PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Renan Barao (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rolland Pierre (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Renan Barao has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Barao
vs
Pierre

170 cm
28
150 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

169 cm
25
146 lbs
11 - 10 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Renan Barao!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 10 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Rolland Pierre!
The judges for this bout are Steven Brown, James Glass and Paul Tew.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Barao keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Barao's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Pierre connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Barao scrambles back to his feet.
Barao tries to clinch up.
Pierre ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
We can't be sure of the tactics at this early stage but we have heard that Pierre has been working on his takedowns a lot in the buildup to the fight and we can only assume he's going to look to take this to the mat.
Barao tries to close the distance and clinch but Pierre swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Barao tries to close the distance and clinch up but Pierre swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Pierre thows a body shot but no joy.
A combination from Pierre does no damage.
Barao tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Pierre misses with a straight left.
Barao is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Pierre.
Barao throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Pierre.
Pierre lands a jab-cross combination.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Barao uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Pierre.

Barao closes the distance and clinches.
Pierre scores with a shot to the side of Barao's head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barao lands with a short shot to the head.
Barao lands a right hand that snaps the head of Pierre backwards.
Barao taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Barao tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Pierre's elbow.
Barao definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Pierre misses with a punch on the inside.
Pierre looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Pierre tries to score a body lock takedown but Barao shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Barao working aggressively here.
Barao misses with the head strike.
A head punch on the inside from Barao fails to land.
Pierre blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Pierre can't find room to land a body shot as Barao controls the action.
Barao scores with a shoulder strike.
Pierre is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Barao pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Barao misses with some punches.
Barao prevents Pierre from breaking the clinch.
Barao throws a punch but it's blocked by Pierre.
Pierre can't find room to land a body shot as Barao controls the action.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stalling in the clinch from Pierre.
Pierre is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Pierre.
Pierre swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Barao pushes Pierre back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Pierre is working for takedown but Barao is calmly controlling the position for now.
Renan Barao has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Rolland Pierre.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Pierre tries for a takedown. No joy.

Pierre turns his hips and lands a very nice judo throw into side control!
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Barao is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
Pierre tries to pass the half guard into mount. Barao knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Barao wants to get back to full guard.
Pierre is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Barao is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barao is looking to control Pierre's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Barao avoid being mounted?
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Pierre keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Barao tries to clinch

and Pierre counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Pierre thows a huge punch but Barao dodges it nicely.
Barao manages to get to full guard.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Barao keeping moving, preventing Pierre from controlling successfully.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Barao wants to stand but Pierre is controlling the position.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Pierre trying to control but Barao is working from the bottom.
Pierre wants to pass the guard but Barao is keeping the position.
Barao looking for a sweep. Not yet Barao, not yet.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Pierre wants to control from the top but Barao keeps moving.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.

Rolland Pierre has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.

Barao instigates a clinch.
Barao lands a nice uppercut.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rolland Pierre 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.

Barao takes a jab right on the kisser.
Barao moves in looking to clinch but Pierre pushes him off.
Pierre throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Barao tries to clinch but Pierre is having none of it.
Pierre throws a shot from downtown. Barao moves away and avoids it.
A left lands for Pierre.
Renan Barao seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Barao misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Barao tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Pierre swats away the attempt to clinch by Barao.
Barao tries to clinch there but Pierre circles away.
Pierre avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

Barao forces Pierre back against the cage and clinches.
Barao gets through Pierre's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Barao.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Pierre.
Pierre lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Barao lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Pierre backwards.
Barao lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Pierre is looking to break free of the clinch but Barao has double underhooks.
Barao misses with a hook from the clinch.
Barao misses with a punch on the inside.
Pierre tries for a takedown. No joy.
Pierre is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Barao fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Pierre pushes Barao back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Barao lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Pierre stalling in the clinch.
Pierre is working for takedown but Barao is calmly controlling the position for now.
Barao struggles to land a body shot inside as Pierre controls his hands.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The referee calls for Barao to work.
Pierre throws a head punch that misses.
Pierre wants to get back to striking at distance but Barao won't allow it.
Pierre is looking to control Barao's arms but Barao gets an underhook and turns him. Now Pierre has his back to the cage.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Barao misses with the head strike.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Barao has a couple of punches blocked by Pierre.
Pierre wants to break free but Barao has control.
Barao is trying to stall.
Barao misses with a hook from the clinch.
Barao tries a body shot but Pierre blocks it.
Pierre swings wildly with an uppercut but Barao uses good head movement to avoid it.
Barao throws a punch but it's blocked by Pierre.
Barao trying to control the position but instead, Pierre has worked for underhooks and has pushed Barao into the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barao misses with a hook to the ribs.
Pierre tries to throw a body punch but Barao avoids it by throwing Pierre back against the cage.
Barao lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Barao swings wildly with an uppercut but Pierre uses good head movement to avoid it.
Pierre lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Pierre lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Pierre lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Barao backwards.
Barao prevents Pierre from breaking the clinch.
Barao keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Pierre's efforts to push away.
Pierre is trying to push Barao away but Barao has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Pierre.
Barao swings wildly with an uppercut but Pierre uses good head movement to avoid it.
Barao working aggressively here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pierre is looking to break free of the clinch but Barao has double underhooks.
Pierre misses with a hook from the clinch.
Barao misses with a hook from the clinch.
Barao blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Barao lands with a right to the head.
Barao makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Barao is struggling to control the position.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Barao working aggressively here.
Pierre swings wildly with an uppercut but Barao uses good head movement to avoid it.
Barao is struggling to control the position.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Pierre blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Pierre stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Barao struggles to land a body shot inside as Pierre controls his hands.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Renan Barao 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!

Barao moves to clinch but Pierre breaks away

and Pierre counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Barao is trying to maintain the position but Pierre is very close to passing his half guard.
Pierre is keen to just control but Barao is a slippery customer.
Barao slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Pierre wants to pass the guard but Barao is keeping the position.
Barao lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Pierre!
Pierre is squirming around, avoiding Barao's attempts to control the action.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Barao is working for a guillotine from mount but Pierre frees his head quite easily.
Pierre really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Pierre tries to lock up and control but Barao gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Barao thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!
Pierre working to try and regain half guard.
Barao misses with a head shot.
Pierre tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Rolland Pierre has got the better of the ground game so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Barao thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!
Poor strikes thrown by Barao there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Pierre sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.
Pierre makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Pierre.
Barao wants to control from the top but Pierre keeps moving.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Barao pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Pierre is keeping the position for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pierre is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Barao won't allow Pierre to sweep him here.

Barao got a little sloppy there for a moment and Pierre has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Barao has managed to get both his arms back between Pierre's legs - danger averted.

Pierre working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Barao doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Barao manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Pierre takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Barao won't allow Pierre to sweep him here.
Barao is looking to work some ground and pound but Pierre has wrist control.
Barao slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Barao trying to control the position from guard on top but Pierre is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Pierre escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Barao gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.

Pierre has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Barao can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Barao forces his way into half guard.
Pierre trying to hold on to Barao's head to control him but Barao postures up.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

And that's the end of the fight!
Rolland Pierre comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Pierre 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 Steven Brown scores the fight 28:29
Judge James Glass scores the fight 28:29
Judge Paul Tew scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rolland Pierre!
Rolland Pierre decided to hype himself up post fight. It was going well but he went on about it a bit too long and the crowd turned on him a little.