PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Nick Johnson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Snips Barbour (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Snips Barbour will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Johnson
vs
Barbour

179 cm
22
155 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

175 cm
22
165 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the lightweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nick Johnson!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Snips Barbour!
The judges for this bout are Tiny Johnson, Robert Twigg and Frank Dennis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Johnson fails with a takedown attempt.
Johnson swinging wilding here.
Johnson is looking to clinch.
Barbour tries to clinch

and Johnson holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Barbour prevents the takedown attempt.
Barbour missing with knees to the body.

Barbour breaks the clinch.
Johnson throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Johnson tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Nick Johnson. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Barbour manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Johnson wants to break free but Barbour has control.

Barbour breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Johnson circles away from the clinch attempt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson missing with a left hand there. Barbour was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.

Johnson rushes Barbour and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

Barbour escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Johnson has Barbour up against the cage in a clinch.

Barbour manages to break the clinch.
Barbour uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Johnson.
Johnson tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Barbour swivels and escapes.
Barbour tries to clinch but Johnson moves away

and Johnson counters into the clinch. Nicely done.

Barbour breaks from the clinch.
Barbour wants to clinch but Johnson slips to the side

and Johnson counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Johnson.
Johnson tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Barbour just stands there and leans against the cage.
Johnson wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Barbour keeps control of Johnson as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Johnson can't break the clinch.
Johnson wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Johnson tries for a takedown but Barbour manages to get underhooks.
Barbour lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Barbour breaks the clinch.

Johnson closes the distance and clinches.
Barbour lands a body punch.

Barbour breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Johnson throws a body kick that misses.
Barbour tries to grapple but his opponent circles

and Johnson counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Johnson.
Johnson pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Barbour is keeping the position for now.
Barbour not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Johnson trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Johnson not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Barbour wants to stand but Johnson is controlling the position.
Johnson sitting in guard, not really doing much.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Barbour is on top in guard.
Johnson is breathing heavily.
Barbour tries to free his leg and advance position but Johnson is retaining full guard.
Barbour stopping the sweep attempt from Johnson.
Barbour tries to stand but Johnson is controlling from the bottom.
Barbour stops Johnson from standing up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Barbour is stalling in the full guard.
Barbour lands a couple of digs.
Barbour controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fight is doing enough on the ground.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
Johnson fails with an attempt to clinch.
Barbour moves out of range of the body kick from Johnson.
Johnson thows a body shot but no joy.
Snips Barbour seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Johnson misses with a takedown attempt - Barbour sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Thud! ouch! good body kick from Barbour - that will leave a mark!
Johnson takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Barbour throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Barbour tries to clinch

and Johnson counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nick Johnson dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Barbour closes the distance and clinches.
Johnson has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Barbour is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Barbour lands a right hand.

Barbour breaks from the clinch.
Barbour clinches but Johnson breaks the clinch

and Johnson moves into the clinch.
Barbour prevents Johnson from breaking the clinch.
Johnson goes for a body shot but it's blocked.

Johnson breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Johnson shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Barbour stuffs the takedown attempt from Johnson. Johnson gets slowly back to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Nick Johnson. That's going to take a lot out of him.
No joy there for Johnson, who threw a few shots but didn't land.

Barbour moves into the clinch successfully.

Barbour breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Barbour clinches with his opponent.
Johnson tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Barbour smiles and moves away.
Barbour throws a body kick that misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Barbour gets a clinch.
Johnson tries to pull guard but Barbour won't allow it.
Johnson wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Barbour.
Barbour blocks an uppercut.
Johnson fails to pull guard.
Barbour with an attempt at a knee that misses.

Barbour breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Barbour darts in trying to clinch

so Johnson counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Barbour is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Johnson showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

Barbour working for a triangle but Johnson defends it easily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Barbour is edging up against the cage. He's using the cage to get back to his feet. Nice work there - the fighters are clinched.
Johnson lands with a right to the head.
Barbour lands a right hand.
Johnson tries to pull guard but Barbour holds him up against the cage and eventually Johnson drops back down to his feet.

Barbour manages to break the clinch.
Barbour fails in his attempt to clinch.
Johnson looks to clinch

and Barbour counters into the clinch. Nicely done.

Johnson manages to pull guard.
Johnson utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Barbour stands up from guard. Let's bang!
Barbour avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

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

Johnson stands and steps away. Barbour gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.

Barbour clinches.
Johnson wants to break free but Barbour has control.
Barbour wants to stall.
Johnson stalling in the clinch but Barbour improves position.
Johnson tries to break the clinch but Barbour is controlling the position.
Johnson goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Johnson is trying to break free.
Barbour gets underhooks to prevent Johnson's takedown attempt.
Barbour is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Johnson fails to pull the fight into his guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Johnson pulls guard.
Nick Johnson overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Johnson is trying to keep Barbour in close.
Johnson keeping moving, preventing Barbour from controlling successfully.
Johnson pulls Barbour in close to prevent any damage.
Barbour preventing the sweep.
Johnson looking to control.
Barbour looking to sit in guard and control but Johnson gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Johnson wants to pass the guard but Barbour is keeping the position.
Barbour not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
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 Nick Johnson will probably get the nod.
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.

Johnson doesn't manage to clinch there - Barbour circles away.
Johnson closes this distance looking for a takedown but Barbour circles away.
Barbour closes the distance but Johnson moves to the side

and Johnson counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Barbour!

Johnson looking for a guillotine from mount but Barbour is having none of it.
Barbour is looking to get back to his feet - it's going to be hard from this position.
Barbour tries to reverse the position but Johnson maintains control.
Johnson lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Barbour throwing hammer fists to the chest of Johnson. What's that going to do exactly?
Barbour bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Barbour trying to control the position from guard on top but Johnson is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Johnson throws some sloppy strikes off his back.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson keeping moving, preventing Barbour from controlling successfully.
Johnson utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Johnson managing to control the position.
Barbour trying to control but Johnson is working from the bottom.
Barbour throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Johnson works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Johnson controlling the position.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Barbour clinches but Johnson breaks the clinch

and Johnson counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Johnson is stalling in the full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Johnson has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Barbour is proving hard to escape from.

Barbour uses the cage to get back to his feet.
Snips Barbour is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

Johnson has Barbour up against the cage in a clinch.
Barbour manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Johnson tries to break the clinch but Barbour is controlling the position.
Johnson is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Barbour is keeping busy.
Barbour lands a body shot.

Barbour breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Barbour tries to grapple but his opponent circles

so Johnson counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Barbour scrambles and gets back to his feet.
Johnson displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Barbour throws out the jab.
Barbour tries to clinch up

and Johnson decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Barbour's guard.
Johnson prevents Barbour from getting back to his feet.
Johnson is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.

Johnson decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.

Johnson shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Barbour's guard.

Johnson drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Johnson jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Johnson wants to control from the top but Barbour keeps moving.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Barbour is looking for a triangle here but Johnson uses the submission attempt to pass into side control. Johnson controls the position.
Johnson wants to lay and pray for a moment but Barbour keeps working.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
The referee tells the fighters to keep busy.
Johnson landing strikes.
Barbour taking punishment in the form of punches.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Barbour wants to control but Johnson postures up.
Barbour looks to move to half guard but instead Johnson has passed into mount! Damn!
Barbour is trying desperately to improve position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nick Johnson clearly takes that round.
That's time! Johnson's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Barbour tries to bum rush Johnson with a series of wild strikes but Johnson uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
The fight stays on the outside here - Barbour looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Johnson closes the distance and clinches up with Barbour, looking for a takedown. Johnson pushes Barbour against the cage but Barbour circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Johnson avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Barbour circles away from the clinch attempt.

Johnson feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Johnson won't allow Barbour to sweep him here.
Barbour really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Johnson. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Johnson pushing down on Barbour's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Johnson takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Johnson is tying to control. Barbour wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
It's got to the stage where if one of these guys blows hard enough, the other might fall over.

Johnson stands up from half guard... He's had enough of that ground malarky for the time being.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barbour swats away the attempt to clinch by Johnson.
Johnson misses with a series of wild punches.
Barbour clinches but Johnson breaks the clinch

and Johnson counters with a nice double leg into side control. Barbour won't be happy with that.
Barbour tries to slip a leg under to move to half guard but Johnson presses down on the leg and jumps into full mount!
Barbour is trying to stand but he's not in a good position to be doing that! Johnson has taken his back!
Johnson struggling to keep hold of the position.
cage is very frustrated here, being controlled quite effectively by Barbour.
Barbour is trying to break free.
What can Barbour do to escape this position? He's going to have to figure it out pretty quick if he wants to stay in the fight!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Johnson scores with punches to the body.
Barbour can't escape the position.

Barbour won't enjoy being in this position. Johnson looking for the choke. Oh... he's slipped the arm under the neck - Barbour is tapping - it's over boys! Johnson picks up the submission victory!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:32 of round 4, we have a winner by way of Submission (RNC). Nick Johnson!
Nick Johnson is the new lightweight champion!