PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Islamiya Barakat (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Leonel Messi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Barakat
vs
Messi

170 cm
18
145 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Inexperienced

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Very confident

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Islamiya Barakat!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Leonel Messi!
The judges for this bout are Albert Achterberg, Patrick Alders and Saam Ante.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Messi looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Barakat!
Messi throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.
Messi misses with the ground and pound.
Barakat tries to buck Messi off but Messi is having none of it.
Barakat is working hard here to advance position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Messi is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Barakat will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.
Barakat is not content to let Messi control the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barakat is trying to get back to half guard.
Barakat is not content to let Messi control the position.
Messi looking to control but instead Barakat has slipped a leg in, to regain half guard.
Messi sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Messi is keen to just control but Barakat is a slippery customer.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Messi is looking to advance position but Barakat won't allow it.
Barakat trying to hold on to Messi's head to control him but Messi postures up.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Messi throws a head kick that misses

and Barakat counters by moving into the clinch.

Messi turns his back and goes for a hip toss. It's a bit messy but it gets the job done and Messi manages to end up in side control.
Messi slows the pace down.
Messi is trying to ground and pound but Barakat uses the momentary lack of control by Messi to regain half guard.
Messi passes the half guard and he's now in mount! Big trouble for Barakat!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barakat tries to hold on but Messi pushes him away.
Barakat is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
Barakat wants to hold on but Messi pushes him away.
Messi with the ground and pound from mount.
Barakat is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Messi looking for a guillotine from mount but Barakat is having none of it.
Messi pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Barakat regains half guard.
Messi controlling the action here.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Messi tries to stand but his arm is trapped.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Leonel Messi dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Barakat tries for a takedown but Messi sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.

Messi shoots in and gets a takedown into Barakat's guard.
Messi not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Barakat keeping full guard, as Messi tries to pass.
Messi trying to control the position from guard on top but Barakat is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Messi wants to stand but Barakat is controlling his posture from full guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Messi throwing strikes but missing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Messi passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Messi wants to stand but Barakat has his arm trapped.
Messi lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Barakat down.
Messi in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Messi is looking to take a break and control but Barakat is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Barakat wants to control but Messi postures up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Messi wants to stand but Barakat is controlling his arm.
Barakat is looking to regain half guard here but Messi keeps moving and retains side control.
Messi has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Messi tries to get to his feet but Barakat is in the middle of advancing position himself and ends up with Messi in his guard.
Barakat striking off his back but it's not causing Messi any problems.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Messi trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Messi pushes down on Barakat's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Messi thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Barakat's head.
Messi trying to mount his opponent but Barakat defends it.

Messi is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Barakat defends it well.
Barakat controlling the position for now.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Messi tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.

Barakat shoots in and gets a takedown into Messi's guard.
Messi is breathing heavily.

Messi working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Barakat doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Barakat manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Messi holds on and takes a little breather.

Messi has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Barakat can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Barakat is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Leonel Messi showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Messi gets caught napping as Barakat dives in and scores a takedown. Messi manages to retain guard.
Barakat wants to get up but he can't break Messi's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Barakat sitting in guard here, content to control.
Messi looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Messi working a defensive guard here.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Messi has his hands on Barakat's head, controlling the position.
Messi controls Barakat momentarily but Barakat frees himself.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Messi is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Barakat tries to clinch but Messi moves out of range.

Messi bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Barakat tries to get back to his feet but has found himself mounted instead. Damn, that's gotta suck.
Messi takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Barakat is wriggling around trying to escape.
Messi unloading with bombs!
Messi throws a sloppy strike and Barakat uses the opportunity to reverse the position! A bit of a scramble here and Barakat has ended up in Messi's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Barakat is stalling in the full guard.

Messi escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Barakat gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Barakat controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Barakat wants to stand but Messi has a closed guard, so he can't escape.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Messi looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Barakat stays in close to Messi's body and controls the position.
Barakat trying to stand up but can't free himself from Messi's guard.
Messi looking to hit a scissor sweep but Barakat is one step ahead there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Barakat working some strikes from top position.
Barakat looking to pass the guard.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Barakat wants to stand and escape but instead Messi has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Islamiya Barakat.
I think Messi has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Albert Achterberg scores the fight for Leonel Messi!
Judge Patrick Alders scores the fight for Leonel Messi!
Judge Saam Ante scores the fight for Leonel Messi!

Leonel Messi wins by unanimous decision!