PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Ilya Kushnirov (ranked 962 p4p, 1030 weight class) and Nick Barkley (ranked 132 p4p, 139 weight class). Ilya Kushnirov had a look across the cage there at his opponent. He definitely means business

Kushnirov
vs
Barkley

175 cm
21
195
4 - 2 - 0

185 cm
21
180
4 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Decent wrestler
World class MT
Heavy handed

Conquer

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 4 - 2 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Ilya Kushnirov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nick Barkley!
The judges for this bout are Percy O'Donnell, Frank Antenori and Don Winkell.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Barkley gets off balance looking for a body kick
and Kushnirov connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Barkley scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
A punch lands to the side of Barkley 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Kushnirov walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Kushnirov misses with a straight left.
Barkley pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Kushnirov throws a shot from downtown. Barkley moves away and avoids it.
Nice uppercut lands for Kushnirov. That snapped Barkley's head back.
Kushnirov loads up on a big right hand but Barkley slips the punch.
Kushnirov throws a right and a left that Barkley avoids nicely.
Kushnirov misses with a right hand
and Barkley makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Kushnirov misses with an uppercut

and Barkley counters by moving into the clinch.
This has been an exciting period of action!
A head punch blocked on the inside by Kushnirov.
I was talking to Kushnirov's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.
Barkley lands a hook that snaps the head of Kushnirov backwards.
Kushnirov tries to break free but Barkley pushes him back against the cage.
Barkley has a couple of punches blocked by Kushnirov.
Kushnirov wants to break free but Barkley has control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A short left from Barkley.
Kushnirov lands a right hand.
Barkley lands a body punch.

Kushnirov escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Kushnirov looks to land a right hand but Barkley moved out of range.
Barkley connects with an inside leg kick.
Kushnirov misses with a jab to the body
and Barkley counters with a good low kick that Kushnirov was not able to check.
Barkley throws a good cross that connects.
Ilya Kushnirov seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Kushnirov misses with an uppercut.
Barkley displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Kushnirov throws out the jab.
Kushnirov looks to land a right hand but Barkley moved out of range.
Barkley wants to counter with a clinch but Kushnirov pushes him away.
Kushnirov scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Kushnirov lands the left hand.
A chopping leg kick lands by Barkley.
Barkley has tried to improve his agility in the runup to this fight.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Kushnirov throws a lazy uppercut
and Barkley counters with a good, hard body kick but Kushnirov shrugs it off.
Kushnirov throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kushnirov takes a swing at Barkley's ribcage but misses.
Barkley tries a quick counter leg kick but Kushnirov is wise to it.
Barkley with a nice calf kick.
Barkley on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Kushnirov lands a glancing blow to the side of Barkley's head.
Barkley drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Kushnirov throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Kushnirov throws out a loose jab but Barkley uses good head movement to avoid it.
Barkley slips a straight right by Kushnirov.
Barkley appeared to try and counter that last move with a leg kick.
Kushnirov misses with an uppercut. Barkley saw that one coming.
Nice defenses there by Barkley.
Kushnirov checks a leg kick.
Kushnirov jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Kushnirov blocks a head kick by Barkley.
Kushnirov throwing a counter right hand but Barkley manages to avoid it.
Kushnirov throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Barkley only half commits to the counter leg kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nice jab there from Kushnirov.
Kushnirov throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Barkley sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Kushnirov lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Kushnirov.
Barkley slips under a jab from Kushnirov.
Barkley swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Kushnirov.
A big left from Kushnirov misses.
Kushnirov is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Barkley.
Kushnirov throws a looping overhand right but Barkley ducks down to avoid it.
Kushnirov is really peppering his opponent's head with punches.
Barkley uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Kushnirov.
Barkley is trying to counter with his kicks.
Kushnirov jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Barkley slips a jab from Kushnirov.
Barkley dodges the punch combination from Kushnirov.
Barkley tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Barkley defending well as Kushnirov loads up on a big left hand.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kushnirov misses with a right hand
and Barkley counters with a stiff right hand.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Kushnirov misses with a hook. Barkley ducked under it nicely.
Barkley defending well as Kushnirov loads up on a big left hand.
Barkley takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Kushnirov missing with a left hand there. Barkley was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
And Barkley responds with a good body kick, but Kushnirov manages to step out the way in time.
Barkley throws a lazy right hand but Kushnirov sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Kushnirov waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Barkley.
Barkley tries a quick counter leg kick but Kushnirov is wise to it.
Kushnirov misses the jab.
No joy there for Kushnirov, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Kushnirov is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
Kushnirov swinging wildly here.
Kushnirov backing away here, and Barkley unleashes a leg kick that just misses.
Barkley tried to score with a low kick but Kushnirov checks it.
Kushnirov misses the body punch
and Barkley connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Kushnirov rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Barkley counters with a low kick, right behind Kushnirov 's knee.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

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

Barkley chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Barkley throws a body shot but no joy.
Kushnirov misses with a lunging right hand
and Barkley cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Kushnirov lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Barkley slips under a jab from Kushnirov.
Barkley is trying to counter with his kicks.
Barkley has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Kushnirov misses with a lunging right hand
and Kushnirov takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Kushnirov throws an overhand right that lands on Barkley's shoulder, as Barkley tries to avoid the shot.
Kushnirov takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Kushnirov throws a body shot but no joy.
Barkley is trying to counter with his kicks.
Barkley on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Barkley dodges the punch combination from Kushnirov.
Kushnirov is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Barkley scores with a nice body kick.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Kushnirov ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Barkley moves away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kushnirov misses with a body punch
and Barkley counters with an outside leg kick.
A nice inside leg kick there by Barkley. That's going to slow Kushnirov down.
Barkley keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Kushnirov throws a looping overhand right but Barkley ducks down to avoid it.
Barkley connects with a leg kick.
Kushnirov throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Barkley keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Kushnirov.
Kushnirov misses with a looping right.
Kushnirov misses with a lunging right hand
and Barkley counters with a leg kick.
Nice defenses there by Barkley.
Kushnirov misses with a body shot.
Kushnirov works Barkley's body with a nice hook.
Barkley lands with a good body shot.
Kushnirov swinging wildly here.
Barkley is trying to counter with his kicks.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Barkley slips a jab from Kushnirov.
Kushnirov lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
The fighters circling - Kushnirov throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Kushnirov works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Kushnirov throws a hook but Barkley avoids it easily.
Barkley swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
Nice body kick there by Barkley.
Ilya Kushnirov is winning the standup battle so far.
Kushnirov falls off balance throwing a combination
and Barkley counters with a nice low kick that buckles Kushnirov's knee momentarily.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Kushnirov misses with a left hand

and Barkley holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Kushnirov blocks an uppercut.
Barkley tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Barkley using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Barkley.
Kushnirov is trying to force a seperation but Barkley has the dominant position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barkley working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Barkley presses Kushnirov against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Barkley tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Kushnirov avoids it.

Kushnirov breaks the clinch.
A kick lands to the mid section there for Barkley.
Barkley pushes Kushnirov away with a front kick.
Barkley buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Kushnirov misses the jab.
Barkley scores with a jab to the body.
Barkley pushes Kushnirov away with a front kick.
Barkley thumps Kushnirov with a low kick.
Kushnirov takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Kushnirov tries to move into range but Barkley moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Kushnirov stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Barkley.

Barkley closes the distance and clinches.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Barkley lands with a short shot to the head.
Kushnirov wants to break free but Barkley has control.

Barkley breaks from the clinch.
Kushnirov swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
letting Barkley counter with a right hand.
Kushnirov tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Barkley was well out of range. Poor timing from Kushnirov.
Kushnirov looks to land a left hand but Barkley moved out of range nicely.
Barkley follows through with a counter body kick but it doesn't land.
Kushnirov takes a swing at Barkley's ribcage but misses.
Barkley feints and then cracks Kushnirov's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Kushnirov down.
Kushnirov will be looking to protect his midsection after taking some solid kicks to the body.
Kushnirov misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Kushnirov misses the shot to the body.
Kushnirov misses the jab.
Barkley follows through with a counter body kick but it doesn't land.
Barkley avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
A combination from Kushnirov does no damage.
Barkley follows through with a counter body kick but it doesn't land.
Kushnirov misses the shot to the body.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Nick Barkley showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Barkley scores with a kick to the midsection.
Barkley lands a head kick. Kushnirov smiles back at him and beckons him forward.

Barkley pushes Kushnirov up against the cage in a clinch.
Kushnirov looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Barkley lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Barkley lands with a left to the head.
Barkley tries to land knees in the clinch but Kushnirov avoids the damage to the body.

Barkley escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
A big right from Kushnirov misses.
Barkley uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Kushnirov.
A swing and a miss from Kushnirov.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kushnirov throws a right hand that misses
and Barkley cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Kushnirov with a hook.
A decent looking body kick lands there for Barkley.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Barkley throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Kushnirov is looking to counter with a shot to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barkley tries to clinch up but Kushnirov circles away and keeps his distance.
Kushnirov misses the shot to the body.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Kushnirov misses with a right hand
and Barkley counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.

Barkley cracks Kushnirov with a big right hand that sends him crashing to the floor. Barkley has the opportunity to follow him to the ground but instead he's beckoning Kushnirov to stand back up!

Kushnirov is rocked!
Barkley seems to be stalking Kushnirov here. He circles momentarily and then unleashes a devastating head kick! Kushnirov drops like a stone, out cold! WOW! Are you kidding me!? What a knockout!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:24 of round 3, we have a winner by way of KO (Head Kick). Nick Barkley!
A relieved looking Nick Barkley thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.