PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Ruslan Chonbov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Paddy Barnes (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chonbov kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is Nana - remember the time. There are an array of beautiful celebrities at ringside tonight! I wonder if any of them paid for their tickets.

Chonbov
vs
Barnes

187 cm
22
169 lbs
1 - 5 - 0

225 cm
25
300 lbs
1 - 3 - 0

Decent wrestler
Basic striking
Experienced

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 5 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Ruslan Chonbov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Paddy Barnes!
The judges for this bout are Emerson Jorge, Edson Gomes and Luis Engracia.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sloppy strikes from Barnes. Those never looked like landing.
Barnes throws a combination that misses

and Chonbov counters with a takedown into side control.
Barnes tries to escape but Chonbov is in control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Barnes is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.
Barnes tries to get back to his feet but has found himself mounted instead. Damn, that's gotta suck.
Barnes wants to get back to his feet.
Chonbov lands a heavy elbow.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Chonbov looking to control but Barnes is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.

Chonbov is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Barnes can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
Chonbov is breathing heavily.
Barnes trying desperately to get to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Chonbov trying to control but Barnes is having none of it.
Barnes tries to buck Chonbov off but he can't manage it.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Chonbov knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Barnes on the ground.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Barnes in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Barnes is bucking up trying to escape but Chonbov cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Barnes is trying to escape but when you're mounted that's not too easy.
Chonbov lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Barnes is trying to get to the cage to help him get back to his feet.
Chonbov connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Chonbov scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Barnes?
Barnes's corner are shouting for him to stand up but that's bad cornering - how is he meant to stand up when he's mounted? He should be looking to improve his position on the ground before trying to stand back up.
Chonbov working the ground and pound effectively.

Chonbov is standing up, even though he is in mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Chonbov looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Chonbov is looking to take a break and control but Barnes is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

Chonbov is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Barnes doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Chonbov.
Barnes pushes Chonbov off looking to stand but Chonbov dives back in and keeps control.

Barnes kicks off Chonbov and gets to his feet.
Sloppy strikes from Barnes. Those never looked like landing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Barnes falls off balance throwing a combination

and Chonbov counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
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!
Barnes is trying to stand up here but Chonbov is controlling him well.

Chonbov seems to be working for a kimura but Barnes defends the submission attempt.
Barnes pushes Chonbov off looking to stand but Chonbov dives back in and keeps control.
Chonbov thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Barnes's head.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Barnes tries to kick Chonbov off but Chonbov keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ruslan Chonbov dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Barnes swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Chonbov counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Barnes!
Barnes tries to buck Chonbov off but he can't manage it.
Chonbov tries to control but Barnes wriggling away.
Barnes is trying to get to the cage to help him get back to his feet.
Chonbov lands with some strikes.
Chonbov looking to finish Barnes with some ground and pound. This is bad for Barnes!
Barnes's corner are shouting for him to stand up but that's bad cornering - how is he meant to stand up when he's mounted? He should be looking to improve his position on the ground before trying to stand back up.
Barnes is squirming around, avoiding Chonbov's attempts to control the action.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Barnes squirming around on the bottom, looking to escape.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Chonbov wants to finish this one by submission but Barnes is holding onto his waist, trying to prevent any attacks from Chonbov.

Barnes bucks up and throws Chonbov to the side - he's got back to his feet. Great escape!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barnes throws a right and a left that both miss.
Barnes tries to bum rush Chonbov with a series of wild strikes but Chonbov uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Some wild striking there from Barnes.
Chonbov throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Barnes's waist but Barnes gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Chonbov off to one side.
Barnes throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Chonbov fails to land with a series of punches.
Barnes scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Ruslan Chonbov is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Barnes falls off balance throwing a combination
and Chonbov counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Paddy Barnes seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Barnes misses with a two punch combination.
Barnes fails to land with a series of punches.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Barnes misses with the combination.
Chonbov looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Barnes is fending him off so far but Chonbov persists. Nope, Barnes circles away and we're back to standing.
Barnes throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Barnes on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Chonbov. Chonbov obviously looking to wear him down.

Chonbov changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Barnes looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Chonbov trying to control the action but Barnes is working from the bottom.
Barnes is trying to buck Chonbov off.
Chonbov working the head with strikes.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Barnes explodes and escapes back to his feet! Nice escape there!
Barnes fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Chonbov shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Barnes as he avoids it easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ruslan Chonbov. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Chonbov avoids a punch combination nicely.
Barnes misses with the combination.
Barnes throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Chonbov.
Chonbov slips a jab and a cross from Barnes.
Barnes stuffs the takedown.
Barnes stuffs the takedown attempt from Chonbov. Chonbov gets slowly back to his feet.
Chonbov shoots in looking for a takedown. Barnes tries to sprawl out of it but Chonbov keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Barnes manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
A punch combination from Barnes misses.
Barnes throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Barnes stuffs the takedown attempt from Chonbov. Chonbov gets slowly back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Barnes leaves Chonbov with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Barnes throws a right and a left that Chonbov avoids nicely.
Paddy Barnes is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Barnes misses with a combination

and Chonbov counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Barnes is not content to let Chonbov control the position.
Ruslan Chonbov overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Chonbov prevents Barnes from standing back up.
Chonbov perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Chonbov wants to lay and pray for a moment but Barnes keeps working.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Chonbov landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Barnes tries to kick Chonbov off but Chonbov keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ruslan Chonbov dominated that second round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. This is the final round!

Barnes swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Chonbov moves into the clinch.
Chonbov keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Barnes's efforts to push away.

Barnes escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Barnes looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Barnes misses with a few strikes there.
Chonbov has a takedown stuffed.
Barnes misses with a double jab.

Chonbov shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Barnes is trying to defend but Chonbov finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Chonbov stops Barnes from getting back to his feet.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Chonbov trying to control from half guard but Barnes is working away.
Barnes wants to get back to his feet.
Barnes is refusing to be controlled, as Chonbov sits in half guard.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Ruslan Chonbov wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Barnes!
No joy there for Barnes, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
No joy there for Barnes, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Barnes throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

and Chonbov counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.

Chonbov is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.

Chonbov looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Barnes looks like he's trying to stand up.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Chonbov moves nicely into side control.
Chonbov throwing shots but missing, from side control.
Chonbov throwing shots but missing, from side control.

Barnes sneaks out the side door and pushes Chonbov away - he's back to his feet. The crowd show their appreciation for the escape.
Barnes lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Chonbov backs up against the cage.
Paddy Barnes has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barnes rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Chonbov moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Barnes misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Barnes lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Barnes misses with a double jab.
Barnes lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Chonbov backs up against the cage.
Chonbov misses with a takedown attempt - Barnes sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Barnes throws a combination. Chonbov tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
A punch combination from Barnes misses.
Barnes fails to land with a series of punches.
Chonbov throws a hook to the side of Barnes's head but Barnes sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Barnes rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Chonbov moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Chonbov avoids a punch combination nicely.

Chonbov looking for a takedown here - he's got it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Chonbov won't allow Barnes to get back to his feet.
Chonbov looking to pass the guard.
Barnes wants to stand and escape but Chonbov is having none of it.
Chonbov lands a couple of elbows.
Ruslan Chonbov is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Barnes keeping moving, preventing Chonbov from controlling successfully.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Barnes is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Chonbov is controlling him.

Chonbov got a little sloppy there for a moment and Barnes has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Chonbov has managed to get both his arms back between Barnes's legs - danger averted.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Barnes has an omoplata and is looking to use it perhaps as a submission or perhaps to transition. Chonbov is in a bit of discomfort here, but he's managed to free himself and has dived into side control! That didn't work out too well for Barnes.

Chonbov looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.

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 Ruslan Chonbov.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Chonbov, 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 Emerson Jorge scores the fight 30:27
Judge Edson Gomes scores the fight 30:28
Judge Luis Engracia scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ruslan Chonbov!