PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Larry Burns (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and William Barker (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Larry Burns has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Burns
vs
Barker

190 cm
21
181 lbs
5 - 1 - 0

180 cm
22
182 lbs
8 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Very quick

Good wrestler
Lethal high kicks
Good gas tank

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 5 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Larry Burns!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, William Barker!
The judges for this bout are Jorge Garcia, Franklyn Lucas and Anthony Taglia.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Burns just misses with a punch to the body.
Burns throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Barker shoots in but Burns avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Barker throws a quick inside leg kick.
Burns looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Burns lands a nice hook to Barker's body. Barker takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Burns throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Barker stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
The fighters circling - Burns throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Burns chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Barker can pounce on him.
Barker takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Barker avoids the body shot from Burns.
Barker misses with a straight left.
Burns throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Barker takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A looping hook to the body misses from Burns. Barker does a little dance to reset his feet.
Burns throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Burns misses with a leg kick

and Barker counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Barker.

Barker jumps guard.
Barker looking for a sweep. Not yet Barker, not yet.
Barker keeping moving, preventing Burns from controlling successfully.
Burns wants to stand but Barker is controlling his posture from full guard.
Barker looking for a sweep. Not yet Barker, not yet.

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.
Burns wants to control from the top but Barker keeps moving.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Barker throws a leg kick but Burns checks it.
Burns steps to his left, right into the path of a big body kick from Barker. That one must have hurt.
Burns scores to the head and body with a nice combination!

It looks like William Barker has been cut.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barker throws a hook but Burns avoids it easily.
Burns misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
No joy there for Barker, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Burns lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Burns.
Burns is looking to wear down Barker with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Barker tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Burns is able to avoid easily.
Larry Burns is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Burns misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Burns moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
Barker throws a lazy head kick
and Burns cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Barker misses with a hook.
Burns swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Nice shot lands for Burns.
Burns moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Burns misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Barker.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Barker on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Burns misses with a low kick as Barker jumps back.
Burns is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Burns takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
A low kick from Burns is predictable there
letting Barker counter with a right hand.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Barker wants to clinch.
Barker thumps Burns with a low kick.
Barker with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
A left and a right from Burns both land. Nice combination.
Barker slips a straight right by Burns.
Burns displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Barker throws out the jab.
A head kick by Barker misses
and Burns counters with a nice body shot.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Larry Burns dominated that round.
The cut man is working on William Barker's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Burns stuffs the takedown.
Burns wants to land a leg kick but Barker is out of range.
Burns misses with a body shot.
Barker throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Burns looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
A solid body kick from Burns.
A jab from Barker misses.
Barker throws a half hearted mid kick.
Burns ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Burns throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Burns swats away the attempt to clinch by Barker.
Barker darts in trying to clinch
and Burns counters with a leg kick.
William Barker seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Barker is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Burns lands a nice leg kick that just misses Barker's sensitive parts.
A head kick by Barker misses
and Burns counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Burns lands a nice hook to Barker's body. Barker takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Burns fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Barker looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Burns looks to land a combination but Barker avoids it well.
Burns tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Burns lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Burns with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Burns swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Burns scores with a body shot.
Burns throws a push kick but Barker slaps the foot to one side.
No joy there for Burns, who threw a few shots but didn't land.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Barker gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Larry Burns is winning the standup battle so far.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Burns keeps the fight on the outside.
Barker takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Barker throws a lazy head kick
and Burns counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Burns swinging wildly here.
Barker tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Burns paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Burns throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Burns thuds his right hand into Barker's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Burns bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Barker's head backwards.
Burns slaps away a takedown attempt from Barker, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Burns cracks Barker with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Burns thumps Barker with a low kick.
Good leg kick by Burns there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Burns lands a body shot.
Burns thumps Barker with a low kick.
Burns throws a leg kick
and Barker finishes the little exchange by landing a big kick to the body.
Barker is really struggling to land any decent head shots against his taller opponent.
Burns lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Burns fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Nice shot by Burns.
A shot to the body from Barker misses
and Burns counters with a straight right hand.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Burns throws a leg kick but Barker moved away.
Burns connects with a solid leg kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Burns scores with a nice right hand.
Burns wants to slow Barker down by chopping away at his legs.
Barker tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
A good leg kick by Burns.
Barker tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Burns counters with a left to the body.
Barker takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Burns misses the shot to the body.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Barker takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Burns scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Barker doesn't seem bothered though.
Burns lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Larry Burns dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on William Barker's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Burns lands with a shot to the body.
Burns thumps Barker with a low kick.
A slapping leg kick lands for Burns.
Burns ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Barker moves away.
Burns ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Burns jabs at Barker's body.
Burns stuns Barker with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Barker walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Burns throws a low kick but it's checked well by Barker.
Burns ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Burns throws a nice outside leg kick.
Burns fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Burns thumps Barker with a low kick.
Burns scores with a shot to the body.
Burns throws a good cross that connects.
Barker has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
Barker looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Barker throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Burns swings away with a leg kick that misses.
A head kick misses from Barker.
Burns lets loose with a powerful body kick. Barker will feel that in the morning.
Burns ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Barker's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Burns tries to bum rush Barker with a series of wild strikes but Barker uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Burns swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Burns stalks Barker and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Barker's face. Barker staggers backwards, shaken.

That has opened up William Barker's cut even more.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Barker throws a sloppy head kick
and Burns counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Burns throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Barker throws a jab when Burns was well out of range.
Burns thows a body shot but no joy.
Barker has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Barker there as he acknowledges the shot.
Burns works Barker's body with a nice hook.
An inside leg kick from Burns misses.
Barker checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
A head kick misses from Barker.
A lazy left from Burns finds it's target.
William Barker has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Barker thows a left - swing and a miss!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nice shot by Burns.
Burns tries to score with a low kick but Barker moves his leg out of the way.
Burns fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Barker on the side of the head.
Barker looks to clinch
and Burns counters with a two punch combo.
Barker looks to throw the jab but Burns is out of range.
Burns throws a low kick but it's checked well by Barker.
Barker tries a head kick but it misses.
Barker tried to score with a low kick but Burns checks it.
Burns lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Barker throws a head kick that misses
and Burns counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Barker misses with a leg kick
and Burns counters with a nice body shot.
A looping hook to the body misses from Burns. Barker does a little dance to reset his feet.
Larry Burns is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Barker tries to close the distance and clinch up but Burns swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Barker pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Burns fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Barker looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Barker throws a leg kick that is checked
and Burns counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Burns ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Burns with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Burns moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
Barker throws a lazy body kick
and Burns connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Burns lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Barker at a distance.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Barker misses with a kick to the body
and Burns connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Barker tries a low kick but Burns avoids it.
Barker takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.

And that's the end of the fight!
Larry Burns showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Burns, 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 Jorge Garcia scores the fight 30:25
Judge Franklyn Lucas scores the fight 30:25
Judge Anthony Taglia scores the fight 30:25

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Larry Burns!