PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Hannibal Barca (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Andrei Zharkov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Barca
vs
Zharkov

185 cm
16
180 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

183 cm
19
182 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Hannibal Barca!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Andrei Zharkov!
The judges for this bout are Alyssa Summers, Chad Campbell and David Schapiro.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Zharkov misses with a combination
and Barca counters with an inside leg kick.
Zharkov swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Barca makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Zharkov looks to land a left hand but Barca moved out of range nicely.
Zharkov dives in for a single leg takedown but Barca sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Barca working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Zharkov looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Barca lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Barca misses with some punches.
Barca misses with a punch to the body.
Barca stalling the fight.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Barca breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
We can't be sure of the tactics at this early stage but we have heard that Zharkov has been working on his takedowns a lot in the buildup to the fight and we can only assume he's going to look to take this to the mat.
Barca swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Zharkov swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Barca counters with a nice low kick that buckles Zharkov's knee momentarily.

Zharkov drives through with a takedown into guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Barca avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zharkov tries to free his leg and advance position but Barca is retaining full guard.
Zharkov missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Zharkov postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.

Zharkov is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.

Zharkov is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Zharkov postures up in Barca's guard and throws a big left but Barca blocks it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Barca is adopting a defensive guard.
Barca avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Barca can't keep his opponent in guard - Zharkov advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Zharkov thows a huge punch but Barca dodges it nicely.
Zharkov trying to control the pace.
Zharkov is trying to control the action in half guard but Barca is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Hannibal Barca is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zharkov takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Barca throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Zharkov throws a right hand that misses
and Barca counters with a slapping leg kick.
Zharkov throws a body punch but Barca moves out of range.
Zharkov throws a wild combination but nothing lands.

Zharkov feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Zharkov trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Zharkov throwing strikes from guard but Barca blocks nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Zharkov trying to control but Barca is working from the bottom.
Zharkov is looking to work some ground and pound but Barca has wrist control.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Zharkov trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Zharkov throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Barca takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Barca throws a head kick but Zharkov moves out of range.
Zharkov blocks a head kick by Barca.
Zharkov throws a nice looking combination but Barca bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Andrei Zharkov dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Barca dodges the punch combination from Zharkov.
Zharkov fails to land with a series of punches.
Barca defending well as Zharkov loads up on a big left hand.
A combination from Zharkov does no damage.
Barca checks a low kick from Zharkov.
Barca moves out of range of the strikes.
Andrei Zharkov seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Barca avoids a punch combination nicely.
Zharkov has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Zharkov takes a swing at Barca's ribcage but misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Zharkov looks to land a combination but Barca avoids it well.
Barca throws a series of punches but Zharkov avoids them all with ease.
Zharkov throws a right and a left that Barca avoids nicely.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Barca.
Zharkov throws a right hand that Barca ducks under and follows up with a left that Barca also avoids with ease.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Zharkov darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.

Zharkov is working for a kimura but Barca is defending it quite comfortably.
Zharkov thows a huge punch but Barca dodges it nicely.
Zharkov wants to pass the guard but Barca is defending well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Zharkov is looking for a kimura but Barca is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Zharkov to get the leverage.
Barca is refusing to be controlled, as Zharkov sits in half guard.
Zharkov drops an elbow to the side of Barca's head.

Zharkov in half guard on the top. He's looking for a kimura... He's got it locked and he's managed to free his trapped foot. Barca tries to escape but it's on too tight and he has to tap! Great BJJ skills there from Zharkov!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:52 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). Andrei Zharkov!