PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Renato Barral (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Belle Gracie (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Barral
vs
Gracie

161 cm
28
134 lbs
7 - 3 - 0

171 cm
26
136 lbs
5 - 2 - 0

Powerful takedowns
Counter striker
Very strong

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Renato Barral!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Belle Gracie!
The judges for this bout are Timothy Bukovac, Jack Bonds and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gracie fails with an attempt to clinch.
Gracie shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Barral sprawls well. Barral wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Gracie gets slowly back to his feet.
Gracie misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Gracie has his takedown stuffed

and Barral counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Gracie!
Renato Barral has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Belle Gracie.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Barral controlling the position easily from mount.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gracie tries to reverse the position but Barral maintains control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Barral manages to capitalize on a mistake by Gracie to take his back!
Barral controls the position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Renato Barral just wasn't active enough.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Barral.

That's four 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.
Gracie looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Barral is fending him off so far but Gracie persists. Nope, Barral circles away and we're back to standing.
Barral shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Gracie pinned against the cage. Gracie gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Gracie throws a left and a right that both miss

and Barral counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Gracie looks gassed!
Barral sitting and controlling from the half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Renato Barral dominated that 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.

Gracie gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Barral decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Gracie's guard.
Barral slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Barral advances to half guard.
Barral not doing much here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barral has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Renato Barral wasn't doing enough on the ground.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Gracie enables Barral to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Gracie manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Gracie is breathing heavily.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Barral sitting in guard here, content to control.
Barral seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Gracie for as long as he can get away with.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Renato Barral.
Barral dives in and grabs Gracie's left leg, looking for a takedown. Gracie pushes down on Barral's head and hops out.
Gracie leaves Barral with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Barral tries to clinch there but Gracie circles away.
Belle Gracie seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Barral shoots in but Gracie avoids the takedown attempt easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Renato Barral. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Barral misses with a low kick.
Gracie shoots and misses

and Barral counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barral is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Renato Barral just wasn't active enough.
Barral shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Gracie but Gracie pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Barral fails in his attempt to clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Barral drives through with a takedown into guard.
Barral controls from within his opponent's guard.
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Renato Barral.

Barral shoots in and bounces Gracie off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Renato Barral 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!

Barral shoots in and bounces Gracie off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Barral pushes down on Gracie's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Barral in particular looking to stall.

That's one minute gone in the round.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Barral is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!
Gracie takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Barral moves to back control.
Barral controls the position.
Barral is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Gracie can do to turn this around?

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gracie is in a world of trouble here. He's outmatched on the ground here and he'd better get Barral off his back sharpish unless he wants to be submitted.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Renato Barral just wasn't active enough.
Barral wants to clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.

Barral looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Gracie being controlled here, momentarily.
Barral slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.

And that's the end of the fight!
Renato Barral showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Barral 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 Timothy Bukovac scores the fight for Renato Barral!
Judge Jack Bonds scores the fight for Renato Barral!
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight for Renato Barral!

Renato Barral wins by unanimous decision!