PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Ivan Barac (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Frank Bellator (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Barac comes to the cage accompanied by Connected. Bellator is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: A Lesson Never Learned. 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?

Barac
vs
Bellator

195 cm
34
250 lbs
26 - 17 - 0

181 cm
31
285 lbs
17 - 13 - 0

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Olympic wrestler
World class boxer
Granite chin

Conviction

//buriedALIVE// Fight Gear
Milwaukee's Best 160

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 26 - 17 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Ivan Barac!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 17 - 13 - 0, fighting out of New York, Frank Bellator!
The judges for this bout are , Jack Bonds and Don Winkell.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Bellator takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.

It looks like Frank Bellator has been cut.
A telegraphed right hand from Bellator misses the target.
Barac ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Bellator moves away.
Bellator moves out of range of the body kick from Barac.
Crunch! Barac slams his shin into Bellator's torso.
Barac throws a hook but Bellator blocks it.
Barac wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Barac throws a push kick but Bellator slaps the foot to one side.

Bellator closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Barac to the mat! Barac manages to get full guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Barac is controlling Bellator's posture.
Bellator stops Barac from standing up.
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Bellator working his ground and pound in the gym. He isn't landing a great percentage of his ground strikes so far though.
Barac is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Bellator throws a big elbow that misses.
Bellator trying to control but Barac is working from the bottom.
Barac looking for a sweep. Not yet Barac, not yet.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Barac pushes Bellator off and scrambles back to his feet.
Barac swings for the body but Bellator moves out of range.
Barac throws a lazy body kick
and Bellator counters with a straight right hand.
Bellator shoots in but Barac avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Barac lands with a thumping leg kick.
Barac misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Bellator.
Barac throws a hook but Bellator avoids it easily.
Bellator lands with a straight right. Barac didn't see that one coming.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Bellator is defended easily by Barac.
Barac uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Bellator.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Barac stuffs the takedown attempt from Bellator. Bellator gets slowly back to his feet.
Ivan Barac has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Frank Bellator.
Bellator avoids a kick to the body.
Nice sprawl there from Barac as Bellator shoots in.
Barac thuds his right hand into Bellator's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Bellator walks into a straight right hand from Barac.
Barac thows a body shot but no joy.
Barac sizes up Bellator with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Barac throws out a leg kick but Bellator moves out of range and Barac only half commits.
Bellator misses with a body shot.
Bellator scores with a jab to the body.

Bellator feints and as Barac raises his hands in defense, Bellator changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Barac managing to control the position.

Barac pushes Bellator off and scrambles back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Bellator bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Barac can't do much from the bottom here.
Barac is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Barac is trying to get back to his feet.
Bellator scoring with punches and elbows.
Bellator misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Bellator postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Bellator cracks Barac with a big elbow.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Barac being controlled for a moment.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Bellator lands a nice forearm strike.
Barac is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Barac is working hard here to advance position.
Barac struggling a bit here.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Bellator throwing strikes but missing, from side control.
Both fighters take a look at the clock.
Bellator moves into full mount!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ivan Barac dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Frank Bellator's cut.
That's time! Barac's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Barac pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Ivan Barac is winning the standup battle so far.
Barac slips a jab from Bellator.
Barac misses the shot to the body.
Barac misses with a head kick.
Bellator throws a low kick, looking for Barac's leg but Barac calmly moves out of range.
Bellator uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Barac.
Barac is looking to wear down Bellator with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Bellator pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Barac takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Barac is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Barac misses with a body shot.
Barac tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Bellator was well out of range. Poor timing from Barac.
Bellator fails with a takedown attempt.
Bellator uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Barac.
Barac tries to score with a low kick but Bellator moves his leg out of the way.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barac stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
A looping hook to the body misses from Barac. Bellator does a little dance to reset his feet.
Decent striking displayed by Bellator there.
Bellator throws out a loose jab but Barac uses good head movement to avoid it.
Barac throws a head kick that misses.
Barac throws a low kick but it's checked well by Bellator.

Bellator gets a double leg takedown into Barac's guard.
Bellator loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Bellator postures up in Barac's guard and throws a big left but Barac blocks it.
Barac manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Bellator manages to get himself to full guard.
Barac stopping the sweep attempt from Bellator.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Barac has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Bellator is proving hard to escape from.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Barac trying to control the position from guard on top but Bellator is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Barac stands up from Bellator's guard - Barac perhaps looking for a knockout.
Bellator walks into a straight right hand from Barac.

Bellator shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bellator won't allow Barac to sweep him here.
Barac working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Bellator.
Barac trying to keep a closed guard but Bellator is proving a slippery customer.
Bellator is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Bellator preventing the sweep.
Bellator is stalling in the full guard.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Barac lands a head kick. Bellator smiles back at him and beckons him forward.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Barac thuds a mid kick into his opponent's body. That will wear on Bellator if he has to take too many more of those.
Bellator shoots in for a takedown but Barac shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.

Bellator scores with a takedown into Barac's guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Barac has control of Bellator's left arm, preventing Bellator from doing any damage.
Bellator trying to control the position from guard on top but Barac is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Bellator postures up.
Bellator throwing strikes from guard but Barac blocks nicely.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

Ivan Barac has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Bellator fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Ivan Barac has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Frank Bellator.

Bellator drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ivan Barac dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Frank Bellator's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Bellator throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Barac.
Bellator slips a straight right by Barac.
Bellator scores with a shot to the body.
Barac thows a leg kick but Bellator checks it
enabling Bellator to counter with a crisp jab.
Barac misses with an uppercut. Bellator saw that one coming.
Bellator throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Bellator throws a hook but Barac avoids it easily.
Barac scores with a jab. Bellator acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
It looks like Barac has been trying to sharpen up his punching technique, as it looks crisper than last time we saw him.
Bellator shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Barac defends it nicely.
Barac misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Bellator.
Barac is looking to chop away at Bellator's legs.
Bellator stuns Barac with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Barac plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!

That has opened up Frank Bellator's cut even more.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bellator fails with a takedown attempt.
Bellator throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Barac sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Barac misses with a hook. Bellator ducked under it nicely.
Barac bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Barac swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Bellator counters with a stiff right hand.

Bellator shoots in and bounces Barac off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Barac wants to get back to his feet but Bellator is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Bellator throws an elbow that misses. Barac uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Bellator's guard. Nice move by Barac!
Bellator manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Barac manages to get himself to full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bellator loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Barac keeping moving, preventing Bellator from controlling successfully.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Barac working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Bellator.
Bellator stops Barac from standing up.
Bellator controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Bellator works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Bellator thows a huge punch but Barac dodges it nicely.
Frank Bellator has got the better of the ground game so far.

Barac has one foot on Bellator's thigh - he pushes off and manages to get back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barac fails to land with a series of punches.
Barac looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Barac tries to move into range but Bellator moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Barac throws a jab but it's blocked by Bellator.
Bellator scores with a sloppy right hand. Barac should have avoided that one.
Barac lands a jab.
Barac has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Barac there as he acknowledges the shot.
Bellator keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Barac.
A looping hook to the body misses from Barac. Bellator does a little dance to reset his feet.
Barac is looking to score with low kicks.
Barac swings and misses with a hook to the body.

Bellator manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Barac on his heels. He'll look to pass Barac's guard now, I'm sure.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Bellator lands a couple of digs.
Frank Bellator has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Bellator has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bellator looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Bellator postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Barac looking to control.
Barac is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Bellator is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
It really doesn't seem like the step up in weight is hurting Barac here at all. He's more than holding his own against the bigger man.
Barac avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Bellator postures up and lands a big shot to Barac's brow.
Bellator won't allow Barac to sweep him here.

Bellator 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.

And that's the end of the fight!
Frank Bellator comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Barac has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 29:28
Judge Jack Bonds scores the fight 29:28
Judge Don Winkell scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ivan Barac!
Ivan Barac decided to go for the less than humble approach in his post fight interview, telling everyone how he is going to conquer the world. The crowd seemed to like it when really that sort of approach could have gone either way.