PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Nick Van Dijk (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Charles Barkley (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Van Dijk
vs
Barkley

175 cm
22
150 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

185 cm
25
155 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Brawler
KO power

BJJ Purple Belt
Good kicks
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Nick Van Dijk!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Charles Barkley!
The judges for this bout are Winston Howard, Eliza Hachem and Hugh Johnson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A head kick misses from Barkley.
Van Dijk will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.

Barkley closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Van Dijk wants to get back to striking at distance but Barkley won't allow it.
Van Dijk wants a takedown but no success here.

Van Dijk is fighting off a takedown attempt but Barkley is just too persistent for him and manages to trip Van Dijk to the mat. Van Dijk regains guard as soon as the fighters hit the mat.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Van Dijk is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Barkley pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Van Dijk is keeping the position for now.
Barkley trying to control but Van Dijk is working from the bottom.

Van Dijk has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Barkley can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Van Dijk holds on and takes a little breather.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Van Dijk has a closed guard, preventing Barkley from standing up.
Barkley must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Barkley trying to control but Van Dijk is working from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barkley wants to get up but he can't break Van Dijk's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Van Dijk looking to control.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Van Dijk tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Barkley paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Barkley is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.

Barkley gets a clinch.

Barkley drags the fight down to the ground.
Van Dijk controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Van Dijk has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Barkley is proving hard to escape from.
Van Dijk passes Barkley's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Barkley punching from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Van Dijk working Barkley over with strikes.
Barkley trying to control from the bottom.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Van Dijk looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Barkley is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Van Dijk content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.

Van Dijk is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Barkley is trying to control but can't.
Barkley wants to get back to full guard.
Van Dijk trying to control the action but Barkley is working from the bottom.
Barkley misses with some strikes from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barkley is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Van Dijk scores with a couple of nice shots.
Van Dijk wants to stand up but Barkley has a hold of him and won't allow it.
Barkley misses with some strikes from the bottom.
Barkley punching from the bottom.
Barkley wants to sweep but Van Dijk has passed to side control!

Barkley throws Van Dijk to one side and escapes!
Van Dijk shoots in for a takedown but Barkley shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Nick Van Dijk. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Van Dijk fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Barkley, pushing him back against the cage.
Van Dijk is trying to pull guard but Barkley has him pressed against the cage.

Barkley gets a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Van Dijk has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Barkley is working away from the top position though.

Barkley wants to work for an arm triangle but Van Dijk is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Barkley thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Van Dijk looking for submissions off his back.
Van Dijk is breathing heavily.
Van Dijk is trying to control but can't.

Barkley is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Van Dijk is just riding it out for now. Barkley eventually gives up the hold.
Van Dijk trying to control here.
Van Dijk works his way to full guard. Good work.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Van Dijk working a defensive guard here.
Van Dijk has a closed guard, preventing Barkley from standing up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Nick Van Dijk will probably get the nod.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Barkley fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Van Dijk to the ground. Barkley is now in Van Dijk's guard.
Van Dijk is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Van Dijk is trying to keep Barkley in close.

Van Dijk looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.

Barkley has gone for a leg lock! Van Dijk slips out almost immediately though and dives into Barkley's guard.
Barkley thows some rabbit punches from the bottom but they don't do any damage.
Van Dijk engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Van Dijk trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Barkley working a defensive guard here.
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.
Barkley has a closed guard, preventing Van Dijk from standing up.
Van Dijk not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Nick Van Dijk wasn't doing enough on the ground.

Barkley drives through and clinches with Van Dijk against the cage.

Barkley pulls Van Dijk into guard.
Barkley striking off his back but it's not causing Van Dijk any problems.
Barkley keeping moving, preventing Van Dijk from controlling successfully.
Barkley wants to get back to his feet but Van Dijk is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Nick Van Dijk overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Van Dijk tries to free his leg and advance position but Barkley is retaining full guard.
Van Dijk slips nicely into half guard.
Barkley punching from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Van Dijk is working for a kimura but Barkley is defending it quite comfortably.
Barkley tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.

Van Dijk is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Barkley on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Barkley throws a strike from the bottom that misses.

Van Dijk is looking for a kimura here.
Barkley missing with punches from the bottom.
Barkley is trying to stand up here but Van Dijk is controlling him well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Van Dijk tries to pass to full mount but Barkley defends it.
Van Dijk blocks the strikes from Barkley.
Barkley is trying to stand.
Van Dijk controlling the pace.
Van Dijk throwing shots but Barkley is blocking nicely.
Van Dijk seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Barkley does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Barkley misses with some strikes from the bottom.

Van Dijk is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Van Dijk wants to take a breather but Barkley is having none of it.
Barkley trying to hold on to Van Dijk's head to control him but Van Dijk postures up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Van Dijk works his way into side control.
Van Dijk trying to control the position but Barkley is working away.

Van Dijk decides to stand back up.

Barkley drives through and clinches with Van Dijk against the cage.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Barkley breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Barkley stuffs the takedown attempt from Van Dijk. Van Dijk gets slowly back to his feet.

Barkley rushes Van Dijk and presses him up against the cage.
Barkley working some nice short punches in the clinch.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Barkley escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Barkley has Van Dijk up against the cage in a clinch.
Barkley slows down the pace here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Nick Van Dijk will probably get the nod.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Barkley closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Van Dijk did well to prevent Barkley getting side control.
Barkley wants to take a breather but Van Dijk is having none of it.
Van Dijk is looking to control Barkley's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Van Dijk avoid being mounted?
Van Dijk is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Barkley's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Barkley's back!
Barkley looks to control his opponent's hands but he's not mananging it at the moment.
Barkley is trying to get back to his feet but Van Dijk has full control of the position and if anything, Barkley has just worked his way into a worse spot.

Barkley is trying to defend against the choke here but Van Dijk has an arm under his chin. This one might not last much longer. Van Dijk Tightens the hold and Barkley taps out furiously! Van Dijk displays superior BJJ to win the fight.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:58 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (RNC). Nick Van Dijk!