PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Blake Barnes (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kim Jong Thrill (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd giving both fighters a great reception on their way into the arena. That's good to see.

Barnes
vs
Jong Thrill

176 cm
23
143 lbs
8 - 3 - 0

166 cm
26
146 lbs
9 - 7 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
Experienced

BJJ Brown Belt
Decent boxing
Powerful

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 8 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Blake Barnes!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Kim Jong Thrill!
The judges for this bout are Luis Engracia, Matheus Silva and Paulo Santos.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Barnes fails with a takedown attempt.
Thrill throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Good work by Barnes as he checks the leg kick.
Barnes checks a leg kick.
Thrill keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Barnes avoids the body shot from Thrill.
Thrill shoots and misses

and Barnes counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Thrill's guard now.
Barnes wants to control from the top but Thrill keeps moving.

Barnes got a little sloppy there for a moment and Thrill has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Barnes has managed to get both his arms back between Thrill's legs - danger averted.
Thrill keeping moving, preventing Barnes from controlling successfully.
Barnes preventing the sweep.
Thrill wants to improve his position but instead Barnes has moved into half guard.
Thrill is looking to get back to full guard here but Barnes has managed to pass to side control instead.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thrill is wriggling around trying to escape.
Barnes landing strikes from the mount.
Thrill is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Thrill is squirming around, avoiding Barnes's attempts to control the action.
Thrill wants to use the cage to get back to his feet here.
Thrill is desperately trying to improve his position but Barnes has a good base and remains in mount.
Thrill looks gassed!
Barnes lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Barnes landing shots from mount.
Thrill is trying desperately to improve position.
Thrill is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Thrill is squirming around, avoiding Barnes's attempts to control the action.

Barnes working for a submission but Thrill is keeping him at bay.
Thrill is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Thrill regains half guard.

Barnes is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Thrill is just riding it out for now. Barnes eventually gives up the hold.
Thrill slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Thrill manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Barnes manages to get himself to full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thrill chips away with some ground and pound.
Thrill trying to control the position from guard on top but Barnes is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Thrill working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Thrill wants to control from the top but Barnes keeps moving.
Thrill trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Thrill trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Thrill wants to pass the guard but Barnes is keeping the position.
Thrill preventing the sweep.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Thrill looks to land a combination. Barnes sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Thrill fails miserably with a takedown attempt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Barnes throws a body kick that misses.
Barnes throws a wild body kick that Thrill sees coming a mile off.
Thrill misses with a double jab

and Barnes counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Barnes.
Barnes passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Thrill tries to bench press Barnes off him but Barnes keeps the position.
Barnes scoring with punches from side control.

Barnes is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Thrill knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Thrill is trying to get back to half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Blake Barnes dominated that round.
That's time! Barnes's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Thrill doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Barnes counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Thrill!
Barnes can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Thrill is looking to escape.
Thrill is in all sorts of trouble here.
Barnes lands a heavy elbow.
Thrill tries to reverse the position but Barnes maintains control.
Thrill tries to improve his position but instead Barnes has taken his back!
Thrill is breathing heavily.
Barnes is hanging on to Thrill's back as he tries to escape.

Barnes patiently working for the choke. Which fighter will keep their nerve here?
Blake Barnes overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Thrill is keeping busy.
Barnes is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Thrill is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barnes is landing with strikes from the back.
Thrill manages to reverse the position and now he's in Barnes's guard. Nice work there by Thrill.
Barnes working a defensive guard here.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Thrill accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Thrill in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Thrill shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Thrill lands a couple of elbows.
Barnes looking to hit a scissor sweep but Thrill is one step ahead there.
Thrill pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Barnes is keeping the position for now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thrill trying to control but Barnes is working from the bottom.
Thrill thows a big elbow that misses.
Barnes keeping moving, preventing Thrill from controlling successfully.
Barnes working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Thrill.
Barnes wants to sweep here but Thrill controlling him for the moment.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Thrill misses with a few strikes there.
Thrill misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Barnes misses with a body shot.
Thrill displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Barnes throws out the jab.
Thrill 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.
Kim Jong Thrill seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barnes shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Thrill but Thrill pushes him off and we're back to square one.

Thrill shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Barnes's guard.
Barnes keeping full guard, as Thrill tries to pass.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Barnes wants to sweep here but Thrill controlling him for the moment.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Thrill accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Barnes keeping moving, preventing Thrill from controlling successfully.
Barnes has control of Thrill's left arm, preventing Thrill from doing any damage.
Thrill trying to control the position from guard on top but Barnes is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thrill is working Barnes over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.

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

Thrill drives through with a takedown into guard.
Thrill looking to pass the guard.
Barnes keeping moving, preventing Thrill from controlling successfully.
Thrill with a nice head shot there.
Thrill postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Thrill wants to control from the top but Barnes keeps moving.
Barnes looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Barnes will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
Thrill stands up over Barnes, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kim Jong Thrill showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Thrill tries for a takedown but Barnes circles away easily
and Barnes counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Thrill fails with an attempt to clinch.
Thrill will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Barnes shoots in for a double leg but Thrill sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Thrill will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.

Barnes shoots in and bounces Thrill off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Barnes pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Thrill is keeping the position for now.
Barnes has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Thrill manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Barnes holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Thrill tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thrill postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Barnes looks a forlorn figure.
Barnes tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Thrill looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Barnes tries to reverse the position but Thrill maintains control.
Thrill trying to control but Barnes is having none of it.
BOOM! Thrill connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Thrill with a couple of short strikes.
Barnes really trying hard to get back to half guard here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Thrill unloading with bombs!
Thrill scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Barnes landing with some feeble shots from his back... He should probably try escaping the position instead.
Barnes sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.
Thrill is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Barnes!
Thrill punishing his opponent with strikes.
Thrill cracks Barnes with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Thrill landing strikes from the mount.
Thrill with shots to the head and body - Barnes looks very uncomfortable down there.
Barnes regains half guard.
Barnes makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Barnes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thrill is in close to Barnes's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Barnes is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Thrill passes into half guard.

Barnes looking for submissions off his back.

Thrill is looking for a kimura here.
Barnes is in trouble now - Thrill has advanced to mount!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thrill is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Thrill postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Barnes looks a forlorn figure.
Barnes is looking to get to half guard.
Thrill lands with some strikes.
Barnes is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Thrill landing strikes from the mount.
Barnes can't escape the position.
Thrill lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Thrill is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Barnes can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Thrill fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Thrill landing shots from mount.

And that's the end of the fight!
Kim Jong Thrill comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Thrill 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 Luis Engracia scores the fight 28:29
Judge Matheus Silva scores the fight 28:29
Judge Paulo Santos scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Kim Jong Thrill!