PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Austin Smith (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nikola Barbalic (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Smith comes to the cage accompanied by Give it Away. 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.

Smith
vs
Barbalic

180 cm
24
175 lbs
10 - 3 - 0

180 cm
24
180 lbs
8 - 4 - 0

Powerful takedowns
Counter striker
Very strong

BJJ Purple Belt
Decent boxing
Powerful

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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 10 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Austin Smith!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Nikola Barbalic!
The judges for this bout are Jack Bonds, Timothy Bukovac and Frank Antenori.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Smith keeps the fight on the outside.
Nikola Barbalic seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Smith throws a head kick that misses.

Smith closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Smith lands in his opponent's guard.
Smith looking to pass the guard.
Smith working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Barbalic's head.
Barbalic wants to sweep but no luck.
Smith works over Barbalic with some ground and pound from guard.

Smith drops back for a leg but he's not going to get it - he lets go and Barbalic dives on top into guard.
Barbalic must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Smith manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Smith cracks Barbalic with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Smith sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
Smith looking to control but Barbalic is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Smith fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Smith unloads with some shots from mount but Barbalic bucks and avoids them well.
Smith lands with some strikes.
Barbalic is looking to get to half guard.
Smith looking to control but Barbalic is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Barbalic tries to hold on but Smith postures up.

Smith goes for an armbar but Barbalic turns quickly into his guard - lovely anticipation from Barbalic.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Smith is on top in guard.
Smith stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Barbalic swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Smith trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

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

Barbalic is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Smith advances to half guard.

Smith is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Barbalic defends it well.
Barbalic has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Smith is working away from the top position though.

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.
Smith thows a huge punch but Barbalic dodges it nicely.
Barbalic is not content to let Smith control the position.
Smith throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Smith wants to free his trapped foot but Barbalic is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Barbalic is not content to let Smith control the position.
Smith not landing any meaningful shots this time.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Austin Smith dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Barbalic is looking to clinch but Smith is avoiding it.
Smith misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Barbalic tries to close the distance and clinch up but Smith swats him away and circles back towards the center.

Barbalic gets caught flat footed, as Smith shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Barbalic looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

Barbalic has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Smith can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Smith landing with the ground and pound.
Smith postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Smith wants to control from the top but Barbalic keeps moving.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Smith pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Barbalic is keeping the position for now.
Smith trying to control but Barbalic is working from the bottom.

Barbalic has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Smith can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Smith trying to control the position from guard on top but Barbalic is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Smith wants to pass the guard but Barbalic is keeping the position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Smith trying to control the position from guard on top but Barbalic is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Barbalic tries to clinch there but Smith circles away.

Smith changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Barbalic looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Smith grinds an elbow into Barbalic's temple.

Smith thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Smith trying to control the position but Barbalic is working away.
Smith lands a few punches from side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Smith works to advance to full mount. Barbalic defends for a few seconds but eventually he succumbs.

Smith goes for an armbar but he's not got it… Barbalic turns into him and now he's in Smith's guard.
Smith looking to hit a scissor sweep but Barbalic is one step ahead there.
Smith wants to control the position but Barbalic says "no thanks buddy" and passes to half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Smith is pressing down on Barbalic's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Barbalic wants to control from the top but Smith keeps moving.
Smith 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.
Smith wants to improve his position but instead Barbalic has moved into half guard.
Smith wants to get back to full guard.
Barbalic is thwarting Smith's attempts to control the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Austin Smith dominated that second round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Barbalic checks a leg kick.
Austin Smith is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Smith closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Smith is thwarting Barbalic's attempts to control the position.
Smith wants to control but Barbalic is keeping him busy.
Barbalic tries to get to full guard but Smith has control of the leg.
Smith is keen to just control but Barbalic is a slippery customer.
Smith stalling away here and it's allowed Barbalic to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Smith controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Smith stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Barbalic swivels though and keeps the full guard.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Barbalic throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Smith.
Barbalic fails with an attempt to clinch.
Smith shoots in but no luck this time.

Smith looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for Barbalic!
Smith wants to control but instead Barbalic manages to regain half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Smith wants to free his trapped foot but Barbalic is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Smith is taking a breather. Barbalic says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Ground and pound from Smith.
Smith lands strikes from half guard.
Barbalic gets back to full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Smith pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Barbalic is keeping the position for now.
Barbalic utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Smith advances position into side control!
Austin Smith is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Barbalic being controlled for a moment.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.

Smith tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Austin Smith overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Barbalic is trying to escape the position but Smith is controlling the position.
Nikola Barbalic has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Smith wants to control for a moment but Barbalic uses the opportunity to move back to half guard.
Smith is looking to control Barbalic's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Smith avoid being mounted?

And that's the end of the fight!
Austin Smith showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Smith, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Jack Bonds scores the fight 30:27
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 30:27
Judge Frank Antenori scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Austin Smith!