PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Michael Barnes (ranked 1936 p4p, 1457 weight class) and Nasir Prince (ranked 171 p4p, 128 weight class). Prince is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: Nas- N.Y. State of Mind. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Barnes
vs
Prince

170 cm
28
149
13 - 13 - 0

171 cm
27
145
11 - 10 - 1

Great wrestler
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Powerful

Fantasy Threads

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 13 - 13 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Michael Barnes!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 10 - 1, fighting out of Los Angeles, Nasir Prince!
The judges for this bout are Valeri Chadov, Sergei Dronov and Vladimir Khabensky.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Barnes tries a low kick but Prince avoids it.
Prince wants to clinch up but Barnes keeps it at a distance.
Barnes attempts a counter takedown but Prince avoids it well and moves away.
Prince keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Prince checks a leg kick.

Barnes has taken the fight to the clinch.

Barnes pulls guard successfully.
Barnes looking for a sweep. Not yet Barnes, not yet.
Barnes is working hard here to advance position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Barnes working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Prince doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Prince manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Barnes wants to control but instead he gets his guard passed and Prince is now in half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barnes is looking to improve his position.
Prince controlling the pace.
Barnes gets back to full guard.
Prince controls from within his opponent's guard.
Prince stopping the sweep attempt from Barnes.
Barnes bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Prince's guard.

Barnes postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Barnes wants to control from the top but Prince keeps moving.
Barnes throws a big elbow that misses.
Barnes controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Barnes throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Barnes stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Prince swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Barnes trying to control but Prince is working from the bottom.
Barnes advances position into side control!
Barnes landing a few strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barnes in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Prince avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Barnes.
Barnes wants to lay and pray for a moment but Prince keeps working.
Barnes lands a decent elbow from side control.
Barnes throwing ground and pound but whilst doing so, he forgets to control position and Prince works his way back to half guard. Good composure under pressure.
Barnes is trying to control. Prince wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Barnes trying to control from Prince's half guard. Prince has other ideas though and has regained full guard.
Barnes throws a strike but Prince rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Barnes 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.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Barnes not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Barnes looking to hit a scissor sweep but Prince is one step ahead there.
Prince must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Prince has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Barnes is proving hard to escape from.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Barnes is on top in guard.

Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Prince pulls Barnes in close to prevent any damage.
Prince is trying to keep Barnes in close.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Michael Barnes dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Prince turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Barnes slips under a jab.
Barnes looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Sloppy strikes from Prince. Those never looked like landing.
Barnes attempts a counter takedown but Prince avoids it well and moves away.

Barnes closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Barnes lands in his opponent's guard.
Barnes slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Prince preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Barnes wants to pass the guard but Prince is keeping the position.
Prince is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Barnes in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Michael Barnes overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Barnes accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Barnes is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Prince can do to turn this around?
Barnes tries to free his leg and advance position but Prince is retaining full guard.
Barnes throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Barnes postures up in Prince's guard and throws a big left but Prince blocks it.
Barnes tries to free his leg and advance position but Prince is retaining full guard.
Barnes throwing strikes from guard but Prince blocks nicely.
Prince working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Barnes.
Barnes missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Barnes throws an elbow that misses. Prince uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Barnes's guard. Nice move by Prince!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Barnes looking for a sweep. Not yet Barnes, not yet.
Prince tries to stand but Barnes is controlling from the bottom.
Barnes working a defensive guard here.
Barnes wants to hit a sweep here but Prince passes into full mount! Oh no, disaster for Barnes there!
Barnes tries to reverse the position but Prince maintains control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Prince stands up from the dominant position. He obviously fancies his chances standing.
Barnes walks into a straight right hand from Prince.
Prince jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Barnes fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Prince manages to avoid it.
Prince throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Barnes takes one to the side of the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A swing and a miss from Prince.
Prince slips under a jab.
Barnes fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Prince manages to avoid it.
Barnes on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Prince. Prince obviously looking to wear him down.
Barnes throws a shot from downtown. Prince moves away and avoids it.
Barnes looks to score with a jab to the body but Prince is just out of range.
Nasir Prince seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Barnes bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Prince moves out of range as Barnes throws a body kick.
Barnes looks to land a right hand but Prince moved out of range.
Prince throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Barnes throws a low kick, looking for Prince's leg but Prince calmly moves out of range.
Prince scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Prince darts in and clinches Barnes up against the cage.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Prince lands an uppercut.
Prince lands a left hand that snaps the head of Barnes backwards.

Barnes gets double underhooks and manages to take the fight to the ground.
Barnes working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Nasir Prince showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Sloppy strikes from Barnes. Those never looked like landing.
A swing and a miss from Prince.
Nasir Prince seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Barnes throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Prince throws a counter combo.
Prince throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Barnes.
Barnes fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Prince has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Prince swings widly with a right hand
and Barnes connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Prince getting the better of the striking in that exchange.

Barnes feints and as Prince raises his hands in defense, Barnes changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Prince keeping moving, preventing Barnes from controlling successfully.

Barnes has gone for a leg lock! Prince slips out almost immediately though and dives into Barnes's guard.

Barnes is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Barnes is on top in guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Barnes postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Prince is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Barnes, into his guard.

Prince sitting in guard here, content to control.
Barnes is looking to sweep but instead, Prince has passed into half guard.
Barnes moves into full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Barnes is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Prince is aware though and is defending well.
Prince won't allow Barnes to sweep him here.
Prince trying to stand up but can't free himself from Barnes's guard.
Barnes looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

Barnes looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.

Barnes is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Prince would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barnes is looking to sweep but instead, Prince has passed into half guard.
Prince wants to get back to his feet.
Barnes is looking for a sweep. Prince is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Barnes gets back to full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Barnes looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

Prince gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
Prince looks to land a right hand but Barnes moved out of range.
Prince with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Prince throws a looping overhand right but Barnes ducks down to avoid it.
Prince throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Prince has taken the fight to the clinch.
Prince slows down the pace here.

Barnes gets a nice trip takedown into half guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Nasir Prince.
I think Prince 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 Valeri Chadov scores the fight 28:29
Judge Sergei Dronov scores the fight 28:29
Judge Vladimir Khabensky scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Nasir Prince!