PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Hannibal Barca (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Gabe Christianson (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.

Barca
vs
Christianson

193 cm
28
218 lbs
19 - 6 - 0

189 cm
37
185 lbs
28 - 9 - 2

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Spartan Nutrition
GREEN!160

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 19 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Hannibal Barca!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 28 - 9 - 2, fighting out of Tokyo, Gabe Christianson!
The judges for this bout are Frank Antenori, and Don Winkell.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Barca takes the fight into the clinch.

Barca manages to break the clinch.
Christianson throws an overhand right that lands on Barca's shoulder, as Barca tries to avoid the shot.
Christianson dips to his left and cracks Barca with an uppercut!
Barca throws out a leg kick but Christianson moves out of range and Barca only half commits.
Christianson ducks under a wild hook from Barca.
Christianson fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Barca manages to avoid it.
A quick step to the side and Barca tries to counter with a shot to the body but it doesn't connect.
Barca lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Christianson circles away quickly and effectively.
We've been told by Barca's head coaches at The Shield that he's been working on his takedown defense in preparation for this fight.
Christianson blocks a leg kick.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Christianson.
Barca moves out of range of the strikes.
Christianson misses with a low kick.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Barca ducks under a wild hook from Christianson.
Christianson throws a head kick that Barca semi-blocks.
Barca throws a leg kick
and Christianson counters with a stiff right hand.
Christianson keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
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!
Donk. Christianson catches Barca right on the button with a cross.
A nice leg kick lands there from Barca.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barca throws a body shot but no joy.
Barca takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
Barca ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Christianson moves away.
Christianson scores with a head kick. Barca tried to block it but didn't get his arm up in time.
Barca moves out of range of the leg kick from Christianson.
Barca swung with a counter punch to the body but it didn't connect.
Christianson misses with a low kick.
Barca fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Barca backing away here, and Christianson unleashes a leg kick that just misses.
Barca misses with a straight left.

Christianson has closed the distance and engaged Barca in a clinch.

Barca pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Barca fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Christianson has been spending a lot of time sparring his boxing in the run up to the fight, trying to sharpen up those hands and look for a knockout.
Christianson digs a good body shot into Barca's ribs.
Barca throws an overhand right that lands on Christianson's shoulder, as Christianson tries to avoid the shot.
Christianson lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Barca backs up against the cage.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Christianson has Barca up against the cage in a clinch.
Christianson tries a body shot but Barca blocks it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Christianson tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.

Christianson pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Christianson slips a jab and a cross from Barca.
A nice inside leg kick there by Christianson. That's going to slow Barca down.
Barca takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Christianson tries a low kick but Barca avoids it.
Christianson dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Barca. That did some damage!

Christianson moves into the clinch successfully.
Barca blocking some punches.
Barca is trying to push Christianson away but Christianson has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Christianson's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Christianson lands a shoulder strike.
Christianson lands a nice uppercut.

It looks like Hannibal Barca has been cut.
Barca blocks a body shot from Christianson.

Barca breaks from the clinch.
Donk. Christianson catches Barca right on the button with a cross.
Barca uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Christianson.
Barca swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Christianson counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Christianson lands with a cross.
Christianson pushes Barca away with a front kick.
Christianson throws a quick inside leg kick.

Christianson clinches.
Christianson lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Christianson working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.

Barca pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Christianson lands a nice shot that snaps Barca's head back.
Christianson misses with a low kick.
Barca fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Christianson is out of range.
Barca misses with a few strikes there.
Barca throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Barca throws a series of punches but Christianson avoids them all with ease.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Christianson lands a leg kick that knocks Barca off balance momentarily.
Christianson lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
Christianson keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Barca is looking to wear down Christianson with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Barca tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Barca takes a jab right on the kisser.
Barca throws a right hand that Christianson ducks under and follows up with a left that Christianson also avoids with ease.
Christianson now looks to counter with a shot at the body.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Christianson checks a leg kick.
Barca ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Christianson is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Barca.
Barca lands a jab to Christianson's midsection.
Christianson connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Christianson misses with a looping right.
Christianson connects with an inside leg kick.
Christianson misses the shot to the body.
Barca misses with a series of wild punches.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Barca takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Christianson is landing a lot of head punches in this opening round! Barca had better start moving his head a bit unless he wants his face to turn into pâté.
Christianson motions for Barca to come forward. Christianson throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
It looked like Barca was looking amped, ready to throw a big counter but didn't commit.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gabe Christianson dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Hannibal Barca's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Christianson bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Barca's head backwards.
Christianson throws a hook but Barca blocks it.
Hannibal Barca is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Christianson misses with a series of wild punches.
Barca uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Christianson.
An inside leg kick lands from Christianson.

Christianson rushes Barca and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Barca misses with a punch to the body.
Barca presses Christianson against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Christianson misses with the head strike.
Barca is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Christianson misses with a hook from the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Barca breaks from the clinch.
Christianson looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Barca does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Gabe Christianson seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Barca throws a quick inside leg kick.
A nice inside leg kick there by Barca. That's going to slow Christianson down.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Christianson slips under a jab.
Barca lands a jab to the nose.
A nice inside leg kick there by Christianson. That's going to slow Barca down.
Barca looks to land a left hand but Christianson moved out of range nicely.
Christianson looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Barca throws a big counter combination but Christianson scrambles out of danger and avoids any damage.
Christianson drops his hands momentarily and Barca takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Christianson motions for Barca to come forward. Christianson throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Barca is looking to counter punch.
Barca throws a lazy uppercut
and Christianson counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Barca is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Good leg kick by Christianson there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Barca with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Christianson to score with a decent uppercut.
A combination from Barca does no damage.
Christianson swings for the body but Barca moves out of range.
Barca throws a big counter combination but Christianson scrambles out of danger and avoids any damage.
Barca misses the shot to the body.

Barca closes the distance and pushes Christianson back into the cage.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Christianson misses with a punch on the inside.
Christianson keeps control of Barca as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Christianson struggles to land a body shot inside as Barca controls his hands.
A left hand lands to the body for Christianson.
Barca lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Christianson has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Barca wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Christianson has him pressed against the cage.
Christianson lands a right hand.
Christianson misses with some punches.
Barca is looking to break free of the clinch but Christianson has double underhooks.
A short body shot lands from Christianson as the two fighters clinch.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Christianson has Barca pressed against the cage, preventing Barca from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
A head punch on the inside from Christianson fails to land.
Barca blocks a body shot from Christianson.
Christianson lands a hook to the side of the head.
The step up in weight doesn't seem to be a problem for Christianson. He's performing admirably here against the bigger man.
Barca swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Christianson tries a body shot but Barca blocks it.
Christianson misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Christianson throws a punch but it's blocked by Barca.
Christianson misses with a short punch on the inside.
Christianson lands with a left to the head.
Barca prevents a body shot from Christianson.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Christianson is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Christianson tries a body shot but Barca blocks it.
A frustrated look appears on Barca's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Barca is looking to break free of the clinch but Christianson has double underhooks.

Barca's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Barca fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Christianson manages to avoid it.
Barca avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Christianson fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Barca manages to avoid it.
Barca lands a jab-cross combination.
Barca takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Barca feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Christiansons jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Christianson just misses with a punch to the body.
Christianson connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
A good leg kick by Barca.
Barca takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Christianson moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Barca throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Christianson on the side of the head.
Barca walks into a jab.
Barca throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Barca throws a series of punches but Christianson avoids them all with ease.
Barca looks to land a combination but Christianson avoids it well.
Christianson scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Barca misses with a leg kick
and Christianson counters with an inside leg kick.
Christianson fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Christianson misses with a double jab.
Barca appeared to be looking to counter that last move with a leg kick.
An inside leg kick from Barca misses.
Christianson throws an off balance right hand
and Barca counters with a straight right hand.
Christianson throws a jab when Barca was well out of range.
Christianson throws a leg kick which misses Barca's front leg but catches the back leg as Barca tries to avoid it.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
A looping hook to the body misses from Barca. Christianson does a little dance to reset his feet.
Barca backing away here, and Christianson unleashes a leg kick that just misses.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gabe Christianson showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Hannibal Barca's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Barca on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Christianson misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Barca keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Christianson.
Barca connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Barca shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Barca misses with a series of wild punches.
Christianson scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Barca scores with a jab to the body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Christianson throws a sloppy head kick and Barca moves out of range easily.
Christianson lands with a thumping leg kick.
Barca uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Christianson has time to react.
Christianson looks to land a left hand but Barca moved out of range nicely.
Christianson throws a hook but Barca avoids it easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barca swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Christianson staying out of range there.
Christianson with a jab.

Barca drives through and clinches with Christianson against the cage.
A short right from Christianson.
Christianson lands a shoulder strike.
Barca working hard to break the clinch.
Christianson lands a right hand.

Barca manages to break the clinch.
Barca throws a right and a left that both miss.
Barca looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Barca throws a leg kick but Christianson sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Barca misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Christianson.
Christianson ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Barca moves away.
Christianson fails with an attempt to clinch.
Christianson misses with a looping left.
Christianson throws a shot from downtown. Barca moves away and avoids it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Barca takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Christianson blocks a leg kick.
Christianson tries to clinch but Barca moves out of range.
Barca drops his hands momentarily and Christianson takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Christianson throws a head kick but Barca moves out of range.
Barca pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Christianson scores with a nice right hand.
Jab, jab by Barca - just one landing.
Barca throws a predictable looking body shot
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Barca is looking to score with low kicks.
Christianson scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Christianson ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Christianson is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Barca.
Barca slips under a jab from Christianson.
Christianson misses with a looping left.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Jab, jab by Christianson - just one landing.
Barca takes a swing at Christianson's ribcage but misses.
Barca tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Christianson looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Barca slips a straight right by Christianson.
Christianson's jab looks to have found its range, popping Barca under the eye.
Jab by Barca.
Barca throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Christianson is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Barca fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Barca drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Christianson throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Christianson tries a head kick but it misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Barca moves out of range of the strikes.
Christianson jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Barca swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Christianson throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Barca on the side of the head.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Christianson dodges the punch combination from Barca.
Christianson with a nice cross.
Hannibal Barca has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Barca avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Barca was looking to counter that last move with a shot to the body but he didn't commit.
Barca walks into a stiff left hand from Christianson.
Christianson dips to his left and cracks Barca with an uppercut!

Oooooh!!! Barca has knocked Christianson down with a huge combo! Barca steps away and waves a wobbly Christianson back to his feet! This one might not go much longer!
Barca takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Gabe Christianson is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Christianson slips under a jab.
Barca takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.

And that's the end of the fight!
Gabe Christianson comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Christianson has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Frank Antenori scores the fight 27:30
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 27:30
Judge Don Winkell scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Gabe Christianson!
A relieved looking Gabe Christianson thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.