PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between John Barnes (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Esa Wideroos (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). John Barnes has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Barnes
vs
Wideroos

194 cm
28
208 lbs
17 - 6 - 0

190 cm
24
220 lbs
7 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Dangerous knees
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Dangerous knees
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 17 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, John Barnes!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Esa Wideroos!
The judges for this bout are Phil Schofield, Donald Grub and Richard Clark.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Wideroos feints and then cracks Barnes's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Barnes down.
Wideroos pushes Barnes away with a front kick.
Esa Wideroos seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Wideroos feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Barness jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Barnes misses the jab.
Wideroos is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Barnes throws out a loose jab but Wideroos uses good head movement to avoid it.
Barnes throws a head kick but Wideroos moves out of range.
Wideroos connects with an inside leg kick.
Barnes darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Wideroos lunges at Barnes with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Barnes's hand.

It looks like John Barnes has been cut.
Wideroos shoots for a takedown but Barnes saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Wideroos tries for a takedown but Barnes sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.

Wideroos decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Wideroos trying to control from half guard but Barnes is working away.
Barnes tries to get to full guard but Wideroos has control of the leg.
Barnes knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Wideroos on the ground.

Barnes has one foot on Wideroos's thigh - he pushes off and manages to get back to his feet.
Barnes works Wideroos's body with a nice hook.
Wideroos lands with a good body shot.
Wideroos wants to clinch up but Barnes keeps it at a distance.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wideroos walks into a left hand.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Barnes misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Wideroos.
Wideroos has tried to improve his agility in the runup to this fight.
Barnes rushes in with a sloppy looking punch

and Wideroos counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Barnes trying to control here.
Wideroos looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Barnes is in a tricky position. We've heard reports from his gym mates at Qube Striking that he's been drilling escapes, so let's see if he can get back to his feet.
Barnes wants to control but Wideroos is keeping busy.
Wideroos prevents Barnes from improving his position.
Wideroos is looking to advance position but Barnes won't allow it.
Barnes keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barnes makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Barnes.
Wideroos working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Barnes keeping moving, preventing Wideroos from controlling successfully.
Barnes wants to sweep but no luck.
Wideroos wants to control from the top but Barnes keeps moving.
Wideroos trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Wideroos is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Barnes will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
Barnes is looking to stand up but Wideroos isn't so interested in that idea.
Wideroos keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Barnes's head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wideroos trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Barnes looking to hit a scissor sweep but Wideroos is one step ahead there.
Wideroos controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Wideroos is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Wideroos seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Barnes is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Wideroos is controlling him.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Barnes keeping full guard, as Wideroos tries to pass.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Esa Wideroos dominated that round.
The cut man is working on John Barnes's cut.
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.

Wideroos tries a low kick but Barnes avoids it.
Esa Wideroos seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Wideroos throws a right hand that Barnes ducks under and follows up with a left that Barnes also avoids with ease.

Barnes closes the distance and clinches.
Barnes tries a knee to the head but Wideroos blocks it.

Wideroos wants the takedown. Barnes is fighting it off but Wideroos persists and manages to bring the fight to the ground, ending up in Barnes's guard against the cage.
Barnes wants to sweep but no luck.
Esa Wideroos has got the better of the ground game so far.
Wideroos stands up over Barnes, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Wideroos has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Wideroos works over Barnes with some ground and pound from guard.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Wideroos's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Wideroos forces his way into half guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Barnes is trying to maintain the position but Wideroos is very close to passing his half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barnes tries to roll over but Wideroos keeps him under control.
Barnes on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Barnes tries to get out of the position.
Wideroos passes the guard and advances to mount!
Wideroos looking to control and managing it successfully.
A nice elbow there by Wideroos.
Wideroos lands a couple of good shots and Barnes has given up his back, trying to escape the position!
Wideroos lands a couple of good shots to his opponent's body and a final shot to the head. Good little attack there by Wideroos.

Barnes is rocked!
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Wideroos is raining down hard shots and and Barnes has had enough - he's tapped out due to the strikes!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:57 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Strikes). Esa Wideroos!
John Barnes spoke after the fight, saying 'Sorry to all my fans and everyone that I disappointed. I'll come back stronger than ever next time.'.