PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Warmaster Barnett (ranked 3493 p4p, 6074 weight class) and Trevor Love (ranked 421 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Barnett might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to This is WAR by - GWAR. Love has chosen Heart Crusher as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Trevor Love is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Barnett
vs
Love

194 cm
25
285
1 - 0 - 0

201 cm
28
268
2 - 5 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Basic striking
Granite 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 Hilo, Warmaster Barnett!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Trevor Love!
The judges for this bout are Micheangelo Fripello, Roger Salmon and Jeff Smith.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Barnett closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Love trying to hold on to Barnett's head to control him but Barnett postures up.

Barnett is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Love has managed to free his arm - good work.
Barnett slows the pace down in half guard.

Barnett is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Love is just riding it out for now. Barnett eventually gives up the hold.
Barnett definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Barnett is figuring out what he wants to do next.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Love manages to get to full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Love trying to control the position.

Barnett drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Love manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Barnett has Love in his guard.

Barnett working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Love.
Barnett has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.

Barnett has an active guard here but Love has managed to pass into half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Barnett wants to get back to full guard.
Barnett trying to control from the bottom.
Barnett is looking for a sweep. Love is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Barnett is working hard here to advance position.

Love wants to work for an arm triangle but Barnett is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Love prevents Barnett from improving his position.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are battling for position here. Barnett manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Barnett managing to control the position.
Barnett trying to control the position.
Love passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Barnett gets back to half guard.
Barnett trying to control here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.

Love is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Barnett sees it coming and defends easily.
My spies in Cozad MMA Hilo inform me that Love has been getting involved in the gym's BJJ sparring sessions. Let's see whether that pays dividends!
Love wants to take a breather but Barnett is having none of it.
Love is nestled in close to Barnett, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Barnett wants to improve his position but Love is controlling well.
Barnett is pressing down on Love's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Love postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Barnett is controlling Love's posture.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Trevor Love dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Love defending well as Barnett loads up on a big left hand.
Barnett jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Love moves away from the strike by Barnett.

Barnett feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.

Love is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Barnett trying to control but Love is working from the bottom.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Love can do anything to dispel that myth.

Barnett is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Love is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Love has escaped and now he's on top!

We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Barnett seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
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.

Barnett has an active guard here but Love has managed to pass into half guard.
Barnett has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Love is working away from the top position though.
Love missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Barnett is refusing to be controlled, as Love sits in half guard.

Love looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.

That's two 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.
Barnett is controlling Love's trapped leg to prevent Love from advancing to side control.

Barnett actively working from the bottom here.

Love is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Barnett defends it well.
Barnett wants to improve his position but Love is controlling well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barnett is controlling Love's position as best he can from this difficult position.
Love throwing shots but Barnett is blocking nicely.
Barnett on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Barnett is trying to get back to full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.

Barnett is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Love pulls his head out easily.
Barnett is concentrating on defense, preventing Love from advancing position.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Love avoids a lazy jab quite easily.

Barnett drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.

Barnett has gone for a leg lock! Love slips out almost immediately though and dives into Barnett's guard.

Love trying to control the position from guard on top but Barnett is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Barnett keeping full guard, as Love tries to pass.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Trevor Love will probably get the nod - 10:9.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. This is the final round!

No luck with that takedown attempt from Love.
Barnett stuffs the takedown attempt from Love. Love gets slowly back to his feet.

Love is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Barnett's half guard.
Barnett is trying to get back to full guard.

Love is trying to work for a kimura but Barnett is defending well.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Love throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barnett controlling the position well.
Barnett is refusing to be controlled, as Love sits in half guard.
Barnett knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Love on the ground.

Barnett is defending against the submission attempts here by Love.
Love takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Barnett tries to get to full guard but Love has control of the leg.
Love seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Barnett does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Warmaster Barnett has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Barnett tries to roll over but Love keeps him under control.
Barnett is trying to control but can't.
Barnett is trying to get back to full guard.
Barnett is trying is best to control the position here.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Barnett continues to stall.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

Barnett closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Barnett in particular looking to stall.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Barnett wants to work for an arm triangle but Love is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Love moves into full guard.
Barnett wants to control from the top but Love keeps moving.
Love is trying to keep Barnett in close.
Barnett trying to control the position from guard on top but Love is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Barnett looking to sit in guard and control but Love gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Barnett looking to hit a scissor sweep but Love is one step ahead there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Barnett working for a triangle but Love defends it easily.

Barnett looking for a guillotine here but Love defends easily.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Barnett wants to hit a sweep here but Love passes into full mount! Oh no, disaster for Barnett there!

And that's the end of the fight!
Trevor Love comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Love 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 Micheangelo Fripello scores the fight 27:30
Judge Roger Salmon scores the fight 27:30
Judge Jeff Smith scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Trevor Love!
Trevor Love thanked the fans post fight for their support.