PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Marco Polo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Grant Barnett (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Fingers crossed for an exciting fight - I'm sure both fighters are looking for a nice under the table bonus!

Polo
vs
Barnett

195 cm
25
300 lbs
6 - 5 - 0

194 cm
21
271 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Marco Polo!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Grant Barnett!
The judges for this bout are Bruno Hogan, John Mangel and Summer Carpenter.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Barnett buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Barnett gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Polo.
Polo misses with a double jab.
Barnett misses with a jab, cross combination.
Barnett throws a body punch but Polo moves out of range.
Barnett throws a leg kick that is checked
and Polo counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Barnett showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Polo.
Barnett misses with the combination.
Barnett tries a low kick but Polo avoids it.
Barnett is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Polo.

It looks like Grant Barnett has been cut.
Polo misses with a two punch combination.
Barnett looks to score with a jab to the body but Polo is just out of range.
Polo fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Polo connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Barnett's hands.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barnett misses with a jab, cross combination.
Barnett cracks Polo with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Barnett tries to work over Polo's front leg with a kick but Polo checks it.
Barnett is looking to chop away at Polo's legs.
Polo fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Barnett avoids it really well and circles away.
Barnett slips a jab and a cross from Polo.

Polo throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Barnett tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Polo is in Barnett's guard.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Polo trying to control the position from guard on top but Barnett is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Barnett is trying to control the position but Polo postures up.
Polo being controlled here momentarily.
Polo lands a couple of elbows.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Barnett preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Polo showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Polo postures up in Barnett's guard and throws a big left but Barnett blocks it.
Barnett keeping full guard, as Polo tries to pass.
Polo slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Barnett throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Grant Barnett seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Polo closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Barnett quickly recovers to half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Polo is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Barnett is staying active underneath Polo, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Polo thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Barnett keeping control of the position.
Polo throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Barnett can do anything to dispel that myth.

Polo is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Barnett defends it well.
Polo has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Polo with the ground and pound but Barnett uses the opportunity to regain guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Polo postures up in Barnett's guard and throws a big left but Barnett blocks it.
Barnett is trying to control the position but Polo postures up.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Polo lands a couple of elbows.

Polo is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Barnett not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Polo pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Barnett is keeping the position for now.
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!
Polo slips nicely into half guard.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Polo throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Polo stops Barnett from getting back to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Marco Polo dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Grant Barnett's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

A looping hook to the body misses from Barnett. Polo does a little dance to reset his feet.
Barnett misses with a kick to the body.
Polo scores with a one two! Barnett had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
Barnett throws a hook to the side of Polo's head but Polo sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Polo has a takedown stuffed.
Barnett misses with a left hand

and Polo counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Barnett's guard now.
Polo sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Polo advances to half guard.
Barnett really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Polo. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Polo is controlling the pace.
Barnett blocking the ground and pound attempt from Polo.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Polo thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Barnett's head.
Polo perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Polo throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Polo lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Polo is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Barnett can do to turn this around?
Polo sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Barnett defending well though.
Polo perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Polo trying to control from half guard but Barnett is working away.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

Barnett is defending against the submission attempts here by Polo.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Polo is looking to take a break and control but Barnett is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Polo is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Barnett is just riding it out for now. Polo eventually gives up the hold.
Polo not doing much here.

Polo is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Barnett defends it well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Polo is trying to work for a kimura but Barnett is defending well.
Polo is pressing down on Barnett's thigh, looking to free his foot. Barnett is holding on for now.
Polo looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Polo tries to pass the half guard into mount. Barnett knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Polo thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Barnett is not content to let Polo control the position.

Barnett is defending against the submission attempts here by Polo.
Polo is trying to control the action in half guard but Barnett is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Polo scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Barnett looks like he's trying to stand up.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Barnett is defending against the submission attempts here by Polo.

Polo is working for a kimura but Barnett is defending it quite comfortably.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Marco Polo dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Grant Barnett'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. This is the final round!

Barnett looks to throw the jab but Polo is out of range.
Polo fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Polo throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.

Polo drives through with a takedown into Barnett's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Polo pushing down on Barnett's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Barnett wants to improve his position but Polo is controlling well.
Polo trying to control from half guard but Barnett is working away.
Polo thows a huge punch but Barnett dodges it nicely.
Polo tries to pass to full mount but Barnett defends it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barnett is refusing to be controlled, as Polo sits in half guard.
Polo throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Polo missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Polo in particular looking to stall.
Barnett is staying active underneath Polo, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Polo is figuring out what he wants to do next.

Marco Polo has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Barnett tries a head kick but it misses.
Polo scores with a one two! Barnett had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
Barnett dodges the punch combination from Polo.
Grant Barnett has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Polo tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Barnett was well out of range. Poor timing from Polo.
Polo slips a jab from Barnett.
Polo scores with a three punch combo!
Grant Barnett is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Barnett throws a quick inside leg kick.
Barnett throws a hard body shot but it just misses.

Polo gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Barnett misses with a punch to the body.
Barnett misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Barnett is working Polo over against the cage.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Polo misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Barnett prevents a body shot from Polo.
Barnett misses with a punch to the body.
Polo tries for a takedown but Barnett manages to get underhooks.
Polo fails to land with a short punch on the inside.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Still in the clinch, Polo scores with a nice short uppercut.
Barnett throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Polos head.
Polo presses Barnett against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Polo scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Barnett goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Polo blocks an uppercut.

Polo lands a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Polo seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Polo throwing shots but Barnett is blocking nicely.
Polo wants to free his trapped foot but Barnett is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Polo frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Polo looking to finish Barnett with some ground and pound. This is bad for Barnett!
Marco Polo overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Polo trying to control but he's not successful this time.

Polo with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.

Polo with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
Marco Polo is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Barnett is desperately trying to improve his position but Polo has a good base and remains in mount.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
A big strike lands for Polo! That's really hurt Barnett and he's turned his back - Polo keeps firing away and the ref dives in to stop the fight! Polo jumps to his feet to celebrate the victory!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:59 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Marco Polo!
Our winner, Marco Polo, made sure he spent some time buttering up the crowd during his post fight interview, which will no doubt bring him a few more fans.