PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Robert McCall (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ryo Narushima (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

McCall
vs
Narushima

191 cm
22
212 lbs
6 - 3 - 0

177 cm
36
216 lbs
24 - 16 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Robert McCall!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 24 - 16 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Ryo Narushima!
The judges for this bout are George Francis, Wesley Smith and Robert Twigg.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
McCall blocks a head kick by Narushima.

Narushima forces McCall back against the cage and clinches.
McCall is stalling here.
Narushima misses with a knee to the head.
Narushima tries to land a knee to the head but McCall blocks with his arms.
Narushima lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Narushima misses with a knee strike.
Narushima throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but McCall blocks it with crossed arms.
McCall looking to slow down the pace here.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Narushima is pushing McCall up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Narushima using the Thai plumb to throw knees but McCall has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.

That's one minute gone in the round.
McCall wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Narushima has him pressed against the cage.
Narushima tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
McCall avoiding damage.
Narushima is stalling here.
McCall is trying to stall.
Narushima tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
McCall working hard to break the clinch.
McCall takes a knee right on the jaw!

It looks like Robert McCall has been cut.
Narushima scores a nice knee to the body.
McCall is breathing heavily.
Stalling in the clinch from Narushima.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Narushima looking to throw knees to the head but McCall is blocking nicely.
McCall managing to block the knees to the body from Narushima.
Narushima tries to land knees in the clinch but McCall avoids the damage to the body.
Narushima with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Narushima misses with a knee strike.
Narushima tries to land a knee to the head but McCall blocks with his arms.
Narushima trying to land knees to the body.
Narushima tries to land knees in the clinch but McCall avoids the damage to the body.
Narushima lands a knee to the head.
McCall blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Knees to the body from Narushima.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Narushima connects with a nasty looking knee right to McCall's face.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Narushima landing knees to the head.
Narushima is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Narushima with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Narushima connects with a knee to the head.
Narushima connects with a nasty looking knee right to McCall's face.
Narushima tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Narushima misses with a knee strike.
Narushima avoiding damage.
The referee is keeping an eye on Narushima - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Narushima with an attempt at a knee that misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Narushima lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Narushima with an attempt at a knee that misses.
McCall being controlled against the cage.
Narushima with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Narushima tries a knee to the head but McCall blocks it.
Narushima is pushing McCall up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
I was talking to McCall's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.
McCall wants to get back to striking at distance but Narushima won't allow it.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Narushima takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ryo Narushima dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Robert McCall's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

McCall throws a hook to the side of Narushima's head but Narushima sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
McCall on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Narushima. Narushima obviously looking to wear him down.
McCall has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Narushima.
McCall avoids the head kick by Narushima.
Narushima misses with a head kick.

Narushima forces McCall back against the cage and clinches.
Narushima stalling against the cage.
McCall tries to stall but Narushima uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Narushima lands a knee to the body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
McCall being controlled against the cage.
Narushima tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Narushima lands a knee to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Narushima misses with a knee strike.
Narushima tries a knee to the head but McCall blocks it.
Narushima throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but McCall blocks it with crossed arms.
Narushima tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Narushima with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Narushima tries a knee to the head but McCall blocks it.
Narushima tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Narushima with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Narushima tries to land knees in the clinch but McCall avoids the damage to the body.
Narushima connects with a knee to the head.
Narushima with an attempt at a knee that misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Narushima throws a knee to the head but misses.
Narushima with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
McCall is looking to control Narushima's arms but Narushima gets an underhook and turns him. Now McCall has his back to the cage.
Narushima lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Narushima connects with a knee to the head.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Narushima using the Thai plumb to throw knees but McCall has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
McCall is trying to break the clinch but Narushima has him pressed against the cage.
Narushima tries to land a knee to the head but McCall blocks with his arms.
Narushima lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Narushima lands a knee to the head.

McCall is rocked!
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Narushima misses with a knee to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from McCall.
Narushima with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Ryo Narushima seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Narushima is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Narushima with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
McCall managing to block the knees to the body from Narushima.
Narushima tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Narushima looking to throw knees to the head but McCall is blocking nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Narushima throws a knee to the head but misses.
Narushima missing with knees to the body.
Narushima throws a knee to the head but misses.
Narushima throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but McCall blocks it with crossed arms.
Narushima misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from McCall.
Narushima tries to land a knee to the head but McCall blocks with his arms.
Narushima tries to land a knee to the head but McCall blocks with his arms.
Narushima tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Narushima is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
McCall wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Narushima has him pressed against the cage.
McCall tries to circle away but Narushima has him pinned against the cage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ryo Narushima showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Robert McCall's cut.
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. This is the final round!

McCall lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Narushima misses with a body kick.
McCall avoids the head kick by Narushima.
Narushima steps to the side to avoid the strikes from McCall.

Narushima moves into the clinch.
Narushima landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Narushima with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Narushima manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Narushima throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but McCall blocks it with crossed arms.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Narushima will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning McCall up against the cage.
McCall on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Narushima tries to land a knee to the head but McCall blocks with his arms.
Narushima being controlled against the cage.
Knees to the body from Narushima.
McCall avoiding damage as Narushima throws knees to the body.
Narushima tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Narushima taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Narushima slowing the pace effectively.
Narushima continues to stall. The referee tells him to work or he's going to break them up.
Narushima is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Narushima receives a warning from the referee for stalling.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
McCall on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
McCall on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Narushima using the Thai plumb to throw knees but McCall has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Narushima tries to land a knee to the head but McCall blocks with his arms.
Narushima tries to land knees in the clinch but McCall avoids the damage to the body.
Narushima lands a knee to the body.
Narushima slowing the pace effectively.
Narushima throws a knee to the head but misses.
Narushima takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Narushima misses with a knee to the head.
Narushima connects with a nasty looking knee right to McCall's face.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Narushima takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Narushima using the Thai plumb to throw knees but McCall has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
McCall managing to block the knees to the body from Narushima.
Narushima with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Narushima tries to land knees in the clinch but McCall avoids the damage to the body.
Narushima missing with knees to the body.
McCall holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Narushima tries to land a knee to the head but McCall blocks with his arms.
The referee is keeping an eye on Narushima - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Narushima tries a knee to the head but McCall blocks it.
Robert McCall has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Narushima connects with a nasty looking knee right to McCall's face.
Narushima throws a knee to the head but misses.
Narushima tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Narushima tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Narushima has been looking to improve his clinch game in recent weeks. McCall seems to have the measure of him in the clinch so far, so let's see if Narushima can turn it around.
Narushima manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Narushima has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
McCall wants to break the clinch but can't.
Ryo Narushima is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Narushima with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ryo Narushima comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Narushima has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 George Francis scores the fight 25:30
Judge Wesley Smith scores the fight 25:30
Judge Robert Twigg scores the fight 24:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ryo Narushima!
A relieved looking Ryo Narushima thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.