the way of the counter high kick fromBalor.
Balor tries a low kick but Bardanos avoids it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Bardanos throws out a loose jab but Balor uses good head movement to avoid it.
Balor steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Bardanos.
Balor misses the shot to the body.
Bardanos fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Balor manages to avoid it.
Balor feints a counter leg kick.
Balor wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Balor lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Balor misses with an attempted mid kick.
Bardanos throws an overhand right that lands on Balor's shoulder, as Balor tries to avoid the shot.
Bardanos dodges the punch combination from Balor.
Balor misses with a body kick.
Balor tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Balor dodges the punch combination from Bardanos.
Balor looks for the body kick but Bardanos saw that one coming.
Balor ducks under a wild hook from Bardanos.
Balor displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Bardanos throws out the jab.
Bardanos misses with the combination.
Bardanos tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Balor was well out of range. Poor timing from Bardanos.
Finn Balor has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Balor thumps Bardanos with a low kick.
Bardanos misses with an uppercut.
Balor throws a head kick but Bardanos moves out of range.
Bardanos misses with a two punch combination.
Balor looks to land a left hand but Bardanos moved out of range nicely.
Balor is looking to score with low kicks.
Balor throws a low kick but Bardanos avoids it.
Balor steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Bardanos.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Balor throws a low kick, looking for Bardanos's leg but Bardanos calmly moves out of range.
Balor looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Bardanos bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Balor's head.
Balor misses with a low kick.
Balor throws a body kick despite being completely out of range
and Bardanos counters with a stiff right hand.
Balor is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bardanos connects with a looping right hand.
Balor has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
Balor throws a nice inside leg kick.
Bardanos avoids a kick to the body.
Bardanos ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Balor moves away.
Bardanos looks to score with a jab to the body but Balor is just out of range.
Bardanos jabbing away but nothing is landing.
The fighters circling - Balor throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Bardanos uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Balor.
Bardanos shoots in but Balor avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Balor moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Nice sprawl there from Balor as Bardanos shoots in.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Balor.
Bardanos lands with a shot to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bardanos throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Balor misses with a head kick.
Balor lands a nice leg kick that just misses Bardanos's sensitive parts.
Balor displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Bardanos throws out the jab.
Balor is clearly trying to counter these attacks from Bardanos with a body shot.
Bardanos lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Bardanos feints and as Balor raises his hands in defense, Bardanos changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Balor not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Bardanos is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.

Balor has an omoplata and is looking to use it perhaps as a submission or perhaps to transition. Bardanos is in a bit of discomfort here, but he's managed to free himself and has dived into side control! That didn't work out too well for Balor.
Balor takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Bardanos lands a nice forearm strike.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Boreste Bardanos.
Well Bardanos has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Donald Grub scores the fight 30:27
Judge William Gold scores the fight 30:27
Judge Paul Tew scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Boreste Bardanos!
A very excited looking Boreste Bardanos made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.