PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between James Barrett (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Matthew Godbolt (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Barrett comes to the cage accompanied by Riot Maker. The key to victory for James Barrett has got to be keeping the fight on the feet.

Barrett
vs
Godbolt

195 cm
22
200 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

186 cm
20
193 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Excellent MT
KO power

Good wrestler
Solid Muay Thai
Tends to cut

SAVE A FIGHTER
Cutthroat

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 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, James Barrett!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Matthew Godbolt!
The judges for this bout are Hugh Johnson, Summer Carpenter and Eliza Hachem.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Barrett misses with a body kick.
Barrett misses with a jab, cross combination.
Barrett slips a straight right by Godbolt.
Barrett misses with a low kick.
Barrett throws the left hand but Godbolt avoids the punch easily.
Barrett misses with a head kick.
A jab from Godbolt misses.
Godbolt fails with a takedown attempt.
Barrett throws a hook but Godbolt avoids it easily.
Barrett scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Godbolt rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Barrett counters with a leg kick.
Barrett uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Godbolt.
A head kick misses from Barrett.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barrett scores with a nice head shot.
Godbolt avoids the head kick by Barrett.
Godbolt takes a swing at Barrett's ribcage but misses.
Godbolt bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Barrett attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Barrett looks to land a right hand but Godbolt moved out of range.
Godbolt slips a jab from Barrett.
Barrett connects with a right hand. Godbolt shakes it off.
The fighters circling - Godbolt throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Godbolt takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Godbolt jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Barrett is looking to slow Godbolt down with leg kicks.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Barrett stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Godbolt misses with a hook. Barrett ducked under it nicely.
Barrett cracks a nice hook into Godbolt's ribs.
Barrett lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Barrett swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Godbolt checks a leg kick nicely.
Godbolt misses with a looping left.
Godbolt misses with a straight left.
Godbolt misses with a body shot.
Barrett misses with a straight left.
Barrett misses with a hook.
Godbolt throws a shot to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barrett ducks under a wild hook from Godbolt.
Barrett lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Godbolt at a distance.
Godbolt throws a shot from downtown. Barrett moves away and avoids it.
Godbolt steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Barrett.
Godbolt moves out of range of the leg kick from Barrett.
A head kick misses from Barrett.
Barrett scores with a jab. Godbolt acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Godbolt staying out of range there.
Godbolt changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Barrett looks to land a combination but Godbolt avoids it well.
Godbolt is really struggling to land any decent head shots against his taller opponent.
An inside leg kick lands from Barrett.
Barrett jabs Godbolt right on the nose. Godbolt blinks but takes it well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Barrett throws a quick inside leg kick.
Barrett is really peppering his opponent's head with punches.
Barrett fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Godbolt is out of range.
Godbolt fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Barrett looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
The fighters circling - Godbolt throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Barrett fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Godbolt manages to avoid it.
Barrett moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
James Barrett is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Barrett lands the left hand.
Barrett throws a solid leg kick but Godbolt takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Barrett.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Barrett throws a jab but it's blocked by Godbolt.

Godbolt looking to score a takedown here. Barrett is defending well but Godbolt drives through and ends up in Barrett's guard.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Barrett is trying to control the position from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

James Barrett dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Barrett misses with a hook. Godbolt ducked under it nicely.
Barrett throws a hook but Godbolt avoids it easily.
Godbolt moves out of range of the strikes.
Nice defenses there by Godbolt.
Barrett misses with a right hand
and Godbolt counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Barrett looks to land a combination. Godbolt sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.

It looks like Matthew Godbolt has been cut.
James Barrett is winning the standup battle so far.
Barrett on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Godbolt misses with a body shot.
Barrett lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Barrett throws a sloppy head kick and Godbolt moves out of range easily.
Barrett throws out a powerful jab.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Godbolt with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Barrett throws a hook but Godbolt blocks it.
Godbolt fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Barrett manages to avoid it.
Barrett connects with a good right hand that stumbles Godbolt. Godbolt circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
Barrett doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Barrett tests Godbolt's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Barrett displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Godbolt throws out the jab.
Barrett just misses with a punch to the body.
Godbolt takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Barrett looks to throw the jab but Godbolt is out of range.
Barrett throws out a leg kick but Godbolt moves out of range and Barrett only half commits.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Barrett uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Godbolt.
Barrett wants to slow Godbolt down by chopping away at his legs.
Godbolt ducks under a wild hook from Barrett.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Godbolt ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Barrett throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Barrett tries to land a leg kick but Godbolt saw it coming and moves away.
Barrett throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Godbolt throws a hook but Barrett blocks it.
Barrett jabs at Godbolt's body.
Godbolt cracks Barrett with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Godbolt misses with a straight right.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Godbolt darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Godbolt just misses with a punch to the body.
Barrett throws a shot from downtown. Godbolt moves away and avoids it.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Godbolt checks a leg kick.
Godbolt uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Barrett.
Godbolt throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Godbolt loads up on a big right hand but Barrett slips the punch.
Barrett clobbers Godbolt with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Barrett avoids the body shot from Godbolt.
Barrett throws an overhand right that lands on Godbolt's shoulder, as Godbolt tries to avoid the shot.

Godbolt shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Barrett manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Barrett is trying to control the position but Godbolt postures up.
Godbolt's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Barrett looking for a sweep. Not yet Barrett, not yet.

Barrett looking for a guillotine here but Godbolt defends easily.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Barrett can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Godbolt controls the pace.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Godbolt lands a couple of decent looking shots.
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 James Barrett will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Matthew Godbolt's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Godbolt ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Godbolt misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Barrett.
Godbolt moves out of range as Barrett strikes.
Godbolt blocks a jab.
Barrett bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Barrett throws a solid leg kick but Godbolt takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Barrett.
Godbolt loads up on a big right hand but Barrett slips the punch.
Barrett throws a low kick but Godbolt moves out of range easily.

Godbolt closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Barrett did well to prevent Godbolt getting side control.
Godbolt wants to control but Barrett is keeping him busy.
Godbolt is nestled in close to Barrett, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Barrett slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barrett seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Godbolt wants to control from the top but Barrett keeps moving.
Barrett trying to control the position.
Godbolt trying to control the position from guard on top but Barrett is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Matthew Godbolt has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Godbolt wants to pass the guard but Barrett is keeping the position.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Matthew Godbolt wasn't active enough on the ground.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Barrett, right into the meat.
Barrett's corner calls for a 1-2. Barrett obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Barrett fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Godbolt checks it well.
Barrett swinging wildly here.
A head kick misses from Barrett.
A nice leg kick lands there from Barrett.
Godbolt throws a jab when Barrett was well out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Barrett, as that shot connected.
Barrett throws a right and a left that both miss.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Barrett.
Barrett uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Godbolt.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Barrett, as that shot connected.
Godbolt defending well as Barrett loads up on a big left hand.
Barrett throws a combination that misses
and Godbolt counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Godbolt looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Barrett throws a leg kick but Godbolt sees it coming and moves out of range.
Godbolt lands a right hook to the body.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Barrett misses the shot to the body.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Barrett throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Godbolt throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Barrett keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
James Barrett seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Barrett ducks right into an uppercut from Godbolt.
Barrett throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Godbolt gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Barrett tries to land a leg kick but Godbolt saw it coming and moves away.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Barrett's jab looks to have found its range, popping Godbolt under the eye.
James Barrett is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Barrett throws a head kick that misses.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to James Barrett.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Barrett, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Hugh Johnson scores the fight 30:28
Judge Summer Carpenter scores the fight 30:27
Judge Eliza Hachem scores the fight 30:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... James Barrett!
In his post fight interview, James Barrett started talking himself up. Luckily his charisma kept the crowd on side and gave him a good reception.