PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Yardbird Knox (ranked 1225 p4p, 2578 weight class) and Drew Barnes (ranked 144 p4p, 289 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Knox
vs
Barnes

207 cm
36
285
28 - 16 - 0

190 cm
30
270
13 - 17 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Olympic wrestler
Excellent MT
Fast

Bondi MMA 🏝️

Fantasy Threads
Bondi MMA 🏝️

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 28 - 16 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Yardbird Knox!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 13 - 17 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Drew Barnes!
The judges for this bout are Timothy Bukovac, Frank Antenori and Jack Bonds.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Barnes scores with a jab.
Barnes misses with a hook
and Knox counters with a lovely straight right hand!
A jab lands there for Knox.
Knox slips under a jab from Barnes.
Barnes throws a left and a right that both miss
and Knox counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Barnes throws a looping overhand right but Knox ducks down to avoid it.
Knox thuds his right hand into Barnes's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Knox throws a head kick that misses.
Barnes uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Knox.
Barnes throws an overhand right that lands on Knox's shoulder, as Knox tries to avoid the shot.
Drew Barnes seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Barnes ducks under a wild hook from Knox.
Barnes throws out a counter right but Knox avoids it with no problem.
Barnes misses with a hook
and Knox counters with a nice uppercut.
Nice cross by Barnes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barnes tried to score with a low kick but Knox checks it.
Barnes connects with a single shot there.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Knox.
Barnes swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Knox misses with a double jab.
Barnes throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Knox sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Barnes misses with a takedown
and Knox connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Jab, jab by Knox - just one landing.
Knox is really peppering his opponent's head with punches.
Horrible takedown attempt by Barnes or perhaps it was just good defense by Knox, which made it look bad.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Knox misses with a looping right.
Nice defenses there by Knox.
An attempted straight right counter from Knox misses the target.
Nice shot lands for Barnes.
Barnes looks to land a left hand but Knox moved out of range nicely.
Barnes cracks Knox with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Barnes shoots for a takedown but Knox saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Yardbird Knox has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Drew Barnes.
A slow jab from Barnes misses its intended target.
Knox on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Barnes throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Barnes slips under a jab from Knox.
A low kick from Barnes is predictable there
and Knox counters with a stiff right hand.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barnes takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Knox is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.
Barnes needs to keep his hands up - Knox had a free shot at his head there.
Barnes swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Knox connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
A swing and a miss from Barnes.
Barnes takes a swing at Knox's ribcage but misses.
Knox misses with a hook.
Knox ducks under a wild hook from Barnes.
Yardbird Knox is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Barnes throws a solid leg kick but Knox takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Barnes.
Barnes misses with a left hand
enabling Knox to counter with a crisp jab.
Barnes misses with a hook
and Knox connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Knox ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Barnes throws a right hand that Knox ducks under and follows up with a left that Knox also avoids with ease.
A telegraphed right hand from Knox misses the target.
Barnes throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Knox throwing a counter right hand but Barnes manages to avoid it.
Knox connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Barnes throws a right hand that Knox ducks under and follows up with a left that Knox also avoids with ease.
Barnes scores with a body shot.
Nice defenses there by Knox.
Barnes tries to score with a low kick but Knox moves his leg out of the way.
Barnes lands with a cross.
Barnes slips a jab from Knox.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Yardbird Knox dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare each other down, ready to get back to the action.

Knox connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Barnes misses with a hook. Knox ducked under it nicely.
Barnes rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
enabling Knox to counter with a crisp jab.
Barnes throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Barnes feints and then cracks Knox's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Knox down.
Barnes shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Knox as he avoids it easily.
Barnes slips a jab from Knox.
Barnes misses with a left hand
and Knox counters with a stiff right hand.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Barnes throws an ugly left hook that misses
enabling Knox to counter with a crisp jab.
Knox is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
Barnes swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Knox is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Knox slips a straight right by Barnes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barnes is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Knox.
Decent striking displayed by Knox there.
Barnes ducks under a wild hook from Knox.
Both these guys seem content to just stand up and trade with each other but Barnes might want to think about changing up his gameplan a bit because over the course of the fight, Knox has got the better of the exchanges.
A big left from Barnes misses.
It looked like Knox wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Barnes pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Barnes misses with a left hand
and Knox counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Knox throws a shot from downtown. Barnes moves away and avoids it.
Nice defenses there by Barnes.
A head kick misses from Knox.
Knox takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
Barnes connects with a single shot there.
Knox is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Barnes can do to turn this around?

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Barnes misses the shot to the body.
Knox is looking to counter with head kicks.
Knox checks the leg kick nicely there.
Barnes throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Knox connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Barnes throws a solid leg kick but Knox takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Barnes.
Barnes swinging wildly here.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Knox pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Barnes shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Knox pinned against the cage. Knox gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
A little feinted left hand from Knox on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Some wild striking there from Barnes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Knox ducks under a wild hook from Barnes.
An attempted straight right counter from Knox misses the target.
Barnes throws a head kick but Knox moves out of range.
Knox has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Knox there as he acknowledges the shot.
Knox bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Knox swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Knox looks to land a left hand but Barnes moved out of range nicely.
Knox misses with a hook. Barnes ducked under it nicely.
Barnes with the inside leg kick.
Knox fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Barnes throws a combination that misses
and Knox counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Barnes rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Barnes takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Knox misses the jab.
Barnes throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Barnes jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Knox swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Barnes looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Knox scores with a jab to the head.
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!
Knox throws a hook but Barnes blocks it.
Knox misses with a hook. Barnes ducked under it nicely.
Barnes shoots in looking for a takedown but Knox manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Barnes's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Yardbird Knox has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Drew Barnes.
A swing and a miss from Knox.
Barnes misses with a left hand
and Barnes takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Yardbird Knox dominated that second round.
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. This is the final round!

Knox sends Barnes crashing to the mat with a devastating uppercut! Knox is motioning to the referee to let Barnes up. He wants to try and finish this one on the feet!

Barnes is rocked!
Knox uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Barnes.
Barnes is still on wobbly legs! Can Knox finish him?
Barnes waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Knox.
Barnes seems to have recovered his senses.
Barnes lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Knox misses with a combination

and Barnes counters with a shoot takedown. Knox fights it but they end up in guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Knox is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Knox trying to keep a closed guard but Barnes is proving a slippery customer.
Barnes working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barnes trying to control the position from guard on top but Knox is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Barnes trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Barnes looking to pass the guard.
Barnes throwing strikes but missing.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Barnes working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Barnes working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Barnes content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Barnes has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Barnes forces his way into half guard.
Knox knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Barnes on the ground.
Knox avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Barnes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Barnes not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Barnes trying to control from Knox's half guard. Knox has other ideas though and has regained full guard.
Barnes throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Barnes passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Barnes scoring with punches from side control.
Knox is working to avoid the ground and pound but Barnes connects with a decent elbow.
Knox gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Barnes working over Knox with some ground and pound. Knox looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barnes works his way into full mount!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Knox is looking to improve his position but Barnes isn't that keen on the idea.
Barnes working the ground and pound effectively.
Drew Barnes has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

It looks like Yardbird Knox has been cut.
Barnes lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Barnes cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!

Yardbird Knox's cut is getting worse.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Barnes postures up and throws a couple of big shots that have Knox in real trouble here! The ref calls for Knox to improve his position which he doesn't do, so the referee has no choice but to end the fight due to the strikes!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:55 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Drew Barnes!
A relieved looking Drew Barnes thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.
In defeat, Yardbird Knox stepped up to the mic, saying 'If you haven't lost in this sport, you haven't fought the right guys yet.'.