PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Josh Barsanti (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Frank Mir (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Barsanti comes to the cage accompanied by Bawitdaba. Josh Barsanti has a significant reach advantage - let's see if he can make it count.

Barsanti
vs
Mir

200 cm
24
255 lbs
13 - 11 - 0

186 cm
27
265 lbs
9 - 9 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Very strong

BJJ Brown Belt
Good kicks
Powerful

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 13 - 11 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Josh Barsanti!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Frank Mir!
The judges for this bout are Chris Downing, Tiny Johnson and Frank Dennis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Barsanti throws a left and a right that both miss
and Mir cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Barsanti getting the better of the striking in that exchange.

It looks like Frank Mir has been cut.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Barsanti keeps the fight on the outside.
Barsanti tries to bum rush Mir with a series of wild strikes but Mir uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Barsanti throws a combination that misses

and Mir counters with a nice double leg into side control. Barsanti won't be happy with that.
A lull in the action here as Mir stalls from top position.

Mir stands up and beckons Barsanti to his feet.
Mir throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Mir shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Barsanti but Barsanti pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Mir shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Barsanti as he jumps to the side.
Barsanti lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Mir circles away quickly and effectively.
Barsanti misses with a lunging right hand

and Mir counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Mir slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mir makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.

Barsanti has his foot on Mir's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Mir works his way back into a safe position though.

Mir gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.

Mir scores a takedown into full mount!
Barsanti is bucking up trying to escape but Mir cracks him with another couple of good strikes.

Mir jumps to side control looking for an arm triangle but Barsanti manages to avoid the submission attempt.
Barsanti seems a little lost for a moment, as Mir dominates the positioning.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Let's hope that Mir has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Mir decides to stand up, so the ref orders Barsanti to his feet.
Mir fails in his attempt to clinch.
Barsanti misses with a hook
and Mir counters with a nice body kick.
Barsanti is breathing heavily.
Mir is trying hard to land a takedown here. Barsanti sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Josh Barsanti has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Frank Mir.

Mir has Barsanti up against the cage in a clinch.
Barsanti working hard to break the clinch.

Mir breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Mir fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Barsanti misses with a double jab
and Mir counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Barsanti throws a lazy uppercut

and Mir counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Mir.

Barsanti working away from the bottom but not quite defensive enough there because Mir has passed into half guard!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mir slips a nice elbow through Barsanti's hands, connecting with Barsanti's forehead.
Mir looks to score some points with some ground and pound.

Mir decides to stand up and try his luck on the feet.
Mir lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
Barsanti takes a head kick and keeps coming.
Josh Barsanti is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

Mir clinches.
Barsanti is pressed up against the cage. Mir has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Barsanti down to the mat. Barsanti avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Mir moves in looking to clinch but Barsanti pushes him off.
Mir throws a series of strikes that have Barsanti backpedaling.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Mir shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Barsanti is trying to defend but Mir finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Mir passes the guard and advances to mount!
Mir takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Barsanti on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Barsanti tries to get out of the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The referee warns Barsanti that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.

Mir with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
Mir lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Mir controlling the pace for now.
Barsanti has given up his back, trying to stand up. Not clever.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Barsanti is being controlled on the ground here - he must escape this position otherwise surely the end is near.
Mir scores with strikes from the back.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Frank Mir dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Frank Mir'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.

Barsanti misses with a left hand
and Mir counters with a left to the body.
Mir shoots for a takedown but Barsanti saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Barsanti throws a right and a left that both miss.
Mir swinging wildly here.
That kick from Mir tenderised Barsanti's leg. Barsanti is trying to keep his angry face on.

Mir closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Mir seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Barsanti is in trouble now - Mir has advanced to mount!
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Mir is in the full mount, landing strikes.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Mir looking for a guillotine from mount but Barsanti is having none of it.
Barsanti taking shots to the head.
Frank Mir has got the better of the ground game so far.
Mir lands a heavy elbow.
Barsanti knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Mir on the ground.
Mir controlling from the full mount.
Mir lands a big shot there that rocks Barsanti but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Mir looking to control but Barsanti is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Mir controlling his opponent.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Mir can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Barsanti is looking to escape.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mir content just to control the position here.
Barsanti is not a happy chappy… he wants out of there.
Mir cracks Barsanti with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Mir controlling from mount.
Mir working the ground and pound effectively.

Mir quickly switches position and commits to an armbar! It's a big risk for Mir but it's paid off an Barsanti is forced to tap! Nice work by Mir.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:04 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Frank Mir!