PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Jae Barnes (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ned Higher (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Barnes
vs
Higher

210 cm
18
161 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

175 cm
18
155 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Enjoys gardening

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 New York, Jae Barnes!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Ned Higher!
The judges for this bout are Steve Montenegro, Franklyn Lucas and Chad Campbell.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Higher clinches.

Higher breaks from the clinch.
Barnes showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Higher.

Higher takes the fight into the clinch.
Higher using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Barnes has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Higher is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Higher misses with a knee strike.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Barnes tries to circle away but Higher has him pinned against the cage.
Higher swings wildly with an uppercut but Barnes uses good head movement to avoid it.

Higher manages to break the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Higher looks to land a combination but Barnes avoids it well.

Higher closes the distance and clinches.

Higher breaks from the clinch.
Barnes dodges the punch combination from Higher.

Higher gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Higher is working for takedown but Barnes is calmly controlling the position for now.
Higher trying to land knees to the body.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Higher just misses with a elbow thrown towards Barnes's brow.
Higher stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Higher has a couple of punches blocked by Barnes.
Barnes wants to break the clinch but can't.
Higher tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Barnes avoids it.
Higher has Barnes pushed against the cage.
Higher tries to land knees in the clinch but Barnes avoids the damage to the body.
Higher is struggling to control the position.
Higher has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Barnes avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Higher misses with a knee to the head.
Higher looks winded!
A left hand lands to the body for Higher.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Higher keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Barnes's efforts to push away.
Barnes avoiding damage as Higher throws knees to the body.
Higher missing with knees to the body.
Higher tries to circle away but Barnes has him pinned against the cage.
Barnes tries to break free but Higher pushes him back against the cage.
Barnes taking a breather.
Higher lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Higher with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Higher lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Barnes has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.

Barnes breaks from the clinch.

Higher forces Barnes back against the cage and clinches.
Higher tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Barnes looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Higher taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Higher has Barnes pressed against the cage, preventing Barnes from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Barnes is trying to force a seperation but Higher has the dominant position.
Higher is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Barnes to keep the fight standing.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ned Higher dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Higher throws a sloppy head kick
and Barnes counters with a low kick, right behind Higher 's knee.
Higher shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Barnes jinks towards his opponent looking like he wants to counter with a mid kick but doesn't commit.
Higher shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.

Higher tries to sprawl but Barnes drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Barnes not landing any meaningful shots this time.

Barnes is looking for a kimura but Higher is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Barnes to get the leverage.
Barnes is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Higher keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Barnes missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Higher is breathing heavily.

Barnes seems to be working for a kimura but Higher defends the submission attempt.
Barnes thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barnes lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.

Higher is defending against the submission attempts here by Barnes.

The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Barnes is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Higher is just riding it out for now. Barnes eventually gives up the hold.

Barnes is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Barnes really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.

Barnes is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Barnes throwing shots but Higher is blocking nicely.
Higher is trying to control but can't.

Barnes is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Barnes decides to stand and escape the position.

Higher has managed to clinch.
Higher lands a good knee to the midsection. Barnes won't want to take too many of those.
Higher misses with a hook from the clinch.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Barnes as Higher tries to tie him up.

Higher escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Higher fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Barnes, pushing him back against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Higher taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Barnes blocks a body shot from Higher.
Barnes wants to break free but Higher has control.
Barnes is trying to push Higher away but Higher has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Higher with an attempt at a knee that misses.
We've been informed that Higher has been working hard on his conditioning in the buildup to the fight.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Higher stalling in the clinch but Barnes improves position.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Barnes managing to block the knees to the body from Higher.

Higher breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jae Barnes dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Higher shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Barnes counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Higher throws a head kick that misses.
Barnes misses with a low kick.
Higher jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Barnes throws a counter high kick but Higher was just alert enough to avoid it.

Higher gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Barnes has had enough of the clinch but Higher keeps him there for the moment.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Higher tries to land knees in the clinch but Barnes avoids the damage to the body.

Higher breaks the clinch.
Higher fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Barnes has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
A chopping leg kick lands by Barnes.
Higher takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Higher instigates a clinch.
Higher tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Higher looking to throw knees to the head but Barnes is blocking nicely.
Higher misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Barnes.
Higher has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

Higher manages to break the clinch.
Higher lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Barnes circles away quickly and effectively.
Some bone on bone action there as Higher checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.

Barnes tries to keep at a distance but Higher has taken the fight into the clinch.

Higher breaks from the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Barnes throws a low kick but Higher moves out of range easily.
Higher throws a front kick aimed at Barnes's knee but Barnes avoids it well.
Higher looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Barnes feinted there with a counter leg kick.

Barnes tries to keep at a distance but Higher has taken the fight into the clinch.
Ned Higher seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Higher misses with a body punch.
Barnes leaning his opponent against the cage.
Higher is trying to pull guard but Barnes has him pressed against the cage.
Barnes tries to break the clinch but Higher is controlling the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.

Higher's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Higher lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Barnes has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Barnes and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.

Barnes shoots in for a takedown and gets it.

Higher has one foot on Barnes's thigh - he pushes off and manages to get back to his feet.
Barnes misses with a head kick.
Ned Higher is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Higher moves into the clinch.
Higher keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Barnes's efforts to push away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Barnes blocks an elbow strike.
Higher working Barnes over with knees to the body.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Higher is looking for a takedown.
Jae Barnes has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ned Higher.
Barnes wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Higher is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Higher trying to land knees to the body.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Barnes avoiding damage.
Higher is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ned Higher comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Higher has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Steve Montenegro scores the fight 27:29
Judge Franklyn Lucas scores the fight 27:29
Judge Chad Campbell scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ned Higher!
Ned Higher spent the whole post fight interview bigging himself up. It didn't go down that well with the fans after a while as they thought it was a bit arrogant.