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Stepping Stone 68 PBP Commentary |
This TWGC bout is 1 fifteen minute round in the super heavyweight division. Introducing today's competitors. In the red corner, competing out of Las Vegas, with a TWGC record of 9 wins and 8 losses; Trevor Barnes! And in the blue corner, fighting out of New York, with a TWGC record of 11 wins and 4 losses; Nykolai Kersikov!
The judges for this bout are John Roberts, Russell Pearce and Joseph Jones.
The fighters bow as they face eachother in the middle of the mat and we are under way.
Kersikov looks for a takedown but Barnes sprawls well.
Kersikov has his takedown stuffed
and Barnes moves into the clinch.
Barnes is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Kersikov pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Kersikov jumps guard but Barnes turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Trevor Barnes has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Nykolai Kersikov.
Kersikov is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Barnes gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Kersikov fails to pull guard.
Kersikov has picked Barnes up - he's going for a ride! Kersikov dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard. Score +2 for takedown into guard / half guard: Barnes (0) vs (2) Kersikov
Kersikov stalling.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Kersikov trying to pass the guard but Barnes defending well.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Barnes trying to control but Kersikov postures up.
Barnes wants to get back to full guard but Kersikov has mounted him! Score +3 for passing guard: Barnes (0) vs (5) Kersikov
That's one minute gone in the round.
Barnes is wriggling around trying to escape.
Barnes is working hard here to advance position.
Kersikov controlling from the full mount.
Barnes wants to hold on but Kersikov pushes him away.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Barnes tries to control Kersikov's body but Kersikov pushes him off. Barnes squirms to his side and now Kersikov has his back! Score +3 for taking back: Barnes (0) vs (8) Kersikov
Barnes tries to escape the position.
Kersikov is not going to allow Barnes to sit and survive in this position.
Kersikov is controlling his opponent, waiting for an opportunity to finish.
You can see the frustration on Barnes's face… He knows he is in trouble unless he improves his position sooner rather than later.
Kersikov gets his hands free as Barnes looks to control.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kersikov slows the pace down here. Having a little breather whilst he's in a dominant position, looking to rest and regain some energy, ready to go for the finish.
Barnes trying to control but not successfully.
Kersikov controlling from the back.
Barnes is defending well here and trying to improve his position.
Kersikov controls the position.
Kersikov controlling well, preventing Barnes from escaping the position.
Barnes turns into Kersikov and is now in his guard.
Score +2 for sweep to guard / half guard: Barnes (2) vs (8) Kersikov
Barnes slips nicely into half guard.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Barnes trying to control the action but Kersikov is working from the bottom.
Kersikov keeps control of the position for the meantime.
Barnes moves nicely into side control. Score +3 for passing guard: Barnes (5) vs (8) Kersikov
Kersikov tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Barnes wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
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Barnes is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Kersikov is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
That's five minutes gone in the round.
Barnes looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Barnes goes for an armbar! This could be all over! Wait, no, Kersikov rolls with the submission and now he's on top in Barnes's guard! Nice work there by Kersikov! Score +2 for sweep to guard / half guard: Barnes (5) vs (10) Kersikov
Kersikov controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
That's six minutes gone in the round.
Barnes looking to control.
Barnes has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Kersikov passes into half guard.
Barnes is pressing down on Kersikov's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
That's seven minutes gone in the round.
Kersikov content to stall in guard here.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Barnes holds on and takes a little breather.
Kersikov controls from within his opponent's guard.
Kersikov being controlled here momentarily.
Barnes not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
That's eight minutes gone in the round.
Barnes is pulling down on Kersikov's head. It's preventing any offense from Kersikov, at least for the moment.
We've been hearing good reports from Barnes's training camp. Apparently he has been rolling around with some good quality BJJ practitioners and has been sharpening his skills. Let's see if that has an impact on the fight today.
Barnes's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Barnes is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Barnes bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Kersikov's guard. Score +2 for sweep to guard / half guard: Barnes (7) vs (10) Kersikov
That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Kersikov keeping moving, preventing Barnes from controlling successfully.
Kersikov tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Barnes trying to control but Kersikov is working from the bottom.
That's ten minutes gone in the round.
Kersikov seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Barnes trying to control the position from guard on top but Kersikov is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Barnes tries to free his leg and advance position but Kersikov is retaining full guard.
Kersikov is adopting a defensive guard.
Kersikov is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move. Score +2 for sweep to guard / half guard: Barnes (7) vs (12) Kersikov
That's eleven minutes gone in the round.
Kersikov is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Barnes is pressing down on Kersikov's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Kersikov working his ground and pound in the gym. He isn't landing a great percentage of his ground strikes so far though.
Kersikov must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Barnes is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Kersikov sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Barnes trying to keep a closed guard but Kersikov is proving a slippery customer.
That's twelve minutes gone in the round.
Kersikov's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Barnes is trying to control the position but Kersikov postures up.
Barnes is looking to sweep but instead, Kersikov has passed into half guard.
Kersikov controlling the action here.
That's thirteen minutes gone in the round.
Barnes wants to control but Kersikov is keeping busy.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Barnes is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Kersikov's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Kersikov's back! Score +4 for clean sweep to past guard: Barnes (11) vs (12) Kersikov
Barnes is working really hard to secure the rear naked choke. Kersikov defends successfully for a significant amount of time. Both fighters are looking very determined.
Barnes is working really hard to secure the rear naked choke. Kersikov defends successfully for a significant amount of time. Both fighters are looking very determined.
Barnes is looking to control Kersikov but Kersikov is wriggling around and keeping busy.
That's fourteen minutes gone in the round.
Barnes working for the choke.
Barnes tries to keep control of the position but Kersikov is staying busy.
Kersikov is in a world of trouble here. He's outmatched on the ground here and he'd better get Barnes off his back sharpish unless he wants to be submitted.
Barnes has the hooks in. Kersikov is trying to push off one leg but he has to do so cautiously to avoid being submitted.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Barnes looking for the choke from the back.
And that's the end of the fight!
Kersikov wins on points by 12 to 11.
A relieved looking Nykolai Kersikov thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it. |
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