PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Fabio Gurgel (ranked 75 p4p, 692 weight class) and Joe Pulizzi (ranked 10 p4p, 96 weight class). On his way into the cage it seems that Fabio Gurgel has been attacked by a crazed fan! It looks like it might have been the just bleed guy! Luckily Fabio Gurgel seems to be OK! I thought that lunatic was in prison!?

Gurgel
vs
Pulizzi

183 cm
30
215
13 - 7 - 0

193 cm
29
210
13 - 6 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Basic striking
Cardio machine

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

Silverguard Outfitters ðŸ›¡
Furnace Performance ðŸ”¥

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the light heavyweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 13 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Fabio Gurgel!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 13 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Joe Pulizzi!
The judges for this bout are Alec Ball, Ian Loll and Robert Douchet.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gurgel tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Pulizzi dodges the punch combination from Gurgel.
Pulizzi looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Pulizzi looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Pulizzi tests Gurgel's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Gurgel is looking to clinch but Pulizzi is avoiding it.
Pulizzi misses with an uppercut.
Fabio Gurgel seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Gurgel darts in and clinches Pulizzi up against the cage.
Gurgel fails to land with a short punch on the inside.

Pulizzi drags the fight down to the ground.
Gurgel wants to control from the top but Pulizzi keeps moving.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gurgel tries to free his leg and advance position but Pulizzi is retaining full guard.
Pulizzi is looking to stand up but Gurgel isn't so interested in that idea.
Gurgel slips nicely into half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Pulizzi tries to kick Gurgel off in order to stand up. Gurgel Avoids the leg push though and dives into side control.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Gurgel is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Pulizzi has escaped the position, nice work there.
Pulizzi is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Gurgel is controlling him well.
Pulizzi is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.
Gurgel works to advance to full mount. Pulizzi defends for a few seconds but eventually he succumbs.

Gurgel looking for a guillotine from mount but Pulizzi is having none of it.
Pulizzi's corner are shouting for him to stand up but that's bad cornering - how is he meant to stand up when he's mounted? He should be looking to improve his position on the ground before trying to stand back up.
Pulizzi has given up his back - I don’t know if this is a deliberate ploy to try and escape or if he is just struggling down there.
Gurgel seems to have improved his submission grappling technique since last time we saw him. Let's see if he can pull off a submission.

Gurgel is looking for the choke from the back position but Pulizzi is controlling his hands well.

Gurgel is working for the choke. I would put my money on him to finish from this position. He's rolled onto his back and has dragged Pulizzi with him. Pulizzi is trying to defend but Gurgel has an arm under the chin now! Pulizzi grimaces and is forced to tap out!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:58 of round 1, we have a winner by way of Submission (RNC). Fabio Gurgel!
Fabio Gurgel retains his light heavyweight title!