PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Eric Barnes (ranked 2055 p4p, 1379 weight class) and Henry Of Skalitz (ranked 279 p4p, 200 weight class). Barnes comes to the cage accompanied by Exterminate. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Barnes
vs
Of Skalitz

180 cm
23
180
7 - 5 - 0

186 cm
23
180
8 - 3 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent MT
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Lethal high kicks
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Eric Barnes!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Henry Of Skalitz!
The judges for this bout are Don Winkell, Percy O'Donnell and Jack Bonds.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Of Skalitz swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Barnes throws a leg kick
and Of Skalitz counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Barnes slips under a jab.
Barnes's corner calls for a 1-2. Barnes obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Barnes throws a nice outside leg kick.
Barnes connects with a right hand. Of Skalitz shakes it off.
Of Skalitz throws a low kick but Barnes avoids it.
Barnes drops down looking for a counter takedown but Of Skalitz sprawls and moves away.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Of Skalitz misses with a wild body shot.
Barnes tries to counter with a takedown but Of Skalitz is quick to defend against it.
Barnes defending well as Of Skalitz loads up on a big left hand.
Barnes tries to counter with a takedown but Of Skalitz is quick to defend against it.
Of Skalitz throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Barnes misses with a wild body shot.
Of Skalitz wants to counter the offense by Barnes and move into the clinch position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barnes fails to land with a series of punches.
Barnes has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.
Of Skalitz throws a shot from downtown. Barnes moves away and avoids it.
Barnes thumps Of Skalitz with a low kick.
Barnes swinging wildly here.
Of Skalitz blocks a low kick nicely.
Of Skalitz is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
Barnes misses with a right hand
and Of Skalitz connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.

It looks like Eric Barnes has been cut.
Of Skalitz buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Of Skalitz dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Barnes. That did some damage!
Barnes misses with a jab to the body
enabling Of Skalitz to counter with a crisp jab.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Barnes avoids the body shot from Of Skalitz.
Barnes moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Barnes connects with a right hand. Of Skalitz shakes it off.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Barnes misses with a left hand
and Of Skalitz counters with a straight right hand.
Barnes bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Of Skalitz's head.
Barnes pivots, looking for a leg kick but Of Skalitz is out of range and Barnes settles back down.
Of Skalitz misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
A lazy left from Barnes finds it's target.
Barnes moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Barnes moves out of range as Of Skalitz strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Of Skalitz misses with an uppercut

and Barnes counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Barnes.
Barnes throws an elbow that misses. Of Skalitz uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Barnes's guard. Nice move by Of Skalitz!

Of Skalitz postures up.
Of Skalitz is looking to stand up but Barnes won't let him.
Barnes tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Of Skalitz controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Of Skalitz tries to stand but Barnes is controlling from the bottom.
Of Skalitz wants to stand and escape but instead Barnes has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

Barnes postures up and lands a big shot to Of Skalitz's brow.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Barnes throwing strikes from guard but Of Skalitz blocks nicely.
Barnes is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Barnes won't allow Of Skalitz to get back to his feet.
Barnes pushing down on Of Skalitz's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Barnes prevents Of Skalitz from improving his position.
Barnes wants to control but Of Skalitz is keeping him busy.

Barnes decides to stand and escape the position.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Of Skalitz chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Barnes can pounce on him.
The fighters circling - Barnes throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Eric Barnes dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Eric Barnes's cut.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Barnes throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Barnes ducks under a wild hook from Of Skalitz.
Of Skalitz blocks a low kick nicely.
Of Skalitz finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Barnes connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Of Skalitz just misses with a punch to the body.
Barnes throws a poor cross that misses
and Barnes takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Barnes fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Of Skalitz checks it well.
Barnes stalks Of Skalitz and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Of Skalitz's face. Of Skalitz staggers backwards, shaken.
Of Skalitz throws a body shot but no joy.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barnes throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Of Skalitz.
Barnes lands with a shot to the body.
Of Skalitz punishes Barnes's body with a nice straight punch.
Of Skalitz checks a low kick from Barnes.
Of Skalitz throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Barnes looks to land a right hand but Of Skalitz moved out of range.
Eric Barnes seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Barnes throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Barnes sets himself, and Of Skalitz steps forward looking for the clinch! Barnes avoids it this time.
Barnes misses with a few strikes there.
Barnes lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Of Skalitz misses with an uppercut

and Barnes counters with a single leg into guard. Of Skalitz didn't expect that.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Barnes advances position into side control!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Of Skalitz tries to improve position but can't.
Barnes working the ground and pound but Of Skalitz is defending the strikes.
Barnes working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
Barnes lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Of Skalitz down.
Barnes throws a strike aimed at the side of Of Skalitz's head but Of Skalitz avoids it well.
Barnes fails to land a wild elbow strike.
Of Skalitz is trying to improve his position.
Barnes working the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Of Skalitz wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
Barnes controlling the position.
Barnes trying to control the action but Of Skalitz is working from the bottom.
Barnes taking a break here but Of Skalitz is having none of it and regains half guard.
Barnes lands strikes from half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Barnes prevents Of Skalitz from standing back up.
Of Skalitz is looking to improve his position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Of Skalitz is staying active underneath Barnes, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Barnes throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Of Skalitz is looking for a sweep. Barnes is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Eric Barnes is winning the standup battle so far.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Of Skalitz has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Of Skalitz there as he acknowledges the shot.
Barnes throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Of Skalitz walks forward, straight into a front kick from Barnes.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Eric Barnes dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Eric Barnes's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! And we move into the final round!

Of Skalitz tries to move into range but Barnes moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Of Skalitz slips under a jab from Barnes.
Barnes slips a jab and a cross from Of Skalitz.
Barnes lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Barnes throws a sloppy head kick and Of Skalitz moves out of range easily.
A looping hook to the body misses from Of Skalitz. Barnes does a little dance to reset his feet.
Barnes drops down looking for a counter takedown but Of Skalitz sprawls and moves away.
A low kick from Barnes misses
and Of Skalitz counters with a lovely straight right hand!
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Of Skalitz 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.
A big left from Of Skalitz misses.
Barnes attempts a counter takedown but Of Skalitz avoids it well and moves away.
Barnes looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Of Skalitz waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Barnes.
Of Skalitz lands the left hand.
Barnes throws a body shot but no joy.
Barnes sets himself, and Of Skalitz steps forward looking for the clinch! Barnes avoids it this time.
Of Skalitz throws a jab when Barnes was well out of range.
Barnes seemed to be looking to counter by closing the distance.
Barnes misses with a wild combination.
Of Skalitz throws a big shot that misses.
Barnes takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Of Skalitz steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Barnes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Of Skalitz steps to his left, right into the path of a big body kick from Barnes. That one must have hurt.
Barnes swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Barnes connects with an inside leg kick.
A looping hook to the body misses from Of Skalitz. Barnes does a little dance to reset his feet.
Barnes misses with a leg kick.
Barnes misses with a double jab
enabling Of Skalitz to counter with a crisp jab.
Of Skalitz avoids a punch combination nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Of Skalitz wants to slow Barnes down by chopping away at his legs.
Of Skalitz misses with an uppercut. Barnes saw that one coming.
Of Skalitz lands a nice shot to the body.
Of Skalitz throws a head kick that misses.
Barnes feinted with a counter takedown.
Of Skalitz tried to score with a low kick but Barnes checks it.
Barnes throws a jab when Of Skalitz was well out of range.
A solid leg kick lands there for Barnes.
Barnes uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Of Skalitz.
Barnes changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Of Skalitz throws a poor cross that misses

so Barnes counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Of Skalitz looking to hit a scissor sweep but Barnes is one step ahead there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Barnes postures up and lands a big shot to Of Skalitz's brow.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Barnes accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Barnes pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Of Skalitz is keeping the position for now.
Eric Barnes overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Barnes throws an elbow that misses. Of Skalitz uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Barnes's guard. Nice move by Of Skalitz!

The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Barnes 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.
Henry Of Skalitz has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Henry Of Skalitz.
Well Barnes 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 Don Winkell scores the fight 30:27
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 29:28
Judge Jack Bonds scores the fight 30:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Eric Barnes!
Eric Barnes was full of energy after the big win and talked about how he thinks he can do big things in this sport. The crowd were appreciative of his determination to succeed.