PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Mansour Barnaoui (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kenny Brandon (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Brandon comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Catch Em By Surprise kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Barnaoui
vs
Brandon

182 cm
20
167 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

170 cm
24
164 lbs
4 - 12 - 0

Powerful takedowns
Counter fighter
Cardio machine

BJJ Purple Belt
Decent boxing
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Mansour Barnaoui!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 12 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Kenny Brandon!
The judges for this bout are Jack Bonds, Timothy Bukovac and Frank Antenori.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Barnaoui gets caught napping as Brandon dives in and scores a takedown. Barnaoui manages to retain guard.
Brandon throws a big right hand that misses.
Brandon throwing strikes from guard but Barnaoui blocks nicely.
Barnaoui lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Brandon controls Barnaoui momentarily but Barnaoui frees himself.
Barnaoui keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Brandon's head.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Barnaoui won't allow Brandon to sweep him here.
Barnaoui throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Barnaoui controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Brandon can't keep his opponent in guard - Barnaoui advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Barnaoui is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Brandon has been taking part in the yoga sessions down at Death Valley Training Facility. Presumably he's going to look for a slick submission... Or maybe he's looking to avoid one.
Brandon is looking for a sweep. Barnaoui is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Barnaoui seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Brandon moves into full guard.
Brandon looking for a sweep. Not yet Brandon, not yet.
Brandon has Barnaoui pulled in close to control his posture.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.

Brandon drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Barnaoui wants to control but Brandon postures up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Brandon wants to lay and pray for a moment but Barnaoui keeps working.
The ground and pound from Brandon seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.
Barnaoui can't do much from the bottom here.
Barnaoui is looking to reverse the position.
Brandon is looking to take a break and control but Barnaoui is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
You can see the frustration on Barnaoui's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Brandon stands up and beckons Barnaoui to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Brandon lands a two punch combo.

It looks like Mansour Barnaoui has been cut.
Brandon misses with a wild body shot.
Barnaoui tries to counter with a takedown but Brandon is quick to defend against it.
Barnaoui swings widly with a right hand
enabling Brandon to counter with a crisp jab.
Brandon moves in looking to clinch but Barnaoui pushes him off.

Brandon moves into the clinch.

Brandon pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Brandon fails in his attempt to clinch.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Barnaoui keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Barnaoui tries to move into range but Brandon moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.

Brandon shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Barnaoui is trying to defend but Brandon finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kenny Brandon dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Mansour Barnaoui's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Barnaoui takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Brandon slips under a jab.
Nice body punch from Barnaoui.

Brandon manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Barnaoui on his heels. He'll look to pass Barnaoui's guard now, I'm sure.
Barnaoui throws some sloppy strikes off his back.
Brandon postures up in Barnaoui's guard and throws a big left but Barnaoui blocks it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Barnaoui pulls Brandon in close to prevent any damage.
Barnaoui wants to control the position but Brandon says "no thanks buddy" and passes to half guard.
Barnaoui controlling the leg, holding on to half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kenny Brandon has got the better of the ground game so far.
Barnaoui trying to control but Brandon postures up.
Brandon thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Barnaoui tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.
Barnaoui is looking to control Brandon's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Barnaoui avoid being mounted?

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Barnaoui tests Brandon's chin there with a solid looking shot.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Barnaoui takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Barnaoui looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Brandon is fending him off so far but Barnaoui persists. Nope, Brandon circles away and we're back to standing.
Barnaoui throws a sloppy head kick
and Brandon counters with a right hand to the body.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Brandon.

Brandon shoots in and gets a takedown into Barnaoui's guard.
Barnaoui working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Brandon.
Barnaoui managing to control the position.
Brandon is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

Brandon drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Brandon jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Barnaoui will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barnaoui seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Barnaoui manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Brandon manages to get himself to full guard.

Barnaoui looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Brandon manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Barnaoui manages to get himself to full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Barnaoui working a defensive guard here.
Barnaoui trying to strike off his back.
Barnaoui keeping moving, preventing Brandon from controlling successfully.
Brandon postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Brandon has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Barnaoui is controlling Brandon's posture.
Barnaoui working a defensive guard here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kenny Brandon showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Mansour Barnaoui's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Barnaoui throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Brandon sees it coming and avoids it easily.

Barnaoui tries to sprawl but Brandon drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Barnaoui manages to get to full guard.
Brandon scoring with some ground and pound.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Barnaoui holds on and takes a little breather.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Brandon wants to stand but Barnaoui is controlling his posture from full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Brandon trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Brandon wants to pass the guard but Barnaoui is keeping the position.
Brandon trying to control but Barnaoui is working from the bottom.
Brandon throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Nice body punch from Barnaoui.
Barnaoui takes one to the side of the head.

Brandon manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Barnaoui on his heels. He'll look to pass Barnaoui's guard now, I'm sure.
Mansour Barnaoui has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Brandon looking to pass the guard.
Barnaoui working a defensive guard here.
Brandon must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Barnaoui is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Barnaoui trying to keep a closed guard but Brandon is proving a slippery customer.
Barnaoui is adopting a defensive guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barnaoui's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Barnaoui is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Kenny Brandon is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Barnaoui working over Brandon with some ground and pound. Brandon looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Still in half guard, Barnaoui seems content to control.
Brandon regains full guard. Nicely done.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Barnaoui wants to control from the top but Brandon keeps moving.
Brandon is trying to control the position but Barnaoui postures up.
Barnaoui slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Brandon is trying to control the position from the bottom.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Barnaoui misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Brandon tries to counter with a clinch but Barnaoui shakes him off and moves away.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Brandon fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

And that's the end of the fight!
Kenny Brandon comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Brandon has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Jack Bonds scores the fight 27:30
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 27:30
Judge Frank Antenori scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Kenny Brandon!
A victorious Kenny Brandon thanked his army of followers in his post fight interview, telling people to make sure they follow him on Twitter.