Nick Barnes Snags Split Verdict, Downs Chad Curry in Legacy Fighting Alliance 20 Main Event

The Houston-based Legacy Fighting Alliance promotion returned to the Mystic Lake Casino in Prior Lake, Minnesota, on Friday, and to say the cageside judges turned in some head-scratching scores at LFA 20 would be a colossal understatement.

Welterweight Nick Barnes traveled from San Diego to take on local favorite Chad Curry in the headliner, and by most accounts, the former dominated the latter. While the first two rounds were relatively competitive, Barnes appeared to control the action by landing superior strikes. Curry tired as the fight wore on, and when a series of leg kicks from Barnes opened up a flurry to the head, it seemed that his fate had been sealed. However, the three-round main event followed a puzzling pattern of questionable scorecards: One judge saw it 29-28 for Curry, while two others countered with 29-28 and 30-27 marks for Barnes.

The co-feature was lopsided enough to avoid questionable scoring, as featherweight Bobby Moffett manhandled Nate Jennerman from the start and rocked him several times. Moffett also mauled his counterpart on the ground and walked away with a clear-cut unanimous decision via tallies of 30-26, 30-26 and 30-27.

EliteXC veteran Kelly Kobold returned from a six-year absence to take on Christine Stanley in a women’s flyweight showcase. Though the Minnesotan struggled in the first round, Kelly bounced back to seize control of the match. She tore into “Knuckles” and appeared to have done enough damage to warrant a decision. The judges disagreed, one of them scoring it for Stanley, the other for Kobold and the third ruling it even. It resulted in a split draw.

Meanwhile, Travis Perzynski was too much for Carl Wittstock to handle at 155 pounds. A right elbow to the head shook Wittstock’s equilibrium, allowing Perzynski to give chase with a volley of punches and knees. He then crumbled in a heap and surrendered his back, Perzynski locking in a rear-naked choke for the finish 1:49 into the fight.

In other action, Bobby Lee walked out of his lightweight encounter with Ashkan Morvari with a split decision; Jeff Peterson was awarded a split verdict over Brandon Jenkins, despite nearly being knocked out in the middle stanza of their three-round pairing at 155 pounds; and Shawn West stopped Melvin Blumer with punches 1:27 into the third round of their featherweight tilt.