PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Dantas Barao (ranked 6071 p4p, 385 weight class) and Daniel McCullen (ranked 5852 p4p, 379 weight class). Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Barao
vs
McCullen

170 cm
18
148 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

176 cm
18
155 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Good kicks
KO power

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Granite chin

Urban Fighter
Dark Knight Nutrition

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 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Dantas Barao!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Daniel McCullen!
The judges for this bout are Don Winkell, and Frank Antenori.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
McCullen thows a left - swing and a miss!
Barao tries to counter by clinching up but McCullen breaks away and moves out of range.
Barao definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
McCullen throws a leg kick but Barao sees it coming and moves out of range.
McCullen ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Barao moves away.
Barao tries to clinch but McCullen moves out of range.
Barao throws a head kick that misses.
McCullen keeps the fight on the outside.
It seemed like McCullen was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Barao looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
McCullen looks to throw the jab but Barao is out of range.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from McCullen.
Nice jab there from McCullen.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Barao works the jab nicely.

It looks like Daniel McCullen has been cut.
McCullen blocks the body kick.
McCullen tries to bum rush Barao with a series of wild strikes but Barao uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Barao is looking to counter the offense by McCullen and move into the clinch.
McCullen looks for the body kick but Barao saw that one coming.
McCullen misses with a body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barao pulls out of a head kick attempt.
McCullen cracks the inside of Barao's front leg.
McCullen throws a body punch but Barao moves out of range.
Barao seemed to be looking to counter by closing the distance.
No joy there for McCullen, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
A low kick from McCullen is predictable there
and Barao counters with an inside leg kick.
Daniel McCullen seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
McCullen takes a swing at Barao's ribcage but misses.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Barao.

Barao closes the distance and clinches.
Barao scores a nice knee to the body.
Barao looking to throw knees to the head but McCullen is blocking nicely.
Barao with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Barao prevents McCullen from breaking the clinch.
Barao tries to land knees in the clinch but McCullen avoids the damage to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Barao manages to break the clinch.
McCullen misses with the combination.
McCullen throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
McCullen fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Barao manages to avoid it.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
McCullen looks to land a combination. Barao sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.

Barao closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Barao tries to land a knee to the head but McCullen blocks with his arms.
Barao goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Barao throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but McCullen blocks it with crossed arms.
Barao tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Barao using the Thai plumb to throw knees but McCullen has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barao trying to land knees to the body.
Barao tries to land a knee to the head but misses.

Barao escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from McCullen.
McCullen looks to throw the jab but Barao is out of range.
Barao bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
McCullen fails to land with a series of punches.
Barao wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
McCullen goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
McCullen scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
McCullen thuds a left hand into Barao's body.
A solid body kick from Barao.
Barao avoids a kick to the body.
Barao throws a jab but it's blocked by McCullen.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
McCullen lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Barao doesn't manage to clinch there - McCullen circles away.

Barao has taken the fight to the clinch.
McCullen avoiding damage as Barao throws knees to the body.
Barao lands a nice shot to the body.
Barao throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but McCullen blocks it with crossed arms.
Barao throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but McCullen blocks it with crossed arms.
Barao with a knee to the head.
Barao can't find room to land a body shot as McCullen controls the action.
Barao trying to land knees to the body.
Barao has McCullen pressed against the cage, preventing McCullen from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Barao's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
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 Dantas Barao will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Daniel McCullen's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

McCullen misses with an attempted mid kick.
Barao ducks under a wild hook from McCullen.
Barao keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from McCullen.
Barao quickly followed up with a counter body kick but doesn't connect.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Barao, right into the meat.
McCullen misses with a few strikes there.
Barao misses with a head kick.

Barao moves into range and clinches up with McCullen.
Barao tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Barao using the Thai plumb to throw knees but McCullen has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Barao with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Barao working McCullen over with knees to the body.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
McCullen managing to block the knees to the body from Barao.

That's one minute gone in the round.
McCullen blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
A knee to the head by Barao.
Barao throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but McCullen blocks it with crossed arms.
Barao tries to land a knee to the head but McCullen blocks with his arms.
McCullen lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Barao is pushing McCullen up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Barao tries to land a knee to the head but McCullen blocks with his arms.
Barao misses with a knee strike.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Barao with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Barao tries to land a knee to the head but McCullen blocks with his arms.
Barao throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but McCullen blocks it with crossed arms.
McCullen has been looking to improve his clinch game in recent weeks. Barao seems to have the measure of him in the clinch so far, so let's see if McCullen can turn it around.
Barao tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
McCullen goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Barao tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and McCullen avoids it.
Barao trying to land knees to the body.
Barao tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Barao with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Stalling in the clinch from Barao.

Barao breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barao keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
McCullen throws a hook but Barao avoids it easily.
McCullen lands with an uppercut that bounces Barao off the cage and back into range.
Barao avoids the body shot from McCullen.
Barao throws a wild body kick that McCullen sees coming a mile off.
Barao ducks under a wild hook from McCullen.
Barao tries to counter by clinching up but McCullen breaks away and moves out of range.
McCullen misses with a hook. Barao ducked under it nicely.
McCullen fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Barao on the side of the head.
McCullen works the jab nicely.
McCullen misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Barao.

Barao closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Barao.
McCullen blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Barao with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Barao tries to stall but McCullen uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
McCullen takes a knee right on the jaw!

Barao pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Barao connects with a solid leg kick.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
McCullen fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Barao manages to avoid it.
Barao tries to clinch but McCullen moves out of range.
McCullen throws an overhand right that lands on Barao's shoulder, as Barao tries to avoid the shot.
McCullen throws a nice inside leg kick.

Barao clinches with his opponent.
Barao with an attempt at a knee that misses.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dantas Barao dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Daniel McCullen's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

McCullen fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Barao looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
McCullen misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Barao.
Barao avoids a kick to the body.
And Barao counters with a quick kick to the body but McCullen blocks it.
McCullen throws a poor cross that misses
and Barao makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Barao misses with a low kick.
McCullen is clearly trying to counter these attacks from Barao with a body shot.
Barao pulls out of a head kick attempt.
McCullen throws a leg kick but Barao sees it coming and moves out of range.
McCullen avoids the head kick by Barao.
McCullen scores with a punch to the head.
Barao is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that McCullen can do to turn this around?
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
McCullen throws a looping overhand right but Barao ducks down to avoid it.
McCullen pivots, looking for a leg kick but Barao is out of range and McCullen settles back down.
Barao tries to counter by clinching up but McCullen breaks away and moves out of range.
Barao takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Barao takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
McCullen misses the shot to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A low kick from McCullen misses
and Barao counters with a solid body kick.
Barao keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.

Barao closes the distance and clinches.
Barao misses with a knee to the head.
Barao stalls.
Barao with an attempt at a knee that misses.
McCullen managing to block the knees to the body from Barao.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Barao takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Barao is trying to maintain a safe position but McCullen gets an underhook and turns Barao into the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Barao throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but McCullen blocks it with crossed arms.
Barao tries a knee to the head but McCullen blocks it.
Dantas Barao has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Barao taking a breather.
McCullen stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.

McCullen breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
McCullen scores with a jab to the jaw.
A good leg kick by McCullen.
McCullen just misses with a punch to the body.
Dantas Barao is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
McCullen throws a half hearted mid kick.
McCullen swings and misses with a hook to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
McCullen blocks a head kick by Barao.
Barao keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Barao steps to the side to avoid the strikes from McCullen.
A head kick misses from Barao.
McCullen looks to land a right hand but Barao moved out of range.
The fighters circling - McCullen throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Barao is looking for a counter combo.
McCullen lands a nice hook to Barao's body. Barao takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
McCullen throws a body punch but Barao moves out of range.
A combination from McCullen does no damage.
Barao on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Barao gets cracked with a nice right hand there by McCullen.
McCullen scores with the left hand. Barao knows he should have avoided that one.
McCullen circles away from the clinch attempt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
McCullen does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Barao explodes with a nice body kick and back out of range. Nice work.

Barao instigates a clinch.
McCullen avoiding damage as Barao throws knees to the body.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
McCullen tries to break the clinch but Barao is controlling the position.
Barao lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Barao tries to land knees in the clinch but McCullen avoids the damage to the body.
Barao trying to land knees to the body.
McCullen lands a body punch in the clinch.
Daniel McCullen has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
McCullen swings wildly with an uppercut but Barao uses good head movement to avoid it.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Daniel McCullen.
I think Barao has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Don Winkell scores the fight 29:28
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 29:28
Judge Frank Antenori scores the fight 28:29

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