PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between James Bucky Barnes (ranked 5473 p4p, 519 weight class) and Marcus Kempton (ranked 6381 p4p, 537 weight class). Both these guys have solid standup skills and neither is particularly fantastic on the ground, so let's hope for a nice standup war!

Bucky Barnes
vs
Kempton

190 cm
25
200 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

190 cm
25
205 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Big right hand

BJJ Blue Belt
Good elbows
Tends to cut

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, James Bucky Barnes!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Marcus Kempton!
The judges for this bout are Wesley Smith, Robert Twigg and Daniel Franklin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Barnes lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Kempton circles away quickly and effectively.
Barnes goes for a double leg but Kempton avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Kempton continues to drive forward.

Barnes gets the takedown into side control.
A lull in the action here as Barnes stalls from top position.
Kempton stuck in half guard on the bottom here.
Barnes is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kempton is positioning himself to get back to half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kempton is not content to let Barnes control the position.
Kempton struggling a bit here.
Kempton is trying to get back to half guard.
Kempton can't do much from the bottom here.
Barnes slows the pace down.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Kempton tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Barnes wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Barnes controlling the position from side mount.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Kempton looks to throw the jab but Barnes is out of range.
Barnes misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Kempton closes this distance looking for a takedown but Barnes circles away.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Kempton.
Barnes tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Kempton's coach down at Cozad MMA Montreal was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on Kempton's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.

Barnes looking to score a takedown here. Kempton is defending well but Barnes drives through and ends up in Kempton's guard.
Barnes forces his way into half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kempton has a hand on Barnes's thigh, trying to get back to full guard. Barnes takes advantage of the position though and mounts him!
Barnes tries to control but Kempton wriggling away.
Barnes avoids the attempt from Kempton to control.
Barnes trying to control but Kempton is having none of it.
Kempton manages to regain half guard. Good work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Barnes wants to lay and pray for a moment but Kempton keeps working.
Kempton wants to get back to full guard.
Barnes slows the pace down in half guard.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Kempton is staying active underneath Barnes, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

James Bucky Barnes dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Barnes tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Kempton throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Barnes sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Barnes went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
Nice sprawl there from Kempton as Barnes shoots in.
Barnes shoots in for a double leg but Kempton sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Kempton is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
Kempton stuffs the takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for James Bucky Barnes. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Barnes misses with a double jab

and Kempton counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Kempton.
A frustrated look appears on Barnes's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Kempton fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Kempton has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Barnes is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.

Kempton's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kempton tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Barnes paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Barnes fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Kempton unleashes a big counter combination but Barnes bobs and weaves and avoids any damage.
Barnes throws a right and a left that both miss.

Kempton darts in and clinches Barnes up against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Kempton breaks the clinch.
Kempton avoids a punch combination nicely.
Barnes tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Kempton paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Barnes moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Kempton, right into the meat.
Kempton dives in and grabs Barnes's left leg, looking for a takedown. Barnes pushes down on Kempton's head and hops out.
Barnes stuffs the takedown.
Barnes shoots in but Kempton avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Kempton shoots for a double leg takedown but Barnes sprawls well. He's pushed Kempton's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
As Kempton looks to move away, Barnes throws a big counter combo but Kempton just gets out of the way.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Kempton.
Barnes attempts a counter takedown but Kempton avoids it well and moves away.
Barnes fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Kempton is looking for the big counter here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Kempton gets tackled into the cage by Barnes. Barnes maintains the clinch.
Barnes fails to pull guard.
Kempton tries to pull guard but Barnes won't allow it.
Kempton tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Barnes tries to score a body lock takedown but Kempton shows good agility there to stay on his feet.

Kempton's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Barnes misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
A left and a right from Barnes both land. Nice combination.
A left and a right from Barnes both land. Nice combination.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Kempton tries to score a power double leg takedown but Barnes sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Kempton somewhat.
Barnes tries to clinch up.
It seemed like Kempton was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Barnes tries to clinch there but Kempton circles away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nice shot by Barnes.
Kempton tries to clinch up.
Barnes has a takedown stuffed.
Barnes fails with a takedown attempt.
Kempton misses with a series of wild punches.
Barnes shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Kempton pinned against the cage. Kempton gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Kempton thinks about the counter body kick.
James Bucky Barnes seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Kempton has taken the fight to the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Kempton manages to break the clinch.
Kempton dives in for a single leg takedown but Barnes sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Barnes misses with a shot to the body
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Barnes is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Kempton can do to turn this around?
Barnes lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Kempton circles away quickly and effectively.
Kempton tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Barnes misses with a head kick.
Kempton tries to close the distance and clinch up but Barnes swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Barnes tried to score with a low kick but Kempton checks it.
Kempton misses with a wild combination.
Kempton tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Barnes paws at him with a jab and circles away.
James Bucky Barnes is winning the standup battle so far.
Barnes throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Kempton.
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 Bucky Barnes will probably get the nod.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Barnes is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Kempton's half guard.
Barnes keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Kempton is looking to escape.
Barnes slows the pace down in half guard.
Kempton tries to regain full guard. Instead though, Barnes has advanced to mount. Uh oh.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kempton is desperately trying to get back to half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barnes wants to take Kempton's back but he can't do it this time.
Barnes tries to control but Kempton wriggling away.
Barnes controlling from mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Kempton is looking to get to half guard.
Kempton is trying to reverse the position but instead Barnes has taken his back - oops!
Barnes controls the position.
Kempton tries to escape the position.
Kempton is trying to get back to his feet but he's not managed it yet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barnes controls the position.
Kempton looking very determined here, making life difficult for Barnes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Barnes is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Kempton is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Kempton is trying to get back to his feet but he's not managed it yet.
Kempton tries to break free.
Kempton trying to control the action but Barnes just sinks the hooks in.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Kempton looking very determined here, making life difficult for Barnes.

And that's the end of the fight!
James Bucky Barnes showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Barnes, 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 Wesley Smith scores the fight 30:27
Judge Robert Twigg scores the fight 30:27
Judge Daniel Franklin scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... James Bucky Barnes!