PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Zack Nery (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ana Balestra (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). I can't wait for this one - let's get the fighter introductions out of the way and get this one started!

Nery
vs
Balestra

170 cm
21
143 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

169 cm
25
130 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
KO power

Good wrestler
Brawler
Very confident

STAR Nutrition

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Zack Nery!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Ana Balestra!
The judges for this bout are Thiago Cunha, Luis Engracia and Edson Gomes.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nery tries to close the distance and clinch up but Balestra swats him away and circles back towards the center.

Balestra shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than Balestra was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Nery sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.
Nery is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Balestra performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Nery wants to get back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Ana Balestra hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.

Balestra shoots in and bounces Nery off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Balestra lands a couple of digs.
Nery wants to stand up but Balestra is controlling him.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Balestra accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

Balestra gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
Balestra misses with the combination.

Nery forces Balestra back against the cage and clinches.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nery looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.

Balestra pulls Nery into guard.
Balestra looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Nery working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Nery stopping the sweep attempt from Balestra.
Nery is fighting to break Balestra's control of his arms but Balestra is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.

Nery stands up from guard. Let's bang!
A punch combination from Nery misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Balestra misses with a head kick.
Nery misses with a jab, cross combination.

Balestra shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Nery napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Balestra controls the position.
Nery is positioning himself to get back to half guard.

Balestra is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Nery is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Balestra controlling the position.
Balestra landing strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nery struggling a bit here.
Nery seems a little lost for a moment, as Balestra dominates the positioning.
Nery is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Balestra asserts his dominance and retains side control.
Nery trying to remain calm as Balestra controls from the top position.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Nery takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Balestra landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ana Balestra dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Nery scores with a one two! Balestra had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.

Balestra shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Nery is trying to defend but Balestra finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.

Nery looking for submissions off his back.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Well, if Balestra is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Nery is looking to escape.
Balestra is controlling the pace.
Balestra prevents Nery from improving his position.
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.
Nery is trying to stand up here but Balestra is controlling him well.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Ana Balestra has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.

Balestra looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Balestra is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nery wants to stand up but Balestra is controlling him.

Ana Balestra has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Nery tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Balestra shoots in but no luck this time.
Nery closes the distance but Balestra moves to the side

and Balestra counters by clinching up.
Nery can't break the clinch.
Balestra looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Nery pulls guard effortlessly.
Balestra content to stall in guard here.
Balestra stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Nery swivels though and keeps the full guard.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Balestra controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Ana Balestra hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Nery tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Balestra paws at him with a jab and circles away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nery shoots in looking for a takedown. Balestra tries to sprawl out of it but Nery keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Balestra manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Nery throws a right and a left that both miss.
Zack Nery seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Balestra looking to score a takedown here. Nery is defending well but Balestra drives through and ends up in Nery's guard.
Balestra controlling from the top position.
Nery throwing strikes off his back to little effect.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Balestra wants to pass the guard but Nery is keeping the position.
Balestra landing with the ground and pound.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ana Balestra showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Nery's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Balestra scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Balestra tries to cartwheel into mount but he doesn't manage it.
Nery is trying to escape and get back to his feet.

Balestra thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Balestra in side control, just content to control the action for now.
Nery is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Balestra is controlling him well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Balestra is putting a hurting on Nery here, landing some big shots from side control.

Balestra stands up and we're back to a striking position.
Balestra shoots in but Nery avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Nery defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Balestra.
Balestra shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Balestra shoots in but no luck this time.
Zack Nery has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ana Balestra.
Balestra takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Nery feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Balestra's calf.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nery scores with a one two! Balestra had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
Nery closes this distance looking for a takedown but Balestra circles away.
Balestra defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Nery.
Nery tries a head kick but it misses.

Balestra looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Balestra looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Nery with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Balestra seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.

Balestra seems to be working for a kimura but Nery defends the submission attempt.
Nery looks like he's trying to stand up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Balestra working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Balestra in particular looking to stall.

Balestra is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Balestra perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Balestra is pressing down on Nery's thigh, looking to free his foot. Nery is holding on for now.

Nery is defending against the submission attempts here by Balestra.
Nery tries to kick Balestra off but Balestra keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Balestra looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Nery with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Zack Nery has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Ana Balestra is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Balestra controlling the pace.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ana Balestra comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Balestra 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 Thiago Cunha scores the fight 27:30
Judge Luis Engracia scores the fight 27:30
Judge Edson Gomes scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ana Balestra!