PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between David Byrne (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Frankie Barnes (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Barnes is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: Black Eyed Peas - Imma Be. Frankie Barnes has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with David Byrne's chin.

Byrne
vs
Barnes

184 cm
28
201 lbs
16 - 8 - 0

185 cm
36
187 lbs
36 - 11 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Hellbent

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the middleweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 16 - 8 - 0, fighting out of London, David Byrne!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 36 - 11 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Frankie Barnes!
The judges for this bout are Wagner Zegers, Patrick Alders and Paul Aken.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Barnes throws a leg kick but Byrne sees it coming and moves out of range.
A slapping leg kick lands for Barnes.
Barnes chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Barnes punishes Byrne's body with a nice straight punch.
Byrne swings for the body but Barnes moves out of range.
Barnes ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
A combination from Byrne does no damage.
Byrne scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Barnes keeps Byrne at a distance using the push kick.
Byrne throws a head kick but Barnes moves out of range.
Byrne misses with a series of wild punches.
Barnes fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Byrne misses with an attempted mid kick.
Barnes has done a lot of speed work in the buildup to this fight.
Byrne throws a head kick that misses
and Barnes counters with a lovely straight right hand!
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!

Byrne gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barnes blocks an elbow strike from Byrne.
Byrne misses with a short punch on the inside.
Barnes with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Byrne prevents a body shot from Barnes.
Byrne throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Barnes throws a punch but it's blocked by Byrne.
Barnes tries to land a knee to the head but Byrne blocks with his arms.
Byrne tries a body shot but Barnes blocks it.
A right hook to the body lands for Barnes.
Byrne lands an elbow inside that Barnes shrugs off.
Byrne throws a head punch that misses.
Barnes tries to throw a body punch but Byrne avoids it by throwing Barnes back against the ropes.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Barnes.
Barnes scores with a nice hook to the head.
Byrne blocks the elbow strike.
Nice body punch from Byrne - that landed with a thud.
Barnes avoiding damage as Byrne throws knees to the body.
Barnes lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Byrne lands a nice shot to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Byrne throws an elbow but it's blocked.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
A hook to the body from Byrne.
Barnes's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Byrne blocks an elbow strike.
Byrne tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Byrne lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Barnes misses with a knee to the head.
Byrne blocks a body shot from Barnes.
Barnes misses with a punch to the body.
Nice elbow from Barnes.

It looks like David Byrne has been cut.
Byrne tries to throw a body punch but Barnes avoids it by throwing Byrne back against the ropes.
Byrne using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
I was talking to Byrne's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.
With the fighters clinched against the ropes, Barnes creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Barnes avoids the elbow strike from Byrne, against the ropes.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Byrne.
Byrne blocks an uppercut.

Barnes breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Byrne tries to close the distance and clinch up but Barnes swats him away and circles back towards the center.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Byrne throws out a leg kick but Barnes moves out of range and Byrne only half commits.
Byrne connects with a looping right hand.
Byrne scores with a kick to the midsection.
Barnes scores with a one two! Byrne had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
Byrne steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Barnes.
Byrne misses the shot to the body.
A slapping leg kick lands for Byrne.
Byrne moves to clinch but Barnes breaks away
and Barnes counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Barnes misses with a looping left.
A big right from Barnes misses.
Byrne just misses with a punch to the body.
Byrne lands a head shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Byrne dips to his left and cracks Barnes with an uppercut!
Byrne uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Barnes.
No joy there for Barnes, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Barnes throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Byrne tries to clinch up but Barnes circles away and keeps his distance.
Byrne checks a low kick from Barnes.
Byrne cracks Barnes with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Nice shot by Barnes.
Barnes throws a solid leg kick but Byrne takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Barnes.

Barnes closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the ropes.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Byrne lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Barnes avoids the elbow strike from Byrne, against the ropes.
Byrne lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Byrne lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Frankie Barnes will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on David Byrne's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Byrne throws a low kick, looking for Barnes's leg but Barnes calmly moves out of range.
Byrne fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Barnes is out of range.
Barnes lands a nice hook to Byrne's body. Byrne takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Byrne keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
A nice combination there by Byrne.
Byrne tries to work over Barnes's front leg with a kick but Barnes checks it.
A slapping leg kick lands for Byrne.
Barnes throws a push kick but Byrne slaps the foot to one side.
Barnes avoids a punch combination nicely.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Barnes throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
A jab lands there for Barnes.
Byrne digs a good body shot into Barnes's ribs.
Byrne looks to throw the jab but Barnes is out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Byrne pushes Barnes up against the ropes in a clinch.
Barnes lands a hook to the side of the head.
Barnes takes an elbow to the temple.
Byrne lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Barnes is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
A nice left hand lands by Barnes.
David Byrne has scored more points in the clinch so far.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Barnes.
Barnes misses with an elbow strike.
Byrne connects with a nasty looking knee right to Barnes's face.
A nice left hand lands by Byrne.
Byrne misses with a knee to the head.
Barnes lands a hook to the side of the head.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Byrne lands a left hand that snaps the head of Barnes backwards.
Barnes is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Byrne is defending well for now.
Byrne lands a body punch in the clinch.
Byrne working aggressively here.
Barnes avoids a wild elbow strike from Byrne.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Byrne working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Byrne misses with a short punch on the inside.
Byrne misses with some punches.
Byrne pushes Barnes back against the ropes and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Byrne throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Barnes avoiding damage as Byrne throws knees to the body.
Barnes working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Barnes avoiding damage as Byrne throws knees to the body.
Byrne working aggressively here.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Barnes.
Barnes lands a right hand.
Byrne landing knees to the head.
Byrne gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Barnes works on Byrne's body with a couple of short punches.
Byrne swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Byrne scores a nice knee to the body.
Byrne missing with knees to the body.
Barnes lands a nice shot to the body.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barnes blocking some punches.
Barnes lands with a left to the head.
Barnes tries to land knees in the clinch but Byrne avoids the damage to the body.
Byrne misses with a hook from the clinch.

Barnes breaks the clinch.
Byrne wants to clinch up but Barnes keeps it at a distance.
Barnes looks for the body kick but Byrne saw that one coming.
Byrne chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Barnes can pounce on him.
Byrne tries to clinch up against the ropes, rushing in to close the distance. Barnes manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Barnes does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Byrne throws a body punch but Barnes moves out of range.
Byrne connects with an inside leg kick.
Barnes keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Barnes misses the shot to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Byrne thumps Barnes with a low kick.
Byrne is looking to slow Barnes down with leg kicks.
Barnes scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Byrne walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Barnes getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Barnes tries a low kick but Byrne avoids it.
Frankie Barnes seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Byrne on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Barnes keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Byrne tries to close the distance and clinch up but Barnes swats him away and circles back towards the center.
A chopping leg kick lands by Barnes.
Barnes uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Byrne misses with an uppercut
and Barnes cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

Byrne is rocked!
A nice leg kick lands there from Barnes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that David Byrne will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on David Byrne's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Byrne has Barnes up against the ropes in a clinch.
Barnes misses with a hook from the clinch.
Byrne can't find room to land a body shot as Barnes controls the action.
Barnes gets through Byrne's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Barnes is looking to break free of the clinch but Byrne has double underhooks.
Barnes tries to land a knee to the head but Byrne blocks with his arms.
Byrne throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Byrne tries to throw a body punch but Barnes avoids it by throwing Byrne back against the ropes.

Barnes's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Byrne looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Byrne swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Byrne just misses with a punch to the body.
Byrne fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Barnes manages to avoid it.
Byrne takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Barnes throws a solid leg kick but Byrne takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Barnes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Byrne looks to score with a jab to the body but Barnes is just out of range.
David Byrne seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Barnes checks the leg kick.
Barnes scoring well with a low kick there.
Jab by Barnes.
Byrne throws a jab but it's blocked by Barnes.
Byrne throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Barnes counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Barnes dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Byrne tries to clinch there but Barnes circles away.
Barnes misses with a wild body shot.
Byrne lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Barnes uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Byrne.
Byrne fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Barnes looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Byrne is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Barnes fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Byrne has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Barnes cracks Byrne with a good jab.
Byrne checks a low kick from Barnes.
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!
Byrne scores with a jab to the head.
Byrne bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Barnes's head backwards.
Barnes connects with a body shot.
A head kick from Byrne lands but Barnes takes it in his stride.
Barnes connects with a body shot that sends Byrne's belly button to the back.
Barnes connects with a body shot.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Barnes works Byrne's body with a nice hook.
Byrne throws a hook but Barnes blocks it.
Byrne tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Byrne ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Barnes moves away.
Good exchange - Barnes coming out on top.
Barnes swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Barnes lands a jab to the nose.
Byrne throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Byrne takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Byrne scores with a leg kick.
Good leg kick by Barnes there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Barnes jabs Byrne right on the nose. Byrne blinks but takes it well.
Barnes lands with a thumping leg kick.
Byrne pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Byrne slips a jab from Barnes.
A looping hook to the body misses from Byrne. Barnes does a little dance to reset his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Barnes avoids the body shot from Byrne.
Byrne lands a jab to the head.
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 chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Byrne can pounce on him.
Byrne is looking to wear down Barnes with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Byrne moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Barnes works Byrne's body with a nice hook.
Barnes checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Byrne takes a swing at Barnes's ribcage but misses.
Barnes finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Barnes misses with a series of wild punches.
Barnes walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Barnes swats away the attempt to clinch by Byrne.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Frankie Barnes really dominated that round.
The cut man is working on David Byrne'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.

Barnes misses with an uppercut. Byrne saw that one coming.
Byrne looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Byrne misses with a jab to the body
enabling Barnes to counter with a crisp jab.
A jab from Barnes finds it's way through Byrne's defenses.
Byrne misses with a head kick.
Byrne fails in his attempt to clinch.
Barnes scores with a one two! Byrne had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
Oh Byrne is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Barnes cracks Byrne with a big right hand that sees him stumbling back against the ropes! Byrne falls to his knees and Barnes doesn't need a second invitatation - he rushes in and fires off several unanswered shots that force the referee to stop the fight! This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:44 of round 4, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Frankie Barnes!
Frankie Barnes is the new middleweight champion!
After winning the bout, Frankie Barnes thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.