PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Preston Barksdale (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ronald Mills (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Mills has chosen FROM AUTUMN TO ASHES - Deth Kult Social Club as his entrance music. Ronald Mills acknowledges the crowd's support as he enters the cage.

Barksdale
vs
Mills

187 cm
24
191 lbs
6 - 6 - 0

183 cm
24
188 lbs
6 - 2 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Good kicks
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 6 - 0, fighting out of New York, Preston Barksdale!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, Ronald Mills!
The judges for this bout are Eddie Farnsworth, Anthony Taglia and Jonathan Paton.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Barksdale misses with a head kick.
Mills is looking to clinch but Barksdale is avoiding it.
Mills keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Mills is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Barksdale stalks Mills and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Mills's face. Mills staggers backwards, shaken.
Mills is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Mills wants to clinch up but Barksdale keeps it at a distance.
Mills staying out of range there.
Mills tries to clinch up but Barksdale circles away and keeps his distance.
Barksdale throws a head kick but Mills moves out of range.
A slapping leg kick lands for Barksdale.
Mills takes one to the side of the head.
Barksdale throws a right and a left that both miss.
Mills is looking to clinch but Barksdale is avoiding it.
Mills throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Barksdale rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Mills moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Mills is looking to clinch but Barksdale is avoiding it.
Barksdale swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Barksdale shoots in looking for a takedown. Mills tries to sprawl out of it but Barksdale keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Mills manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Barksdale is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barksdale circles away from the clinch attempt.
Mills moves in looking to clinch but Barksdale pushes him off.
Barksdale throws a body kick that misses.
Mills tries to clinch up.
Barksdale will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Mills tries to clinch but Barksdale is having none of it.
Mills fails in his attempt to clinch.
Mills wants to clinch up but Barksdale keeps it at a distance.
Barksdale throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Mills tries to clinch there but Barksdale circles away.
Mills throws a sloppy head kick and Barksdale moves out of range easily.
Mills tries to clinch up.
Barksdale throws a series of punches but Mills avoids them all with ease.
Mills tries to clinch up.
Barksdale rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Mills moves out of range and avoids them all easily.

That's two 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.
Barksdale throws a series of punches but Mills avoids them all with ease.
Barksdale dives in and grabs Mills's left leg, looking for a takedown. Mills pushes down on Barksdale's head and hops out.
Mills blocks the body kick.
Mills throws a head kick but Barksdale moves out of range.
Barksdale fails to land with a series of punches.
A good leg kick by Mills.
Barksdale avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Mills is looking to clinch but Barksdale is avoiding it.
Mills throws a sloppy head kick and Barksdale moves out of range easily.
Mills wants to clinch.
Mills misses with a head kick.
Mills wants to clinch up but Barksdale keeps it at a distance.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Mills.
Mills lands a front kick.
Mills thumps Barksdale with a low kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mills fails in his attempt to clinch.
Mills wants to clinch.

Mills has Barksdale up against the cage in a clinch.
Barksdale trying to stall but Mills improves his position.
A knee to the head by Mills.

Barksdale breaks the clinch.
Barksdale will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.

Mills clinches.
Mills throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Mills tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Mills lands a damaging elbow.
Mills looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Mills tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Mills with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Mills scores with a knee to the head.

Barksdale breaks the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Barksdale throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Mills's head.

Barksdale clinches with his opponent.
Knees to the body from Mills.
Mills throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Barksdale blocks it with crossed arms.

Barksdale pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Mills looks to clinch

and Barksdale counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Mills!
The referee warns Mills that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.

Mills defends a decent attempt at a guillotine from Barksdale.
Barksdale unloads with some shots from mount but Mills bucks and avoids them well.

Barksdale has hold of Mills's left arm, perhaps looking for a submission. The two fighters tussle over control of the isolated limb and Mills manages to get his arm back to his side and away from danger.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Mills is squirming around, avoiding Barksdale's attempts to control the action.
Mills really wants to buck Barksdale off and get back to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Ronald Mills will probably get the nod.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Mills is looking to clinch.
A combination from Barksdale does no damage.
Mills tries to clinch there but Barksdale circles away.
Mills tries to clinch there but Barksdale circles away.
Mills tries to clinch up.
No luck for Barksdale with that takedown attempt.
Barksdale avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
A head kick misses from Mills.
Barksdale throws out a loose jab but Mills uses good head movement to avoid it.
Mills scores with a head kick.

It looks like Preston Barksdale has been cut.

Barksdale clinches.
Mills gets underhooks to prevent Barksdale's takedown attempt.
Mills lands an elbow inside.
Mills lands a damaging elbow.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Mills using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Barksdale has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Barksdale avoiding damage as Mills throws knees to the body.
Barksdale wants to break the clinch but can't.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barksdale managing to block the knees to the body from Mills.

Barksdale has dropped down and is working for a takedown. Mills is trying to keep an underhook but Barksdale manages to get the takedown into half guard.

Mills makes some distance and scrambles quickly back to his feet. Nice work!
Mills has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Mills there as he acknowledges the shot.
Barksdale will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Mills fails with an attempt to clinch.

Barksdale has taken the fight to the clinch.
Barksdale is trying to break the clinch but Mills has him pressed against the cage.

Barksdale pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Mills moves in looking to clinch but Barksdale pushes him off.

Barksdale shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Barksdale showed some decent athleticism there.

Barksdale is working for a kimura but Mills is defending it quite comfortably.
Mills is trying to stand back up but Barksdale is controlling him
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mills is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Barksdale scores with a couple of nice shots.
Barksdale wants to free his trapped foot but Mills is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Mills pushes Barksdale off looking to stand but Barksdale dives back in and keeps control.
Barksdale works his way into side control.

Barksdale looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Barksdale is looking to take a break and control but Mills is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

Mills sneaks out the side door and pushes Barksdale away - he's back to his feet. The crowd show their appreciation for the escape.
Ronald Mills seems to be getting the better of the standup.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mills tries to clinch up but Barksdale circles away and keeps his distance.
Ronald Mills is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Barksdale circles away from the clinch attempt.

Barksdale forces Mills back against the cage and clinches.
Mills pushes off an throws an elbow but Barksdale leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Barksdale blocks the elbow strike.
Mills lands a knee to the body.

Barksdale breaks from the clinch.
Barksdale lands a jab.

Barksdale gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Mills throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Barksdale blocks it with crossed arms.
A short uppercut from Barksdale.

Barksdale lands a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Mills won't allow Barksdale to pass to mount.
Mills is trying to stand back up but Barksdale is controlling him

Mills has one foot on Barksdale's thigh - he pushes off and manages to get back to his feet.
Barksdale tries to close the distance and clinch up but Mills swats him away and circles back towards the center.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Barksdale is looking to clinch but Mills is avoiding it.
Mills darts in trying to clinch
and Barksdale counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Barksdale swats away the attempt to clinch by Mills.

Mills gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Barksdale stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Mills swivels though and keeps the full guard.

Mills pushes Barksdale off and gets back to his feet.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Barksdale swats away the attempt to clinch by Mills.
Barksdale tries to score with a low kick but Mills moves his leg out of the way.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Preston Barksdale dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Preston Barksdale's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Barksdale throws a right and a left that both miss.
Barksdale swinging wilding here.
Barksdale swinging wilding here.
Mills is looking to clinch.
Mills tries to clinch there but Barksdale circles away.
Mills tries to close the distance and clinch up but Barksdale swats him away and circles back towards the center.
A head kick by Barksdale misses

and Mills moves into the clinch.
Mills misses with a knee to the head.
Mills throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Barksdale blocks it with crossed arms.
Barksdale tries to pull guard but Mills holds him up against the cage and eventually Barksdale drops back down to his feet.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mills tries to land a knee to the head but Barksdale blocks with his arms.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Barksdale changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Mills fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Barksdale fails with a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Preston Barksdale. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mills tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Barksdale moves in looking to clinch but Mills pushes him off.
Mills moves forwards but Barksdale connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Mills slaps away a takedown attempt from Barksdale, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Mills tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Mills fails with an attempt to clinch.
Barksdale ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Mills tries to close the distance and clinch but Barksdale swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Mills tries to clinch

and Barksdale holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Mills is pressed up against the cage. Barksdale has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Mills down to the mat. Mills avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Barksdale circles away from the clinch attempt.
Mills fails in his attempt to clinch.
Barksdale throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Mills doesn't manage to clinch there - Barksdale circles away.

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.
Mills tries a head kick but it misses.
Mills tries to clinch but Barksdale is having none of it.

Mills rushes Barksdale and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Mills has Barksdale pressed against the cage, preventing Barksdale from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Mills tries to land a knee to the head but misses.

Mills is fighting off a takedown attempt but Barksdale is just too persistent for him and manages to trip Mills to the mat. Mills regains guard as soon as the fighters hit the mat.
Mills keeping moving, preventing Barksdale from controlling successfully.
Mills utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Barksdale trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Mills wants to stand up but Barksdale is controlling him.
Barksdale trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Barksdale 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.

Barksdale stands up from guard. Let's bang!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barksdale circles away from the clinch attempt.
Barksdale lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Mills circles away quickly and effectively.

Barksdale takes the fight into the clinch.
Mills tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Mills pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Mills tries a knee to the head but Barksdale blocks it.

Barksdale successfully pulls guard.
Barksdale looking for a sweep. Not yet Barksdale, not yet.
Mills wants to get up but he can't break Barksdale's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Mills stopping the sweep attempt from Barksdale.
Mills tries to stand but Barksdale is controlling from the bottom.
Barksdale looking to hit a scissor sweep but Mills is one step ahead there.

That's four 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.
Mills has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Barksdale is proving hard to escape from.

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

Barksdale takes the fight into the clinch.
Mills misses with an elbow over the top.
Mills tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Barksdale avoids it.
Barksdale on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

Barksdale successfully pulls guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Barksdale pulls Mills in close to prevent any damage.

Mills got a little sloppy there for a moment and Barksdale has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Mills has managed to get both his arms back between Barksdale's legs - danger averted.

And that's the end of the fight!
Preston Barksdale showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Barksdale has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Eddie Farnsworth scores the fight for Preston Barksdale!
Judge Anthony Taglia scores the fight for Preston Barksdale!
Judge Jonathan Paton scores the fight for Preston Barksdale!

Preston Barksdale wins by unanimous decision!