PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Andre Barnes (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Tim Elric (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Barnes's entrance music is Black Eyed Peas - Imma Be. A fine choice. 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?

Barnes
vs
Elric

178 cm
27
171 lbs
12 - 9 - 0

183 cm
23
177 lbs
7 - 6 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Lethal high kicks
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Powerful

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 12 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Andre Barnes!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Tim Elric!
The judges for this bout are Steve Erwin, Hugh Johnson and Eliza Hachem.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Elric shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Barnes counters with a left to the body.
A swing and a miss from Elric.
Good leg kick by Barnes there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Barnes jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Barnes dodges the punch combination from Elric.
Nice sprawl there from Barnes as Elric shoots in.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Elric.
A nice inside leg kick there by Barnes. That's going to slow Elric down.
Elric swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Barnes.
Elric looks for a takedown but Barnes sprawls well.
Andre Barnes has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Tim Elric.
Elric throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Barnes.
Elric misses with a double jab.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Some wild striking there from Barnes.
Barnes lands with a shot to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barnes wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Barnes pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Elric takes one on the button.
Barnes misses with the combination.
Barnes tries a head kick but it misses.
Barnes shoots in looking for a takedown but Elric manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Barnes's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Barnes connects with a jab.
Barnes scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Elric fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Tim Elric seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Elric looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Elric looks to land a combination but Barnes avoids it well.
Horrible takedown by Elric or perhaps it was just good defense by Barnes which made him look bad.
Elric looks gassed!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A right-left combo lands from Barnes.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Barnes feints a jab promting Elric to slip. Barnes then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Elric slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.
Barnes lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
A combination from Barnes does no damage.
Elric throws a right and a left that both miss.
Barnes fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Elric has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Barnes lands with a nice combination. Elric backs away looking to recover.
Elric misses with a series of wild punches.
Elric throws out a loose jab but Barnes uses good head movement to avoid it.
Elric shoots in but no luck this time.
Barnes lands with a thumping leg kick.
Barnes pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Elric back to the cage. Barnes follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
An inside leg kick lands from Barnes.
Barnes scores with a head kick. Elric tried to block it but didn't get his arm up in time.
Elric throws a lazy right hand but Barnes sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Barnes moves away from the strike by Elric.
Elric misses with the combination.
Nice shot lands for Barnes.
Elric gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Barnes works Elric's body with a nice hook.
Elric is trying desperately to land a takedown but Barnes is having absolutely none of it. This is turning into a bit of a nightmare for Elric.
Elric walks into a jab.
Elric fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Elric shoots in but no luck this time.
Barnes thuds his right hand into Elric's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Barnes is working the combinations to good effect here.
Barnes throws a right and a left that Elric avoids nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Barnes has Elric up against the cage in a clinch.
Barnes digs a right hand underneath Elric's ribcage. Elric let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Elric can't get the takedown.
Barnes gets through Elric's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Barnes lands a right hand.

Barnes manages to break the clinch.
Barnes keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.

Elric manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Barnes on his heels. He'll look to pass Barnes's guard now, I'm sure.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Barnes scrambles and gets back to his feet.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Barnes pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Some wild striking there from Barnes.
Barnes uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Elric has time to react.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Andre Barnes dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Elric has his takedown stuffed
and Barnes makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Barnes scores with a hook to the body. Elric takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Barnes tries to close the distance and clinch but Elric swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Elric takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Elric throws a series of punches but Barnes avoids them all with ease.
Barnes connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Andre Barnes is winning the standup battle so far.
Elric shoots and misses
and Barnes connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Andre Barnes is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Barnes with a nice cross.
Barnes throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Elric stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Barnes keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
This has been an exciting period of action!
A shot to the liver by Barnes. Beautiful body shot.

Barnes looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Elric preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Elric is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barnes loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Barnes content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Elric working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Barnes.
Barnes landing some decent shots from guard.
Barnes looking to sit in guard and control but Elric gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Barnes looking for a sweep. Not yet Barnes, not yet.
Barnes is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Barnes is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Elric can do to turn this around?

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Barnes misses with a head shot. Elric uses the momentum to regain guard.
Barnes throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Elric works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Barnes in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Barnes trying to control but Elric is working from the bottom.
Barnesis looking to pass into half guard but Elric pushes him away with his feet and jumps on top - now Elric is in guard.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Barnes is on top in guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barnes pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Elric is keeping the position for now.
Barnes postures up in Elric's guard and throws a big left but Elric blocks it.
Barnes looking to pass the guard.
Barnes trying to control but Elric is working from the bottom.
Barnes throwing strikes but missing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Elric is looking to stand up but Barnes isn't so interested in that idea.
Elric working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Barnes.
Elric utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Barnes trying to move into half guard but instead Elric has managed to sweep!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Elric postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Elric is in close to Barnes's body, working some short punches and elbows.

Elric has gone for a leg lock! Barnes slips out almost immediately though and dives into Elric's guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Andre Barnes dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Elric avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Elric misses with an uppercut. Barnes saw that one coming.
Barnes moves into range and connects with a jab.

Barnes shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Barnes throws and elbow that misses. Elric uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Barnes's guard. Nice move by Elric!
Elric with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Barnes looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

Elric stands up from Barnes's guard - Elric perhaps looking for a knockout.
Elric throws a series of punches but Barnes moves out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A nice combination there by Barnes.
Barnes throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Barnes fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Barnes throws a series of punches but Elric avoids them all with ease.
Barnes lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Elric circles away quickly and effectively.
Barnes is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Elric.
Barnes shoots in but Elric avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Barnes uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Elric.
Elric throws out a loose jab but Barnes uses good head movement to avoid it.
Elric shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Barnes pinned against the cage. Barnes gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Elric takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Elric misses with a combination
and Barnes counters with a left and a right that stings Elric.
Barnes connects with an inside leg kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Barnes dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Elric. That did some damage!
Elric's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Barnes misses with a series of wild punches.
Barnes pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Elric back to the cage. Barnes follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.
Elric closes this distance looking for a takedown but Barnes circles away.
Barnes tries to clinch but Elric is having none of it.
Barnes throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
Elric has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Barnes.
Barnes lands a jab-cross combination.
Elric stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Barnes.
Barnes is looking to clinch but Elric is avoiding it.
Barnes lands a nice shot to the body.

Barnes looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Barnes trying to pass the guard but Elric defending well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barnes sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Elric defending well though.
Barnes passes to side control.
Elric parries the strikes from Barnes easily there. Barnes is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Elric to escape.
Andre Barnes overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Barnes wants to lay and pray for a moment but Elric keeps working.
Barnes working the ground and pound but Elric is defending the strikes.

Elric explodes and escapes back to his feet! Nice escape there!
The fighters circle momentarily. Elric darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Barnes throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Elric.
Elric looks for the body kick but Barnes saw that one coming.
Elric lands a lovely overhand right.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Barnes lands a jab to Elric's midsection.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Elric is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Barnes.
Elric on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Tim Elric has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Andre Barnes is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Barnes tries to bum rush Elric with a series of wild strikes but Elric uses good footwork to avoid the assault.

And that's the end of the fight!
Andre Barnes showed his dominance in that final round.
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 Steve Erwin scores the fight 30:27
Judge Hugh Johnson scores the fight 30:27
Judge Eliza Hachem scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Andre Barnes!