PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Aslanbek Barayev (ranked 1114 p4p, 121 weight class) and Pedro Rocha Barros (ranked 1748 p4p, 181 weight class). Barayev comes to the cage accompanied by Antirespect - There. Man, I cannot wait for this one!

Barayev
vs
Rocha Barros

173 cm
26
148 lbs
7 - 3 - 0

174 cm
26
149 lbs
4 - 2 - 1

BJJ Brown Belt
Brawler
Cardio machine

BJJ Brown Belt
Basic striking
Granite chin

Woodhouse's

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 3 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Aslanbek Barayev!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 2 - 1, fighting out of The Island, Pedro Rocha Barros!
The judges for this bout are David Hoff, Santiago Holmes and Winston Alpacca.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rocha Barros throws a big shot that misses.
Barayev moves in looking to clinch but Rocha Barros pushes him off.
Rocha Barros looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Barayev fails in his attempt to clinch.
Rocha Barros avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Barayev tries to close the distance and clinch but Rocha Barros swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Rocha Barros throws a jab when Barayev was well out of range.
Barayev tries to counter by moving into the clinch but Rocha Barros manages to circle out of the way.
Rocha Barros looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Barayev wants to clinch up but Rocha Barros keeps it at a distance.
Barayev tries to close the distance and clinch but Rocha Barros swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

Barayev closes the distance and pushes Rocha Barros back into the cage.
Barayev fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Rocha Barros pushes Barayev back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Rocha Barros lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Rocha Barros misses with a short punch on the inside.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Barayev is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Rocha Barros to keep the fight standing.
Barayev is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Rocha Barros to keep the fight standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Aslanbek Barayev. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Rocha Barros misses with a punch to the body.
Barayev fails to pull the fight into his guard.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Barayev.
Barayev blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Rocha Barros.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rocha Barros tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Rocha Barros lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Barayev blocks a couple of punches on the inside.

Rocha Barros breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Barayev moves out of range as Rocha Barros strikes.
Barayev moves away from the strike by Rocha Barros.

Barayev instigates a clinch.
Barayev is trying to pull guard but Rocha Barros turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.

Barayev manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Rocha Barros passes into half guard.
Rocha Barros not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Barayev moves into full guard.
Rocha Barros with a nice head shot there.
Rocha Barros trying to control the position from guard on top but Barayev is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rocha Barros wants to pass the guard but Barayev is keeping the position.
Rocha Barros advances position into side control!
Barayev is looking to regain half guard here but Rocha Barros keeps moving and retains side control.
Barayev manages to get back to half guard.
Barayev has hold of Rocha Barros's hands but Rocha Barros slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Rocha Barros is working for a kimura but Barayev is defending it quite comfortably.
Barayev slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rocha Barros trying to control the position from guard on top but Barayev is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Barayev looking for a guillotine here but Rocha Barros defends easily.
Rocha Barros scoring with punches to the head and body.

Rocha Barros avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Rocha Barros throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Rocha Barros throws a big elbow that misses.

Barayev working away from the bottom but not quite defensive enough there because Rocha Barros has passed into half guard!
Rocha Barros throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.

Barayev is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Rocha Barros pulls his head out easily.

Barayev looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Barayev actively working from the bottom here.

Barayev is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Rocha Barros pulls his head out easily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Pedro Rocha Barros dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Rocha Barros stuns Barayev with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Barayev is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Barayev displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Rocha Barros throws out the jab.
Barayev tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Rocha Barros counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Barayev moves in looking to clinch but Rocha Barros pushes him off.
A nice side step and Rocha Barros releases a counter shot to the body, but it doesn't find it's home.
Rocha Barros misses the jab.

Barayev moves into the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Barayev tries to pull guard but Rocha Barros holds him up against the cage and eventually Barayev drops back down to his feet.
Rocha Barros tries a body shot but Barayev blocks it.
Barayev tries to pull guard but Rocha Barros forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Barayev has been working on his balance at ELITE Island Gym - 19 Elite Coaches, so perhaps that has help him stuff some of the takedown attempts by Rocha Barros.
Barayev prevents a body shot from Rocha Barros.
Barayev is trying to pull guard but Rocha Barros turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Aslanbek Barayev. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Barayev fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Barayev tries to pull guard but Rocha Barros holds him up against the cage and eventually Barayev drops back down to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rocha Barros misses with some punches.
Barayev blocks an uppercut.
Barayev blocks an uppercut.
Rocha Barros misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Barayev tries to pull guard but Rocha Barros won't allow it.
Barayev tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.

Barayev has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Rocha Barros uses from the top position.

Barayev working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Rocha Barros doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Rocha Barros manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Rocha Barros trying to control but Barayev is working from the bottom.
Rocha Barros wants to pass the guard but Barayev is keeping the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rocha Barros is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Barayev wants to sweep but no luck.
Rocha Barros is pushing down on Barayev's leg trying to pass to half guard. Barayev is fighting to maintain full guard but Rocha Barros has managed to sneak the leg through.
Barayev is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Rocha Barros's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Rocha Barros's back!
Rocha Barros has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

Barayev is remaining active here, looking for the choke. The more discerning members of the crowd will appreciate his efforts.

Barayev has his opponent's back and is working for the choke.
Rocha Barros manages to reverse the position and now he's in Barayev's guard. Nice work there by Rocha Barros.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Rocha Barros pushing down on Barayev's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rocha Barros looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Rocha Barros wants to advance to full mount but Barayev doesn't think that's going to happen and regains full guard instead.
Barayev keeping moving, preventing Rocha Barros from controlling successfully.

Rocha Barros is trying to tuck his arms in to keep them safe but Barayev has managed to isolate one of them and has got a loose triangle. Rocha Barros is looking to defend but Barayev has done well to lock his legs together - this could be big trouble for Rocha Barros! Barayev pulls down on the head and a little smile comes across his face - he knows he's got it. Yep, Rocha Barros taps out and this one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:48 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle). Aslanbek Barayev!
A relieved looking Aslanbek Barayev thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.