PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Dan May (ranked 2564 p4p, 226 weight class) and Hannibal Barca (ranked 3007 p4p, 250 weight class). The atmosphere really building for this one as we go over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

May
vs
Barca

186 cm
25
150 lbs
8 - 8 - 0

175 cm
24
150 lbs
4 - 7 - 1

BJJ Blue Belt
World class MT
Cardio machine

BJJ Brown Belt
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 8 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Dan May!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 7 - 1, fighting out of Amsterdam, Hannibal Barca!
The judges for this bout are Marco Blurström, Arvi Lind and Anni Minnemäki.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
We've got one fighter who appears to only be looking to counter and the other not looking particularly aggressive either, so we could be in for a dull fight.
May checks the leg kick nicely there.
Barca takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Barca with a nice cross.

May is rocked!
May tries to bum rush Barca with a series of wild strikes but Barca uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Barca throws a low kick, looking for May's leg but May calmly moves out of range.
A quick step to the side and May tries to counter with a shot to the body but it doesn't connect.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Barca fakes a jab and throws a low kick but May checks it well.
Barca takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barca throws a jab but it's blocked by May.
Barca throws the left hand but May avoids the punch easily.
May throws a big counter combination but Barca scrambles out of danger and avoids any damage.
May slips under a jab from Barca.
May is looking to counter punch.
May throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

and Barca counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Barca.
May really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Barca has a couple of punches blocked by May.
May lands an elbow inside that Barca shrugs off.
May gets through Barca's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
A nice glancing elbow lands by May.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, May just misses with a elbow thrown towards Barca's brow.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Still in the clinch, May scores with a nice short uppercut.
May blocking some punches.
Barca looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Barca throws a punch but it's blocked by May.
May throws an elbow but it misses.
Barca misses with a hook from the clinch.
A nice left hand lands by Barca.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Barca swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Barca dodges an elbow strike from May.
Barca lands with a short shot to the head.
May tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
With the fighters up against the cage, May throws an elbow but misses.
Barca misses with a short punch on the inside.
May throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
A nice glancing elbow lands by May.
May tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Good body shot from Barca.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, May just misses with a elbow thrown towards Barca's brow.
May misses with a knee strike.
May missing with knees to the body.
May throws an elbow that misses.
May pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
May using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barca avoids the elbow strike from May, against the cage.
Barca struggles to land a body shot inside as May controls his hands.
May tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Barca avoids it.
May pushes Barca back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
May missing with knees to the body.
Barca lands a hook to the side of the head.
Our sources have told us that May has been working on his knees in the buildup to the fight.
Barca throws a punch but it's blocked by May.
May blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Barca blocks an elbow strike from May.
May misses with an elbow over the top.
May lands an elbow that stopped Barca in his tracks for a moment.
Barca misses with a hook from the clinch.
May lands a damaging elbow.
Barca blocks an elbow strike from May.

Barca manages to break the clinch.
May is looking to clinch but Barca is avoiding it.

May moves into range and clinches up with Barca.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Barca throws a punch but it's blocked by May.
May pushes off an throws an elbow but Barca leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
May is leaning against Barca and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Barca takes an elbow to the temple.
Barca lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of May backwards.
Barca lands with a light punch inside.
May lands an elbow just above Barca 's eye.
May lands an elbow inside.
Barca lands a left hand.
Barca avoids the elbow strike from May, against the cage.
May looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Barca blocks an elbow strike.
May scores with a knee to the head.
Barca misses with a hook from the clinch.
May throws an elbow but it misses.
May takes a shot to the head.
May creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Barca scores with a nice hook to the head.
Barca misses with a short punch on the inside.

Barca manages to break the clinch.
May is looking to clinch.
Barca raises up his leg as if looking to counter with a high kick.
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 Dan May will probably get the nod.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Barca misses with a leg kick
and May counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
May slips under a jab from Barca.
Nice uppercut lands for May. That snapped Barca's head back.
Barca throws a leg kick that is checked
and May counters with a series of strikes. Barca will be more careful next time no doubt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
May on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Barca. Barca obviously looking to wear him down.
May blocks a jab.

That's one minute gone in the round.
May tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Barca manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Barca steps in looking to counter with the mid kick but it doesn't connect.
May tries to clinch up.
Both fighters are looking to counter, which isn't making for the most exciting fight in the world.
Barca gets off balance looking for a body kick
and May makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Barca keeps the fight on the outside.
Barca feints a counter leg kick.
Barca circles away from the clinch attempt.
Barca unleashes a big counter combination but May bobs and weaves and avoids any damage.
Barca wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
May tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Barca raises up his leg as if looking to counter with a high kick.
May throws a right and a left that both miss.
Barca keeps the fight on the outside.

May takes the fight into the clinch.
Barca lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
May lands with a right to the head.
May creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Barca blocks an elbow strike from May.
May pushes off an throws an elbow but Barca leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Dan May has scored more points in the clinch so far.
May comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barca misses with some punches.
May looks to throw an elbow but misses.
A nice glancing elbow lands by May.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, May just misses with a elbow thrown towards Barca's brow.
Barca misses with a punch on the inside.
Nice elbow from May.
May with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Barca working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
May lands an elbow inside that Barca shrugs off.
Barca softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Barca.
May blocks a punch to the side of the head.
May swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Barca scores with a shot to the side of May's head.
May throws an elbow that misses.
Barca scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Oh May is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
May blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Barca swings wildly with an uppercut but May uses good head movement to avoid it.
May seems to have got his legs back now.
Barca misses with some punches.
A head punch on the inside from Barca fails to land.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Barca avoiding damage as May throws knees to the body.
Barca lands a nice uppercut.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Barca.
May misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Barca.
Barca blocks an elbow strike from May.
Barca throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Barca.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Barca.
May swings wildly with an uppercut but Barca uses good head movement to avoid it.
Barca lands an uppercut.
Barca has a couple of punches blocked by May.
May unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Barca lands a left hand that snaps the head of May backwards.
May creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Barca digs a right hand into May's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on May's gas tank.
May missing with knees to the body.
Barca throws a head punch that misses.
May swings wildly with an uppercut but Barca uses good head movement to avoid it.
Barca tried to land a shot to the body but connects with May's elbow.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Hannibal Barca will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Barca keeps the fight on the outside.
Barca tries to bum rush May with a series of wild strikes but May uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
May was looking to counter that last move with a shot to the body but he didn't commit.

May clinches.
May misses with the head strike.
Barca takes a knee to the side of the body.

Barca breaks the clinch.
Hannibal Barca seems to be getting the better of the standup.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Barca fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
May throws a big counter combination but Barca scrambles out of danger and avoids any damage.
May tries to clinch there but Barca circles away.
Barca throws a fast counter high kick but May manages to duck under it in time.

That's one minute gone in the round.
May fails with an attempt to clinch.
Barca was about to counter that last move with a leg kick but changes his mind.
May tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Barca manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
May closes the distance but Barca moves to the side
and Barca counters with a lovely shot to the body.
May pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Barca back to the cage. May follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.
May moves in looking to clinch but Barca pushes him off.
Barca tries a quick counter leg kick but May is wise to it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
May tries to close the distance and clinch but Barca swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
May is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
May works Barca's body with a nice hook.
May slips a jab and a cross from Barca.
May is looking for a counter combo.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barca connects with a solid leg kick.
A big right from Barca misses.
May went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
May wants to clinch

and Barca counters with a crisp right hand that drops May! Barca lets May back up to his feet, looking for a finish!

It looks like Dan May has been cut.

May forces Barca back against the cage and clinches.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Barca swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Barca throws a punch but it's blocked by May.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
A head punch on the inside from Barca fails to land.
Barca swings wildly with an uppercut but May uses good head movement to avoid it.
Barca lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Barca makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
May pushes off an throws an elbow but Barca leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Barca working aggressively here.
May lands with a left to the head.
May throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Barca blocks it with crossed arms.
May throws an elbow that misses.
Barca misses with a short punch on the inside.
A head punch blocked on the inside by May.
Barca throws a punch but it's blocked by May.
Barca lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of May backwards.
May misses with an elbow over the top.
Barca blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
May throws an elbow that misses.
Barca blocks the elbow strike.
Barca lands a right hand.

And that's the end of the fight!
Hannibal Barca comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Barca 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 Marco Blurström scores the fight 28:29
Judge Arvi Lind scores the fight 28:29
Judge Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Hannibal Barca!
A relieved looking Hannibal Barca thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.