PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Esteban Barron (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Shawn Kirkland (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Kirkland has a niggling injury. He would have liked to come in 100% fit but that's not always possible. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Barron
vs
Kirkland

188 cm
24
279 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

185 cm
25
233 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Counter fighter
Prefers standup

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Esteban Barron!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Shawn Kirkland !
The judges for this bout are Timothy Bukovac, and Jack Bonds.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Barron misses the jab.
Barron tries a head kick but it misses.
Kirkland lets it all go there with a big combo counter but none of the punches connected.
Kirkland misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

Barron closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Barron tries for a takedown but Kirkland manages to get underhooks.
Kirkland is trying to force a seperation but Barron has the dominant position.
Kirkland looks winded!
Barron lands a hook to the side of the head.

Barron breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Barron tries to clinch up.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kirkland avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Kirkland is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
Barron throws a series of punches but Kirkland moves out of range.
Esteban Barron seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Kirkland takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Barron wants to clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Horrible takedown attempt by Barron or perhaps it was just good defense by Kirkland , which made it look bad.
Kirkland falls off balance throwing a combination
and Barron counters with a series of strikes. Kirkland will be more careful next time no doubt.
Barron tries to clinch up.
Barron misses with a hook.
Kirkland bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Barron tries to clinch but Kirkland moves out of range.
Barron really is a fat lump.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Barron clinches with his opponent.
Kirkland tries to break free but Barron pushes him back against the cage.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Barron creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.

Barron pulls guard successfully.
Barron tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Barron is working hard here to advance position.
Kirkland must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Kirkland wants to stand and escape but instead Barron has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

Kirkland really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Barron. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Kirkland avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Barron throws a big elbow that misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barron showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Barron throwing strikes from guard but Kirkland blocks nicely.
Barron postures up and lands a big shot to Kirkland 's brow.
Barron in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

Barron decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Kirkland , up you get!
Barron misses with a wild combination.

That's four 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.
Kirkland avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Barron misses with a low kick.
Kirkland circles away from the clinch attempt.
Kirkland steps in looking to clinch after the strikes miss from Barron.
Barron tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Kirkland paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Kirkland throws a counter combo.
Barron shoots in for a takedown but Kirkland shows good takedown defense.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Esteban Barron. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Barron misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Shawn Kirkland is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

Barron gets in close and instigates a clinch.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Barron tries for a takedown but Kirkland manages to get underhooks.
Kirkland prevents a takedown attempt there.

Kirkland pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Barron wants to clinch up but Kirkland keeps it at a distance.
Barron shoots for a double leg takedown but Kirkland sprawls well. He's pushed Barron's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Kirkland tries to counter with a clinch but Barron shakes him off and moves away.
Barron is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Kirkland throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Barron.

Barron clinches with his opponent.
Barron is looking for a takedown.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Barron tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Esteban Barron. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Barron tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Kirkland is breathing heavily.
Barron working aggressively here.
Barron drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Kirkland gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Kirkland is looking to break free of the clinch but Barron has double underhooks.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kirkland is trying to break the clinch but Barron has him pressed against the cage.

Barron breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Barron throws a head kick that misses.
Kirkland stalks Barron and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Barron's face. Barron staggers backwards, shaken.
Barron checks a leg kick.
Barron tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Kirkland manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Despite the aggression on Kirkland 's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.
Barron swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Kirkland throws a counter combo.
Good work by Kirkland as he checks the leg kick.
A head kick by Barron misses

and Kirkland counters with a nice double leg into side control. Barron won't be happy with that.

Barron bucks up and manages to escape back to his feet!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Barron is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Kirkland can do to turn this around?
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Kirkland takes a head kick and keeps coming.
Barron misses with a double jab.
Barron misses with a double jab.
Kirkland tried to score with a low kick but Barron checks it.
Kirkland works over Barron's head and body with a nice combination.
Kirkland slaps away a takedown attempt from Barron, before circling back to the center of the mat.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barron throws a right and a left that both miss.
Kirkland circles away from the clinch attempt.

Barron clinches up with Kirkland and pushes him back against the cage.
Barron jumps guard but Kirkland stands there with Barron around his waist. Barron gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Kirkland is pressed up against the cage. Barron has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Kirkland down to the mat. Kirkland avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Kirkland avoids a punch combination nicely.
Kirkland lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Kirkland .

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Barron throws a nice outside leg kick.
Kirkland throws a nice looking combination but Barron bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Barron misses with the combination.
Kirkland looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Barron swinging wildly here.
Kirkland is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
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 Esteban Barron will probably get the nod.
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. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Barron misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Barron throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Barron goes for a double leg but Kirkland avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Kirkland continues to drive forward.
Kirkland throws a leg kick
enabling Barron to counter with a crisp jab.

Barron drives through with a takedown into guard.
Kirkland being controlled here, momentarily.
Barron trying to control but Kirkland is working from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Barron with a nice head shot there.
Esteban Barron overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Kirkland wants to stand up but Barron is controlling him.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Barron throws a strike but Kirkland rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Barron has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Kirkland can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Kirkland won't allow Barron to sweep him here.

Barron looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kirkland has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Barron is proving hard to escape from.
Barron is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Kirkland wants to stand and escape but instead Barron has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

Barron lands a couple of elbows.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barron working some strikes from top position.
Barron working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Barron throwing strikes from guard but Kirkland blocks nicely.
Kirkland avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Barron loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Barron is looking to clinch.
A countering left hand to the body from Kirkland misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.

Barron clinches up with Kirkland and pushes him back against the cage.
Barron lands with a short shot to the head.
Barron lands a damaging elbow.
Barron manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Barron is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Kirkland takes an elbow to the temple.
A nice right hand lands inside from Barron.
Barron tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Kirkland just stands there and leans against the cage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Esteban Barron. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Barron tries to pull guard but Kirkland holds him up against the cage and eventually Barron drops back down to his feet.
Barron is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.

And that's the end of the fight!
Esteban Barron showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Barron has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 30:27
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 30:27
Judge Jack Bonds scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Esteban Barron!