PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Sonny Barella (ranked 3619 p4p, 24447 weight class) and Artem Klitschko (ranked 217 p4p, 347 weight class). Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Barella
vs
Klitschko

167 cm
21
135
2 - 3 - 0

171 cm
21
133
2 - 2 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
KO power

Decent wrestler
Excellent MT
Heavy handed

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 2 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Sonny Barella!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Artem Klitschko!
The judges for this bout are Chad Campbell, David Schapiro and John Roberts.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A punch lands to the side of Barella 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Artem Klitschko seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Jab by Klitschko.
A big left from Klitschko misses.
Barella seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.
Klitschko jabs Barella right on the nose. Barella blinks but takes it well.
Barella throws out a powerful jab.

It looks like Artem Klitschko has been cut.
Barella misses with a takedown attempt - Klitschko sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Klitschko misses the shot to the body.
Barella tries to counter by clinching up but Klitschko breaks away and moves out of range.

Barella darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Klitschko can do anything to dispel that myth.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Barella is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Klitschko pushes Barella off looking to stand but Barella dives back in and keeps control.
Barella is looking to take a break and control but Klitschko is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Klitschko wants to get back to his feet.
Barella is looking to take a break and control but Klitschko is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

Barella is working for a submission of some sort.
Klitschko wants to get back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.

Barella is looking for a kimura here.
Klitschko looks like he's trying to stand up.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Barella working Klitschko over with strikes.
Klitschko is trying to stand back up but Barella is controlling him

Barella is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Klitschko is trying to stand up here but Barella is controlling him well.
Barella is trying to control the action in half guard but Klitschko is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Klitschko avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Barella.
Klitschko wants to get back to his feet.

Barella seems to be working for a kimura but Klitschko defends the submission attempt.
Klitschko really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Barella. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Klitschko is defending against the submission attempts here by Barella.

Barella 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.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Barella throwing shots but Klitschko is blocking nicely.
Klitschko looks like he's trying to stand up.
Barella trying to pass the guard but Klitschko defending well.
Klitschko is trying to stand.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.

Barella seems to be looking for submissions.

Barella seems to be looking for submissions.
Klitschko is not content to let Barella control the position.
Klitschko is trying to stand.

Barella is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Barella sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Klitschko defending well though.
Klitschko is trying to stand up here but Barella is controlling him well.

Barella is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Klitschko wants to get back to his feet.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Barella missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

Barella is looking for a kimura but Klitschko is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Barella to get the leverage.
Klitschko is trying to stand back up but Barella is controlling him
Barella not landing any meaningful shots this time.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Sonny Barella dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Artem Klitschko's cut.
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.

Barella tries to move into range but Klitschko moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Barella looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Klitschko listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Barella works over Klitschko's head and body with a nice combination.
Barella is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Klitschko can do to turn this around?
Barella moves out of range of the body kick from Klitschko.
An attempted straight right counter from Barella misses the target.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Barella lands a left and a right that sends Klitschko crashing to the canvas! Barella dives into mount looking to finish!

Klitschko is rocked!
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Klitschko really wants to buck Barella off and get back to his feet.
Klitschko is still in real trouble! Can Barella finish him?
Barella throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.

Barella has control of Klitschko's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and Klitschko regains control of the situation pretty easily.
Klitschko seems to have recovered his senses.

Klitschko defends a decent attempt at a guillotine from Barella.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Klitschko tries to buck Barella off but he can't manage it.
Klitschko is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.

Barella is working on an americana here. Ooh, that looks pretty nasty! Nope, Klitschko has managed to escape the submission attempt.
Klitschko is trying to escape but when you're mounted that's not too easy.
Barella with a couple of short strikes.
You get the feeling that Klitschko really doesn't like being in this position too much.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Barella working for a guillotine from mount but Klitschko is in no mood to give up.

Barella working for a guillotine from mount but Klitschko is in no mood to give up.
Klitschko really wants to buck Barella off and get back to his feet.

Barella has hold of Klitschko's left arm, perhaps looking for a submission. The two fighters tussle over control of the isolated limb and Klitschko manages to get his arm back to his side and away from danger.
Klitschko is really trying hard to get back to his feet.
Sonny Barella overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Barella fails to advance to Klitschko's back.
Barella has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Klitschko's face.
Barella scores with a couple of good head shots there.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Barella working to secure an arm triangle but it's not happening for him just yet.
Klitschko is not a happy chappy… he wants out of there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barella wants to control the pace but Klitschko is squirming around nicely.

Barella jumps to side control looking for an arm triangle but Klitschko manages to avoid the submission attempt.

Barella is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Klitschko has escaped the position, nice work there.
Klitschko is pushing Barella's head away, looking to escape. Barella manages to hold on to the position though.

Barella is trying to get an arm triangle but Klitschko is defending well.

Barella is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Klitschko knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Klitschko is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Barella tries for a kimura but Klitschko is defending well.

Barella tries for a kimura but Klitschko is defending well.
Barella has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Barella scores with a couple of short elbows.
Klitschko is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.

Barella thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Sonny Barella dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Artem Klitschko's cut.
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!

Klitschko swings for the body but Barella moves out of range.
Barella appears to be looking for a big counter.

Barella fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Klitschko sprawls well initially but Barella persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Klitschko is trying to stand up here but Barella is controlling him well.
Barella thows a huge punch but Klitschko dodges it nicely.
Barella missing with the ground and pound from half guard.

Barella is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Klitschko wants to get back to his feet.
Barella wants to take a breather but Klitschko is having none of it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Barella is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Klitschko sees it coming and defends easily.

Barella is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Klitschko is just riding it out for now. Barella eventually gives up the hold.
Klitschko is trying to stand up here but Barella is controlling him well.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Klitschko is defending against the submission attempts here by Barella.
Klitschko has hold of Barella's hands but Barella slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Klitschko looks like he's trying to stand up.

Barella is looking for a kimura here.
Klitschko is trying to stand up here but Barella is controlling him well.
Barella trying to pass the guard but Klitschko defending well.
Artem Klitschko has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.

Barella is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Klitschko is trying to escape back to his feet but Barella uses the scramble to pass into side control.
Barella prevents Klitschko from escaping the position.

Klitschko is trying to stand and escape here. He's got onto all fours but that's just let Barella take his back! Uh oh - Barella has got a rear naked choke here! Klitschko is forced to tap! It's all over! One monent is all it takes in this sport!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:33 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (RNC). Sonny Barella!
A relieved looking Sonny Barella thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.