PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between DJ Barnes (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Katsuo Watanabe (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Barnes's entrance music is Black Eyed Peas - Imma Be. A fine choice. Watanabe is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: Metallica - All Nightmare Long. Katsuo Watanabe has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Barnes
vs
Watanabe

190 cm
22
250 lbs
4 - 4 - 0

191 cm
24
250 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Good knees
Very strong

Powerful takedowns
Counter striker
Granite chin

Knock Out Artistry
Knock Out Artistry

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 4 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, DJ Barnes!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Katsuo Watanabe!
The judges for this bout are , and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Watanabe fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Barnes is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Watanabe.
Watanabe pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Barnes attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Barnes ducks under a wild hook from Watanabe.
Barnes avoids the body shot from Watanabe.
Watanabe looks to land a right hand but Barnes moved out of range.
Barnes tries to land a leg kick but Watanabe saw it coming and moves away.
Barnes tries to close the distance and clinch but Watanabe swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Watanabe gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Watanabe avoids the body shot from Barnes.
Watanabe lands a nice looking body shot.
Barnes is looking to clinch but Watanabe is avoiding it.
Katsuo Watanabe seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Watanabe looks to throw the jab but Barnes is out of range.
Watanabe works Barnes's body with a nice hook.
Barnes buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Watanabe pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Barnes throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
Watanabe misses with a wild body shot.
Barnes has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Barnes there as he acknowledges the shot.
Barnes misses with a wild body shot.
Barnes lands with a kick to the ribs.
Barnes avoids the body shot from Watanabe.
Barnes takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
DJ Barnes is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Barnes tries to clinch up but Watanabe circles away and keeps his distance.
Barnes pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Barnes throws a right and a left that both miss.
Barnes takes a swing at Watanabe's ribcage but misses.
Barnes tries to clinch but Watanabe is having none of it.

Watanabe shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Barnes is trying to defend but Watanabe finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Barnes is holding on to half guard well.
Watanabe with the ground and pound but Barnes uses the opportunity to regain guard.
Barnes manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Watanabe manages to get himself to full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Watanabe is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Barnes is aware though and is defending well.
Barnes throws a strike but Watanabe rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Barnes is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Watanabe accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Watanabe scoring with punches to the head and body.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Barnes keeping moving, preventing Watanabe from controlling successfully.
Barnes wants to stand but Watanabe is controlling the position.
Barnes preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Watanabe wants to control from the top but Barnes keeps moving.
Watanabe is looking to work some ground and pound but Barnes has wrist control.
Watanabe with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Barnes wants to stand and escape but Watanabe is having none of it.
Watanabe throws and elbow that misses. Barnes uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Watanabe's guard. Nice move by Barnes!

Watanabe looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Barnes passes into side control.
Watanabe has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Watanabe holds on tight, trying to prevent any damage.
Watanabe tries to bench press Barnes off him but Barnes keeps the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Katsuo Watanabe dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Barnes takes the fight into the clinch.
Watanabe tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Watanabe is trying to break free.
Watanabe managing to block the knees to the body from Barnes.
Barnes holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Barnes tries to land a knee to the head but Watanabe blocks with his arms.
Watanabe jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Barnes walks away with a smile on his face. Watanabe gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Watanabe circles away from the clinch attempt.
Watanabe takes a swing at Barnes's ribcage but misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Watanabe misses with a hook.
Watanabe slips under a jab from Barnes.
Barnes lunges at Watanabe with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Watanabe's hand.
Watanabe misses the jab.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barnes keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
DJ Barnes has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Katsuo Watanabe.
Watanabe shoots in but no luck this time.
Barnes tries to clinch but Watanabe is having none of it.

Watanabe is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Barnes's half guard.
Barnes is looking to escape.
Watanabe drops an elbow to the side of Barnes's head.
Watanabe is just content to waste time from the top position. Barnes takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.
Watanabe looking to sit in guard and control but Barnes gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Barnes throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Watanabe works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Watanabe working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Barnes.
Watanabe manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Watanabe trying to control but Barnes is having none of it.
Watanabe avoids the attempt from Barnes to control.
Barnes is desperately trying to improve his position but Watanabe has a good base and remains in mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Watanabe lands a nice shot to the head.
Watanabe landing strikes, looking to finish!
Watanabe landing strikes from the mount and Barnes is in trouble!
Watanabe looking to finish Barnes with some ground and pound. This is bad for Barnes!

Barnes is rocked!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Watanabe takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Watanabe scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Barnes?
Watanabe prevents Barnes from getting the reversal.

Watanabe looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
Watanabe working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Watanabe landing strikes, looking to finish!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Watanabe looking to finish Barnes with some ground and pound. This is bad for Barnes!
A nice elbow there by Watanabe.
Oh Barnes is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Watanabe lands a big elbow - Barnes is in trouble! More strikes from the mount and Barnes is forced to tap out!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:29 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Strikes). Katsuo Watanabe!