PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Extor Barnes (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Brian Blessed (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Barnes's entrance music is Black Eyed Peas - Imma Be. A fine choice. Blessed has chosen Anarchy In The UK as his entrance music. Both fighters really staring eachother down here, as Brian Blessed enters the cage!

Barnes
vs
Blessed

178 cm
21
145 lbs
5 - 4 - 0

175 cm
25
130 lbs
6 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Decent wrestler
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

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 5 - 4 - 0, fighting out of London, Extor Barnes!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Brian Blessed!
The judges for this bout are Richard Clark, Donald Grub and James Atkins.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Blessed fails with an attempt to clinch.

Blessed moves into the clinch.
Blessed is struggling to control the position.
Barnes tries a body shot but Blessed blocks it.
Nice body punch from Blessed.
Barnes misses with a body punch.
Barnes can't find room to land a body shot as Blessed controls the action.
A hook to the body from Blessed.
Blessed 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. Blessed gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Barnes takes a shot right to the bread basket.

Blessed fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Barnes, pushing him back against the cage.
Blessed prevents a body shot from Barnes.
Blessed tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Barnes just stands there and leans against the cage.
Barnes tries to break the clinch but Blessed is controlling the position.
Blessed drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Barnes gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Extor Barnes has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Brian Blessed.
Barnes lands with a light punch inside.
Barnes misses with a hook from the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Blessed blocks an uppercut.
Barnes misses with some punches.

Blessed ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Blessed no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Barnes prevents Blessed from getting back to his feet.
Blessed really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Barnes. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Barnes throwing strikes from guard but Blessed blocks nicely.
Blessed utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Blessed can do anything to dispel that myth.
Barnes trying to stand up but can't free himself from Blessed's guard.
Blessed utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Blessed is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Barnes throwing strikes from guard but Blessed blocks nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Barnes trying to control the position from guard on top but Blessed is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Barnes has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Barnes trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Blessed is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.

Blessed kicks Barnes off and gets to his feet.
A low kick from Blessed misses
and Barnes counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
No joy there for Blessed, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Blessed tries to clinch but Barnes is having none of it.
Barnes misses with an uppercut. Blessed saw that one coming.

Blessed takes the fight into the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barnes fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Barnes goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Blessed lands a body punch in the clinch.
Barnes wants to break free but Blessed has control.
Blessed is working Barnes over against the cage.
Barnes throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Blesseds head.
Barnes tries a body shot but Blessed blocks it.
Barnes misses with a punch to the body.
Barnes works on Blessed's body with a couple of short punches.
Blessed throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Blessed prevents Barnes from breaking the clinch.
Blessed cracks Barnes with a nice body shot.
Blessed digs a right hand underneath Barnes's ribcage. Barnes let out a lung full of air as it connected.

Blessed gets control of Barnes's arms and successfully pulls guard. Blessed will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Blessed avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Barnes trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Blessed holds on and takes a little breather.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Blessed wants to get back to his feet but Barnes is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Barnes decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Blessed, up you get!
Barnes throws the left hand but Blessed avoids the punch easily.
Barnes waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Blessed.
Blessed tries to work over Barnes's front leg with a kick but Barnes checks it.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
A looping hook to the body misses from Barnes. Blessed does a little dance to reset his feet.
Blessed waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Barnes.
Extor Barnes is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Barnes avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Brian Blessed will probably get the nod.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Barnes just misses with a punch to the body.
Barnes bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
Barnes looks to land a combination but Blessed avoids it well.
Blessed misses with a wild body shot.
The fighters circling - Blessed throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Blessed cracks Barnes with a good jab.
Barnes scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Barnes misses with an uppercut

and Blessed counters by clinching up.
Barnes misses with some punches.
Blessed is struggling to control the position.
Blessed throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Blessed tries to pull guard but Barnes holds him up against the cage and eventually Blessed drops back down to his feet.
Barnes misses with a punch on the inside.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barnes tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Barnes misses with a body punch.
Barnes has had enough of the clinch but Blessed keeps him there for the moment.
Blessed tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Barnes smiles and moves away.
A shot to the liver by Barnes. Beautiful body shot.
Barnes doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Blessed avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Barnes throws a hook but Blessed blocks it.
Blessed tries to bum rush Barnes with a series of wild strikes but Barnes uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Barnes throws a wild combination but nothing lands.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Blessed misses with an uppercut
and Barnes counters with a one-two to the body.
Blessed throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Blessed tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Barnes manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Barnes fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Barnes scores with a punch to the head.
Blessed rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Barnes moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Barnes throws out a powerful jab.
Barnes slaps away a takedown attempt from Blessed, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Extor Barnes has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Brian Blessed.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Blessed tries to close the distance and clinch but Barnes swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Blessed keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Barnes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A big left from Barnes misses.
Barnes throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
A swing and a miss from Blessed.
Blessed fails with an attempt to clinch.
A big right from Blessed misses.
Barnes swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Barnes jabs at Blessed's body.
Barnes swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Blessed tries to close the distance and clinch up but Barnes swats him away and circles back towards the center.

Blessed clinches.

Barnes breaks the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The fighters circling - Blessed throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Barnes ducks under a wild hook from Blessed.
Blessed tries to clinch there but Barnes circles away.
A looping hook to the body misses from Barnes. Blessed does a little dance to reset his feet.
Barnes slips a jab from Blessed.
Blessed tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Barnes manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Barnes misses with a straight right.
Barnes scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Blessed scores with a hook to the body. Barnes takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Donk. Barnes catches Blessed right on the button with a cross.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Barnes throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Extor Barnes dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Barnes lands with an uppercut that bounces Blessed off the cage and back into rage.
Barnes connects with a body shot that sends Blessed's belly button to the back.
Blessed throws a series of strikes that have Barnes backpedaling.
Blessed throws an overhand right that lands on Barnes's shoulder, as Barnes tries to avoid the shot.
The fight stays on the outside here - Blessed looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Blessed drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Barnes looks to score with a jab to the body but Blessed is just out of range.
Blessed throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Barnes sees it coming and avoids it easily.
The fighters circling - Blessed throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Barnes throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Blessed tries to clinch up.
Barnes will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Blessed tries to clinch up.
Blessed tries to close the distance and clinch up but Barnes swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Blessed wants to clinch up but Barnes keeps it at a distance.
Blessed throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
A left and a right from Blessed both land. Nice combination.
Barnes misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Blessed is looking to clinch.
Blessed keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Barnes pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Blessed throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Barnes sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Barnes lands a slapping body shot.
Barnes ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
A looping hook to the body misses from Blessed. Barnes does a little dance to reset his feet.
The fight stays on the outside here - Blessed looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Blessed throws a hook but Barnes blocks it.
Barnes with a hook.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Barnes uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Blessed.
Blessed looks to throw the jab but Barnes is out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Blessed fails in his attempt to clinch.
Blessed avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Blessed lands a lovely overhand right.
Barnes fails to land with a series of punches.
Barnes bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Blessed takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Barnes cracks Blessed with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Blessed takes one to the side of the head.
Barnes swats away the attempt to clinch by Blessed.
Barnes moves forwards but Blessed connects with a nice, crisp jab.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Blessed fails in his attempt to clinch.
Barnes darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Barnes misses with a body shot.
Barnes scores with a jab. Blessed acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Barnes looks to land a left hand but Blessed moved out of range nicely.
Blessed tries to clinch there but Barnes circles away.
Barnes swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Blessed counters with a nice uppercut.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Barnes rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Blessed counters with a stiff right hand.
Blessed throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Barnes's waist but Barnes gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Blessed off to one side.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Brian Blessed.
I think Blessed has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Richard Clark scores the fight 28:29
Judge Donald Grub scores the fight 30:28
Judge James Atkins scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Brian Blessed!