PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Abed Nadir (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Avon Barksdale (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Nadir comes to the cage accompanied by M.A.S.H Theme. The crowd seem to be enjoying Barksdale's choice of entrance music: Three Six Mafia - Its A Fight . I'm sure you'll be fascinated to know that I was talking to some pointless Z list celebrity before the fight and he thought that Avon Barksdale was going to win. Let's see if he was right.

Nadir
vs
Barksdale

188 cm
40
240 lbs
26 - 31 - 1

185 cm
45
211 lbs
33 - 23 - 1

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class MT
Very quick

Good wrestler
World class MT
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 26 - 31 - 1, fighting out of Montreal, Abed Nadir!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 33 - 23 - 1, fighting out of St Petersburg, Avon Barksdale!
The judges for this bout are Chris Saunders, Micheangelo Fripello and Josh West.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nadir slips under a jab from Barksdale.
Nadir misses with a combination
and Barksdale counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Nadir defending well as Barksdale loads up on a big left hand.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!

Nadir shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Nadir stalling.
Nadir seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Barksdale for as long as he can get away with.
Nadir has improved his flexibility recently so we will have to see if he can use that to his advantage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Barksdale is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Nadir controlling the action here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Barksdale is looking to improve his position.
Nadir is controlling the pace.

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.
Barksdale regains full guard. Nicely done.
Barksdale being controlled here, momentarily.
Barksdale not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Nadir engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Nadir scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Barksdale avoids the body shot from Nadir.
Barksdale throws a hook to the side of Nadir's head but Nadir sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Nadir lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Barksdale backs up against the cage.
Nadir throws a hard body shot but it just misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Nadir rushes Barksdale and presses him up against the cage.
With the fighters up against the cage, Barksdale throws an elbow but misses.
Nadir blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Nadir takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Barksdale throws an elbow but it misses.
Barksdale lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Nadir is struggling to control the position.
Barksdale swings away with an uppercut that misses.
A right hand to the body from Barksdale.
Barksdale lands a shoulder strike.
Barksdale stalling in the clinch but Nadir improves position.
Nadir stalls.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Barksdale lands a nice knee to the body.
Barksdale swings wildly with an uppercut but Nadir uses good head movement to avoid it.
Nadir effectively controlling the action here.
Barksdale misses with a punch to the body.
Nadir taking a breather.
Barksdale throws a head punch that misses.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Barksdale throws an elbow that misses.
Barksdale misses with a body punch.
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 Abed Nadir will probably get the nod.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Barksdale circles away from the clinch attempt.
Barksdale throws a hook to the side of Nadir's head but Nadir sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Nadir getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Nadir wants to clinch.
A good leg kick by Barksdale.

Nadir gets the takedown into side control.
Nadir controlling from side mount.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Nadir has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's one minute gone in the round.
This is a sustained period of stalling by Nadir.

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.
Barksdale is looking for a sweep.
Nadir controlling the position.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Nadir fails with an attempt to clinch.
Barksdale throws a leg kick but Nadir checks it.
Nadir fails with an attempt to clinch.
Nadir checks a low kick from Barksdale.
Nadir lands a jab-cross combination.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nadir sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.
Nadir wants to clinch up but Barksdale keeps it at a distance.
Nadir throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Nadir misses with a double jab.

Nadir drives through with a takedown into Barksdale's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Barksdale being controlled here, momentarily.
Barksdale is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Nadir stays in close to Barksdale's body and controls the position.
Nadir works a leg free and moves into half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nadir trying to control the pace.
Abed Nadir overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Barksdale wants to control but Nadir is keeping busy.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Well, if Nadir is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Abed Nadir dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Barksdale looks to land a right hand but Nadir moved out of range.
Nadir fails in his attempt to clinch.
A little jabbing left from Barksdale on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Abed Nadir is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Barksdale throws a left and a right that both miss

and Nadir decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Barksdale's guard.
Nadir content to stall in guard here.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Avon Barksdale has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Nadir takes one to the side of the head.
Barksdale takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Barksdale uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Nadir.
Nadir moves out of range of the body kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nadir takes a swing at Barksdale's ribcage but misses.
Nadir wants to clinch up but Barksdale keeps it at a distance.
Abed Nadir is winning the standup battle so far.
Barksdale displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Nadir.
Nadir wants to clinch up but Barksdale keeps it at a distance.
Barksdale stuns Nadir with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Nadir tries to clinch but Barksdale moves out of range.
Nadir scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Barksdale circles away from the clinch attempt.
Nadir tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Barksdale manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Nadir ducks under a wild hook from Barksdale.
Decent striking displayed by Nadir there.
Barksdale looks to score with a jab to the body but Nadir is just out of range.
Nadir looks to score with a jab to the body but Barksdale is just out of range.
A low kick from Barksdale misses

and Nadir counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Nadir slows the pace down in half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nadir'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.
Nadir is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Barksdale can do to turn this around?
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Nadir wants to clinch.
Barksdale scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Nadir tries to clinch but Barksdale moves out of range.
Nadir scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Barksdale doesn't seem bothered though.
Barksdale dodges the punch combination from Nadir.

And that's the end of the fight!
Abed Nadir showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Nadir, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Chris Saunders scores the fight 30:27
Judge Micheangelo Fripello scores the fight 30:27
Judge Josh West scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Abed Nadir!
After winning the bout, Abed Nadir thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.