PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Tony Gibbs (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Punka Tuka (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Punka Tuka will no doubt be looking to use his reach advantage to good effect.

Gibbs
vs
Tuka

156 cm
22
140 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

194 cm
25
145 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Tony Gibbs!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Punka Tuka!
The judges for this bout are Gregory Folan, Alec Ball and William Peck.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Tuka cracks Gibbs with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Tuka.
Gibbs could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Tuka closes the distance and clinches up with Gibbs, looking for a takedown. Tuka pushes Gibbs against the cage but Gibbs circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.

Tuka closes the distance and pushes Gibbs back into the cage.
Gibbs tries a body shot but Tuka blocks it.
Tuka is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Tuka.

Tuka pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Gibbs uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Tuka.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Tuka fails to land with a series of punches.
Tuka shoots in but no luck this time.
Tony Gibbs has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Punka Tuka.
Good work by Gibbs as he checks the leg kick.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Tuka.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Tuka pushes Gibbs up against the cage in a clinch.
Tuka lands a shoulder strike.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Tuka.
Tuka drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Gibbs gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Tuka trying to land knees to the body.
Tuka wants to take the fight to the mat but Gibbs manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
Gibbs looking to throw knees to the head but Tuka is blocking nicely.

Tuka breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Tuka with a lazy takedown attempt
and Gibbs counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Tuka shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Gibbs as he avoids it easily.
Tuka looks winded!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tuka throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Gibbs's waist but Gibbs gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Tuka off to one side.

Tuka rushes Gibbs and presses him up against the cage.
Tuka blocks a couple of punches on the inside.

Tuka escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Tuka shoots in looking for a takedown but Gibbs manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Tuka's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Gibbs is looking to clinch but Tuka is avoiding it.
Tuka doesn't succeed with the takedown

so Gibbs counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Gibbs cracks Tuka with a solid left hand.
Tuka is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Gibbs is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Gibbs content to stall in guard here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gibbs scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Gibbs postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Gibbs lands a couple of digs.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Gibbs is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Gibbs working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Gibbs won't allow Tuka to get back to his feet.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Gibbs accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Gibbs throwing strikes from guard but Tuka blocks nicely.
Gibbs trying to control but Tuka is working from the bottom.
Gibbs trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tuka keeping moving, preventing Gibbs from controlling successfully.
Gibbs works over Tuka with some ground and pound from guard.
Tuka avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

Gibbs gets to his feet - Tuka follows without any prompting.
Tuka closes this distance looking for a takedown but Gibbs circles away.
Tuka fails miserably with a takedown attempt.

Tuka darts in and clinches Gibbs up against the cage.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Tuka.
Tuka has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Gibbs is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tony Gibbs dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Tuka darts in and clinches Gibbs up against the cage.

Tuka drags the fight down to the ground.
Gibbs has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Gibbs throws a big elbow that misses.
Tuka has a closed guard, preventing Gibbs from standing up.
Tuka wants to stand up but Gibbs is controlling him.
Gibbs working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Tuka's head.

The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Gibbs gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Tuka clinches up against the cage.
Tuka blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.

Tuka breaks from the clinch.
Tuka misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Gibbs 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 one minute gone in the round.
Tuka tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Gibbs tries to clinch

and Tuka counters by moving into the clinch.
Tuka lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Tuka wants to break the clinch but can't.

Gibbs pulls guard.
Gibbs wants to sweep here but Tuka controlling him for the moment.
Gibbs is trying to control the position but Tuka postures up.
Gibbs controlling Tuka's posture.
Gibbs's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tuka controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Gibbs managing to control the position.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Tuka wants to control from the top but Gibbs keeps moving.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.

Tuka closes the distance and clinches.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Tuka breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Tuka fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Tuka.
Tuka is breathing heavily.
Tuka shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Gibbs pinned against the cage. Gibbs gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Tony Gibbs has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Punka Tuka.
Tuka attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Tuka misses with a takedown attempt - Gibbs sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Tuka shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Gibbs counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Tuka!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gibbs working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.

Gibbs stands up.
Tuka blocks a head kick by Gibbs.

Tuka gets a clinch.
Tuka lands a body punch in the clinch.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Tuka wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Gibbs has him pressed against the cage.
Gibbs tries for a takedown but Tuka manages to get underhooks.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Tuka is trying to drag Gibbs to the mat but Gibbs just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
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 Tony Gibbs will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Tuka shoots in for a double leg but Gibbs sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.

Tuka closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Gibbs tries to land a knee to the head but Tuka blocks with his arms.
Gibbs is trying to break the clinch but Tuka has him pressed against the cage.

Gibbs gets a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Tuka is trying to stand.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Tuka manages to create a bit of space in order to work his way back to his feet. Gibbs keeps hold of his opponent and drives him back against the cage.
Gibbs is trying to break free.
Tuka cracks Gibbs with a nice body shot.

Tuka escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tuka lands a nice leg kick that just misses Gibbs's sensitive parts.
Tuka misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Tuka takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Tuka with a lazy takedown attempt

and Gibbs counters with a single leg into guard. Tuka didn't expect that.
Tony Gibbs has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Punka Tuka.
Gibbs postures up in Tuka's guard and throws a big left but Tuka blocks it.
Gibbs throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Gibbs slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Gibbs lands a couple of digs.
Gibbs controls from within his opponent's guard.
Gibbs prevents Tuka from getting back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Gibbs takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Gibbs tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Tuka manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.

Tuka rushes Gibbs and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Gibbs has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Tuka avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gibbs doesn't land with the attempted body shot.

Gibbs works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.
Gibbs throwing strikes from guard but Tuka blocks nicely.
Gibbs scoring with some ground and pound.
Gibbs controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Gibbs might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Gibbs distracts Tuka with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Gibbs prevents Tuka from getting back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tuka is trying to keep Gibbs in close.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Tuka is controlling Gibbs's posture.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Tuka fails with a takedown attempt.
Tuka misses with a takedown

and Gibbs counters with a shoot takedown. Tuka fights it but they end up in guard.
Gibbs in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Gibbs prevents Tuka from getting back to his feet.
Punka Tuka has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Tony Gibbs is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Gibbs sitting in guard here, content to control.

And that's the end of the fight!
Tony Gibbs showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Gibbs, 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 Gregory Folan scores the fight 30:27
Judge Alec Ball scores the fight 30:27
Judge William Peck scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Tony Gibbs!