PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Carmelo Anthony (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Baba Kalua (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Anthony
vs
Kalua

220 cm
22
160 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

205 cm
18
205 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Intelligent

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Tends to cut

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Carmelo Anthony !
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Baba Kalua!
The judges for this bout are Yuuki Gou, Tatsuya Matsuyama and Taro Takaoka.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Anthony looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Kalua is fending him off so far but Anthony persists. Nope, Kalua circles away and we're back to standing.

Kalua fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Anthony , pushing him back against the cage.
Kalua slows down the pace here.

Anthony breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

Kalua fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Anthony to the ground. Kalua is now in Anthony 's guard.
Kalua trying to control but Anthony is working from the bottom.
Anthony really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Anthony is trying to control the position from the bottom.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kalua is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Anthony working a defensive guard here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kalua wants to get up but he can't break Anthony 's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Kalua in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Kalua wants to control from the top but Anthony keeps moving.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Kalua not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Anthony shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Kalua defends it nicely.
Kalua is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
Anthony with a body punch. A glancing blow.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Horrible takedown attempt by Anthony or perhaps it was just good defense by Kalua, which made it look bad.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Carmelo Anthony . That's going to take a lot out of him.
Kalua stuffs the takedown.
Despite the aggression on Kalua's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.
Anthony lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.

Anthony moves into range and clinches up with Kalua.

Anthony manages to break the clinch.
Kalua wants to clinch but Anthony slips to the side
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.

Kalua drives through and clinches with Anthony against the cage.
Anthony tries to break free but Kalua pushes him back against the cage.
Kalua keeps control of Anthony as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Kalua prevents Anthony from breaking the clinch.
Kalua tries to score a body lock takedown but Anthony shows good agility there to stay on his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Kalua tightens his grip and picks Anthony up, before dumping him to the ground. Anthony manages to land in guard.
Anthony is looking to stand back up but Kalua counters by passing into half guard. Oops... bit sloppy there by Anthony .

Kalua sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Kalua wants to get back to his feet.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Kalua seems to be looking for submissions.
Kalua wants to get back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kalua tries to pass the half guard into mount. Anthony knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Kalua trying to control the pace.
Anthony is staying active underneath Kalua, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Anthony is looking to control Kalua's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Anthony avoid being mounted?
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Baba Kalua dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Kalua shoots in and drives through. Anthony sprawls well.
Some wild striking there from Anthony .
As Anthony backs off Kalua throws a huge counter combo but Anthony manages to avoid it all.
Anthony avoids the body shot from Kalua.
Anthony avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Kalua tries to clinch but Anthony is having none of it.
Anthony changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
A head kick from Anthony lands but Kalua takes it in his stride.

Kalua has closed the distance and engaged Anthony in a clinch.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Kalua pulls Anthony into guard.
Kalua wants to control but Anthony passes easily into half guard.
Anthony wants to lay and pray for a moment but Kalua keeps working.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Anthony prevents Kalua from improving his position.
Kalua is trying to stand.
Kalua is looking to control Anthony 's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Kalua avoid being mounted?

Anthony is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Kalua doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Anthony .
Kalua is looking for a sweep. Anthony is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Kalua avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Anthony .
Kalua keeping control of the leg, stopping his opponent passing to mount.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Anthony fails with the takedown.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Kalua gets the takedown into side control.
You can see the frustration on Anthony 's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Anthony gives up the full mount - oops, sloppy defensive grappling there!

Kalua goes for an armbar but he's not got it… Anthony turns into him and now he's in Kalua's guard.
Anthony will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Anthony tries to free his leg and advance position but Kalua is retaining full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Anthony wants to control from the top but Kalua keeps moving.
Anthony stands up out of Kalua's guard for a moment - Kalua manages to land a nice upkick.
Kalua is pulling down on Anthony 's head to control his posture.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Kalua is on top in guard.

Kalua controlling from the top position.
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 Carmelo Anthony will probably get the nod.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Kalua defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Anthony .
Kalua fails to land the takedown.
Kalua stuffs the takedown attempt from Anthony . Anthony gets slowly back to his feet.
Anthony darts in looking for a takedown but Kalua gets double underhooks and turns Anthony into the cage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Carmelo Anthony . That's going to take a lot out of him.
Kalua tries to close the distance and clinch up but Anthony swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Anthony fails with the takedown.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Anthony tries to clinch but Kalua is having none of it.
Kalua fails in his attempt to clinch.
Kalua looks to land a body kick but Anthony moved away.
Anthony has a takedown stuffed.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Anthony looks to land a combination but Kalua avoids it well.
Anthony scores with a jab. Kalua acknowledges it with a nod of the head.

Kalua gets a clinch.

Anthony breaks from the clinch.
Kalua tries a head kick but it misses.
Kalua misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Anthony 's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Anthony duly obliges.

Kalua closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Anthony did well to prevent Kalua getting side control.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Kalua content to control rather than advance.
Anthony is looking to improve his position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Anthony is working hard here to advance position.
Kalua content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Kalua wants to stand up but Anthony is controlling the position.
Anthony throws a strike from the bottom that misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kalua is nestled in close to Anthony , controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Kalua controlling the action here.
Kalua wants to lay and pray for a moment but Anthony keeps working.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

Kalua shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Anthony manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.

The fighters are working up against the cage. Anthony manages to wriggle his way back to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Anthony changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Kalua fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Anthony will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.

Kalua gets a clinch.

Kalua manages to break the clinch.

Kalua takes the fight into the clinch.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Kalua tries to score a body lock takedown but Anthony shows good agility there to stay on his feet.

Kalua has Anthony pressed up against the cage. He's trying to work for a single leg takedown. Kalua pulls back from the cage and twists to the side, sending Anthony tumbling to the mat - Kalua dives into Anthony 's guard.
Kalua wants to control from the top but Anthony keeps moving.

And that's the end of the fight!
Baba Kalua comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Kalua has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Yuuki Gou scores the fight for Baba Kalua!
Judge Tatsuya Matsuyama scores the fight for Baba Kalua!
Judge Taro Takaoka scores the fight for Baba Kalua!

Baba Kalua wins by unanimous decision!