PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Jeff Thorn (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Randy Balboa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). I don't know about you partner, but I'm pumped for this one!

Thorn
vs
Balboa

203 cm
22
250 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

194 cm
21
245 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Solid boxing
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Jeff Thorn!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Randy Balboa!
The judges for this bout are Summer Carpenter, Donatello Bradman and Skip Squint.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Thorn fails to land with a series of punches.
Thorn stuffs the takedown.
Balboa fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.

Balboa shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.

Balboa stands up from the dominant position, so we're back on the feet.
Thorn stuffs the takedown.
Jeff Thorn has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Randy Balboa.
Thorn misses with a body shot.
Balboa slips a straight right by Thorn.
Thorn throws a right and a left that Balboa avoids nicely.
Balboa tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Thorn paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Balboa lands a high kick!
Thorn swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Horrible takedown by Balboa or perhaps it was just good defense by Thorn which made him look bad.
Balboa showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Thorn.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Balboa tries to clinch up.
Thorn ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Balboa looks gassed!
Balboa takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Balboa dodges the punch combination from Thorn.
Thorn listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.

It looks like Randy Balboa has been cut.
Balboa closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Thorn lands a nice hook to Balboa's body. Balboa takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Thorn throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Thorn moves into range and connects with a jab.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thorn takes a swing at Balboa's ribcage but misses.
Thorn misses with a wild combination.
Thorn throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Nice jab there from Thorn.
Balboa fails with the takedown.
Nice body punch from Thorn.
Randy Balboa seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Thorn throws a right and a left that both miss.
Thorn scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Thorn thows a left - swing and a miss!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Balboa throws a hook but Thorn avoids it easily.
Some wild striking there from Thorn.
Thorn lands with a nice combination. Balboa backs away looking to recover.
Balboa throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Thorn misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Balboa wants to clinch up but Thorn keeps it at a distance.
Thorn rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Balboa moves out of range and avoids them all easily.

Balboa closes the distance and clinches.
Balboa tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Thorn just stands there and leans against the cage.
Thorn can't break the clinch.
Thorn wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Thorn works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Good body shot from Thorn.
Thorn tries to break the clinch but Balboa is controlling the position.
Balboa is trying to break free.
A nice left hand lands by Thorn.
Thorn is looking to break free of the clinch but Balboa has double underhooks.

Thorn breaks the clinch.
Thorn swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Balboa counters with a single leg into guard. Thorn didn't expect that.
Thorn 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.
Balboa trying to control but Thorn is working from the bottom.

Thorn is edging up against the cage. He's using the cage to get back to his feet. Nice work there - the fighters are clinched.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

Balboa breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Balboa takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Balboa showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Thorn.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jeff Thorn dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Randy Balboa's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Balboa shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Balboa changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Thorn tries to avoid it but Balboa manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Thorn to the ground. Thorn escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Thorn looks to score with a jab to the body but Balboa is just out of range.
Thorn swinging wilding here.
Thorn stalks Balboa and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Balboa's face. Balboa staggers backwards, shaken.
Thorn connects with the punch.
Thorn lands a jab-cross combination.
Thorn misses with a jab, cross combination.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Balboa shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Thorn pinned against the cage. Thorn gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Jeff Thorn has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Randy Balboa.
Balboa fails with a takedown attempt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thorn misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Balboa is looking to clinch but Thorn is avoiding it.
Thorn throws a body punch but Balboa moves out of range.
Thorn rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Balboa moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Balboa throws a head kick but Thorn moves out of range.
Thorn throws a left and a right that both miss

so Balboa counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Thorn can't keep his opponent in guard - Balboa advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thorn avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Balboa.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Balboa throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.

Thorn actively working from the bottom here.
Thorn won't allow Balboa to pass to mount.
Thorn works his way to full guard. Good work.
Balboa sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Thorn looking for a sweep. Not yet Thorn, not yet.
Balboa trying to control the position from guard on top but Thorn is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Balboa might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Thorn kaven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.
Thorn 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.
Thorn has control of Balboa's left arm, preventing Balboa from doing any damage.
Balboa trying to control the position from guard on top but Thorn is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Thorn pulls Balboa in close to prevent any damage.
Balboa throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Thorn scores with a jab to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Thorn tries to bum rush Balboa with a series of wild strikes but Balboa uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Jeff Thorn is winning the standup battle so far.
Thorn throws a right hand that Balboa ducks under and follows up with a left that Balboa also avoids with ease.
Balboa changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Thorn tries to avoid it but Balboa manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Thorn to the ground. Thorn escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Thorn scores with a hook to the body. Balboa takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Good shot there by Balboa.
Thorn takes a body kick right on the floating rib. Ouchie.
Balboa tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Thorn paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Thorn is looking to wear down Balboa with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Balboa shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Thorn pinned against the cage. Thorn gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Thorn lands a jab-cross combination.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jeff Thorn dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Randy Balboa's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Balboa throws a left and a right that both miss
and Thorn counters with a two punch combo.
Balboa throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Thorn's waist but Thorn gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Balboa off to one side.
Balboa misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Thorn, as that shot connected.
Thorn goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Thorn misses with a jab, cross combination.
Thorn lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Balboa shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Balboa wants to clinch but Thorn slips to the side
and Thorn counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Balboa tries to clinch up.
Thorn lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Balboa at a distance.
Balboa shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Thorn as he jumps to the side.
Jeff Thorn has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Randy Balboa.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thorn keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Thorn throws a series of punches but Balboa moves out of range.
Balboa misses with a head kick.
Jeff Thorn is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
A punch combination from Thorn misses.
Thorn is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Balboa can do to turn this around?
Balboa tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Thorn swivels and escapes.
Balboa fails with a takedown attempt.
Balboa tries to clinch but Thorn moves out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Thorn throws a right and a left that Balboa avoids nicely.
Thorn scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Balboa doesn't seem bothered though.
Balboa shoots in for a double leg but Thorn sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
A head kick misses from Balboa.
Thorn lands with a hook. Balboa tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Thorn swings for the body but Balboa moves out of range.
Balboa shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Thorn as he jumps to the side.
Thorn fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Balboa slips a jab and a cross from Thorn.
Balboa looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Thorn is fending him off so far but Balboa persists. Nope, Thorn circles away and we're back to standing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Balboa has a takedown stuffed.
Thorn misses with a series of wild punches.
Balboa shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Thorn pinned against the cage. Thorn gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Thorn throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Balboa.

Balboa looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Balboa is tying to control. Thorn wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thorn is controlling Balboa's position as best he can from this difficult position.
Thorn trying to hold on to Balboa's head to control him but Balboa postures up.
Thorn wants to get back to his feet.
Balboa wants to stand up but Thorn is controlling the position.
Thorn controlling the position well.
Thorn wants to improve his position but Balboa is controlling well.

And that's the end of the fight!
Jeff Thorn showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Thorn, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Summer Carpenter scores the fight 30:27
Judge Donatello Bradman scores the fight 30:27
Judge Skip Squint scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Jeff Thorn!