PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Garegin Balayan (ranked 108 p4p, 13 weight class) and Rudy Rhod (ranked 655 p4p, 84 weight class). Balayan comes to the cage accompanied by Troika. Both fighters really staring each other down here, as Rudy Rhod enters the cage!

Balayan
vs
Rhod

180 cm
29
157 lbs
21 - 7 - 0

180 cm
30
162 lbs
17 - 10 - 2

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Olympic wrestler
World class MT
Granite chin

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Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 21 - 7 - 0, fighting out of London, Garegin Balayan!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 17 - 10 - 2, fighting out of New York, Rudy Rhod!
The judges for this bout are James Atkins, Paul Tew and Chris Edwards.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A big right from Balayan misses.
Rhod lands an overhand right.
Balayan delivers a nice body kick.
Rhod misses the shot to the body.
Balayan swats away the attempt to clinch by Rhod.
Balayan explodes with a nice body kick and back out of range. Nice work.
Good work by Balayan as he checks the leg kick.
Rhod looks to throw the jab but Balayan is out of range.
Balayan throws a low kick but it's checked well by Rhod.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Balayan throws an overhand right that lands on Rhod's shoulder, as Rhod tries to avoid the shot.
Rhod walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Balayan misses with a low kick as Rhod jumps back.
A low kick from Balayan misses
enabling Rhod to counter with a crisp jab.
Rhod throws an overhand right that lands on Balayan's shoulder, as Balayan tries to avoid the shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Rhod 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 Balayan has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Balayan and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Rhod avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Rhod connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Balayan momentarily.
Balayan takes a swing at Rhod's ribcage but misses.
Balayan throws a wild body kick that Rhod sees coming a mile off.
Balayan works the jab nicely.
Balayan ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Rhod moves away.
Rhod scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Balayan connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Balayan misses with an uppercut
and Rhod counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Balayan comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Rhod throws a body shot but no joy.
Rhod wants to land a leg kick but Balayan is out of range.
A bone on bone clash there as Rhod blocks the leg kick.
Balayan loads up on a big right hand but Rhod slips the punch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Rhod moves in looking to clinch but Balayan pushes him off.
Balayan feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Rhod's calf.
Balayan has been working on his boxing with his coaches at Dr Hatsumi's Clinic in the buildup to the fight.
Balayan connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Rhod lands a slapping body shot.
Balayan throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
A slapping leg kick lands for Balayan.
Donk. Balayan catches Rhod right on the button with a cross.
Balayan misses with an uppercut. Rhod saw that one coming.
A big right from Balayan misses.
Balayan looks to land a left hand but Rhod moved out of range nicely.
Balayan moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Balayan scoring well with a low kick there.
Rhod cracks Balayan with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Rhod misses with a lunging right hand
and Balayan counters with a nice leg kick.
Rhod uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Balayan.
Rhod thows a left - swing and a miss!
And Balayan counters with a quick kick to the body but Rhod blocks it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Balayan connects with a right hand. Rhod shakes it off.
Balayan fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Balayan throws out a loose jab but Rhod uses good head movement to avoid it.
A low kick from Rhod misses
and Balayan counters with a nice leg kick.
Balayan misses with a combination
and Rhod counters with an inside leg kick.
Rhod throws a body shot but no joy.
Balayan lands a jab.
Rhod misses with a body shot.
Rhod checks a low kick from Balayan.
Rhod steps in looking to counter with the mid kick but it doesn't connect.
Rhod uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Balayan.
Balayan fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Rhod looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Balayan slips a straight right by Rhod.
Balayan throws a quick counter kick to the body but Rhod avoids it.
Balayan throws a chopping leg kick but Rhod manages to avoid taking any serious damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Balayan looks to throw the jab but Rhod is out of range.
Balayan takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Balayan misses with a looping right.
Balayan misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Rhod.
Balayan moves out of range of the strikes.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Balayan buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Rhod lands a glancing blow to the side of Balayan's head.
Balayan ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
An attempted straight right counter from Balayan misses the target.
Balayan connects with a body shot that sends Rhod's belly button to the back.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Balayan 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 Rhod has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Rhod and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
A big right from Balayan misses.
Balayan misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Rhod.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Balayan.
Good leg kick by Balayan there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
The crowd cheers as Balayan lands an impressive looking overhand right. Rhod doesn't seem phased though.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Garegin Balayan dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Rhod takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Balayan waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Rhod.
Rhod stuns Balayan with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Rhod slips under a jab from Balayan.
Rhod swings for the body but Balayan moves out of range.
Balayan getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Rhod avoids the head kick by Balayan.
Balayan cracks Rhod with a right hand to the side of the head.
Rhod on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
A shot to the body from Balayan misses
and Rhod counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Balayan thinking.
Rhod moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Good leg kick by Balayan there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
A big left from Rhod misses.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Balayan thuds a left hand into Rhod's body.
Balayan connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Balayan chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Balayan throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Rhod's head.
Balayan wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Garegin Balayan is winning the standup battle so far.
Balayan scores with a punch to the head.
Rhod lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Rhod moves out of range of the leg kick from Balayan.
Balayan slips a straight right by Rhod.
A lazy body kick from Rhod
and Balayan counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Balayan ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Nice defenses there by Rhod.
Nice defenses there by Rhod.
Rhod tests Balayan's chin there with a solid looking shot.
A slow jab from Rhod misses its intended target.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Balayan misses with a hook to the body
and Rhod cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Rhod moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Balayan cracks the inside of Rhod's front leg.
Balayan misses with a leg kick
and Rhod counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Balayan steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Rhod.
Both these guys seem content to just stand up and trade with eachother but Rhod might want to think about changing up his gameplan a bit because over the course of the fight, Balayan has got the better of the exchanges.
Balayan throws a leg kick but Rhod moved away.
Balayan looks to score with a jab to the body but Rhod is just out of range.
Balayan looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Rhod misses with a hook.
Balayan is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Rhod can do to turn this around?
Rhod takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Balayan scores with the left hand. Rhod knows he should have avoided that one.
Rhod cracks the inside of Balayan's front leg.
Nice defenses there by Balayan.
Garegin Balayan seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Balayan swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Rhod throws out a counter right but Balayan avoids it with no problem.
Balayan cracks Rhod with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Rhod wants to clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rhod slips under a jab.
Rhod lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Balayan throws a jab when Rhod was well out of range.
Rhod let fly with a counter punch to the body but it didn't land.
Balayan lands a jab to the nose.
Rhod connects with a body shot.
Rhod throws a leg kick
enabling Balayan to counter with a crisp jab.
Rhod scores with a punch to the head.
Rhod avoids the head kick by Balayan.
Balayan throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Rhod throws a looping overhand right but Balayan ducks down to avoid it.
Rhod lands with a nice body punch.
Rhod keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Good leg kick by Rhod there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
The crowd cheers as Balayan lands an impressive looking overhand right. Rhod doesn't seem phased though.
Rhod throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Rhod scores with a nice head shot.
Balayan looks for the body kick but Rhod saw that one coming.
Balayan throws a leg kick
and Rhod counters with a body kick that stops Balayan in his tracks momentarily.
A lazy left from Balayan finds it's target.
Rhod throws a body shot but no joy.
Balayan uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Balayan uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Rhod.
Balayan tries to land a front kick but Rhod steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Balayan avoids the body shot from Rhod.
Balayan is looking to land body kicks.
Balayan avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Rhod works Balayan's body with a nice hook.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Garegin Balayan will probably get the nod.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Rhod throws the left hand but Balayan avoids the punch easily.
Balayan scores with a spinning back kick!
Balayan fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Rhod.
Rhod throws a big shot that misses.
Balayan appeared to be looking to counter that last move with a leg kick.
Rhod fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Balayan checks it well.
Balayan throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Balayan takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
A shot to the liver by Balayan. Beautiful body shot.
Rhod throws a leg kick but Balayan checks it.
An attempted straight right counter from Balayan misses the target.
Rhod misses with an uppercut.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Balayan throws a low kick but Rhod avoids it.
Balayan misses with a hook. Rhod ducked under it nicely.
Balayan slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Rhod's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Balayan throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
It seemed like Rhod was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Balayan ducks under a wild hook from Rhod.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Balayan misses with a kick to the body
and Rhod counters with a slapping leg kick.
Balayan cracks Rhod with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Rhod has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
Balayan tries to work over Rhod's front leg with a kick but Rhod checks it.
Rhod fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Balayan is looking to clinch.
Rhod throws out a counter right but Balayan avoids it with no problem.
Balayan misses the shot to the body.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Rhod! But no joy.
Rhod walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Rhod connects with a body shot that sends Balayan's belly button to the back.
Balayan tries to clinch up
and Rhod counters with a nice uppercut.
Balayan throws a low kick but Rhod avoids it.
Balayan takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.
Rhod fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Balayan.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rhod looks to throw the jab but Balayan is out of range.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Balayan throws a body kick that misses.
Balayan misses with a wild body shot.
Balayan gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Rhod ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Balayan moves away.
Rhod scores with a head kick. Balayan tried to block it but didn't get his arm up in time.
A good leg kick by Balayan.
The fighters circling - Balayan throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Rhod flicks out a counter leg kick but Balayan steps away.
Balayan misses with a low kick.
Rhod follows through with a counter body kick but it doesn't land.
Rhod throws a jab when Balayan was well out of range.
Rhod lands a leg kick that knocks Balayan off balance momentarily.
Balayan is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Balayan thuds his right hand into Rhod's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Balayan throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Rhod.
Balayan scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Rhod misses with a head kick.
Rhod punishes Balayan's body with a nice straight punch.
Balayan misses with a straight left.
Rhod throws out a counter right but Balayan avoids it with no problem.
Rhod walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Balayan checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Balayan pushes Rhod away with a front kick.
Balayan is looking to land body kicks.
Balayan throws a leg kick
and Rhod cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Rhod moves out of range of the body kick from Balayan.
Rhod doesn't fully commit to the body shot counter.
Balayan tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Rhod is able to avoid easily.
Rhod throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Balayan jabs. That one connects to the head of his opponent.
Rhod gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Rudy Rhod has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Balayan misses with a body shot.
Balayan doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Rhod throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Balayan sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Crunch! Rhod slams his shin into Balayan's torso.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Good exchange - Rhod coming out on top.

Balayan is rocked!
Rhod throws a wild body kick that Balayan sees coming a mile off.
Oh Balayan is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Rhod throws the kick towards the body but Balayan avoids it.
Balayan missing with a left hand there. Rhod was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Rhod looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Balayan seems to have got his legs back now.
Balayan wants to slow Rhod down by chopping away at his legs.
Balayan closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Rhod moves out of range of the body kick from Balayan.
The fighters circling - Rhod throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Rhod blocks a low kick nicely.
Rhod lands a nice looking body shot.

And that's the end of the fight!
Rudy Rhod comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Balayan 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 James Atkins scores the fight 29:28
Judge Paul Tew scores the fight 29:28
Judge Chris Edwards scores the fight 29:29

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Garegin Balayan!
A very excited looking Garegin Balayan 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.