PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Finn Balor (ranked 1594 p4p, 170 weight class) and Igor Yakovchenko (ranked 1017 p4p, 110 weight class). Balor comes to the cage accompanied by 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.

Balor
vs
Yakovchenko

172 cm
43
152 lbs
36 - 19 - 1

177 cm
42
169 lbs
42 - 28 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
KO power

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Powerful

Zenith Nutrition (160q/225$)

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 36 - 19 - 1, fighting out of St Petersburg, Finn Balor!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 42 - 28 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Igor Yakovchenko!
The judges for this bout are Leandro Rodrigues, Matheus Silva and Daniel Cesar.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Yakovchenko misses with a head kick.
Yakovchenko displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Balor.
Balor's corner calls for a 1-2. Balor obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Yakovchenko throws a sloppy head kick and Balor moves out of range easily.

Balor fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Yakovchenko sprawls well initially but Balor persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Yakovchenko taking some punishment here, with Balor in his half guard.
Yakovchenko is trying to get back to full guard.
Yakovchenko is refusing to be controlled, as Balor sits in half guard.
Balor keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Balor scoring with strikes to the body and head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yakovchenko is looking for a sweep. Balor is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Yakovchenko makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Yakovchenko.
Yakovchenko is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Balor trying to control but Yakovchenko is working from the bottom.
Yakovchenko wants to sweep here but Balor controlling him for the moment.
Balor wants to control from the top but Yakovchenko keeps moving.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.

Yakovchenko looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Balor passes into side control.
Yakovchenko manages to get back to half guard.
Balor seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Balor working the head and body with strikes.
Yakovchenko wants to control but Balor is keeping busy.
Yakovchenko moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.

Yakovchenko is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Balor defends well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Balor got a little sloppy there for a moment and Yakovchenko has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Balor has managed to get both his arms back between Yakovchenko's legs - danger averted.
Yakovchenko looking for a sweep. Not yet Yakovchenko, not yet.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Balor landing some decent shots from guard.
Balor throwing strikes from guard but Yakovchenko blocks nicely.
Yakovchenko is trying to keep Balor in close.
Balor is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Yakovchenko has momentary wrist control but Balor slips an elbow through the middle.
Balor scoring with punches to the head and body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Balor trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Balor passes easily into side control. Nice work.

Balor tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Yakovchenko is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Balor scoring with punches from side control.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Yakovchenko wants to control but Balor postures up.
Balor lands some shots froms side control.
Yakovchenko can't do much from the bottom here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Finn Balor dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Danga de danga de dang - Yakovchenko scores with a four punch combination!

It looks like Finn Balor has been cut.
Yakovchenko throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Balor on the side of the head.
Yakovchenko fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Balor checks it well.
A left and a right from Balor both land. Nice combination.
Balor tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Yakovchenko is able to avoid easily.
Sloppy strikes from Yakovchenko. Those never looked like landing.
Balor tries to clinch but Yakovchenko is having none of it.
A head kick misses from Yakovchenko.
Balor connects with a solid leg kick.
Yakovchenko gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Balor.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Balor moves out of range of the strikes.
Balor swung with a counter punch to the body but it didn't connect.
Balor fails in his attempt to clinch.
Balor explodes with a nice body kick and back out of range. Nice work.
Yakovchenko on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.

Balor forces Yakovchenko back against the cage and clinches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A shot in the inside from Balor.
Yakovchenko lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.

Balor breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Balor lands a nice looking kick to the body. Yakovchenko takes a step back to recover.
Igor Yakovchenko is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Balor thuds a mid kick into his opponent's body. That will wear on Yakovchenko if he has to take too many more of those.
Yakovchenko throws a big shot that misses.
Balor throws a leg kick but Yakovchenko moved away.
Yakovchenko lands a jab-cross combination.
Yakovchenko misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Balor throws a leg kick
and Yakovchenko counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Balor thinking.
Balor dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Yakovchenko. That did some damage!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Balor shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Yakovchenko manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.

Yakovchenko looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Balor looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Finn Balor overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Balor stopping the sweep attempt from Yakovchenko.
Balor trying to control but Yakovchenko is working from the bottom.
Balor is really struggling to control Yakovchenko but he's trying to hold on to the position.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Balor won't allow Yakovchenko to sweep him here.
Yakovchenko being controlled here, momentarily.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Balor wants to clinch up but Yakovchenko keeps it at a distance.
Balor throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Balor scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
A jab from Yakovchenko finds it's way through Balor's defenses.
Balor gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Yakovchenko.
Balor cracks Yakovchenko with a good jab.
Balor looks for a takedown but Yakovchenko sprawls well.
Igor Yakovchenko seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Yakovchenko throws a series of punches but Balor avoids them all with ease.
Yakovchenko takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Yakovchenko throws a head kick that misses.
Yakovchenko misses the shot to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Balor cracks Yakovchenko with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Yakovchenko lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Yakovchenko throws a head kick that half lands.
Yakovchenko tries to clinch but Balor moves out of range.
Yakovchenko tries to clinch up but Balor circles away and keeps his distance.
Balor tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Nice shot by Balor.
Balor tries a low kick but Yakovchenko avoids it.
Yakovchenko keeps the fight on the outside.
Balor wants to clinch
and Yakovchenko counters with a straight right hand.
A low kick from Balor is predictable there
and Yakovchenko counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
A low kick from Yakovchenko misses
and Balor counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Balor tries to clinch there but Yakovchenko circles away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Igor Yakovchenko will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The cut man is working on Finn Balor's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Yakovchenko moves out of range of the body kick.
Yakovchenko moves away from the strike by Balor.
Balor lunges at Yakovchenko with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Yakovchenko's hand.

Yakovchenko moves into the clinch successfully.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Yakovchenko.
Balor scores with a shot to the side of Yakovchenko's head.
Balor cracks Yakovchenko with a nice body shot.
Balor lands with a short punch from the clinch.

Balor manages to break the clinch.
Balor throws a head kick that half lands.
Yakovchenko moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Balor doesn't manage to clinch there - Yakovchenko circles away.
Yakovchenko misses with a jab, cross combination.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Balor jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Yakovchenko stalks Balor and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Balor's face. Balor staggers backwards, shaken.
Balor tries to close the distance and clinch up but Yakovchenko swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Yakovchenko swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Balor is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Balor connects with a body shot.
Balor scores with a head kick. Yakovchenko tried to block it but didn't get his arm up in time.
Yakovchenko circles away from the clinch attempt.
Balor is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Yakovchenko can do to turn this around?
Balor with a hook.
Yakovchenko pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Balor back to the cage. Yakovchenko follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.
Balor takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
Yakovchenko misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Balor.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Yakovchenko, as that shot connected.
Nice straight punches there by Balor. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Balor.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Balor moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Balor keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Yakovchenko.
Yakovchenko misses with a looping left.
A left lands for Yakovchenko.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Balor slips under a jab.
Balor stuns Yakovchenko with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Balor throws a leg kick which misses Yakovchenko's front leg but catches the back leg as Yakovchenko tries to avoid it.
Balor staying out of range there.
Balor throws a nice inside leg kick.
Balor jabs at Yakovchenko's body.
Yakovchenko throws a body shot but no joy.
Igor Yakovchenko is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Yakovchenko misses with a double jab.

Balor closes the distance and clinches.
Balor lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Yakovchenko misses with a short punch on the inside.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Yakovchenko.
Balor lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Balor will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Yakovchenko up against the cage.
Yakovchenko lands a right hand that snaps the head of Balor backwards.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Yakovchenko working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.

Balor breaks from the clinch.
Balor misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Yakovchenko.
Yakovchenko throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Balor swung with a counter punch to the body but it didn't connect.
Yakovchenko misses with a shot to the body
and Balor connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.

Balor pushes Yakovchenko up against the cage in a clinch.
Stalling in the clinch from Yakovchenko.

Balor breaks from the clinch.
Balor throws a shot to the body.
Balor connects with a looping right hand.
Balor misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
A good leg kick by Balor.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Yakovchenko throws the left hand but Balor avoids the punch easily.
Balor scores with a leg kick.
Yakovchenko throws a big shot that misses.
Yakovchenko moves forwards but Balor connects with a nice, crisp jab.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Nice shot lands for Balor.
Balor drops his hands momentarily and Yakovchenko takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Yakovchenko on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Balor tries to clinch but Yakovchenko is having none of it.
Balor cracks Yakovchenko with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Balor doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Balor instigates a clinch.
Yakovchenko lands an uppercut.
Balor throws a head punch that misses.
Yakovchenko tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.

And that's the end of the fight!
Finn Balor showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Balor 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 Leandro Rodrigues scores the fight 30:28
Judge Matheus Silva scores the fight 30:27
Judge Daniel Cesar scores the fight 30:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Finn Balor!
A victorious Finn Balor thanked his army of followers in his post fight interview, telling people to make sure they follow him on Twitter.