PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Arturo Gatti III (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kevin McArthur (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Gatti III comes into the arena with Black Milk & Royce 5'9 - Losing out blaring out of the sound system. McArthur comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Breathing kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Gatti III
vs
McArthur

172 cm
34
148 lbs
29 - 13 - 1

200 cm
25
144 lbs
12 - 10 - 1

Good wrestling
Lethal high kicks
Granite chin

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

LOD: Affordable Quality

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 29 - 13 - 1, fighting out of London, Arturo Gatti III!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 10 - 1, fighting out of Tokyo, Kevin McArthur!
The judges for this bout are Chris Downing, Alan Glass and Wesley Smith.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gatti III throws a shot to the body.
McArthur throws a jab when Gatti III was well out of range.
McArthur fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Gatti III scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Gatti III with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
McArthur tries to clinch but Gatti III moves out of range.
Gatti III misses with a hook. McArthur ducked under it nicely.
Gatti III throws a head kick that looked like it stung.

McArthur is rocked!
Gatti III throws a hook but McArthur blocks it.
McArthur throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Gatti III sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Gatti III turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gatti III takes a swing at McArthur's ribcage but misses.
McArthur takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Gatti III lands a nice looking body kick.
Gatti III lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Gatti III throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent McArthur stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Donk. McArthur catches Gatti III right on the button with a cross.
McArthur has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Gatti III.
McArthur tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Gatti III feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to McArthur's calf.
McArthur takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
McArthur blocks a jab.
Gatti III lands with a right hand.
McArthur throws a looping overhand right but Gatti III ducks down to avoid it.
McArthur moves in looking to clinch but Gatti III pushes him off.
Gatti III fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Gatti III throws a leg kick but McArthur moved away.
Gatti III throws a right and a left that both miss.
McArthur stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Gatti III.
McArthur stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Gatti III.
Gatti III slips a jab and a cross from McArthur.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gatti III lands with a nice body punch.
McArthur darts in trying to clinch
and Gatti III counters with a three punch combo that has McArthur backing up. McArthur nods at Gatti III to acknowledge the strikes.
Gatti III lands a nice leg kick that just misses McArthur's sensitive parts.
McArthur's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Gatti III rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but McArthur moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
McArthur throws a poor cross that misses
and Gatti III counters with a leg kick.
McArthur connects with a jab.
Gatti III fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Gatti III throws a right hand that McArthur ducks under and follows up with a left that McArthur also avoids with ease.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gatti III looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
McArthur moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
A kick lands to the mid section there for Gatti III.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
No joy there for McArthur, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
McArthur gets cracked there but stands up to it.
McArthur moves in looking to clinch but Gatti III pushes him off.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Gatti III throws a body punch but McArthur moves out of range.
McArthur lands a two punch combo.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Gatti III lands with a right hand.
McArthur works the jab nicely.
Gatti III cracks McArthur with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
McArthur is still on wobbly legs! Can Gatti III finish him?
McArthur throws a poor cross that misses
and Gatti III counters with a nice kick to the body.
McArthur takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.
McArthur seems to have recovered his senses.
Gatti III dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Gatti III swings widly with a right hand
and McArthur counters with a stiff right hand.
Gatti III lands with a kick to the temple. McArthur shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"
Arturo Gatti III seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
McArthur takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Gatti III misses with a wild combination.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gatti III looks to score with a jab to the body but McArthur is just out of range.
McArthur takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
McArthur blocks a head kick by Gatti III.
Gatti III slips a straight right by McArthur.
Gatti III misses with a body shot
and Gatti III takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Gatti III fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Gatti III scores with a push kick.
McArthur thuds his right hand into Gatti III's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
McArthur might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
McArthur avoids a kick to the body.
McArthur staying out of range there.
Gatti III avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Gatti III uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from McArthur.
McArthur throws the left hand but Gatti III avoids the punch easily.
A solid leg kick lands there for Gatti III.
Gatti III avoids a punch combination nicely.
Thud! ouch! good body kick from Gatti III - that will leave a mark!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
McArthur stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Gatti III.
McArthur loads up on a big right hand but Gatti III slips the punch.
Gatti III misses with a combination
and McArthur counters with a stiff right hand.
McArthur's jab looks to have found its range, popping Gatti III under the eye.
McArthur throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
McArthur is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.
Some wild striking there from McArthur.
McArthur tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Gatti III paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Gatti III feints and then cracks McArthur's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow McArthur down.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A solid leg kick lands there for Gatti III.
McArthur has developed a nice purple lump on his ribcage, as a result of some heavy body kicks from Gatti III.
McArthur defending well as Gatti III loads up on a big left hand.
McArthur moves out of range of the body kick from Gatti III.
A jab from Gatti III finds it's way through McArthur's defenses.
Gatti III thumps McArthur with a low kick.
McArthur swings widly with a right hand
and Gatti III counters with a slapping leg kick.
Gatti III is looking to slow McArthur down with leg kicks.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
McArthur throws a jab but it's blocked by Gatti III.
McArthur misses with an uppercut.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Arturo Gatti III dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Gatti III throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Gatti III lands with a thumping leg kick.
McArthur takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Jab, jab by McArthur - just one landing.
McArthur is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.

Gatti III drops McArthur with a beautiful combination! McArthur stares up at his opponent, who ushers him back to his feet - Gatti III is looking for the KO!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Gatti III with a jab.
Gatti III throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
McArthur throws a series of punches but Gatti III moves out of range.
McArthur avoids the head kick by Gatti III.
Gatti III misses with a straight right.
Arturo Gatti III is winning the standup battle so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gatti III looks to score with a jab to the body but McArthur is just out of range.
McArthur moves out of range as Gatti III throws a body kick.
Gatti III avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Gatti III fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches McArthur on the side of the head.
Gatti III scores with a jab to the body.
Gatti III ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Gatti III needs to keep his hands up - McArthur had a free shot at his head there.
Gatti III throws a left and a right that both miss
and McArthur counters with a lovely straight right hand!
McArthur lands a really nice looking cross but Gatti III seems unphased.
Kevin McArthur has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Gatti III has not gone for a single takedown so far in this fight, which seems like a very strange tactic when you consider that he has the superior wrestling and BJJ.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gatti III throws a solid leg kick but McArthur takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Gatti III.
Gatti III dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on McArthur. That did some damage!
McArthur slips a straight right by Gatti III.
Both these guys seem content to just stand up and trade with eachother but McArthur might want to think about changing up his gameplan a bit because over the course of the fight, Gatti III has got the better of the exchanges.
Gatti III scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Gatti III lands with a shot to the body.
Gatti III throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
McArthur tries to close the distance and clinch up but Gatti III swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Gatti III fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt McArthur.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

McArthur gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

McArthur breaks the clinch.
Gatti III looks to land a combination but McArthur avoids it well.
The fighters circling - Gatti III throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Gatti III avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
McArthur throws a left and a right that both miss
and Gatti III counters with an inside leg kick.
Gatti III throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Gatti III looks to land a body kick but McArthur moved away.
Gatti III tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but McArthur was well out of range. Poor timing from Gatti III.
Gatti III misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from McArthur.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A head kick misses from Gatti III.
Gatti III misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Some wild striking there from Gatti III.
McArthur misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Gatti III.
Gatti III throws a body punch but McArthur moves out of range.
McArthur scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
McArthur avoids a punch combination nicely.
Gatti III scores with a spinning back kick!

And that's the end of the fight!
Arturo Gatti III showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Gatti III, 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 Chris Downing scores the fight 30:27
Judge Alan Glass scores the fight 30:27
Judge Wesley Smith scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Arturo Gatti III!
Arturo Gatti III decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.