PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Anthony Pettis (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Paulo Barbosa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). 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 Paulo Barbosa was going to win. Let's see if he was right.

Pettis
vs
Barbosa

167 cm
28
144 lbs
13 - 9 - 0

166 cm
23
134 lbs
3 - 3 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Very quick

Decent wrestler
Brawler
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 13 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Anthony Pettis!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Paulo Barbosa!
The judges for this bout are Emerson Jorge, Edson Gomes and Paulo Santos.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Pettis connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
A left lands for Pettis.
Pettis works over Barbosa's head and body with a nice combination.
Barbosa tries to close the distance and clinch up but Pettis swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Pettis ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Pettis throws a nice inside leg kick.
Pettis keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Pettis swats away the attempt to clinch by Barbosa.
Pettis is looking to counter with a shot to the body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Barbosa lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Pettis circles away quickly and effectively.
Pettis is looking to counter punch.
Pettis lands with a right hand.
Barbosa shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Barbosa takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Pettis catches Barbosa with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pettis scores with a leg kick.
Pettis scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Barbosa tries to clinch up
and Pettis counters with a nice body shot.
Barbosa shoots in for a takedown but Pettis shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Anthony Pettis has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Paulo Barbosa.
Nice sprawl there from Pettis as Barbosa shoots in.
Barbosa on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Pettis. Pettis obviously looking to wear him down.
Pettis cracks Barbosa with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Barbosa shoots in looking for a takedown. Pettis tries to sprawl out of it but Barbosa keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Pettis manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Barbosa dives in and grabs Pettis's left leg, looking for a takedown. Pettis pushes down on Barbosa's head and hops out.
Barbosa stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Pettis.
Barbosa on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Pettis throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Barbosa stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Barbosa fails with the takedown
letting Pettis counter with a right hand.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Pettis uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Barbosa.
Pettis scores with a hook.
Barbosa with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Pettis to score with a decent uppercut.
Pettis's jab looks to have found its range, popping Barbosa under the eye.
Pettis is breathing heavily.
Barbosa stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Pettis.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pettis throws a series of punches but Barbosa avoids them all with ease.
Pettis throws a sloppy head kick and Barbosa moves out of range easily.
Barbosa misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Pettis.
Pettis misses with a wild body shot.
And Barbosa tries to counter it with a takedown but Pettis pushes his down on his head and steps out.
Pettis misses with a body shot.
Pettis goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Barbosa darts in looking for a takedown but Pettis gets double underhooks and turns Barbosa into the cage.
Pettis bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Barbosa's head backwards.
Pettis slaps away a takedown attempt from Barbosa, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Pettis stalks Barbosa and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Barbosa's face. Barbosa staggers backwards, shaken.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A head kick by Barbosa misses
and Pettis counters with a straight right hand.
Pettis thumps Barbosa with a low kick.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Barbosa doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Pettis counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Barbosa thinking.
Left hook, right uppercut from Pettis.
Pettis lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Barbosa circles away quickly and effectively.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Barbosa.
Pettis scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Anthony Pettis dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Barbosa looks for a takedown but Pettis sprawls well.

Pettis closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Barbosa did well to prevent Pettis getting side control.
Barbosa is trying to escape back to his feet but Pettis uses the scramble to pass into side control.
Pettis is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Barbosa wants to get back to his feet.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Pettis in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barbosa struggling a bit here.
Pettis content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.
Pettis seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Barbosa for as long as he can get away with.
Pettis works to advance to full mount. Barbosa defends for a few seconds but eventually he succumbs.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Pettis sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Barbosa tries to hold on but Pettis postures up.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Pettis tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barbosa wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Pettis.
Barbosa really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Pettis throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.
Pettis controlling the pace for now.
Barbosa tries to get back to half guard but can't.

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.
Barbosa is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Barbosa is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Pettis in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Barbosa wants to hold on but Pettis pushes him away.
Pettis controlling his opponent.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Pettis lands a heavy elbow.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Anthony Pettis dominated that second round.
That's time! Pettis's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Barbosa lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Pettis circles away quickly and effectively.
Pettis connects with a right hand. Barbosa shakes it off.
Pettis lands with a good body shot.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Barbosa is defended easily by Pettis.
A nice combination there by Pettis.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Pettis keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
A quick step to the side and Pettis tries to counter with a shot to the body but it doesn't connect.
Barbosa on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Barbosa takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barbosa shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
letting Pettis counter with a right hand.
A cross from Pettis lands.
Pettis defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Barbosa.
Anthony Pettis has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Paulo Barbosa.
Pettis changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Barbosa tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Pettis counters with a nice uppercut.
Paulo Barbosa is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Pettis throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Barbosa stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Barbosa has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Pettis finds it's way round the side to connect with Barbosa's head.
A shot to the liver by Pettis. Beautiful body shot.
Barbosa is trying desperately to land a takedown but Pettis is having absolutely none of it. This is turning into a bit of a nightmare for Barbosa.
Barbosa throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Nice takedown defense from Barbosa. No joy for Pettis on that attempt.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Barbosa tries to close the distance and clinch up but Pettis swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Pettis throws a push kick but Barbosa slaps the foot to one side.
Paulo Barbosa seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A combination from Pettis does no damage.
Barbosa misses the shot to the body.
It looked like Pettis wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
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!
Pettis throws a body shot but no joy.
Barbosa shoots in for a takedown but Pettis shows good takedown defense.
Barbosa darts in looking for a takedown but Pettis gets double underhooks and turns Barbosa into the cage.
Pettis scoring well with a low kick there.
Pettis throws a body shot but no joy.
Barbosa looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pettis jabs at Barbosa's body.
Pettis throws a body punch but Barbosa moves out of range.
Barbosa drops down looking to force a counter takedown but Pettis defends it well.
Barbosa shoots for a double leg takedown but Pettis sprawls well. He's pushed Barbosa's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Barbosa steps to his left, right into the path of a big body kick from Pettis. That one must have hurt.
Pettis lands a glancing blow to the side of Barbosa's head.
Barbosa takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Barbosa tries to land a front kick but Pettis steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Barbosa shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Pettis counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Pettis lands with a shot to the body.
Anthony Pettis is winning the standup battle so far.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Barbosa takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Barbosa throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Pettis counters with a straight right hand.
Pettis lands with a thumping leg kick.
Pettis scores with a nice right hand.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Pettis fails with a takedown attempt.
Barbosa fails with a takedown attempt.
Barbosa doesn't succeed with the takedown
letting Pettis counter with a right hand.
Paulo Barbosa has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Anthony Pettis is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Pettis lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.

And that's the end of the fight!
Anthony Pettis showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Pettis 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 Emerson Jorge scores the fight 30:26
Judge Edson Gomes scores the fight 30:25
Judge Paulo Santos scores the fight 30:25

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Anthony Pettis!